Inconsistent Characters Research Articles

Novel Deep Learning Application: Recognizing Inconsistent Characters on Pharmaceutical Packaging

Background Machine vision faces significant challenges when applied to text recognition on cardboard packaging particularly due to multiple printing methods, irregular character shapes, and curved packaging surfaces. Methods This research introduces a novel deep learning application for recognizing binarized expiration date and batch code characters printed using multiple printing methods. The method, based on Region-based Convolutional Neural Networks (R-CNN), enables character recognition directly from in the images without the need for extracting handcrafted features. In detail, this approach performs character recognition by using the whole image as input, extracting and learning salient character features directly from the packaging surface images. Results The R-CNN model, with a precision of 91.1% and an F1 score of 80.9%, effectively recognizes manufacturing markings on pharmaceutical packages, with inconsistencies in the characters’ shapes. In a comparative experiment using the same dataset of images, the R-CNN model significantly outperformed Tesseract OCR, achieving much higher precision, recall, and F1 scores. Conclusions The results of this study reveal that the deep learning method outperforms the well-established optical character recognition method in recognizing text characters printed with different printing methods. Presented in this study, the deep learning method recognizes text characters with high precision. It is also suitable for recognizing text printed on curved surfaces, provided proper preprocessing is applied. The problem investigated in the study differs from previous research in the field, focusing on the recognition of texts printed with different printing methods. The research thus fills a gap in text recognition that existed in the research of the field. Furthermore, the study presents new ideas that will be utilized in our future research.

Seeking the neural representation of statistical properties in print during implicit processing of visual words

Statistical learning (SL) plays a key role in literacy acquisition. Studies have increasingly revealed the influence of distributional statistical properties of words on visual word processing, including the effects of word frequency (lexical level) and mappings between orthography, phonology, and semantics (sub-lexical level). However, there has been scant evidence to directly confirm that the statistical properties contained in print can be directly characterized by neural activities. Using time-resolved representational similarity analysis (RSA), the present study examined neural representations of different types of statistical properties in visual word processing. From the perspective of predictive coding, an equal probability sequence with low built-in prediction precision and three oddball sequences with high built-in prediction precision were designed with consistent and three types of inconsistent (orthographically inconsistent, orthography-to-phonology inconsistent, and orthography-to-semantics inconsistent) Chinese characters as visual stimuli. In the three oddball sequences, consistent characters were set as the standard stimuli (probability of occurrence p = 0.75) and three types of inconsistent characters were set as deviant stimuli (p = 0.25), respectively. In the equal probability sequence, the same consistent and inconsistent characters were presented randomly with identical occurrence probability (p = 0.25). Significant neural representation activities of word frequency were observed in the equal probability sequence. By contrast, neural representations of sub-lexical statistics only emerged in oddball sequences where short-term predictions were shaped. These findings reveal that the statistical properties learned from long-term print environment continues to play a role in current word processing mechanisms and these mechanisms can be modulated by short-term predictions.

Re-evaluating the Systematics of Dendrolycopodium Using Restriction-Site Associated DNA-Sequencing.

The genus Dendrolycopodium (Lycopodiaceae) includes four to five species across North America and East Asia. Species identification in Dendrolycopodium is difficult due to limited or inconsistent characters. In addition, plants with intermediate morphologies regularly occur, potentially indicative of interspecific hybridization. To determine the species relationships in Dendrolycopodium and investigate the existence of hybrids, we generated a draft genome assembly for D. obscurum and carried out double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADSeq) on 86 Dendrolycopodium specimens. Our sampling includes all the described species and 11 individuals with intermediate morphology. We find that the genus can be divided into four clades that largely correspond to the described taxa, as well as evidence of interspecific hybridization. Within these clades, our STRUCTURE analysis suggests that there are multiple finer subgroups, with evidence of hybridization and introgression between these subgroups. Given the limited availability of specimens collected from Asia, the status of the various Asian species remains uncertain and will require further study. In summary, our study confirms several hybrid relationships in Dendrolycopodium and provides a clear phylogenetic framework for future taxonomic revision.

