Expert System (expert + system)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of Expert System

  • fuzzy expert system


  • Selected Abstracts


    A NEW APPROACH TO MODELING AND CONTROL OF A FOOD EXTRUSION PROCESS USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK AND AN EXPERT SYSTEM

    JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2001
    OTILIA POPESCU
    ABSTRACT The paper presents a new approach to the modeling of the start-up part of a food extrusion process. A neural network model is proposed and its parameters are determined. Simulation results with real data are also presented. The inputs and outputs of the model are among those used by the human operator during the start-up process for control. An intelligent controller structure that uses an expert system and "delta-variations" to modify inputs is also proposed. [source]


    Knowledge Acquisition and Memory Effects Involving an Expert System Designed as a Learning Tool for Internal Control Assessment*

    DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2003
    Mary Jane Lenard
    ABSTRACT The assessment of internal control is a consideration in all financial statement audits, as stressed by the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 78. According to this statement, "the auditor should obtain an understanding of internal control sufficient to plan the audit" (Accounting Standards Board, 1995, p. 1). Therefore, an accounting student will progress through the auditing course with the responsibility of learning how and why internal controls are assessed. Research in expert systems applied to auditing has shown that there is strong support for the constructive dialogue used in expert systems as a means of encouraging their use in decision making (Eining, Jones, & Loebbecke, 1997). The purpose of this study is to provide the student or novice auditor with a method for developing a more comprehensive understanding of internal controls and the use of internal controls in audit planning. The results of the study reinforce previous findings that novices do better when an expert system applies analogies along with declarative explanations, and clarifies the length of time in which the use of active learning in a training system can provide an improvement to declarative knowledge, but procedural knowledge must be acquired over a longer time frame. [source]


    A combined S-transform and fuzzy expert system for phase selection in digital relaying

    EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 5 2008
    S. R. Samantaray
    Abstract This paper presents a new approach for faulty phase selection in transmission line based on combined S-transform and Fuzzy Expert System (FES). The S-transform with complex window is used to generate S-contours (time,frequency contours), which ,time-localizes' the fault. Features such as standard deviation (sd) and change in energy (ce) of the S-contours for half cycle post fault current samples are calculated and fuzzified with simple triangular membership function. The fuzzified inputs are fed to the FES and the corresponding fuzzy rule is fired to provide the output as "1" for faulty phase and ground involved and "0" for no-fault. The proposed integrated approach is tested for all 11 types of shunt faults with a wide range of operating conditions of the power system network. For testing the robustness of the proposed technique, the same is applied for the faults created on experimental set up with different operating conditions and provides accurate results. The output from the FES shows the fastness of the proposed technique and thus suitable for online application. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    An Expert System for Headache Diagnosis: The Computerized Headache Assessment Tool (CHAT)

    HEADACHE, Issue 2 2009
    Roberto De Simone Aggregate Professor of Neurology
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Protein purification using chromatography: selection of type, modelling and optimization of operating conditions

    JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR RECOGNITION, Issue 2 2009
    J. A. Asenjo
    Abstract To achieve a high level of purity in the purification of recombinant proteins for therapeutic or analytical application, it is necessary to use several chromatographic steps. There is a range of techniques available including anion and cation exchange, which can be carried out at different pHs, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, gel filtration and affinity chromatography. In the case of a complex mixture of partially unknown proteins or a clarified cell extract, there are many different routes one can take in order to choose the minimum and most efficient number of purification steps to achieve a desired level of purity (e.g. 98%, 99.5% or 99.9%). This review shows how an initial 'proteomic' characterization of the complex mixture of target protein and protein contaminants can be used to select the most efficient chromatographic separation steps in order to achieve a specific level of purity with a minimum number of steps. The chosen methodology was implemented in a computer- based Expert System. Two algorithms were developed, the first algorithm was used to select the most efficient purification method to separate a protein from its contaminants based on the physicochemical properties of the protein product and the protein contaminants and the second algorithm was used to predict the number and concentration of contaminants after each separation as well as protein product purity. The application of the Expert System approach was experimentally tested and validated with a mixture of four proteins and the experimental validation was also carried out with a supernatant of Bacillus subtilis producing a recombinant , -1,3-glucanase. Once the type of chromatography is chosen, optimization of the operating conditions is essential. Chromatographic elution curves for a three-protein mixture (, -lactoalbumin, ovalbumin and , -lactoglobulin), carried out under different flow rates and ionic strength conditions, were simulated using two different mathematical models. These models were the Plate Model and the more fundamentally based Rate Model. Simulated elution curves were compared with experimental data not used for parameter identification. Deviation between experimental data and the simulated curves using the Plate Model was less than 0.0189 (absorbance units); a slightly higher deviation [0.0252 (absorbance units)] was obtained when the Rate Model was used. In order to optimize operating conditions, a cost function was built that included the effect of the different production stages, namely fermentation, purification and concentration. This cost function was also successfully used for the determination of the fraction of product to be collected (peak cutting) in chromatography. It can be used for protein products with different characteristics and qualities, such as purity and yield, by choosing the appropriate parameters. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Expert system for nuclear power plant accident diagnosis using a fuzzy inference method

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 4 2002
    rey Lee
    Huge and complex systems such as nuclear power generating stations are likely to cause the operators to make operational mistakes for a variety of inexplicable reasons and to produce ambiguous and complicated symptoms in the case of an emergency. Therefore, a safety protection system to assist the operators in making proper decisions within a limited time is required. In this paper, we develop a reliable and improved diagnosis system using the fuzzy inference method so that the system can classify accident symptoms and identify the most probable causes of accidents in order for appropriate actions to be taken to mitigate the consequences. In the computer simulation, the proposed system proved to be able to classify accident types within only 20,30 s. Therefore, the corresponding operation guidelines can be determined in a very short time to put the nuclear power plant in a safe state immediately after the accident. [source]


    Abductive Diagnosis Using Time-Objects: Criteria for the Evaluation of Solutions

    COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 1 2001
    Elpida T. Keravnou
    Diagnostic problem solving aims to account for, or explain, a malfunction of a system (human or other). Any plausible potential diagnostic solution must satisfy some minimum criteria relevant to the application. Often there will be several plausible solutions, and further criteria will be required to select the "best" explanation. Expert diagnosticians may employ different, complex criteria at different stages of their reasoning. These criteria may be combinations of some more primitive criteria, which therefore should be represented separately and explicitly to permit their flexible and transparent combined usage. In diagnostic reasoning there is a tight coupling between the formation of potential solutions and their evaluation. This is the essence of abductive reasoning. This article presents an abductive framework for diagnostic problem solving. Time-objects, an association of a property and an existence, are used as the representation formalism and a number of primitive, general evaluation criteria into which time has been integrated are defined. Each criterion provides an intuitive yardstick for evaluating the space of potential solutions. The criteria can be combined as appropriate for particular applications to define plausible and best explanations. The central principle is that when time is diagnostically significant, it should be modeled explicitly to enable a more accurate formulation and evaluation of diagnostic solutions. The integration of time and primitive evaluation criteria is illustrated through the Skeletal Dysplasias Diagnostician (SDD) system, a diagnostic expert system for a real-life medical domain. SDD's notions of plausible and best explanation are reviewed so as to show the difficulties in formalizing such notions. Although we illustrate our work by medical problems, it has been motivated by consideration of problems in a number of other domains (fermentation monitoring, air and ground traffic control, power distribution) and is intended to be of wide applicability. [source]


    Knowledge Acquisition and Memory Effects Involving an Expert System Designed as a Learning Tool for Internal Control Assessment*

    DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2003
    Mary Jane Lenard
    ABSTRACT The assessment of internal control is a consideration in all financial statement audits, as stressed by the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 78. According to this statement, "the auditor should obtain an understanding of internal control sufficient to plan the audit" (Accounting Standards Board, 1995, p. 1). Therefore, an accounting student will progress through the auditing course with the responsibility of learning how and why internal controls are assessed. Research in expert systems applied to auditing has shown that there is strong support for the constructive dialogue used in expert systems as a means of encouraging their use in decision making (Eining, Jones, & Loebbecke, 1997). The purpose of this study is to provide the student or novice auditor with a method for developing a more comprehensive understanding of internal controls and the use of internal controls in audit planning. The results of the study reinforce previous findings that novices do better when an expert system applies analogies along with declarative explanations, and clarifies the length of time in which the use of active learning in a training system can provide an improvement to declarative knowledge, but procedural knowledge must be acquired over a longer time frame. [source]


    A combined S-transform and fuzzy expert system for phase selection in digital relaying

    EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 5 2008
    S. R. Samantaray
    Abstract This paper presents a new approach for faulty phase selection in transmission line based on combined S-transform and Fuzzy Expert System (FES). The S-transform with complex window is used to generate S-contours (time,frequency contours), which ,time-localizes' the fault. Features such as standard deviation (sd) and change in energy (ce) of the S-contours for half cycle post fault current samples are calculated and fuzzified with simple triangular membership function. The fuzzified inputs are fed to the FES and the corresponding fuzzy rule is fired to provide the output as "1" for faulty phase and ground involved and "0" for no-fault. The proposed integrated approach is tested for all 11 types of shunt faults with a wide range of operating conditions of the power system network. For testing the robustness of the proposed technique, the same is applied for the faults created on experimental set up with different operating conditions and provides accurate results. The output from the FES shows the fastness of the proposed technique and thus suitable for online application. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Hybrid expert,fuzzy approach for evaluation of complex systems

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2009
    Veysi Öztürk
    Abstract: Evaluation of complex systems is generally complicated and time consuming. Evaluation is needed for nearly all engineering tasks and the obstacles related to evaluation increase in proportion to complexity. New techniques can be used to automate manual evaluation and to overcome the obstacles related to evaluation that cannot be solved (or can only be solved with great difficulty) with conventional computing. In this study, a methodology was developed to handle the heuristic knowledge of experts for evaluation purposes. In this method, knowledge was represented as a reference model of evaluation objectives, production rules, measures, methods and parameters. A ,common evaluation process' and ,common evaluation model', which simplify and speed up the evaluation process and decrease evaluation cost, were proposed and developed. A hybrid expert,fuzzy system, called ,intelligent evaluation system' (INES), which can be used for evaluation of complex systems was developed. To define a process and develop a system that simplifies and speeds up evaluation can save time, decrease cost and provide reusability. As the evaluation of complex systems includes uncertainty in some aspects, fuzzy logic was incorporated with an expert system for reasoning. INES was implemented successfully for the evaluation of an air defence system, which is a complex system used to protect a region from all air threats. [source]


    An expert system for lighting energy management in public school facilities

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 4 2006
    Daniel J. Fonseca
    Abstract: Lighting accounts for a large part of the energy expenses of a facility, ranging from 40% to 60% of the total energy cost. Therefore, it represents a critical factor to consider in any energy management program. Lighting audits involve complex energy calculations, such as the estimation of light intensity per square unit area, quality of illumination, and required number of light sources to obtain an adequate illumination level in the facility. In this paper we discuss the development and implementation of an easy-to-use expert system for lighting energy management in public schools. The prototype computer-based system can evaluate 11 different areas of a school facility, and it can identify suitable lighting solutions from 17 distinct bulb types and 38 ballast types. The system determines a facility's required number of bulbs, and it performs the cost and saving analysis of its final recommendation. The constructed expert system was successfully validated by two human experts through two case studies, involving the evaluation of a conventional classroom and a medium-size office. [source]


