bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
SIMULATION AND EXPECTATION IN SENSOR-BASED SYSTEMS
Authors: ROTH YUVAL , JAIN RAMESH 
Published: November 2004

Simulations have traditionally been used as off-line tools for examining process models and experimenting with system models for which it would have been either impossible or too dangerous, expensive, or time-consuming, to perform with physical systems. We propose a novel way of regarding simulations as part of both the development and the working phases of systems. In our approach simulation is used within the processing and control loop of the system to provide sensor and state expectations. This minimizes the inverse sensory data analysis and model maintenance problems. We refer to this mode of operation as the verification mode, in contrast to the traditional discovery mode. In order to provide simulations and planning that are intertwined with the control of a physical system, temporal issues have to be considered. By limiting the focus of the system to small portions of complex models which are temporarily relevant to the system’s operation, the system is able to maintain its models and respond faster. For this we employ the Context-based Caching (CbC) mechanism within our Mobile Platform Control and Simulation Program (MOSIM). CbC is a knowledge management technique which maintains large knowledge bases by making the necessary information available at the right time.
FORMAL TECHNIQUES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BLACKBOARD SYSTEMS
Authors: CRAIG IAIN D. 
Published: November 2004

In a recent book, the author presented a mathematical specification of a blackboard system shell. The exercise suggested a method for developing blackboard systems with the aid of formal methods. This paper describes a formal method for the development of blackboard systems. The method is based, in part, on an informal one. Apart from the difference in emphasis (formal rather than informal), the new approach rests upon a formal definition of the architecture. The essential idea is that the mapping between the formal model of the problem domain (which is intended to be similar to the formal models proposed by, for example, Hayes) and the blackboard shell should be supported by formal proofs of correctness in a way identical to formal software engineering. We present an informal method for constructing blackboard systems. The informal method forms the basis of the formal method whose initial stages are then described. We outline the formal treatment of control and suggest the use of temporal logic as a tool for reasoning about control. The paper ends with a review of the method.
A PARALLEL THINNING ALGORITHM USING THE BOUNDING BOXES TECHNIQUES
Authors: UBEDA STÉPHANE 
Published: November 2004

Thinning algorithms are widely used in pattern recognition. This processing stage is implemented on serial machines as well as on parallel machines. We can find two classes of thinning algorithms in the literature. The first class is composed of strongly sequential algorithms, based on contour tracing of the objects to be thinned. The second class is made of iterative processes in which fully parallel mask-based operators are used at each iteration. The weakness of the contour tracing based methods is its strong dependence upon the original picture. Particularly, in the case of very complex pictures, this algorithm becomes inefficient. The second thinning class of algorithms uses strongly regular operating processes. The general speed of those methods also depends upon the shapes to be thinned. The iteration number necessary to complete these iterative processes is proportional to the maximum thickness of the objects in the picture. The complexity of the contour of the objects does not influence the efficiency of the algorithm. The goal of this paper is to keep the regularity of the second class of thinning processes, but to reduce the amount of standard parallel-operations. We use a partition of the original picture and we dynamically reduce the range of the full-parallel operator in its sub-picture.
FEATURE EXTRACTION FOR COMPUTER-AIDED ANALYSIS OF MAMMOGRAMS
Authors: BARMAN HÅKAN , GRANLUND GÖSTA , HAGLUND LEIF 
Published: November 2004

A framework for computer-aided analysis of mammograms is described. General computer vision algorithms are combined with application specific procedures in a hierarchical fashion. The system is under development and is currently limited to detection of a few types of suspicious areas. The image features are extracted by using feature extraction methods where wavelet techniques are utilized. A low-pass pyramid representation of the image is convolved with a number of quadrature filters. The filter outputs are combined according to simple local Fourier domain models into parameters describing the local neighbourhood with respect to the model. This produces estimates for each pixel describing local size, orientation, Fourier phase, and shape with confidence measures associated to each parameter. Tentative object descriptions are then extracted from the pixel-based features by application-specific procedures with knowledge of relevant structures in mammograms. The orientation, relative brightness and shape of the object are obtained by selection of the pixel feature estimates which best describe the object. The list of object descriptions is examined by procedures, where each procedure corresponds to a specific type of suspicious area, e.g. clusters of microcalcifications.
EVALUATION OF STELLATE LESION DETECTION IN A STANDARD MAMMOGRAM DATA SET
Authors: KEGELMEYER W. PHILIP 
Published: November 2004

