A Mlp-Based Digit And Uppercase Characters Recognition System

A simple software solution for digit and uppercase handwritten characters recognition is presented. The proposed solution is based on a two-layer Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP) trained by a conjugate gradient descent (CGD) optimization algorithm. This neural network is embedded in a software tool for automatic processing of forms achieved using a scanner. The chosen solutions allow us to obtain good results both in terms of recognition rate and speed. In the paper are fully described design details and experimental results.

A Simple Solution for Improving the Effectiveness of Traditional Information Retrieval Systems

In this paper we present a system based on the LSA paradigm to improve the performance of a traditional information retrieval system. The proposed system aims to improve both the recall and the precision capabilities of traditional search engines thanks to a semantic query expansion and a subsequent semantic results filtering. A collection of 650 documents has been used to compare the performances of the proposed system with a traditional search engine. Experimental trials show the effectiveness of the proposed solution

The electron and Occam's razor

This paper introduces a Zitterbewegung (ZBW) model of the electron by applying the principle of Occam’s razor to Maxwell’s equations and by introducing a scalar component in the electromagnetic field. The aim is to explain, by using simple and intuitive concepts, the origin of the electric charge and the electromagnetic nature of mass and inertia. A ZBW model of the electron is also proposed as the best suited theoretical framework to study the structure of Ultra-Dense Deuterium (UDD), the origin of anomalous heat in metal–hydrogen systems and the possibility of existence of “super-chemical” aggregates at Compton scale.

CliffoSor, an innovative FPGA-based architecture for geometric algebra

Refractive index of water-AOT-n-heptane microemulsions

Refractive index measurements on water/AOT/n-heptane microemulsions as a function of the volume fraction ϕ of the dispersed phase (water plus AOT) and of the water/AOT molar ratio R have been performed at 25°C. The refractive index was found to vary monotonically with ϕ without any change in rate during the crossover of the percolation threshold. Such a behavior suggested that, well above the percolation threshold, the water-AOT-n-heptane microemulsions are still formed by water-containing AOT reversed micelles dispersed in the oil phase. The analysis of the experimental data allowed an evaluation the fraction of the water molecules bonded to the AOT head group as a function of R.

Validation of the Italian version of the Devaluation consumers' Scale and the Devaluation Consumers Families Scale

Objectives This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Italian versions of the Devaluation of Consumers Scale (DCS) and the Devaluation of Consumer Families Scale (DCFS), twoshort-scales examining public stigma towards people with mental disorders and their relatives. Methods The scales were administered to 117 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of affective or non-affective psychoses (ICD 10 criteria F20-29, F30-33). Translation procedures were carried out according to accepted standards. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Convergent validity was evaluated in terms of correlation with the Global Functioning Scale (GAF) and with the Qu…

The zitterbewegung interpretation of quantum mechanics as theoretical framework for ultra-dense deuterium and low energy nuclear reactions

This paper introduces a Zitterbewegung model of the electron by applying the principle of Occam's razor to the Maxwell's equations and by introducing a scalar component in the electromagnetic field. The aim is to explain, by using simple and intuitive concepts, the origin of the electric charge and the electromagnetic nature of mass and inertia. The Zitterbewegung model of the electron is also proposed as the best suited theoretical framework to study the structure of Ultra-Dense Deuterium (UDD), the origin of anomalous heat in metal-hydrogen systems and the possibility of existence of "super-chemical" aggregates at Compton scale.

Sub-Symbolic Mapping of Cyc Microtheories in Data-Driven 'Conceptual' Spaces

The presented work aims to combine statistical and cognitive-oriented approaches with symbolic ones so that a conceptual similarity relationship layer can be added to a Cyc KB microtheory. Given a specific microtheory, a LSA-inspired conceptual space is inferred from a corpus of texts created using both ad hoc extracted pages from the Wikipedia repository and the built-in comments about the concepts of the specific Cyc microtheory. Each concept is projected in the conceptual space and the desired layer of sub-symbolic relationships between concepts is created. This procedure can help a user in finding the concepts that are "sub-symbolically conceptually related" to a new concept that he wan…

Web Directories as a Knowledge Base to Build a Multi-Agent System for Information Sharing

. A neural based multi-agent system, exploiting the Web Directories as a Knowledge Base for information sharing and documents retrieval, is presented. The system is based on the E?Net architecture, a neural network capable of learning the activation function of its hidden units and having good generalization capabilities. System goal is to retrieve, among documents shared by a networked community, documents satisfying a query and dealing with a specific topic. The system is composed by four agents: the Trainer Agent, the Neural Classifier Agent, the Interface Agent, and the Librarian Agent. The sub-symbolic knowledge of the Neural Classifier Agent is automatically updated each time a new, n…

Perceived stigma in patients affected by psychosis: Is there an impact on relapse?

Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) considers stigma of mental illness as a crucial problem (WHO, 2001). Stigma contributes to the onset (Morgan et al., 2010) and the outcome of people affected by schizophrenia (Himan, 2015). Objectives To evaluate the perception of patients affected by psychotic disorders of being stigmatized by the community. Aims To compare the perception of stigma among subgroups of patients at different stage of their disorder. Methods Thirty-five patients affected by a first-episode of psychosis (FEP) and 96 patients affected by chronic psychosis were recruited. The Devaluation of Consumers Scale (DCS) and the Devaluation of Consumer Families Scale (DCFS)…

Water structure in water/AOT/n-heptane microemulsions by FT-IR spectroscopy

Abstract FT-IR spectra in the OH stretching region of water/sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT)/n-heptane microemulsions as a function of the water/AOT molar ratio (R) and of the weight fraction (φ) of the micellar phase have been recorded at 25°C. After elimination of the unwanted CH contribution and correction for the water concentration, the shape of the normalized OH bands has been found to be dependent on R and practically independent of φ. The analysis of these bands in terms of “bound” and “bulk” water (representing, as a first approximation, the two water domains within the water pool) allowed the evaluation of the fraction (α) of the “bound” water as a function of R. A…

Using the Hermite Regression Algorithm to Improve the Generalization Capability of a Neural Network

In this paper it is shown that the ability of classification and the ability of approximating a function are correlated to the value (in the training points) of the gradient of the output function learned by the network.

Maxwell’s Equations and Occam’s Razor

In this paper a straightforward application of Occam’s razor principle to Maxwell’s equation shows that only one entity, the electro-magnetic four-potential, is at the origin of a plurality of concepts and entities in physics. The application of the so called “Lorenz gauge” in Maxwell’s equations denies the status of real physical entity to a scalar field that has a gradient in space-time with clear physical meaning: the four-current density field. The mathematical formalism of space-time Clifford algebra is introduced and then used to encode Maxwell’s equations starting only from the electromagnetic four-potential. This approach suggests a particular Zitterbewegung (ZBW) model for charged …

Carte tematiche pubblicate nel libro di Pinzello I., Quartarone C. (2005), La città e i bambini. Per un laboratorio di pianificazione e progettazione urbana, Palumbo Editore, Palermo, ISBN 88-6017-008-7.

Carte tematiche, su Palermo e sul quartiere Borgo Nuovo, elaborate nell'ambito del Laboratorio di Pianificazione Urbana e Territoriale (Corso di laurea in Pianificazione Territoriale Urbanistica e Ambienate (Classe 7) condotto dalla Professoressa Ignazia Pinzello nell'anno accademico 2002-2003). Alcune tavole raccontano il percorso di pianificazione partecipata avviata con i bambini e gli adolescenti del quartiere Borgo Nuovo.