Expert systems: A short introduction

Expert systems are rapidly growing in diversity of application and usage worldwide. Even though expert system development has been slow in applying expert systems to the specific field of structures, expert system technology has been pervasive in other areas of engineering and manufacturing. This paper provides a short introduction on expert systems, looking at their development, application and future trends.     

Influence of some hypnotist and subject variables on hypnotic susceptibility.

Randomly assigned 48 21-56 yr. Old females to 1 of 4 groups given different information with regard to a hypnotist's warmth and experience. The 6 male graduate student hypnotists had previously been judged on their objective warmth and competent appearance. Following structuring, all ss underwent individual hypnotic induction. As predicted, ss run by the objectively warmer, more competent appearing es obtained significantly higher susceptibility scores. Structured warmth produced significant differences only in ss run by the objectively less warm es. Both structured warmth and experience affected ss' subjective impressions of whether they thought they had been hypnotized. The complex relationship between antecedent variables and the various objective and subjective dependent indicators of hypnotic phenomena are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital status and schizophrenia: A study of incidence and outcome.

Investigated the relationships between marital status and the incidence and prognosis of schizophrenia, based on a considerably more representative sample (N = 213) than previously available. Results provide strong evidence that the rate differentials and differences in outcome so often observed for marital status categories do not derive from inadequate or inappropriate sampling or statistical manipulation. In additional analyses, controlling for differential social class and severity of pathology, however, the relationships with prognosis could no longer be observed. These latter findings suggest that a process of selection by marriage is the more tenable interpretation of the relationships under consideration. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Numerical treatment of mixed boundary value problems in two-dimensional elastostatics

Finite difference treatment of two-dimensional problems in elastostatics is usually based on the differential equations for the displacement vector or the Airy stress function, depending on whether boundary conditions are on displacement or stress. In either case, determination of stresses requires numerical differentiation and therefore use of a rather fine grid. Moreover, neither method is suited to the treatment of mixed boundary conditions. The alternative method developed in this paper uses the first derivatives of the displacement components at the grid points as basic variables and hence does not require numerical differentiation in the evaluation of stresses. Appropriate finite difference equations are established, and their use is discussed in connection with a specific example with known explicit solution.     

Comparison of PCR prescreening to two cultivation procedures with PCR confirmation for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in U.S. Department of Agriculture fecal check test samples

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the etiologic agent in Johne's disease in cattle and causes diarrhea, decreased milk production, emaciation, and frequently death. The ability to detect MAP rapidly and accurately is an integral part of herd management. However, detection of this bacterium is complicated due to its slow division time and its ability to enter dormancy. Culture methods are considered the "gold standard," but they have their limitations. Many enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods and conventional PCR methods have been used as diagnostic tools. The present study compares the results of a PCR prescreen to two culture methods of detection paired with confirmatory PCR to determine the most accurate, rapid, and sensitive method using U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fecal check samples. This study involving two laboratories (Marshfield Clinic Laboratories, using solid culture medium [Herrold's egg yolk agar], and TREK Diagnostic Systems Research and Development, using liquid culture medium [ESP Culture System II]) showed that the PCR prescreening method used in this study lacked specificity and sensitivity as a stand-alone test in fecal samples. However, the combination of liquid enrichment culture using the ESP II system, and PCR confirmation with the hspX primer set, was not only 100% sensitive and specific but also correlated with viable MAP and USDA culture results.     

A dynamic foam test for evaluation of hand dishwashing compositions

Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society - A dynamic foam test for evaluation of hand-dish-washing compositions has been developed which gives good correlation with semipractical plate...     

Blind deblurring of spiral CT images

To discriminate fine anatomical features in the inner ear, it has been desirable that spiral computed tomography (CT) may perform beyond their current resolution limits with the aid of digital image processing techniques. In this paper, we develop a blind deblurring approach to enhance image resolution retrospectively without complete knowledge of the underlying point spread function (PSF). An oblique CT image can be approximated as the convolution of an isotropic Gaussian PSF and the actual cross section. Practically, the parameter of the PSF is often unavailable. Hence, estimation of the parameter for the underlying PSF is crucially important for blind image deblurring. Based on the iterative deblurring theory, we formulate an edge-to-noise ratio (ENR) to characterize the image quality change due to deblurring. Our blind deblurring algorithm estimates the parameter of the PSF by maximizing the ENR, and deblurs images. In the phantom studies, the blind deblurring algorithm reduces image blurring by about 24%, according to our blurring residual measure. Also, the blind deblurring algorithm works well in patient studies. After fully automatic blind deblurring, the conspicuity of the submillimeter features of the cochlea is substantially improved.     

Contents of Volume 111 (2001)

Volume Contents

Contents of Volume 111 (2001)     

A method to evaluate mechanical performance of thin transparent films for flexible displays

Mechanical flexing of plastic substrates coated with thin film permeation barriers causes stress-induced cracks that may lead to device degradation. This phenomenon is of particular importance for organic light emitting diodes, an emerging display technology that can be implemented on flexible substrates but imposes stringent requirements on the barrier performance. We demonstrate a dry-etch-based method to highlight cracks in thin films of transparent materials and make them visible under a conventional optical microscope on samples in a neutral, relaxed position. This approach allows for rapid evaluation of the mechanical performance of thin film barriers on flexible substrates.