The formation and role of the SiO2 oxidation layer in the 4H-SiC/β-Ga2O3 interface

Although 4H-SiC has been regarded as an excellent substrate for the epitaxial growth of β-Ga2O3, an additional oxidation layer could be formed at the substrate during the high temperature growth process. First-principles calculations were employed to investigate the formation and role of the oxidation layer, which was vital for fabricating high quality β-Ga2O3. Through inserting O atoms and emitting CO molecules, the 4H-SiC substrate was spontaneously oxidized, and the oxidation site and process were dependent of the substrate termination. Such inconsistent characters disappeared for the 4H-SiC/β-Ga2O3 interface, and the SiO2 tetrahedron was preferably formed at all the 4H-SiC/β-Ga2O3 interfaces. Moreover, the 4H-SiC/β-Ga2O3 interfaces with Si-terminations and OGa1-termiantions were easier oxidized due to the lower migration energies of O atoms, in particular the O1 atoms. In addition, the oxidization layer accumulated abundant electrons at the SiO2/β-Ga2O3 contact region and turned the type-I band alignment for 4H-SiC/β-Ga2O3 interface into the type-II band alignment, which might be useful to the charge transport of electronic device. However, many interfacial gap states were introduced into the band gaps of 4H-SiC/β-Ga2O3 interfaces, which were harmful to the optoelectronic device.

The Interaction Between Phonological and Semantic Processing in Reading Chinese Characters.

The contemporary models of visual word recognition reached a consensus on a cooperative division of labor between phonological and semantic processing. We examine how reading is influenced by the interaction of two processing in Chinese character reading since the ideographic property of the Chinese writing system is perfectly suitable to address this issue. The current study investigated whether Chinese character reading requires the interaction between orthography-to-phonology consistency and semantic processing of the whole character (imageability, Experiment 1) or the semantic radical (transparency, Experiment 2). Experiment 1 showed a significant effect of the consistency and a marginal effect of the imageability, but no interaction between the two. Experiment 2 found a significant effect of the semantic transparency and its interaction with phonological consistency, where the transparent effect was significant for inconsistent characters but not for consistent ones. The current finding provided direct evidence of the interplay between phonological and semantic processing and shed light on the language-general reading model.

Synthetic duration curve method for the design of the lowest navigable water level with inconsistent characters in dry seasons

Under the influence of both global climate change and frequent human activities, the variability of second-moment in hydrological time series become obvious, indicating changes in the consistency of hydrological data samples. Therefore, the traditional hydrological series analysis methods, which only consider the variability of mean values, are not suitable for handling all hydrological non-consistency problems. Traditional synthetic duration curve methods for the design of the lowest navigable water level, based on the consistency of samples, would cause more risks to navigation, especially under low water level in dry seasons. Here, we detected both mean variation and variance variation using the hydrological variation diagnosis system. Furthermore, combing the principle of decomposition and composition of time series, we proposed the synthetic duration curve method for designing the lowest navigable water level with inconsistent characters in dry seasons. With the Yunjinghong Station in the Lancang River Basin as an example, we analyzed its designed water levels in the present, the distant past and the recent past, as well as the differences among three situations (i.e., considering second moment variation, only considering mean variation, not considering any variation). Results showed that variability of the second moment changed the trend of designed water levels alteration in the Yunjinghong Station. When considering the first two moments or just considering the mean variation, the difference ofdesigned water levels was as bigger as -1.11 m. When considering the first two moments or not, the difference of designed water levels was as bigger as -1.01 m. Our results indicated the strong effects of variance variation on the designed water levels, and highlighted the importance of the second moment variation analysis for the channel planning and design.

Gene method for inconsistent hydrological frequency calculation. 2: Diagnosis system of hydrological genes and method of hydrological moment genes with inconsistent characters

The analysis of inconsistent hydrological series is one of the major problems that should be solved for engineering hydrological calculation in changing environment. In this study, the diffe-rences of non-consistency and non-stationarity were analyzed from the perspective of composition of hydrological series. The inconsistent hydrological phenomena were generalized into hydrological processes with inheritance, variability and evolution characteristics or regulations. Furthermore, the hydrological genes were identified following the theory of biological genes, while their inheritance bases and variability bases were determined based on composition of hydrological series under diffe-rent time scales. To identify and test the components of hydrological genes, we constructed a diagnosis system of hydrological genes. With the P-3 distribution as an example, we described the process of construction and expression of the moment genes to illustrate the inheritance, variability and evolution principles of hydrological genes. With the annual minimum 1-month runoff series of Yunjinghong station in Lancangjiang River basin as an example, we verified the feasibility and practicability of hydrological gene theory for the calculation of inconsistent hydrological frequency. The results showed that the method could be used to reveal the evolution of inconsistent hydrological series. Therefore, it provided a new research pathway for engineering hydrological calculation in changing environment and an essential reference for the assessment of water security.