We have previously reported on a method for the automatic detection of stellate lesions in digitized mammograms, and on our tests of that method on image data with known diagnoses. This earlier investigation was based on a limited set of 10 test images, each with a stellate lesion. As our approach is one of supervised training, half of the data was used as a training set, and so the performance results were necessarily coarse. Accordingly there is value in testing these algorithms on a larger data set that will not only provide more lesions but also truly undiseased tissue. A new mammogram data set addresses both of these concerns, as it contains examples of twelve stellate lesions, as well as fifty examples of entirely normal mammograms. Further, as this data set has been made widely available to all interested researchers, performance results for specific algorithms on this data set are of particular value, as they can be directly compared to the performance of other algorithms similarly applied. Thus the main contribution of the current paper is to exhaustively evaluate the performance of this stellate lesion detection algorithm on the new mammogram data set. A secondary aim is to present a revision of the spatial integration step which generates the final report of a lesion’s existence, one that facilitates the extraction of ROC performance statistics.
BOUNDARY SURFACES AND BASIN BIFURCATIONS IN CHUA'S CIRCUIT
Authors: PIVKA LADISLAV , ŠPÁNY VIKTOR 
Published: November 2004

One of the most important tasks in the analysis of a nonlinear system is to determine its global behavior and, in particular, to delineate the domains of attraction for asymptotically stable solutions. Stable manifolds often act as boundary surfaces between such domains in the state space. In this paper the morphology of boundary surfaces is studied in a single member of Chua's circuit family, although the techniques used apply equally well to many other nonlinear circuits. Of all the PWL circuits known so far which exhibit two stable states it is typical that their resistor characteristics each have at least three segments. Although bistability cannot be achieved via a 2-segment characteristic in the plane, complicated bistable behavior, including chaotic attractors, can occur locally at the boundary of two linear regions in the 3-D Chua's circuit, i.e. bistability is achieved with a minimal number of segments. By using a 3-segment characteristic, at least five attractors can be generated. Basin structure of the corresponding attractors is examined using numerical simulations. Period-adding, symmetry-breaking and remerging bifurcation phenomena are observed experimentally and numerically from an extended Chua's circuit. Dynamical properties of sequential circuits can be investigated by means of switching between the system's attractors, and boundary surfaces play a crucial role in the process of switching. The use of basin delineation in the triggering of multistable circuits is shown.
DISASSEMBLING TWO-DIMENSIONAL COMPOSITE PARTS VIA TRANSLATIONS
Authors: NUSSBAUM DORON , SACK JÖRG-RÜDIGER 
Published: November 2004

This paper deals with the computational complexity of disassembling 2-dimensional composite parts (comprised of M simple n-vertex polygons) via collision-free translations. The first result of this paper is an O(Mn+M log M) algorithm for computing a sequence of translations (performed in a common direction) to disassemble composite parts. The algorithm improves on the O(Mn log Mn) bound previously established for this problem and is easily seen to be optimal. The problem had been posed by Nurmi and by Toussaint. The second result of this paper is an Ω(Mn+M log M) lower bound proof for the problem of detecting whether a composite part can be disassembled, or contains interlocking subparts. Thus, detecting the existence of a disassembly sequence is as hard as computing one. As a consequence, the algorithm for computing a disassembly sequence is optimal also for the detecting problem.
PARTIALLY COMMUTATIVE MAGNUS TRANSFORMATIONS
Authors: DUCHAMP G. , KROB D. 
Published: November 2004

