International contribution to library and information science in Poland: A bibliometric analysis

This article reports findings from the study of the international contribution to the system of library and information science communication in Poland in the years 2003–2005. The sample consists of articles published both in selected journals and collective works. Two important dimensions determining the internationalization of local scholarly communication are considered: direct contribution (foreign authors’ articles and papers and their translations published in Poland) and indirect contribution (citedness of foreign authors’ documents in articles and papers published in Poland). Bibliographic data about the geographical distribution and affiliation of foreign authors are gathered and analyzed. Furthermore, the findings of citation analysis are presented to determine the percentage share of citations received by foreign documents as well as to find out what is the structure of such citations regarding the language and form, which thematic areas are most replete with such citations and which foreign journals are most cited in Poland.     

Quality assessment for a visual and automatic license plate recognition

Video transmission and analysis is often utilized in applications outside of the entertainment sector, and generally speaking this class of video is used to perform specific tasks. Examples of these applications include security and public safety. The Quality of Experience (QoE) concept for video content used for entertainment differs significantly from the QoE of surveillance video used for recognition tasks. This is because, in the latter case, the subjective satisfaction of the user depends on achieving a given functionality. Recognizing the growing importance of video in delivering a range of public safety services, we focused on developing critical quality thresholds in license plate recognition tasks based on videos streamed in constrained networking conditions. Since the number of surveillance cameras is still growing it is obvious that automatic systems will be used to do the tasks. Therefore, the presented research includes also analysis of automatic recognition algorithms.     

Piecewise-linear subband coding scheme for fast image decomposition

Transform coding methods play a very important role in the development of diverse multimedia technologies. The discrete cosine and wavelet transforms are frequently used in the field of image processing and set up a basis for contemporary image compression standards (JPEG, MPEG). In this paper a novel two-channel piecewise-linear subband coding scheme (PL-SBC) is introduced. Its most important advantage are exceptionally fast and easy for implementation computational algorithms combined with good reconstruction quality. The proposed PL-SBC system is based on the dual filter bank consisting of a single filter at the decomposition stage and a single one at the reconstruction stage. For the presented PL-SBC scheme, the conditions of perfect reconstruction and the piecewise-linear approximation filter bank have been defined. The compression properties of a new subband coding scheme have been analysed for different categories of images and in comparison with well-known signal transforms, such as cosine, piecewise-linear, piecewise-constant and wavelet transforms. The research includes a comparison of the reconstruction error both in objective as well as subjective approach.     

Towards measurable bounds on entanglement measures

While the experimental detection of entanglement provides already quite a difficult task, experimental quantification of entanglement is even more challenging, and has not yet been studied thoroughly. In this paper we discuss several issues concerning bounds on concurrence measurable collectively on copies of a given quantum state. Firstly, we concentrate on the recent bound on concurrence by (Mintert and Buchleitner in Phys Rev Lett 98:140505/1–140505/4, 2007). Relating it to the reduction criterion for separability we provide yet another proof of the bound and point out some possibilities following from the proof which could lead to improvement of the bound. Then, relating concurrence to the generalized robustness of entanglement, we provide a method allowing for construction of lower bounds on concurrence from any positive map (not only the reduction one). All these quantities can be measured as mean values of some two-copy observables. In this sense the method generalizes the Mintert–Buchleitner bound and recovers it when the reduction map is used. As a particular case we investigate the bound obtained from the transposition map. Interestingly, comparison with MB bound performed on the class of ${4\otimes 4}While the experimental detection of entanglement provides already quite a difficult task, experimental quantification of entanglement is even more challenging, and has not yet been studied thoroughly. In this paper we discuss several issues concerning bounds on concurrence measurable collectively on copies of a given quantum state. Firstly, we concentrate on the recent bound on concurrence by (Mintert and Buchleitner in Phys Rev Lett 98:140505/1–140505/4, 2007). Relating it to the reduction criterion for separability we provide yet another proof of the bound and point out some possibilities following from the proof which could lead to improvement of the bound. Then, relating concurrence to the generalized robustness of entanglement, we provide a method allowing for construction of lower bounds on concurrence from any positive map (not only the reduction one). All these quantities can be measured as mean values of some two-copy observables. In this sense the method generalizes the Mintert–Buchleitner bound and recovers it when the reduction map is used. As a particular case we investigate the bound obtained from the transposition map. Interestingly, comparison with MB bound performed on the class of 4?4{4\otimes 4} rotationally invariant states shows that the new bound is positive in regions in which the MB bound gives zero. Finally, we provide measurable upper bounds on the whole class of concurrences.     

Hydrogen Evolution on Binary and Ternary Cobalt Alloys Deposited With Superimposed Magnetic Field

The article presents results of electrodeposition of Co-Mo Co-Mo-C alloys in a magnetic field characterized by low overvoltage of hydrogen evolution.Addition of molybdenum and carbon was to lower the values of overvoltage of hydrogen evolution on cobalt.The influence of bath pH,bath composite,current density and magnetic field with different orientation on the deposits composition,structure and overpotential for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)was determined.Electrocatalytic properties of the obtained alloy coatings within the range of hydrogen evolution were tested in a concentrated NaOH solution.The comparison of electrocatalytic properties of Co-Mo alloys with properties of Co-Mo-C ones enabled determining the influence of carbon presence in cathodic deposits on the overpotential values for hydrogen evolution.     

The Mutual Correlation of Glucose,Starch, and Beta-Glucan Release During Microwave Heating and Antioxidant Activity of Oat Water Extracts

Starch and beta-glucan are most abundant carbohydrate polymers available in oat products; however, their simultaneous release during extraction depends on morphological and processing conditions of raw material. The study analyzes the mutual correlation between the sample (oat flakes and bran) and treatment types (microwave heating (MW)—1–5 min; conventional heating (CH)—7 min) on water extract properties focusing on beta-glucan, starch, and glucose content as well as the antioxidant activity of water extracts. The strong negative partial coefficient correlation was found between solids-starch (??0.65) and starch-glucose (??0.89) content as well as DPPH (??0.66) antioxidant activity in oat flakes revealing the high release of glucose to the water phase and its prooxidant activity. For the oat bran, positive and very high partial coefficient was found for both glucose (0.98) and beta-glucan (0.98) content in solids while the mutual interaction between them was highly negative (??0.97), meaning the more beta-glucan, the less glucose in the water phase.     

Effect of ageing automotive gear oils on scuffing and pitting

The aim of this work is to compare automotive gear oils of different performance levels (API GL) from the point of view of their resistance to degradation due to ageing. The influence of the gear oil degradation on scuffing and rolling contact fatigue (pitting) has been assessed. Two automotive gear oils of API GL-3 and GL-5 performance levels were tested. They were contaminated with dust, water and oxidation residues.It has been concluded that from the point of view of the resistance to scuffing the most dangerous contaminant is water. For the resistance to rolling contact fatigue the most dangerous are dust and water. In general, GL-5 oils are less vulnerable to deterioration due to ageing than GL-3 oils.