Sitka Spruce Quality Estimation using Neural Networks
This paper describes an automated classifier for the 
identification of good wood and knotty wood from 
computer tomography (CT) images of logs. Such a 
system is intended to allow better assessment of saw 
logs before being cut into timber. We describe a new empirical model for the growth of Sitka Spruce (Picea 
Stichensis (Bong, Carr)) whose operation is adapted to 
Irish conditions. The use of Hopfield networks for 2D 
cross-section image reconstruction from CT data 
obtained from the model is investigated. We also used 
a multi-layer feedforward neural network trained with 
fast-backpropagation to identify good wood from 
knotty wood. The Hopfield approach to image 
reconstruction was seen as being unsuitable for 
application with the wood industry. However, the use 
of a feedforward neural network for wood classification produced very promising results when trained on our tree model. It is expected that results from real wood data would be even more accurate.
An artificial neural network for SPECT image reconstruction.
An artificial neural network has been developed to reconstruct quantitative single photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) images. The network is trained with an ideal projection-image pair to learn a shift-invariant weighting (filter) for the projections. Once trained, the network produces weighted projections as a hidden layer when acquired projection data are presented to its input. This hidden layer is then backprojected to form an image as the network output. The learning algorithm adjusts the weighting coefficients using a backpropagation algorithm which minimizes the mean squared error between the ideal training image and the reconstructed training image. The response of the trained network to an impulse projection resembles the ramp filter typically used with backprojection, and reconstructed images are similar to filtered backprojection images.
Authority and Personality in M.M. Bakhtin's "Author and Hero in Aesthetic Activity"
............................................................................................................. iv Dedication .......................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgement ............................................................................................. vii List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................... ix Chapter 1. Art and Life......................................................................1 Chapter 2. Aesthetic Consciousness.......................................................36 Chapter 3. Incarnate Action................................................................69 Chapter 4. The Aesthetic Act of Authoring..............................................97 Chapter 5. Speaking without Fear........................................................132 Chapter 6. Authority and Heroism.......................................................166 Bibliography................................................................................201