Grâce à l’introduction de la notion de forme exponentielle réduite, nous montrons l’injectivité de la transformation de Magnus associée au groupe partiellement commutatif libre F(A, ϑ). Nous en déduisons la séparation de la topologie p-adique de F(A, ϑ), l’existence de plus petites racines dans F(A, ϑ) et enfin la structure des centralisateurs dans F(A, ϑ). We introduce the notion of reduced exponential form in the free partially commutative group F(A, ϑ). This allows us to prove that the Magnus transformation associated with F(A, ϑ) is injective. We deduce from this result that the p-adic topology on F(A, ϑ) is Hausdorff, that there exist least roots in F(A, ϑ) and finally the exact structure of centralizers in F(A, ϑ).
A METHODOLOGY FOR CREATING AND ADAPTING REACTIVE SYSTEMS
Authors: HENDRIKS A.J. , LYONS D.M. 
Published: November 2004

This article describes a methodology for building integtated planning-reacting systems. The work is based on a formal approach to building the reactive component (the reactor); this allows us to formalize the concept of a planner improving a reactive system. Our novel planner design emphasizes how the planner can use the reactor to focus its reasoning, as well as how the reactor is guided by the planner to improve its behavior. The reactive component (the reactor) uses a process-based model of robot computation, the RS model. This gives us a powerful representation for actions with precise formal semantics. The duty of the planning component (the planner) is to adapt the reactor to suit a set of objectives and the possibilities afforded by the environment. Planner and reactor both operate continually, separately, and in a complementary fashion. The approach is illustrated with a kitting robot domain problem.
UNIVERSAL 2-BRIDGE KNOT AND LINK ORBIFOLDS
Authors: HILDEN HUGH M. , LOZANO MARIA TERESA , MONTESINOS-AMILIBIA JOSÉ MARIA 
Published: November 2004

Let (p/q, n) be the orbifold with cyclic isotropy of order n and with singular set the 2-bridge knot or link p/q where p and q are relatively prime numbers, q is odd, q is less than p, and q is not congruent to ±1 mod p (i.e. p/q is any non toroidal 2-bridge knot or link). We show that the orbifold fundamental group π1(p/q, n) is universal for n any multiple of 12. This means that if Γ is any such group, it can be thought of as a discrete group of hyperbolic isometries of hyperbolic 3-space ℍ3, and then, given any closed, oriented 3-manifold M, there exists a subgroup of finite index G of Γ such that M is homeomorphic to G\ℍ3. Since we have shown elsewhere that the group π1(5/3, 12) is an arithmetic group, it follows that there exists an orbifold, namely (5/3, 12), whose singular set is a knot, the figure eight, and whose fundamental group is both arithmetic and universal.
AUSTRALIAN FRANCHISING: FROM INTERNATIONAL INVASION TO INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
Authors: McCosker Colin F 
Published: November 2004

The purpose of this paper is to review the growth of the franchising sector in Australia, assess the current situation and examine the challenges it faces as it moves into the 21st century. The growth of business format franchising is examined from the early 1970’s when some of the largest U.S. franchisors established themselves in Australia, through the 1980’s when a great number of Australian franchises were commenced and understanding of franchising was growing, until the current situation where the maturity of the sector is evident and increasingly local franchisors are extending their expansion internationally. The current situation is examined, discussing distribution of franchise systems, their performance, the growing trend to international expansion and the changing attitude of government. The roles of franchisors and franchisees are examined, with attention given to data on their plans, behaviour, opinions and concerns. Finally the problems in Australian franchising as identified by a government Franchising Task Force are discussed, together with its conclusions and recommendations which include a scheme for self-regulation by the franchising sector and attention to education and training. Franchising in Australia has achieved considerable growth and maturity. It has developed its own characteristics and now stands independent of the international participants. Instead, it is turning its attention to international expansion while continuing to develop actively its systems within Australia.
PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURS IN CHINA: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY
Authors: SIU WAI-SUM , LIU ZHI-CHAO , TSENG CHOO-SIN 
Published: November 2004