    A reasoning method for a ship design expert system

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 2 2005
    Sebnem Helvacioglu
    Abstract: The ship design process is a highly data-oriented, dynamic, iterative and multi-stage algorithm. It utilizes multiple abstraction levels and concurrent engineering techniques. Specialized techniques for knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation and reasoning must be developed to solve these problems for a ship design expert system. Consequently, very few attempts have been made to model the ship design process using an expert system approach. The current work investigates a knowledge representation,reasoning technique for such a purpose. A knowledge-based conceptual design was developed by utilizing a prototype approach and hierarchical decompositioning. An expert system program called ALDES (accommodation layout design expert system) was developed by using the CLIPS expert system shell and an object-oriented user interface. The reasoning and knowledge representation methods of ALDES are explained in the paper. An application of the method is given for the general arrangement design of a containership. [source]


    An intelligent logistics support system for enhancing the airfreight forwarding business

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 5 2004
    H.C.W. Lau
    Abstract: Recent research related to the aircraft container loading and scheduling problem for airfreight forwarding business has seen significant advances in terms of load plan optimization, taking into account the cost and volume of packed boxes. In today's competitive industrial environment, it is essential that freight forwarders are able to collaborate with carriers (airline companies) to achieve the best possible selection of logistics workflow. However, study of contemporary research publications indicates that there is a dearth of articles related to the design and implementation of an intelligent logistics system to support decision-making on carrier selection, aircraft container loading plans as well as carrier benchmarking. This paper presents an intelligent logistics support system (ILSS) which is able to provide expert advice related to the airfreight forwarding business, enhancing the logistics operations in relevant activities within the value chain of tasks. ILSS comprises a heuristics-based intelligent expert system which supports carrier searching and cargo trading planning as well as load plan generation. The proposed approach is meant to enhance various operations in the airfreight forwarding business, adopting computational intelligence technologies such as rule-based reasoning to provide domain advice and heuristics to support the generation of load plans. After potential outcomes are generated by the heuristics-based intelligent expert system, a neural network engine is applied to support prediction of unexpected events. To validate the viability of this approach, a production system using the ILSS has been developed and subsequently applied in an emulated airfreight forwarding environment. The application results indicate that the operation time from searching for potential carriers to the execution of the order is greatly reduced. In this paper, details related to the structure, design and implementation of the ILSS are also covered with the inclusion of the actual program codes for building the prototype. [source]


    Modelling for an expert system and a parameter validation method

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 5 2002
    A. Chatzinikolaou
    A model,based engineering diagnostic method is typically based on the evaluation of the residuals generated from a comparison of important variable values from a simulated system and the corresponding measured values from the system's performance. Consequently, a model should describe the dynamic behaviour of the system as accurately as possible using suitably selected parameter values. This implies the need for validation of the performance of the model by comparison with the measurements of the actual system. This process is especially important when the detection of faults is performed in real,time conditions. In this paper, the modelling process for hydraulic systems as well as a new parameter validation method that has been developed using the DASYLab data acquisition and control software for the estimation of the uncertain parameter values of the model is presented. This model validation process led to the establishment of a model,based expert system that is able to diagnose real,time faults working in parallel with actual dynamic industrial automated processes. [source]


    A knowledge-based approach to maintenance project planning

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 2 2002
    Gary P. Moynihan
    Maintenance issues comprise an important, though frequently overlooked, area of manufacturing operations. In smaller companies in particular, expertise for effective maintenance project planning may be lacking. In this paper we discuss the development of an object-oriented expert system to support such project planning. The system was developed to meet the needs of an automotive components manufacturer, and focuses solely on its material-handling-oriented projects. The microcomputer-based expert system considers issues of schedule, inventory availability and cost. [source]


    The Dialoguer: An Interactive Bilingual Interface to a Network Operating System

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2001
    Emad Al-Shawakfa
    We have developed a bilingual interface to the Novell network operating system, called the Dialoguer. This system carries on a conversation with the user in Arabic or English or a combination of the two and attempts to help the user use the Novell network operating system. Learning to use an operating system is a major barrier in starting to use computers. There is no single standard for operating systems which makes it difficult for novice users to learn a new operating system. With the proliferation of client,server environments, users will eventually end up using one network operating system or another. These problems motivated our choice of an area to work in and they have made it easy to find real users to test our system. This system is both an expert system and a natural language interface. The system embodies expert knowledge of the operating system commands and of a large variety of plans that the user may want to carry out. The system also contains a natural language understanding component and a response generation component. The Dialoguer makes extensive use of case frame tables in both components. Algorithms for handling a bilingual dialogue are one of the important contributions of this paper along with the Arabic case frames. [source]


