bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Speaker‐independent isolated word recognition using n‐segment label histogram method
Authors: Watanuki Osaaki , Kaneko Toyohisa 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA simplified version of a hidden Markov model (HMM), referred to as theN‐segment label histogram (NLH) method, is proposed for speaker‐independent isolated word recognition. The NLH method can be considered as an HMM with a uniform duration for each state. It can also be treated as a statistical pattern recognition approach using linear compander and probabilistic measures. During the training, the label histograms are computed forNequal segments of the input. The probability associated with each label is computed after normalization. During the recognition, the input is partitioned intoNequal segments, the corresponding label that maximizes the label probability of the input word determines the recognition result. Since the NLH method requires only about one‐tenth the computation of the HMM method, it is more suitable for implementation on small computers. Furthermore, it does not require alignment along the time axis as do the HMM and DP matching techniques. The utterance fluctuation along the time axis is handled statistically and is applicable to a large data set. Experimental results indicated that the NLH method rendered almost the same recognition rate as the other two methods while requiring much less computation. The linear approximation of the likelihood function enables the implementation of the proposed algorithm on the IBM PC/AT for real time speech recognition.
Embedding the attribute information into a dithered image
Authors: Tanaka Kiyoshi , Nakamura Yasuhiro , Members Kineo Matsui 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAttribute information is indispensable data in the collection and storage of a large amount of image information. If these data are stored together with the image, handling of the materials would become simpler and more reliable. This paper proposes a method to embed the attribute information into a dither image by using the difference of the threshold values of the dither matrix when a multilevel image is binarized. This method can embed the attribute information of about 2 kbytes (equivalent to about 25 percent of the data for the image) into a dithered image of 256 × 256 pixels. The embedded information can be displayed or printed separately at any time. This method can restore the dither image almost perfectly by using the property of the ordered dither method.
An efficient compensation‐path finding algorithm for a large‐scale processor array
Authors: Ozawa Takao 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper presents an algorithm for constructing a systolic array from a large‐scale rectangular grid array of processing elements (PEs), some of which may be faulty. Very recently, Kung et al. reduced this construction problem to finding compensation paths (CPs) which are extended from faulty PEs to spare PEs placed on the periphery of the rectangular array, and which satisfy the following conditions. Each of the CPs: (1) must be a horizontal or vertical straight line; (2) must not go through any other faulty PE; (3) must not cross any other CP; and (4) for each of the CPs there exists no other CP running in parallel and in the opposite direction with distance 1.The algorithm of this paper solves the foregoing CP finding problem efficiently by taking advantage of certain properties of the grid array. Suppose that the array is placed on thex‐yplane. First, the algorithm sorts the faulty PEs with respect to theirxandycoordinates and constructs four queues for faulty PEs. Then it attempts repeatedly to find CPs for the four PEs at the exits of the four queues. At this step it uses a novel branch‐and‐bound method considering the relative positions of the four faulty PEs on thex‐yplane. The time complexity of the algorithm isO(n3) in the worst cases, wherenis the number of faulty PEs. However, it can be shown that such cases rarely happen, and in almost all cases it solves the problem inO(n2) time. The space complexity isO(n).
Acceleration of timing verification method based on time petri nets
Authors: Yoneda Tomohiro , Tohma Yoshihiro , Kondo Yutaka 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA verification method based on time Petri nets automatically proves the correctness of quantitative timing properties for hard real‐time systems. However, the previously proposed method sometimes takes a very long time or requires considerable memory space to complete verifications. This is because the method generates the whole state space of time Petri nets.This paper proposes an efficient verification method based on the single‐place zero‐reachability problem of time Petri nets, but it may be restricted by given time Petri nets. The single‐place zero‐reachability problem can be solved only by checking whether or not some prescribed transitions can finally fire. This does not require extracting the whole state space of time Petri nets.The method proposed herein: (1) reduces the verification problem to the single‐place zero‐reachability problem of time Petri nets; and (2) generates reduced state space sufficient to check the possibility of the firings of all enabled transitions. This paper also contains an example of verifying a simple LAN protocol and compares the performance of both the proposed method and the previous method.
Self‐organizing neural networks and various euclidean traveling salesman problems
Authors: Matsuyama Yasuo 
Published: July 2007

AbstractBy using competitive learning, which causes just one or a group of a small number of neurons to respond to a given input, self‐organization of entire neural networks can be achieved. When this self‐organization process is applied to various kinds of travelling salesman problems in a Euclidean space, a good approximation or the true solution is obtained. We use a sequential update which looks at the position vector of each city one at a time as the training method for a neural network arranged as a closed loop. In this case, we use symmetrical connections between neurons. The number of neurons required is approximately linear in the number of cities. In the first experiment, we carried out a quantitative comparison with the simulated annealing method using 500 sets of 30 cities and demonstrated this method's superiority. Next, we obtained a good approximation on a set of 532 U.S. cities and demonstrate its superiority with respect to the increase in the number of cities in actual (realistic) data. Further, for a generalized constrained multiple‐salesman problem, we explain this method's compactness and efficiency and give an experimental example. The computation can be adequately performed by a common workstation with a serial processor.
Determination of 3‐D structure using lines viewed by a moving camera
Authors: Shigang Li , Tsuji Saburo , Imai Masakazu 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper describes a method to determine the three‐dimensional (3‐D) structure of a room environment using lines viewed by a moving camera, assuming that the speed of the camera movement can be measured. The rotational components of the camera are estimated from the movement of the vanishing point formed by horizontal lines in a recorded image. Inclined lines in the image are eliminated from it using the difference in the properties of motions of the inclined lines and the horizontal lines in the image. The locus of the movement of the camera and the 3‐D structure of the environment are determined based on the obtained rotational components of the camera. The accuracy of this method is improved by applying the Kalman filters to the large amount of data involved when the camera rotation and the 3‐D positions of objects in the environment are calculated.
Delayed instruction execution on a long instruction word (LIW) computer
Authors: Kato Komei , Arita Takaya , Sowa Masahiro 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper considers the long instruction word (LIW) computer and proposes the concept of the delayed execution for each field instruction composing LIW. The introduction of this concept makes it possible to adjust the execution timing in a flexible way for the field instructions in the execution of LIW. The speed is improved by the overlapped execution of the instances in the loop or the call of subroutines. It is also possible to eliminate the unused instruction field.This paper presents the basic structure for the LIW computer with such a delayed instruction‐execution scheme. It is seen as a result of simulation that the speed of the LIW computer can be improved by 8 to 58 percent and the number of instruction words can be reduced by introducing the proposed delayed instruction‐execution scheme.
Using Census and survey commuting statistics in local labour market analysis
Authors: Green Anne E. 
Published: July 2007

Outline This paper describes the context for an interest in travel-to-work patterns by those concerned with labour market analysis and local economic development. The scope, coverage and content of Census of Population and local survey data on travel-to-work patterns are reviewed, and their strengths and weaknesses compared. Examples of the types of information which can be extracted from various sources are used to illustrate similarities and variations in travel-to-work patterns by population subgroup, and analyses on travel-to-work times and the geographical extent of job search areas derived from local labour force surveys are presented.
Drugs and the Media
Authors: Bell Philip 
Published: July 2007

Abstract: “Drugs” are extremely newsworthy: each year they are the subject of literally thousands of items produced by the Australian media. Most of these items are repetitious, stereotypical and narrowly focused on crime, deviance and rectification. Illegal drug consumption by individuals and the efforts of medical and social welfare professionals to eradicate the “problem” so defined are the twin foci of the press and television. Legal substances (including tobacco and alcohol) are interpreted much more ambiguously, and are relatively infrequently the subject of journalistic analysis.The media systematically ignore the historical, economic and industrial aspects of drug production and consumption.“Drugs”, although habitually construed as the cause of “human” and “social” problems (and hence as necessitating administrative attention), seem strangely divorced from real political economic determinations. They serve as inexhaustabled pretexts for the proliferation of television current affairs items and newspaper features which seldom resist the image of the confessing, suffering victim. “Hard” news is preoccupied with reiterating the ritual drama of drug seizures and exposes of “organised” crime. Both the press and television educate their audiences to a resigned, alienated passivity.
Lymphatic Biology and the Microcirculation: Past, Present and Future
Authors: ZAWIEJA DAVID 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTBecause of the role that lymphatics have in fluid and macromolecular exchange, lymphatic function has been tightly tied to the study of the microcirculation for decades. Despite this, our understanding of many basic tenets of lymphatic function is far behind that of the blood vascular system. This is in part due to the difficulty inherent in working in small, thin‐walled, clear lymphatic vessels and the relative lack of lymphatic specific molecular/cellular markers. The application of cellular and molecular tools to the field of lymphatic biology has recently produced some significant developments in lymphatic endothelial cell biology. These have propelled our understanding of lymphangiogenesis and related fields forward. Whereas the use of some of these techniques in lymphatic muscle biology has somewhat lagged behind those in the endothelium, recent developments in lymphatic muscle contractile and electrical physiology have also led to advances in our understanding of lymphatic transport function, particularly in the regulation of the intrinsic lymph pump. However, much work remains to be done. This paper reviews significant developments in lymphatic biology and discusses areas where further development of lymphatic biology via classical, cellular, and molecular approaches is needed to significantly advance our understanding of lymphatic physiology.
