Measurements of Luminescence from Cleaved Silicon

This paper outlines the results from experiments performed to gain further information about the structure and properties of cleaved silicon surfaces, using vacuum cleavage luminescence detection methods. The experiments involved detecting the luminescence produced by cleaving thin silicon plates within a high vacuum, by a process of converting the luminescence to an amplified electrical signal.Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions (http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions

Firearm forensics based on ballistics cartridge case image segmentation using colour invariants

Ballistics firearm identification based on image processing is of paramount importance in criminal investigation. The efficiency of traditional ballistics imaging system is heavily dependent upon the expertise and experience of end-user. An intelligent ballistics imaging system is highly demanded to address this issues. The segmentation of cartridge case object from the original image is a key step to subsequent process. It is very difficult to segment cartridge case from the original image using traditional threshold based methods due to the shadows or unlimited environments to acquire image. In this paper, we proposed a novel approach based upon the colour invariant and geometrical shape of objects. The experimental results show the proposed method can precisely segment the objects in various images such as heavy shadow, low contrast, uneven illumination etc

Australian firearm identification system based on the ballistics images of projectile specimens

Charactetistic markings on the cartridge case and projectile of a fired bullet are created when it is fired. Over thirty different features within these marks can be distinguished, which in combination produce a fingerprint for a firearm. By analyzing features within such a set of fireann :fingerprints, it will be possible to identify not only the type and model of a fireann, but also each every individual weapon as effectively as human :fingerprint identification. A new analytic system based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) for identifying the projectile specimens by the line-scan imaging technique is proposed in this paper. Experimental results show that the proposed system can be used for firearm identification efficiently and precisely through digitizing and analyzing the fired projectiles specimens

Ballistics Image Processing and Analysis for Firearm Identification

Firearm identification is an intensive and time-consuming process that requires physical interpretation of forensic ballistics evidence. Especially as the level of violent crime involving firearms escalates, the number of firearms to be identified accumulates dramatically. The demand for an automatic firearm identification system arises. This chapter proposes a new, analytic system for automatic firearm identification based on the cartridge and projectile specimens. Not only do we present an approach for capturing and storing the surface image of the spent projectiles at high resolution using line-scan imaging technique for the projectiles database, but we also present a novel and effective FFT-based analysis technique for analyzing and identifying the projectiles

Firearm identification with hierarchical neural networks by analyzing the firing pin images retrieved from cartridge cases

When a gun is fired, characteristic markings on the cartridge and projectile of a bullet are produced. Over thirty different features can be distinguished from observing these marks, which in combination produce a fingerprint for identification of a firearm. ln this paper, through the use of hierarchial neural networks a firearm identification system based on cartridge case images is proposed. We focus on the cartridge case identification of rim-fire mechanism. Experiments show that the model proposed has high performance and robustness by integrating two levels Self- Organizing Feature Map (SOFM) neural networks and the decision-making strategy. This model will also make a significant contribution towards the further processing, such as the more efficient and precise identification of cartridge cases by combination with more characteristics on cartridge cases image

An artificial intelligence deep learning platform achieves high diagnostic accuracy for Covid-19 pneumonia by reading chest X-ray images

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (Covid-19) causes deadly lung infections (pneumonia). Accurate clinical diagnosis of Covid-19 is essential for guiding treatment. Covid-19 RNA test does not reflect clinical features and severity of the disease. Pneumonia in Covid-19 patients could be caused by non-Covid-19 organisms and distinguishing Covid-19 pneumonia from non-Covid-19 pneumonia is critical. Chest X-ray detects pneumonia, but a high diagnostic accuracy is difficult to achieve. We develop an artificial intelligence-based (AI) deep learning method with a high diagnostic accuracy for Covid-19 pneumonia. We analyzed 10,182 chest X-ray images of healthy individuals, bacterial pneumonia. and viral pneumonia (Covid-19 and non-Covid-19) to build and test AI models. Among viral pneumonia, diagnostic accuracy for Covid-19 reaches 99.95%. High diagnostic accuracy is also achieved for distinguishing Covid-19 pneumonia from bacterial pneumonia (99.85% accuracy) or normal lung images (100% accuracy). Our AI models are accurate for clinical diagnosis of Covid-19 pneumonia by reading solely chest X-ray images

Liquid-liquid phase equilibria for the ternary (neopentyl glycol + sodium formate + water) system

