Multi-Scale Attention with Dense Encoder for Handwritten Mathematical Expression Recognition

Handwritten mathematical expression recognition is a challenging problem due to the complicated two-dimensional structures, ambiguous handwriting input and variant scales of handwritten math symbols. To settle this problem, we utilize the attention based encoder-decoder model that recognizes mathematical expression images from two-dimensional layouts to one-dimensional LaTeX strings. We improve the encoder by employing densely connected convolutional networks as they can strengthen feature extraction and facilitate gradient propagation especially on a small training set. We also present a novel multi-scale attention model which is employed to deal with the recognition of math symbols in different scales and save the fine-grained details that will be dropped by pooling operations. Validated on the CROHME competition task, the proposed method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods with an expression recognition accuracy of 52.8% on CROHME 2014 and 50.1% on CROHME 2016, by only using the official training dataset

Design of Fixed Wideband Beamformer through Improved Maximum Energy Approach

A maximum energy approach is investigated in this paper to design fixed wideband beamformer. This approach has been improved by integrating response variation (RV) into the target function to maintain the frequency invariant property of wideband beamformer over the whole passband. Two methods for designing null to suppress interference signal also have been proposed to make the wideband beamformer robust in complicated environment. Comparisons among other methods are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and enhancement of performance of the new approaches

Acceptability of and barriers to human papillomavirus vaccination in China:A systematic review of the Chinese and English scientific literature

INTRODUCTION: Widespread adoption of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine will require population acceptance and tailoring of immunisation services to community needs and preferences. We examined peer‐reviewed publications on the acceptability of and barriers to the HPV vaccine across China. METHODS: We searched English (MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science) and Chinese (CNKI, VIP, Wanfang data) databases between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2017. We adopted a narrative approach for data synthesis. RESULTS: We identified 73 studies. The overall median acceptability of HPV vaccine was 71.8% (Q1–Q3: 58.6%–81%). Low levels of acceptability (90%) and urban eastern regions (all <35%). Despite these regional variations, common barriers to HPV vaccine acceptance were concerns about vaccine safety, uncertainty over vaccine effectiveness, low perceived risk of cervical cancer and the price of the vaccine. The level of willingness to pay for the HPV vaccine (over 153 US dollars) was very low (<7%). CONCLUSION: The acceptability of and attitudes towards HPV vaccine vary by regions and populations across China. HPV vaccination programmes will need to tailor service delivery as well as information materials to take account of regional concerns

Design of Fixed Wideband Beamformer through Improved Maximum Energy Approach

A maximum energy approach is investigated in this paper to design fixed wideband beamformer. This approach has been improved by integrating response variation (RV) into the target function to maintain the frequency invariant property of wideband beamformer over the whole passband. Two methods for designing null to suppress interference signal also have been proposed to make the wideband beamformer robust in complicated environment. Comparisons among other methods are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and enhancement of performance of the new approaches