CO2 laser surgery in osteomyelitis

Spirituality is a critical component of the holistic mind-body-spirit model embraced by Hospice. Hospice chaplains, as part of the caregiving team, must understand their abilities and limitations in providing spiritual guidance to others who may differ in religious and spiritual beliefs.     

Multiband properties of a fractal tree antenna generated byelectrochemical deposition

Experimental results on a fractal tree-like antenna are reported. The fractal structure is generated by electrochemical deposition. The antenna presents a multiband behaviour with a denser band distribution than the previously reported Sierpinski fractal antenna. The matched frequencies are related to the length distribution over the fractal shape     

Learning Sets of Antecedent-restricted Functional and Multivalued Dependencies with Queries

Identifying dependencies that hold in relational databases is essential to produce good databases designs. In particular, functional and multivalued dependencies are used to obtain relation schemes that satisfy the 4th normal form, a property that is considered satisfactory for most applications. It is known that the class of sets of functional dependencies is learnable in the exact model of learning with queries. Also a subclass of multivalued dependencies, the class of consequent-restricted multivalued dependencies, has been shown to be learnable in this model. In this paper, we present an algorithm that learns a class that contains sets of both functional and multivalued dependencies under some restrictions imposed on the antecedents of dependencies. We also show, as a by-product, an algorithm that learns a non-trivial subclass of 2-quasi Horn formulas, closely related to the class just mentioned.     

Information fusion for automotive applications – An overview

This article focusses on the fusion of information from various automotive sensors like radar, video, and lidar for enhanced safety and traffic efficiency. Fusion is not restricted to data from sensors onboard the same vehicle but vehicular communication systems allow to propagate and fuse information with sensor data from other vehicles or from the road infrastructure as well. This enables vehicles to perceive information from regions that are hardly accessible otherwise and represents the basis for cooperative driving maneuvers. While the Bayesian framework builds the basis for information fusion, automobile environments are characterized by their a priori unknown topology, i.e., the number, type, and structure of the perceived objects is highly variable. Multi-object detection and tracking methods are a first step to cope with this challenge. Obviously, the existence or non-existence of an object is of paramount importance for safe driving. Such decisions are highly influenced by the association step that assigns sensor measurements to object tracks. Methods that involve multiple sequences of binary assignments are compared with soft-assignment strategies. Finally, fusion based on finite set statistics that (theoretically) avoid an explicit association are discussed.     

A genetic solution based on lexicographical goal programming for a multiobjective job shop with uncertainty

In this work we consider a multiobjective job shop problem with uncertain durations and crisp due dates. Ill-known durations are modelled as fuzzy numbers. We take a fuzzy goal programming approach to propose a generic multiobjective model based on lexicographical minimisation of expected values. To solve the resulting problem, we propose a genetic algorithm searching in the space of possibly active schedules. Experimental results are presented for several problem instances, solved by the GA according to the proposed model, considering three objectives: makespan, tardiness and idleness. The results illustrate the potential of the proposed multiobjective model and genetic algorithm.     

Learning a subclass of k-quasi-Horn formulas with membership queries

Boolean formulas have been widely studied in the field of learning theory. We focus on the model of learning with queries, and study a restriction of the class of k-quasi-Horn formulas, that is, conjunctive normal form formulas where the number of unnegated literals per clause is at most k. This class is known to be as hard to learn as the general class CNF of conjunctive normal form formulas. By imposing some constraints, we define a fragment of this logic that can be learned using only membership queries. Also we prove that none of these constraints makes by itself the class learnable.     

A factorial design study to determine the significant parameters of fresh concrete lateral pressure and initial rate of pressure decay

The design of vertical formwork is governed by the lateral pressure exerted by fresh concrete; the complexity of the problem is due to the large number of factors which affect pressure. This work describes an experimental investigation in columns to determine the variation in lateral pressure and initial rate of pressure drop with the following variables: formwork size and shape, coarse aggregate concentration and concrete temperature.An 8-run factorial design 2³ was done to determine the influence of formwork size and shape and coarse aggregate concentration. It was impossible to vary temperature between two levels in the field, so in this analysis this factor was considered as a co-variable. With this objective, square and circular experimental columns 3 m high but with different cross sections were instrumented, and two concrete mixtures with different sand to total aggregate ratios were used.Afterwards, two tests were done to determine the influence in pressure of concrete impact, changing the method for filling the columns.Formwork shape, coarse aggregate concentration and concrete impact have a minor effect in maximum lateral pressure, while temperature shows an inverse relationship with the pressure, but not to a sufficient degree to be considered a significant parameter. On the other hand, formwork size has a major effect on the pressure, narrow sections generate less lateral pressure than higher ones. This is attributed to the friction forces between concrete and formwork which are much more important in small sections.Formwork shape and size present a major influence in the initial rate of pressure decay. While circular formworks present a higher value than squares ones, smaller cross sections present a lower value than larger ones. On the other hand, coarse aggregate concentration has a minor effect on this parameter.     

Validity of the WISC–IV Spanish for a clinically referred sample of Hispanic children.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is the most commonly used intelligence test for children. Five years ago, a Spanish version of the WISC–IV was published (WISC-IV Spanish; Wechsler, 2005), but a limited amount of published information is available regarding its utility when assessing clinical samples. The current study included 107 children who were Spanish speaking and of Puerto Rican descent that had been administered the WISC–IV Spanish. They were subdivided into a clinical sample of 35 children with diagnoses of various forms of brain dysfunction (primarily learning disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and epilepsy) and a comparison group made up of 72 normal children who were part of the WISC–IV Spanish version standardization sample. Comparisons between these groups and the standardization sample were performed for the WISC–IV Spanish index and subtest scores. Results indicated that the clinical sample performed worse than the comparison samples on the Working Memory and Processing Speed Indexes, although findings varied to some extent depending on whether the clinical group was compared with the normal comparison group or the standardization sample. These findings provide support for the criterion validity of the WISC–IV Spanish when it is used to assess a clinically referred sample with brain dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)