Tan (1987) and Dandridge and Flynn (1988) argue that both internal and external environments favour entrepreneurship development in China. Nevertheless, research studies about Chinese entrepreneurs only select Geteihu —one-man businesses (Tuan et al. 1986), private merchants (Wank, 1990), Xiangzhen Qiye—rural enterprises (Nolan and Dong, 1989), and corporate entrepreneurs (Siu, 1992) as sampling units. Siying Qiyejia, private entrepreneurs or owner-managers, especially those in manufacturing industries and services sectors are neglected. According to the classification of the Chinese government, private enterprises are businesses owned by individuals with 8 or more employees (Young, 1991). (For those below 8, they are classified as one-man business.) They mainly participate in the manufacturing and services sectors (Guo, 1992). This paper attempts to address the imbalance and also adds new insights to the body of knowledge by investigating private entrepreneurs in China. 70 owner-managers in Guangzhou, the business centre in South China, were selected for sampling. In-depth personal interviews with 14 private entrepreneurs were successfully arranged. The problems encountered by private entrepreneurs in China in ranking order are taxation, credit, human resource and growth. They indicate that the major cause for those problems lies in the Chinese government changing policies and regulations in relation to private enterprises too frequently. Most private entrepreneurs use the ‘let-it-be’ approach to handle those problems. However, a small portion of them get around them by establishing joint ventures with overseas investors. Under the joint venture umbrella, they no longer suffer from stringent controls imposed by government officials, but rather, be able to enjoy better investment incentives.
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING BEHAVIOUR IN SMEs IN SINGAPORE/MALAYSIA CONTEXT
Authors: GHOSH B C , LOW AIK-MENG , TAN TECK-MENG , CHAN CHEE-ONN 
Published: November 2004