Focal Adhesion Kinase in Neutrophil‐Induced Microvascular Hyperpermeability
Authors: GUO MINGZHANG , Wu Mack H. , Granger Harris J. , Yuan Sarah Y. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTObjective: Recent experimental evidence indicates an essential role of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in mediating endothelial adhesion, contraction, and migration under physical stress and chemical stimulation. However, the functional impact of FAK on microvascular barrier property during inflammation has not been revealed. The aim of this study was to explore the potential contribution of FAK to neutrophil‐dependent microvascular hyperpermeability.Methods: The apparent permeability coefficient of albumin was measured in intact, isolated porcine coronary venules during stimulation by C5a‐activated neutrophils. In parallel, the transendothelial flux of albumin was quantified in cultured venular endothelial cell monolayers exposed to C5a‐activated neutrophils. Western blotting and immunocytochemistry were performed to assess FAK tyrosine phosphorylation and distribution in endothelial cells, respectively. To specify the signaling effect of FAK on neutrophil‐elicited endothelial hyperpermeability, FAK‐related nonkinase (FRNK) was expressed, purified, and directly transfected into the endothelium of venules, and the permeability response to neutrophils was measured during inhibition of FAK.Results: C5a‐activated neutrophils induced a time‐ and concentration‐dependent increase in venular permeability. Transfection of venules with FRNK did not alter the basal barrier function but greatly attenuated neutrophil‐induced hyperpermeability in a dose‐related manner. A similar permeability response to neutrophils was observed in venular endothelial cell monolayers, which was diminished after FRNK transfection. In addition, Western blot analysis showed that activated neutrophils caused a concentration‐dependent increase in FAK tyrosine phosphorylation with a time course correlating with that of venular hyperpermeability. Transfection of FRNK blocked neutrophil‐evoked FAK tyrosine phosphorylation. Furthermore, immunofluorescence microscopy revealed a significant morphological change of FAK from a punctuated, dot‐like pattern under normal conditions to an elongated, dash‐like staining that aligned with the longitudinal axis of cells upon neutrophil stimulation.Conclusion: The results suggest that focal adhesion kinase significantly contributes to the endothelial hyperpermeability response to neutrophil activation. Phosphorylation of FAK may play an important signaling role in the regulation of microvascular barrier function during inflammation.
Microvascular Thrombosis Models in Venules and Arterioles In Vivo
Authors: RUMBAUT ROLANDO E. , SLAFF DICK W. , BURNS ALAN R. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTPlatelets are intimately involved in hemostasis and thrombosis. Under physiological conditions, circulating platelets do not interact with microvascular walls. However, in response to microvascular injury, platelet adhesion and subsequent thrombus formation may be observed in venules and arterioles in vivo. Numerous intravital video microscopy techniques have been described to induce and monitor the formation of microvascular thrombi. The mechanisms of microvascular injury vary widely among different models. Some models induce platelet activation with minimal effects on endothelium, others induce endothelial inflammation or injury, while other models lead to thrombus formation associated with endothelial denudation. The molecular mechanisms mediating platelet–vessel wall adhesive interactions differ among various models. In some instances, differences in responses between venules and arterioles are described that cannot be explained solely by hemodynamic factors. Several models for induction of microvascular thrombosis in vivo are outlined in this review, with a focus on the mechanisms of injury and thrombus formation, as well as on differences in responses between venules and arterioles. Recognizing these characteristics should help investigators select an appropriate model for studying microvascular thrombosis in vivo.
A Theoretical Model for the Myogenic Response Based on the Length–Tension Characteristics of Vascular Smooth Muscle
Authors: CARLSON BRIAN E. , SECOMB TIMOTHY W. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTObjective: A theoretical model is developed to describe the myogenic response of resistance vessels to changes in intravascular pressure, based on a consideration of the active and passive length–tension characteristics of vascular smooth muscle (VSM). The dependence of model parameters on vessel diameter is examined.Methods: The vessel wall is represented mechanically as a nonlinear passive component in parallel with an active contractile component. The level of VSM tone is assumed to have a sigmoidal dependence on circumferential wall tension or stress. Model parameters are optimized for each of 18 independent experimental data sets previously obtained using pressure or wire myograph systems.Results: Close fits between model predictions and experimental data are found in each case. An alternative formulation in which VSM tone depends on circumferential wall stress is found also to be consistent with available data. Significant trends in model parameters as a function of diameter are found.Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that circumferential tension or stress in the wall provides the signal for myogenic responses. The model provides a basis for simulating steady‐state myogenic responses in vascular networks containing a range of vessel diameters.
