A Review of “ Microwave Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere”. Edited by A. JANSSEN, (Chichester: Wiley, 1993.) [Pp. 572.] Price £79.

This Letter presents an adapiive contexiual filler, developed by Ihe addition of a heterogeneity rule and a confidence rule to The conventional majority filter. Experiments have been carried out using a Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image. Results show that the adaptive majority filter has a capability of reducing the classification errors due to spectrally mixed pixels and preserves The connection of thin features. The proposed filler needs only a moderate increase in processing time compared with the conventional majority filter.     

Recording of concave diffraction gratings in counterpropagating beams using meniscus blanks

The most technological way of recording blazed concave holographic gratings is by using the direct- and back-reflected beams. Usually plano-concave blanks are used for diffraction grating fabrication. To compensate the refraction at the plane back surface of the blank, one has to use additional elements or two-step recording mountings. Another solution is to use diffraction grating blanks having zero optical power. A number of gratings with different groove frequencies have been fabricated using concave—convex blanks. The theoretical investigation of the aberration properties of the recording mountings, and the experimental study of the grating properties are discussed. Using the CODE V program it is shown that a significant reduction in the aberration size of the virtual recording source can be achieved by optimization of the radius of curvature of the blank back surface. The experimental results confirm the possibility of achieving gratings that can be used in flat-field spectrometers with a limit of resolution of about 2–3 nm even in the case where an aberrated virtual recording source is used.     

Legal modeling and automated reasoning with ON-LINE

In this paper we present a modeling approach to legal knowledge systems and its computational realization in the ON-LINE architecture. ON-LINE has modules for modeling legal sources, for storing and retrieving legal information and for reasoning with legal knowledge. The approach takes two perspectives: domain and task. In the domain perspective, a core ontology divides legal knowledge into five major categories: normative, world, responsibility, reactive and creative. For the normative knowledge, which is most typical of legal domains, we developed a new representation and inference formalisms which are an alternative to deontic logic. For the world knowledge, we argue for using a terminological knowledge representation language. The structure of the ontology is not a taxonomy, but a network of dependencies between the categories. These dependencies reflect the global structure of arguments in legal reasoning. In the task perspective, we followed a top-down approach using the CommonKADS modeling library. Design, planning and assessment were identified as typical tasks in the legal domain. For assessment, a model was specified and implemented.     

Elastic Properties of Polycrystalline Ytterbium Oxide

The sonic resonance technique was used to determine the elastic moduli of polycrystalline Yb₂O₃ samples of rectangular cross section ranging in pore fraction from 0.058 to 0.27 at temperatures from 25° to 1000°C. The data showed that the Young's and shear moduli are best related to pore fraction by a linear equation and to temperature by the Wachtman equation. The Debye temperature for Yb₂O₃ was calculated from the Young's and shear moduli to be 385°K.     

宽带通信系统与可配置平台

宽带通信已进入重大变革时期。随着信道密度 和每个信道处理性能的增加,使得大多数产 品的结构显得过时。演变中的市场和多种标准, 要求设备生产商增加系统软件的可编程性。网络 处理器和新的数字信号处理器(DSP)已开始瞄 准已有通信链路中的局部解决方案,但主要的瓶 颈依然存在。最新出现的解决方案是可配置平台, 它能提供多处理、指令级并行性和适应特定范围 要求的灵活性。 迅速变化的标准和市场条件,连同需要在整 个通信架构中保持稳定的设备环境,促使人们对 宽带通信领域采用宽范围可…     

Influence of Journal Speed and Load on the Static Operating Characteristics of a Tilting-Pad Journal Bearing with Ball-and-Socket Pivots

Results are described for experiments aimed at determining the effects of increased speed and load on ball-and-socket pivots in tilting-pad journal bearings. Experimental measurements of journal static operating position were made for a 70-mm (2.75-in.), five-pad tilting-pad journal bearing with ball-and-socket pivots. Testing consisted of journal rotational speeds from 1650 to 7840 rpm and bearing static loads as high as 4.45 kN (1000 lbs). These speeds and loads were sufficient to attain a range of heat generation and pivot thermal growths. Results showed that at low speeds substantial cross-coupling effects were present. However, with increased heat generation at elevated speeds and loads, these cross-coupling effects were significantly reduced.     

ZONING AND LAND USE: A TALE OF INCOMPATIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IN EARLY PHOENIX

Little attention has been paid to the role of early land use institutions in development patterns, the creation of disamenity zones of environmental injustice, and the promotion of space‐consuming suburban development. This study uses historic Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and spatial analytic techniques to expose zoning's tendency to spread disamenities and disperse incompatible land uses in early Phoenix. While on paper Euclidean zoning's stratification of land uses in Phoenix promotes progressive ideals for reduction of blight and improvement of city health, analysis at a finer scale using Sanborn maps reveals that zoning decisions in Phoenix tended to promote the expansion of fragmented land uses, especially disamenity zones that targeted poor minority neighborhoods. Zoning encouraged the expansion of industry while attracting residents to newly developed suburbs with guaranteed protection from blight.     

NEIGHBORHOODS,RACE, AND HEALTH: EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRESS AND BIRTH OUTCOMES IN PITTSBURGH

One of the major challenges in researching neighborhoods and birth outcomes today concerns access to neighborhood‐level data. The present study combines local data from the Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System with data from the national American Community Survey to examine the relationship between adverse birth outcomes (i.e., low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant mortality) and neighborhood distress. We examine racial differences in neighborhood distress using the census‐based measure of socioeconomic disadvantage as well as measures of abandonment from local data sources, including vacancy, violence, tax delinquency, property sales, and property conditions. Results reveal significant differences in neighborhood distress by race for every aspect examined. Furthermore, findings show that abandonment‐related measures explain a substantial portion of variation in adverse birth outcomes, with tax delinquency explaining more variation than socioeconomic disadvantage. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research and for strategies to reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes.