Responses of some landscape trees to the drought and high temperature events during 2006 and 2007 in Yamaguchi,Japan

Extreme weather events were analyzed based on the meteorological data from the year of 1967 to 2007 for Yamaguchi, Japan. The responses from landscape trees were also investigated mainly by the analysis of image pixel and spectral reflectance. Results show that after the dry, hot and windy summer in 2007, many landscape trees in Yamaguchi City tended to respond the extreme weather events by reducing their leaf surface area and receiving less radiation energy. Premature leaf discoloration or defoliation appeared on some landscape tree species and leaf necrosis occurred on tip and margin of many Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) trees at unfavorable sites. Described by image pixel analysis method, the leaf necrotic area percentage (LNAP) of sampled dogwood trees averaged 41.6% and the sampled Sasanqua camellia (Camelia sasanqua) tree also showed fewer flowers in flower season of 2007 than that in 2006. By differential analysis of partial discolored crown, it presented a logistic differential equation of crown color for sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) trees. It suggested that the persistent higher temperature and lower precipitation could be injurious to the sensitive landscape trees at poor sites, even in relative humid area like Yamaguchi.

From 2D to 3D GIS for CyberCity

In order to understand the 3D landscape with many h igh buildings in a city, the 2D GIS has to be extended to 3D GIS. The further de velopment of CyberCity has to include various applications of 3D scenes from the outdoor scenes to the indoor ones. In thispaper, some key techniques, such as data management method and dynamicalvisualization method for the outdoor and the indoor scenes, are discussed.The indoor scene is compared with the outdoor one. The idea of integratedrepresentation of the outdoor and the indoor scenes in CyberCity GIS is discusse d.

A learning-based method to detect and segment text from scene images

This paper proposes a learning-based method for text detection and text segmentation in natural scene images. First, the input image is decomposed into multiple connected-components (CCs) by Niblack clustering algorithm. Then all the CCs including text CCs and non-text CCs are verified on their text features by a 2-stage classification module, where most non-text CCs are discarded by an attentional cascade classifier and remaining CCs are further verified by an SVM. All the accepted CCs are output to result in text only binary image. Experiments with many images in different scenes showed satisfactory performance of our proposed method.

Image of Landscapes in Ancient Water Towns——Case Study on Zhouzhuang and Tongli of Jiangsu Province

Researchers in several disciplines and fields agree that the image establishing has both perceptual and affecfive evaluations. The paper comparatively analyzes the image of landscapes in ancient water towns held by 1619 tourists after the investigations of Zbouzhuang and Tongli of Jiangsu Province. Based on the elements of the image of urban landscapes, the perceptual/cognitive image of tourist landscapes in water towns is developed including path, node, landmark, important courtyard, district and edge. Particularly the important courtyard plays the great role on the perceptive image of tourists, however, the perceptual/cognitive images of the district and the edge are obviously weak. Meanwhile, the finding showed that the affective images of tourist landscapes in Zhonzhuang differ with those of Tongli by the method of paired comparison. The main reason is that the affective images are influenced by the impressive scenery spots. Furthermore, the commercialization of streets and pollution of rivers are easy to be functioned negatively.

Automatic character detection and segmentation in natural scene images

We present a robust connected-component (CC) based method for automatic detection and segmentation of text in real-scene images. This technique can be applied in robot vision, sign recognition, meeting processing and video indexing. First, a Non-Linear Niblack method (NLNiblack) is proposed to decompose the image into candidate CCs. Then, all these CCs are fed into a cascade of classifiers trained by Adaboost algorithm. Each classifier in the cascade responds to one feature of the CC. Proposed here are 12 novel features which are insensitive to noise, scale, text orientation and text language. The classifier cascade allows non-text CCs of the image to be rapidly discarded while more computation is spent on promising text-like CCs. The CCs passing through the cascade are considered as text components and are used to form the segmentation result. A prototype system was built, with experimental results proving the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

Recognition of Similar Weather Scenarios in Terminal Area Based on Contrastive Learning

In order to improve the recognition accuracy of similar weather scenarios(SWSs)in terminal area,a recognition model for SWS based on contrastive learning(SWS-CL)is proposed.Firstly,a data augmentation method is designed to improve the number and quality of weather scenarios samples according to the characteristics of convective weather images.Secondly,in the pre-trained recognition model of SWS-CL,a loss function is formulated to minimize the distance between the anchor and positive samples,and maximize the distance between the anchor and the negative samples in the latent space.Finally,the pre-trained SWS-CL model is fine-tuned with labeled samples to improve the recognition accuracy of SWS.The comparative experiments on the weather images of Guangzhou terminal area show that the proposed data augmentation method can effectively improve the quality of weather image dataset,and the proposed SWS-CL model can achieve satisfactory recognition accuracy.It is also verified that the fine-tuned SWS-CL model has obvious advantages in datasets with sparse labels.

A Fast Algorithm for Automated Image Mosaicing

This paper presents a fast image mosaic algorithm based on the characteristic of the edge grads. Unlike some previous algorithms, which require pure horizontal camera panning, this algorithm doesn＇t require constraints on how the image is taken. The algorithm can determine the matching regions of the two adjacent images by finding out the feature points and can piece up images bath horizontally and vertically. Experimental results show that this algorithm is effective.

High-extensible scene graph framework based on component techniques

In this paper, a novel component-based scene graph is proposed, in which all objects in the scene are classified to different entities, and a scene can be represented as a hierarchical graph composed of the instances of entities. Each entity contains basic data and its operations which are encapsulated into the entity component. The entity possesses certain behaviours which are responses to rules and interaction defined by the high-level application. Such behaviours can be described by script or behaviours model. The component-based scene graph in the paper is more abstractive and high-level than traditional scene graphs. The contents of a scene could be extended flexibly by adding new entities and new entity components, and behaviour modification can be obtained by modifying the model components or behaviour scripts. Its robustness and efficiency are verified by many examples implemented in the Virtual Scenario developed by Peking University.

A framework of region-based dynamic image fusion

A new framework of region-based dynamic image fusion is proposed. First, the technique of target detection is applied to dynamic images (image sequences) to segment images into different targets and background regions. Then different fusion rules are employed in different regions so that the target information is preserved as much as possible. In addition, steerable non-separable wavelet frame transform is used in the process of multi-resolution analysis, so the system achieves favorable characters of orientation and invariant shift. Compared with other image fusion methods, experimental results showed that the proposed method has better capabilities of target recognition and preserves clear background information.

Impacts of Park Landscape Structure on Thermal Environment Using QuickBird and Landsat Images

Urban parks composed mostly of vegetation and water bodies can effectively mitigate the urban heat island effect. Many studies have investigated the cooling effects of urban parks; however, little attention has been given to park landscape structure. Based on landscape metrics, this study has explored the influences of the park landscape structure on its inner thermal environment, taking heavily urbanized Beijing Municipality in China as the study area. Three indices, including the percentage of landscape （PLAND）, landscape shape index （LSI） and aggregation index （AI）, were used to measure the composition and configuration characteristics of the landscape components inside the parks. The indices were calculated for five landscape types being interpreted from Quickbird images. Urban thermal conditions were measured using the land surface temperature （LST） derived from Landsat TM images. The results showed that the park LST had a negative relationship with the park size, but no significant relationship was found with park shape. For the park＇s interior landscape, however, the configuration and composition characteristics of the landscape components inside the park explained 70% of the park LST variance. The area percentage of water bodies and the aggregation index of woodland were identified as the key influencing characteristics. In addition, when the composition and configuration characteristics of the park landscape components were separately considered, the configuration characteristics （LSI and A1） explained approximately 54% of the variance in park LST, which was comparable with that explained by the composition characteristics （PLAND）. Thus, this study suggested that an effective and practical way for urban cooling park design is the optimization of spatial configuration of landscape components inside the park.

＂Impression-Liu Sanjie＂ -A Research on the Participation and Perception of Residents in Scenic Area and Community

Tight space and interactive resources grant tourism community residents a vital body status in community tourism development and construction process. Residents＇ all-sided and effective participation in Tourism development process, with no doubt, is an open democratization process and an effective way to ensure sustainable development of tourism as it can raise residents＇ income and eliminate bad influence of tourism. ＂Impression-Liu Sanjie＂ is a scenic spot where ＂landscape live-action＂ is performed. Local residents （farmers） serve as the main part. Through survey and analysis of participation and perception of community residents, this paper aims at finding some useful consult and inspirations for the development, management and policy formulation of other rural scenic region alike.

Research on Gaussian distribution preprocess method of infrared multispectral image background clutter

This paper introduces a sliding-window mean removal high pass filter by which background clutter of infrared multispectral image is obtained. The method of selecting the optimum size of the sliding-window is based on the skewness-kurtosis test. In the end, a multivariate Gaussian distribution mathematical expression of background clutter image is given.

People＇s Visual Perceptions of Tourism Buildings and Their Environments

The visual and aesthetic aspects of any object are defined by its color, texture, line, and form as well as compositional reference elements such as scale and spatial location in the three-dimensional context. Different methodologies have been developed to conduct visual assessments, based on analyses of the physical, aesthetic, and psychological attributes of the landscape. In this study, relationships between tourism buildings and the environment were analyzed across the perceived landscape and main shopping streets in terms of their color, texture, line and form, scale, and spatial location. Photographic-based questionnaires were administered in Kemer （near Antalya, Turkey） and Knokke （near Brugge, Belgium）. In each location, 30 photographs taken of the coast and principal shopping streets were shown to 100 respondents of different ages, educational backgrounds, and nationalities. Two questions were then asked regarding the visual relationships in the photographs. Six questions regarding socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents were also asked. In both locations, the respondents preferred natural landscapes with few structures, and tourist resorts characterized by small, low-rise, and traditional buildings. The results of this study may provide suggestions for building and landscape architects about how to successfully integrate tourism buildings into the landscape

The Disastrous Lifeworld： A Phenomenological Consideration of Safety, Resilience, and Vulnerability

The lifeworld is, according to Husserl, the horizon of all our experiences, in the sense that it is the background environment of human being＇s competences, practices, and attitudes. The lifewofld is the intersubjective, pre-given in the ontie sense, and immediately perceived world of everyday life. Although Husserl has distinguished the lifeworld from the objective world that natural science describes with mathematical methods, we cannot divide the world on the practical level into the perceived world of ordinary life and the scientific world. The characteristic of human beings is that they live in the environment which they have enormously changed. Modem science has accelerated this tendency： the contemporary world is constructed so deeply scientifically and technologically. Accordingly, as Ulrich Beck pointed out, the risk of the technologically constructed world is often invisible/unperceivable. The disaster at Fukushima nuclear power plants is a terrible testament of this kind of risk. In order for a land to become the lifeworld of meaningful human interactions, the land should be first of all safe and livable for all of us. The risk calculation made by Tokyo Electric Power Company was shown to be sloppy and deceptive. The contemporary techno-science should be democratically governed and watched by all kinds of stakeholders, and never be left it to the specialists of science. For re-establishing the livable and sustainable lifeworld, safety, resilience, and vulnerability should be the fundamental values. And, the autonomy of the local residents, including the most vulnerable people, through the democratization of the techno-science must be the fundamental value to establish and protect such a safe environment.

Summary on the Harmonious Relationship between Urban Lake Landscapes and Lakeshore Architectural Image

A variety of high-rise building landscapes are trying to invade urban lakes resulting in the shrinkage, fragmentation, pollution of lakes and cut-down of vegetation along lakes. With the development of real estate along lakes, the local marginal lines and natural landscapes nearby are disappearing. How to plan urban landscapes＇？ How to achieve the harmonious relationship between lakeshore landscapes and lakeshore architectural image？ How to render lake sights an organic and sustainable whole？ How to balance the interest between economy and value for each interest group？ How to form urban lake sights and architectural images？ How to utilize and arrange the space？ How to form a harmonious relationship between the lake scenes and buildings in the city？ Through on-the-spot investigation and profound analysis of several lakes in Wuhan, applying enumeration, induction and analysis, the dissertation reveals that people need to share natural resources and get the support from laws and policies with the aim of building a beautiful home. In tmaa, people＇s anticipation is needed to achieve a harmonious relationship between landscapes and architectures.

“垮掉的一代”与毒品

吸毒是"垮掉的一代"寻求极端体验的重要手段,也是他们叛逆生活方式的重要方面。"垮掉的一代"使用毒品的动机相当复杂。他们的初衷也许是为了扩大感知范围以获取"景象",并且把毒品视为促进写作的重要手段和工具,同时他们也是为了穷尽生命的可能性以寻找属于自己生活的目的,但有时也只是为了纯粹寻找刺激。毒品问题反映了"垮掉的一代"对主流社会的保守、压抑的道德观和价值观的反叛和对自己的人生道路的探索,同时也是"垮掉的一代"灵魂探索和精神追求的一种方式。作为一种身体的狂欢,毒品使"垮掉的一代"摇摆于精神的渴望和本能的发泄这两极之间,揭示了"垮掉的一代"思想深处的深刻矛盾。