Neuroglobin and Cytoglobin: Genes, Proteins and Evolution
Authors: Burmester Thorsten , Haberkamp Mark , Mitz Stephanie , Roesner Anja , Schmidt Marc , Ebner Bettina , Gerlach Frank , Fuchs Christine , Hankeln Thomas 
Published: July 2007

AbstractHemoglobin and myoglobin are oxygen transport and storage proteins of most vertebrates. Neuroglobin (Ngb) and cytoglobin (Cygb) ‐ two recent additions to the vertebrate globin superfamily ‐ have still disputed functions. Combining the data from all available resources, we investigate the evolution of these novel globins. Both Ngb and Cygb show little sequence variation in vertebrate evolution, suggesting conserved structures and functions, and an important role in the animal's metabolism. Exon‐intron patterns remained unchanged in Ngb and Cygb, with the exception of the addition of a 3' exon to Cygb early in mammalian evolution. In phylogenetic analyses, Ngb forms a common branch with globin X, another recently identified globin with undefined function in lower vertebrates, and with some invertebrate nerve globins. This shows an early divergence of this branch in animal evolution. Cygb is related to myoglobin, and associated with an eye‐specific globin from birds. The pattern of globin evolution shows that proteins with clear respiratory roles evolved independently from intracellular globins with uncertain functions. This result suggests either multiple independent functional changes or a yet undefined respiratory role of tissue globins like Ngb and Cygb.
IUBMB Life, 56: 703‐707, 2004
Erythrocyte glutathione determination in the diagnosis of glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
Authors: Bozzi Argante , Parisi Marina , Strom Roberto 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe levels of reduced glutathione in severe glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase deficient red blood cells, were found, when assayed immediately after blood withdrawing, almost equal to those of normal human erythrocytes. On the contrary, if the blood samples were stored at 4°C for 4 days (or more) either as whole blood or as washed erythrocytes with or without glucose, the glutathione concentration of the enzyme‐deficient cells decreased to half the initial value. After a mild t‐butylhydroperoxide (t‐BHP) treatment, only glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase deficient red cells exhibited a drastic decrease of glutathione, the normal ones being almost unaffected. If t‐BHP‐treated erythrocytes were incubated in the presence of glucose or of oxidized glutathione, a full recovery of the inital glutathione concentration was detected only in normal samples. Glucose could not be replaced by any other sugar. When the oxidative stress was induced by addition of methylene blue (MB), the behaviour was similar but less marked, it was however impossible, in this case, to restore the normal glutathione levels, through a subsequent incubation of the MB‐treated erythrocytes with oxidized glutathione. This discrepancy can be explained by the finding that a marked inhibition of glutathione reductase was observed in MB‐treated erythrocytes, while t‐BHP exposure had no direct effect on this enzyme.
Cell surface and serum protein phosphorylation by U‐937 cell ectoprotein kinases
Authors: Geberhiwot Tarekegn , Skoglund Göran 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIncubation of intact U‐937 cells with 0.1 μM [γ‐32P]ATP for 10 min resulted in Mg2+‐independent radiolabelling of about 40 cell surface proteins, some of which became more intensely labelled when cells were differentiated. Presence of 2 % newborn calf serum revealed major labelling of three serum proteins with molecular weights of 170, 85 and 61 kDa. Out of several tested purified human serum proteins, complement factor ls (Cls) exhibited specific labelling of the 28 kDa subunit. This capacity of monocytic cell ectokinases to phosphorylate cell surface and serum proteins may have significance for the regulation of interactions between these cells and their environment. In addition, phosphorylation of components of the complement system suggest a possible new means of regulating the immune response through the action of extracellular kinases.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor in the human ovary: Presence in the follicular fluids and production by granulosa cells
Authors: Wada Shin‐ichiro , Fujimoto Sei‐ichiro , Mizue Yuka , Nishihira Jun 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCytokines play an important role in ovarian function. We unexpectedly found high expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) mRNA in human ovarian tissues. Hence, we examined the presence of MIF in the follicular fluid because the follicular microenvironment is important for oocyte fecundity. The follicular fluids were collected from ovaries of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. A higher amount of MIF was identified in the follicular fluid, 80.3 ± 4.6 ng/ml (mean ± SE), in which the concentration was significantly decreased as the size of the follicles increased. To detect MIF mRNA expression in the granulosa cells, reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction was carried out and this showed an amplified transcript specific for MIF. Furthermore, the presence of MIF protein in the granulosa cells was confirmed by Western blot analysis. These results suggest the possibility that MIF mediates various immunological events in the process of oocyte development.