Extracting text from PostScript

We show how to extract plain text from PostScript files. A textual scan is inadequate because PostScript interpreters can generate characters on the page that do not appear in the source file. Furthermore, word and line breaks are implicit in the graphical rendition, and must be inferred from the positioning of word fragments. We present a robust technique for extracting text and recognizing words and paragraphs. The method uses a standard PostScript interpreter but redefines several PostScript operators, and simple heuristics are employed to locate word and line breaks. The scheme has been used to create a full-text index, and plain-text versions, of 40,000 technical reports (34 Gbyte of PostScript). Other text-extraction systems are reviewed: none offer the same combination of robustness and simplicity

Computer generated 3D animated holographic stereograms

This thesis describes the process of creating and displaying a computer generated 3D animated holographic stereogram. The objective of the project was to create a computer generated 3-dimensional model and animate it to perform some action using an animation program. This animated object would then be transferred to holographic film in the form of incremental component views of that object, resulting in a holographic stereogram that displays both parallax as well as animation

Characterization of a Dipole Flow System Using Point Velocity Probes

A direct groundwater velocity measurement tool, the Point Velocity Probe, was developed to measure velocities in the vertical and horizontal directions. The tool was designed and tested in a low-cost laboratory flow-through tank. Following testing, the tool was deployed in the field surrounding a dipole well used to conduct an aquifer tracer test. The velocity data showed some deviations from modeled behavior and was used to characterize the heterogeneity of the aquifer. The results from the flow and transport modeling suggest that the area very close to the well was extremely important to the behavior of tracers in the dipole flow system. Finally, a simple model was developed to optimize hydraulic conductivity using the velocity data with good results

Managing bipolar moods without medication:a qualitative investigation

Objectives Although many diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (BD) choose to manage their moods without medication at some point, their experiences of doing so are not well understood. This paper aims to explore the processes by which people manage bipolar moods without medication. Methods Ten people diagnosed with BD who do not use medication were interviewed. Analysing their accounts using grounded theory methods led to developing a model of how they perceive the processes involved in managing moods without medication. Results Participants engaged in repeated evaluative processes around their strategies for managing moods. Some participants decided not to influence elevated moods due to their perceived advantages. Participants׳ intentions and actions were influenced by their perceptions of themselves and by the meanings they attached to bipolar moods, which were in turn influenced by feedback from others. Conclusions The complexity of the processes described by participants suggests that traditional models of explaining non-adherence may over-simplify some individuals׳ experiences. Future research could focus on identifying factors predictive of successful attempts to manage moods without medication. Professionals should place more emphasis on non-medication approaches in order to increase engagement with people who do not use medication. This may involve focussing on individual׳s longer-term goals rather than on modifying moods in shorter-term. Conclusions are based on participants who had experienced significant bipolar moods, but who largely seemed satisfied living without medication. Limitations Future research should ascertain whether such processes apply to a wider group of individuals who do not use medication for bipolar moods

Excitation spectrum for an inhomogeneously dipole-field-coupled superconducting qubit chain

When a chain of superconducting qubits couples to a coplanar resonator in a cavity, each of its N qubits (equally-spaced with distance l) experiences a different dipole-field coupling strength due to the waveform of the cavity field. We find that this inhomogeneous coupling leads to a pair of l-dependent ladder operators for the angular momentum of the spin chain. Varying the qubit spacing l changes the transition amplitudes between the angular momentum levels. We derive an exact diagonalization of the general N-qubit Hamiltonian and, through the N=4 case, demonstrate how the l-dependent operators lead to a denser one-excitation spectrum and a probability redistribution of the eigenstates. Moreover, it will be shown that the variation of l between its two limiting values coincides with the crossover between Frenkel- and Wannier-type excitons in the superconducting spin chain.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, with 3 appendice

The Effect of Guilt on Altruism in the One-Shot Anonymous Prisoner's Dilemma Game