Strategic planning literature is extensive but how small and medium sized firms (SMEs) behave in response to environmental changes and how they incorporate such changes in their medium to long term plan has been insufficiently studied, in the writers’ view, especially in Singapore/Malaysia context. This research is dedicated towards finding a framework for such analysis and testing such framework in 15 local/regional companies. After an extensive literature review from sources which are both international and local, a fairly lengthy questionnaire was developed. As stated, 15 companies’ chief executives (or in their absence, someone equivalent) were interviewed and at the end of each interview a set of structured questions were asked to be filled in. The whole interview process itself took more than a month. The results have been analysed and highlighted. One main finding is that SMEs continue to be family-centred in a local/regional context especially. Among other findings were the process of information gathering which was chiefly informal, the dominance of CEO-centred management, opportunity-seeking and risk-taking in identifying strategies and finally, the role of the spouse-support. This research is multi-faced and deserves to be further explored. Herein lies its limitation as well as its promise. A research of this nature cannot claim to be fully conclusive and hence its natural incompleteness indicates further research continuation.
Synthesis of Novel Nanocrystals as Fluorescent Sensors for Hg2+ Ions
Authors: Chen Bo , Yu Ying , Zhou Zhentao , Zhong Ping 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
CdTe nanocrystals as fluorescent sensors for Hg2+ ions were synthesized. These nanocrystals were highly sensitive for Hg2+ ions and the selectivity was found to be Hg2+ &gt; Cu2+ &gt; other representative heavy metal ions. Moreover, they bear the following merits. First, they are easily synthesized; second, they have a narrow, tunable, symmetric emission spectrum.
CsOH·H2O-Promoted Synthesis of Aryl Sulfides via Direct Coupling of Aryl Halides and Thiols
Authors: Varala Ravi , Ramu E , Alam M Mujahid , R. Adapa Srinivas 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
We report here our observation that, using appropriate reaction conditions, CsOH·H2O-promoted coupling of aryl halides with thiols can be performed in moderate to good yields without a transition metal catalyst.
A Templated Bimetallic Phosphate Open-structure with 16-MR Channels
Authors: Chen Wei , Zhao Yongnan , Kwon Young-Uk 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
An open-framework bimetallic phosphate was isolated and structurally determined; the linkages of MO4 and PO4 groups form four-membered rings as the secondary building unit, which share their corners forming a chain structure; connecting these chains results 8-, 12-, and 16-MR channels.
Porous/Disk-dual Microelectrode: Preparation and Electrochemical Detection of Methanol Electrooxidation Product at Pt/C Powder Electrocatalyst
Authors: Kashima Kohshi , Umeda Minoru , Yamada Akifumi , Uchida Isamu 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
In this study, we propose a novel porous/disk-dual microelectrode for the electrochemical detection of reaction products/intermediates that originate from methanol electrooxidation at a powder electrocatalyst. We have succeeded in detecting protons as a product of methanol electrooxidation generated at the Pt/C powder for the first time.
TTMPP Catalyzed One-pot Silyl Ketene Acetal–Imine Condensation Route to β-Lactams
Authors: Matsukawa Satoru , Obu Kayoko 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
Highly nucleophilic phosphine, tris(2,4,6-trimethoxy phenyl) phosphine (TTMPP) catalyzes a unique one-pot cyclization reaction between silyl ketene acetal and aldimine, resulting in β-lactam.
Vapor-Phase Dehydrogenation of Methanol to Methyl Formate in Catalytic Membrane Reactor with Pd/SiO2/Ceramic Composite Membrane
Authors: Guo Yanglong , Lu Guanzhong , Mo Xunhua , Wang Yunsong 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
Vapor-phase dehydrogenation of methanol to methyl formate was investigated in the catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) with the Pd/SiO2/ceramic composite membrane prepared by an impregnation method. The studies show that the CMR has much better performance than the fixed-bed reactor, in which no methyl formate is detected under the similar reaction conditions.
Novel Field-effect Transistors Based on Bis(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene) Compounds with a Conjugated Spacer Group
Authors: Morioka Yosuke , Nishida Jun-ichi , Fujiwara Eiichi , Tada Hirokazu , Yamashita Yoshiro 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
Bis(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene) derivatives were used as active layers of organic field-effect transistors and the relationship between the structure and properties was investigated. A compound containing a dihydronaphthothiadiazole unit as a spacer group and the related heterocyclic compounds exhibited clear p-type transistor performances.
Precise Determination of the Atmospheric CF4 Concentration by Using Natural Kr in the Atmosphere as an Internal Reference in the Preconcentration/GC/MS Analysis
Authors: Aoki Nobuyuki , Makide Yoshihiro 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
For the precise determination of CF4 in the atmosphere, the uniformly and constantly existing atmospheric krypton (Kr) was used as an internal reference because of its similar properties and behavior to CF4 during the preconcentration processes and GC/MS analysis. The precision of the concentration measurement normalized with a Kr isotope was remarkably improved (to less than 1%) and the sample amount necessary was largely reduced to about one tenth.
Low-melting, Low-viscous, Hydrophobic Ionic Liquids: N-Alkyl(alkyl ether)-N-methylpyrrolidinium Perfluoroethyltrifluoroborate
Authors: Zhou Zhi-Bin , Matsumoto Hajime , Tatsumi Kuniaki 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
A series of new hydrophobic ionic liquids comprising N-alkyl(alkyl ether)-N-methylpyrrolidinium and perfluoroethyltrifluoroborate were prepared and characterized. The new [C2F5BF3]−-based salts show lower melting points than the corresponding [BF4]−-based ones. Of these new salts, five are liquids at room temperature and show very low viscosities (37–71 cP at 25 °C), high ionic conductivities (3.0–6.8 mScm−1) and wide electrochemical windows.
Novel SiO2 Nanotubes: Synthesis from ZnS Nanowires Templates and Visible Photoluminescence at 615 nm
Authors: Li Yan , Ye Chang-Hui , Zhang Li-De , Fang Xiao-Sheng , Zhang Yu-Gang 
Published: November 2004

Abstract
The novel silica nanotubes with flower-like morphology and hexagonal outer surface morphology were fabricated via a simple ZnS nanowires templates-assisted CVD method. The as-synthesized nanotubes exhibited strong visible photoluminescence at 615 nm and indicated that the method was useful to produce silica nanotubes.
Evolving Out of Violence: An Application of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavioral Change
Authors: Anderson Cheryl 
Published: November 2004

Ending violent relationships can be a difficult and lengthy process. Women use a variety of coping activities, with change generally proceeding in a non-linear direction. Nurses may not recognize this behavior pattern and may expect more from a woman experiencing violence than she is currently able or willing to achieve, thereby hampering change. Studying behavioral patterns of change by women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) was explored through the stages and processes of change conceptually defined within the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Using a Delphi technique, the TTM was tested with four White, professional women reporting past IPV. Original stages and processes of change were reviewed and modified to fit the woman’s experience. Research findings supported the TTM as a useful guide to alert health care professionals of the readiness level of women experiencing IPV and determine effective interventions.