Exploring orthographic neighborhood size effects in a computational model of Chinese character naming

Orthographic neighborhood (N) size effects have been extensively studied in English consistently producing a facilitatory effect in word naming tasks. In contrast, several recent studies on Chinese character naming have demonstrated an inhibitory effect of neighborhood size. Response latencies tend to be inhibited by inconsistent characters with large neighborhoods relative to small neighborhoods. These differences in neighborhood effects between languages may depend on the characteristics (depth) of the mapping between orthography and phonology. To explore this, we first conducted a behavioral experiment to investigate the relationship between neighborhood size, consistency and reading response. The results showed an inhibitory effect of neighborhood size for inconsistent characters but a facilitatory effect for consistent characters. We then developed two computational models based on parallel distributed processing principles to try and capture the nature of the processing that leads to these results in Chinese character naming. Simulations using models based on the triangle model of reading indicated that consistency and neighborhood size interact with the division of labor between semantics and phonology to produce these effects.

An ERP study of effects of regularity and consistency in delayed naming and lexicality judgment in a logographic writing system.

Phonological access is an important component in theories and models of word reading. However, phonological regularity and consistency effects are not clearly separable in alphabetic writing systems. We investigated these effects in Chinese, where the two variables are operationally distinct. In this orthographic system, regularity is defined as the congruence between the pronunciation of a complex character (or phonogram), and that of its phonetic radical, while phonological consistency indexes the proportion of orthographic neighbors that share the same pronunciation as the phonogram. In the current investigation, regularity and consistency were contrasted in an event-related potential (ERP) study using a lexical decision (LD) task and a delayed naming (DN) task with native Chinese readers. ERP results showed that effects of regularity occurred early after stimulus onset and were long-lasting. Regular characters elicited larger N170, smaller P200, and larger N400 compared to irregular characters. In contrast, significant effects of consistency were only seen at the P200 and consistent characters showed a greater P200 than inconsistent characters. Thus, both the time course and the direction of the effects indicated that regularity and consistency operated under different mechanisms and were distinct constructs. Additionally, both of these phonological effects were only found in the DN task and absent in LD, suggesting that phonological access was non-obligatory for LD. The study demonstrated cross-language variability in how phonological information was accessed from print and how task demands could influence this process.

Contribution to the taxonomy of Gryllus Linnaeus, 1758 in South America: Part I: Redescription of Gryllus argentinus Saussure, 1874 (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Gryllidae)

The genus Gryllus includes 82 described species that occur in America from Canada to Argentina as well as in several areas of Africa, Europe and Asia. There are 12 species in South America, which were described in the nineteenth century based on a small number of samples and inconsistent characters such as body coloration and external morphology. The aim of this article is to redescribe Gryllus argentinus Saussure, 1874 collected in the urban areas of Pelotas, Capão do Leão and Rio Grande, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, highlighting phallic sclerites, calling song and body morphometry. We designate the lectotype male, provide a combination of diagnostic characteristics and discuss the taxonomic situation of South American Gryllus species.

Neuronal correlates of consistency and frequency effects on Chinese character naming: an event-related fMRI study

This event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (efMRI) study aims to investigate the central representations of Chinese orthography-to-phonology transformation (OPT) by simultaneously manipulating character frequency and consistency. Bilateral inferior frontal cortices (including Broca's area and insula), the left temporoparietal region (superior parietal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus), and the left temporal-occipital junction showed greater activation, especially in low-frequency conditions, when naming inconsistent characters as compared to consistent ones. These findings suggest that these regions are involved in the sublexical conversion of orthographic input into phonological codes in naming Chinese. The similar activation pattern found in these three regions suggests a distributed process, rather than separate neural routes, for lexical and sublexical OPT. In addition, the regions involved in Chinese OPT are congruent with the findings for reading alphabetic scripts and indicate that the neuronal mechanisms for orthography-to-phonology transformation is domain universal across different writing systems.

Consistency of personality in interactive characters: verbal cues, non-verbal cues, and user characteristics

This study examined whether people would interpret and respond to verbal (text) and non-verbal cues (posture) of personality in interactive characters just as they interpret cues from a person. In a balanced, between-subjects experiment (N=40), introverted and extroverted participants were randomly paired with one of two types of consistent computer characters: (1) matched participants' personality with both verbal and non-verbal cues or (2) completely mismatched the participant, or one of two types of inconsistent characters: (3) matched with verbal cues but not with non-verbal cues or (4) matched with non-verbal but not with verbal cues. Participants accurately identified the character's personality type in their assessment of its verbal and non-verbal cues. Preference was for consistent characters, regardless of participant personality. Consistent characters also had greater influence over peoples' behavior—interaction with consistent characters led to greater changes in people's answers than interaction with inconsistent characters. Finally, contrary to previous research, participants tended to prefer a character whose personality was complementary, rather than similar, with their own. This study demonstrates the importance of orchestrating the overall set of cues that an interactive computer character presents to the computer user, and emphasizes the need for consistency among these cues.