There exists a wide body of literature suggesting that individuals behave more altruistically in situations that 1) provide an opportunity for reciprocation and 2) are not anonymous. Past research investigating the altruistic functions of induced social emotions have been conducted solely in the context of either iterative and/or face-to-face interactions. As a result, the altruistic behaviors found in these studies cannot be solely attributed to these induced emotions. In light of these past works, the current study compared cooperation rates of individuals following either a guilt or neutral mood induction procedure in an anonymous, one-shot social dilemma (i.e. the prisoner's dilemma). Participants were 120 female undergraduates (60 engaged in a guilt induction procedure and 60 engaged in a neutral mood induction procedure) enrolled at a large university asked to participate in a one-shot social dilemma with a partner that they would never meet. Primary analyses found no evidence regarding group differences in rates of cooperation. Secondary analyses of subjective emotions ratings (i.e. guilt, happiness, sadness, anger, and fear) suggest that generalized negative affect may be associated with decreased rates of cooperation while positive affect may be associated with increase rates of cooperation. Future research investigating the effects of generalized negative and positive affect as well as specifically induced emotions needs to be conducted to further evaluate this suggestion

Arabic complementary schools in England: language and Fundamental British Values

Heritage language education is not included in the national curriculum in England and therefore formal learning and teaching of heritage languages is primarily achieved through complementary schools, which are part-time, community-led and linked to various ethnic and national backgrounds. This study focuses on Arabic complementary schools and explores educational practices for teaching Arabic. The study also explores how pupils and teachers conceptualise, construct and manifest their linguistic and social identity, especially with regard to the context that is informed by the promotion of so-called Fundamental British Values (FBV). Observations are based on data from interviews with pupils, teachers and headteachers from three Arabic complementary schools across England. A qualitative analysis of the data reveals that the schools are strongly commited to tolerance and respect, which are part of the FBV; as well as to inclusivity and community cohesion. The analysis also shows that Arabic plays an important role in the construction of community and linguistic identities in the current political environment of suspicion

Observatory Deployment and Characterization of SAPHIRA HgCdTe APD Arrays

We report the performance of Selex ES' SAPHIRA APD arrays from both laboratory characterization and telescope deployment. The arrays are produced using the MOVPE production method, allowing for solid state engineering and thus produce superior performance to similar liquid phase epitaxy efforts. With an avalanche gain slightly over 50 and read noise of ~9e-, the detectors are easily capable of single-frame sub-electron read noise, and the 32 output readout and flexible windowing allow an excellent readout speed. Gain-corrected dark current/glow is found to be 10-20 e-/s at low bias, and drops below baseline at high avalanche gains. The detectors were also tested on-sky at both IRTF on Maunakea and the 1.5-m telescope at Palomar Observatory, demonstrating that the SAPHIRA is an ideal device for both tip-tilt NGS guiding and infrared lucky imaging, in the latter providing diffraction-limited resolution for the 3-meter IRTF without the benefit of adaptive optics correction

TransNets: Learning to Transform for Recommendation

Recently, deep learning methods have been shown to improve the performance of recommender systems over traditional methods, especially when review text is available. For example, a recent model, DeepCoNN, uses neural nets to learn one latent representation for the text of all reviews written by a target user, and a second latent representation for the text of all reviews for a target item, and then combines these latent representations to obtain state-of-the-art performance on recommendation tasks. We show that (unsurprisingly) much of the predictive value of review text comes from reviews of the target user for the target item. We then introduce a way in which this information can be used in recommendation, even when the target user's review for the target item is not available. Our model, called TransNets, extends the DeepCoNN model by introducing an additional latent layer representing the target user-target item pair. We then regularize this layer, at training time, to be similar to another latent representation of the target user's review of the target item. We show that TransNets and extensions of it improve substantially over the previous state-of-the-art.Comment: Accepted for publication in the 11th ACM Conference on Recommender Systems (RecSys 2017