Extracranial to intracranial vascular anastomosis for occlusive cerebrovascular disease: experience in 110 patients

In an attempt to ascertain the value of extra- to intracranial arterial bypass for cerebrovascular disease, the general topic of bypass surgery is reviewed and the results of this procedure in 110 patients are analyzed. The feasibility of high patency rates of the anastomosis with acceptably low permanent morbidity and operative mortality rates is demonstrated. Lesions producing transient ischemic attacks which previously were considered to be inoperable or inaccessible can be bypassed by this procedure, and there appears to be a dramatic improvement in the symptomotology of virtually all patients. Patients with a mild stroke or "progressive stroke" also appear to benefit from bypass, but the erratic natural history of these entities precludes irrefutable substantiation of this conclusion. Patients with moderate-to-serve neurological deficits do not appear to be improved by this procedure. In our group of 20 patients presenting with transient ischemic attacks who have had more than 3 years of follow-up, only one patient has suffered a stroke and that was located in the opposite hemisphere.     

Adaptive stabilization of input-saturated plants with known unstable poles

This paper considers the problem of controlling partially uncertain, possibly unstable and non-minimum phase linear plants submitted to a control saturation constraint. It seeks both plant l_∞-stabilization and output tracking. It proposes a direct adaptive controller and shows that if the closed loop poles are placed in a specific region, then the desired stability and tracking objectives are achieved.     

Finite plastic deformation of a circular membrane under hydrostatic pressure—II : Strain-rate effects

The large strain behaviour of a circular membrane under uniform hydrostatic pressure is examined for materials with transversely isotropic plastic properties. Time-independent material response is assumed, and both flow theory and deformation theory of plasticity are considered.A variational principle is first applied to derive the governing equations for the pressurized membrane. It is shown that a special solution previously given by Hill[7] for isotropic materials can readily be extended to certain transversely isotropic membranes.A finite element solution based on Hill's extremum principle[24] is then developed to study the influence of anisotropy on the finite deformation behaviour of the membrane. Conditions where localized-necking bifurcations become possible are also discussed.     

A NON-PARAMETRIC APPROACH TO SIMPLICITY CLUSTERING

The simplicity principle—an updating of Ockham's razor to take into account modern information theory—states that the preferred theory for a set of data is the one that allows for the most efficient encoding of the data. We consider this in the context of classification, or clustering, as a data reduction technique that helps describe a set of objects by dividing the objects into groups. The simplicity model we present favors clusters such that the similarity of the items in the clusters is maximal, while the similarity of items between clusters is minimal. Several novel features of our clustering criterion make it especially appropriate for clustering of data derived from, psychological procedures (e.g., similarity ratings): It is non-parametric, and may be applied in situations where the metric axioms are violated without requiring (information-forgetting) transformation procedures. We illustrate the use of the criterion with a selection of data sets. A distinctive aspect of this research is that it motivates a clustering algorithm from psychological principles.     

3D reconstruction of SOFC anodes using a focused ion beam lift-out technique

Improvements to electrode performance are essential to accelerate the commercialisation of SOFC technology. A key metric of performance for SOFC electrodes is the length and distribution of three or triple phase boundaries (TPBs) which provide an indication of electrochemical performance. Techniques that can be used to characterise TPB length are highly valuable; with an increasing knowledge of electrode microstructures, electrochemical performance can be optimised. One such technique for electrode characterisation uses focused ion beams (FIB) to sequentially mill and image an electrode surface, obtaining a sequence of 2D images that may be reconstructed in a 3D space. In this paper we present a technique to maximise the quality of the raw data obtained via ex-situ characterisation of electrode micro-sections based on FIB lift-out. With improved raw data, we have been able to conduct semi-automated image analysis to extract key microstructural information, including the length and distribution of TPBs.Reconstructions have been carried out using both single and dual beam instruments; two reconstructions of Ni-YSZ anode structures are presented here.     

Magnetic properties of NiSb2O4

The magnetic transition of the antimony oxide NiSb₂O₄ has been studied using heat capacity measurements and magnetic susceptibility data. The Néel temperature previously evaluated from neutron diffraction is confirmed: T_N = 45 ± 1 K. The entropy excess ΔS(20 – 60 K) associated with the transition is calculated and compared with the theoretical value. The susceptibility data are interpreted in terms of a Curie-Weiss law (θ_p = − 98K, M_eff = 3.98 μ_ß). Exchange integrals are evaluated.     

Information gain and decision-theoretic approaches to data selection: Response to Klauer (1999).

K. C. Klauer (1999) argued that a Bayesian decision-theoretic rational analysis of Wason's selection task is preferable to an information gain account (M. Oaksford & N. Chater, 1994) because it has a better normative justification and may provide a better fit with the empirical data. The authors argue that Klauer's proposal and their proposal are equally well justified from a normative perspective and that, where the predictions of the 2 approaches diverge, the existing empirical evidence is consistent with the information gain approach. However, more empirical research is required to decide between these 2 accounts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Connectionism,classical cognitive science and experimental psychology

Classical symbolic computational models of cognition are at variance with the empirical findings in the cognitive psychology of memory and inference. Standard symbolic computers are well suited to remembering arbitrary lists of symbols and performing logical inferences. In contrast, human performance on such tasks is extremely limited. Standard models donot easily capture content addressable memory or context sensitive defeasible inference, which are natural and effortless for people. We argue that Connectionism provides a more natural framework in which to model this behaviour. In addition to capturing the gross human performance profile, Connectionist systems seem well suited to accounting for the systematic patterns of errors observed in the human data. We take these arguments to counter Fodor and Pylyshyn's (1988) recent claim that Connectionism is, in principle, irrelevant to psychology.