ABSTRACT. Liquid–liquid equilibrium data and the phase diagrams were measured for the ternary (neopentyl glycol + sodium formate + water) system at various temperatures of 303.15, 313.15 and 323.15 K. The effect of temperature on the conjugate phase and the tie-line length of the investigated system have been studied. The results showed that the length of the tie-line increases and the two-phase area was slightly increased by decreasing temperature. The fitting parameters of the Pirdashti and Merchuk equations were obtained with the temperature dependence expressed in the linear form, respectively. Compared with the Pirdashti equation, the binodal curves were satisfactorily described using the Merchuk equation at T = (303.15, 313.15 and 323.15) K, and the critical points at different temperatures were estimated by extrapolation. Furthermore, the Hand, Othmer-Tobias and Bachman models were used for the correlation of the phase behavior of the studied system. According to the reported correlation coefficients values, it was found that the measured tie-line data have acceptable consistency and the better fitness was with Othmer-Tobias equation.     KEY WORDS: Liquid–liquid equilibrium, Neopentyl glycol, Phase diagram, Merchuk Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2022, 36(4), 915-922.                                                            DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v36i4.1

Proceedings of the Sixth International Workshop for Applied PKC (IWAP2007)

IWAP2007 will be the sixth of a series of successful international workshops with focus on research and engineering issues of the applied aspects of public key cryptosystems. The inaugural IWAP event was held in Korea in 2001, and was subsequently held in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively in Taipei, Japan, Singapore and China. The IWAP2003 was cancelled due to the SARS breakout. Theoreticians and practitioners interested in the applied issues of PKC were encouraged to participate and contribute to the continuous success of the IWAP workshop series. The host of the IWAP2007 is Edith Cowan University. It is my pleasure to have the opportunity to chair the IWAP conference in Perth, Australia in 2007. Security is well recognized as a most important issue in e-commerce applications and national security systems while Public Key Cryptosystem (PKC) is widely accepted to be a key mechanism in secure application systems. As such, infrastructures that facilitate the management and deployment of public key cryptosystems have received much attention from the security community. Authorities and regulators have spent a lot of effort standardizing PKC-related standards and enacting legislations for recognizing PKC in business transactions. However, in reality, due to systems issues and engineering considerations, the adoption of PKC has not been as pervasive as the security community anticipated while high sensitivity application systems remain as vulnerable as they used to be. The theme of this workshop is to provide a forum for discussing the systems and engineering aspects of security systems that make use of PKC as a basic security mechanism. It\u27s observed that, over the past few years, there have been a growing number of critical application areas (such as the new generation travel documents by ICAO and payment cards by EMV) rely on the presence of some well-designed, well-engineered PKC. While there are existing venues for promoting theoretical aspects of PKC, IWAP 2007 aims to provide a platform for researchers to exchange ideas on applied aspects of PKC, and to stimulate further researchers to innovating and/or important applications of PKC as well as systems and engineering aspects for PKC deployment in a large complex environment. There are 21 selected papers included in the proceedings. 13 of them are from Australian universities such as ECU, ANU, Deakin and James Cook University. Others are from 8 different countries including USA, Germany, China, Korea, Japan, Ukraine, Iran, and India. Although the conference is small in size it is really an international one. The conference will be opened by Prof Tony Watson, General Co-Chair and Pro Vice Chancellor, and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Health and Sciences, Edith Cowan University. Participants from ten countries will deliver many outstanding presentations over two intense days. The papers in the Proceedings are ordered according to the original program sessions and their corresponding themes. All the papers included in the proceedings have been peer reviewed in full by at least two independent reviewers selected from the international program committee

Scd1 plays a tumor-suppressive role in survival of leukemia stem cells and the development of chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is derived from a stem cell, and it is widely accepted that the existence of leukemia stem cells (LSCs) is one of the major reasons for the relapse of CML treated with kinase inhibitors. Key to eradicating LSCs is to identify genes that play a critical role in survival regulation of these stem cells. Using BCR-ABL-induced CML mouse model, here we show that expression of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (Scd1) gene is downregulated in LSCs and that Scd1 plays a tumor-suppressive role in LSCs with no effect on the function of normal hematopoietic stem cells. Deletion of Scd1 causes acceleration of CML development and conversely overexpression of Scd1 delays CML development. In addition, using genetic approaches, we show that Pten, p53, and Bcl2 are regulated by Scd1 in LSCs. Furthermore, we find that induction of Scd1 expression by a PPARγ agonist suppresses LSCs and delays CML development. Our results demonstrate a critical role for Scd1 in functional regulation of LSCs, providing a new anti-LSC strategy through enhancing Scd1 activity