    A knowledge-based system for preventive maintenance

    EXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 5 2000
    Daniel J. Fonseca
    This paper presents the development of a knowledge-based system for the evaluation of industrial equipment in terms of preventive maintenance criticality. A deterministic rating methodology based on the principles of reliability centered maintenance constitutes the logic of the analytical model of the system. The final output generated by the expert system consists of a listing of the pieces of equipment that should receive special consideration for maintenance purposes, along with a description of the possible failure modes arranged by machine component. The system was developed and delivered on an IBM-compatible personal computer through an object-oriented computer shell. [source]


    Health risk appraisal for older people in general practice using an expert system: a pilot study

    HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 1 2005
    S. Iliffe
    Abstract The prevention of disability in later life is a major challenge facing industrialised societies. Primary care practitioners are well positioned to maintain and promote health in older people, but the British experience of population-wide preventive interventions has been disappointing. Health risk appraisal (HRA), an emergent information-technology-based approach from the USA, has the potential for fulfilling some of the objectives of the National Service Framework for Older People. Information technology and expert systems allow the perspectives of older people on their health and health risk behaviours to be collated, analysed and converted into tailored health promotion advice without adding to the workload of primary care practitioners. The present paper describes a preliminary study of the portability of HRA to British settings. Cultural adaptation and feasibility testing of a comprehensive health risk assessment questionnaire was carried out in a single group practice with 12 500 patients, in which 58% of the registered population aged 65 years and over participated in the study. Eight out of 10 respondents at all ages found the questionnaire easy or very easy to understand and complete, although more than one-third had or would have liked assistance. More than half felt that the length of the questionnaire was about right, and one respondent in 10 disliked some questions. Of those who completed the questionnaire and received tailored, written health promotion advice, 39% provided feedback on this with comments that can be used for increasing the acceptability of tailored advice. These findings have informed a wider exploratory study in general practice. [source]


    Knowledge acquisition for the development of an upper-body work-related musculoskeletal disorders analysis tool

    HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 2 2007
    Isabel Lopes Nunes
    ERGO_X is a fuzzy expert system that supports workstation ergonomic analysis and provides advice on corrective measures aimed at improving the overall quality of the ergonomic design. ERGO_X was designed in a modular way to make further developments easier and to allow the selection of different ergonomic analysis contexts. The modularity feature mainly is a result of the knowledge base modular structure. Each module was built as a multilevel tree fuzzy relation. This relation reflects the interaction between attributes that are used to evaluate the level of severity of the relevant risk factors that are present at the analyzed workstation. The aim of this study is to address some aspects related to the knowledge acquisition process involved in the development of the ERGO_X knowledge base. In this regard, the author refers to her knowledge engineering activities in the development of a work-related musculoskeletal disorder module. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 17: 149,162, 2007. [source]


    Hybrid approach with an expert system and a genetic algorithm to production management in the supply net

    INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 1-2 2006
    awrynowicz
    A new approach to solving production management problems in the supply net is proposed. An expert system designed to help companies in medium-term and short-term production planning is discussed. The proposed expert system considers alternative process plans for a job and outsourcing, when a bottleneck exists in the machine. The proposed hybrid system uses the output of the expert system as the input of the genetic algorithm. The output of the genetic algorithm is a near optimal schedule. The proposed method does not require any unrealistic assumptions. It can be used to solve highly complicated and non-linear functions of a realistic problem. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Rule based processing of the CD4000, CD3200 and CD Sapphire analyser output using the Cerner Discern Expert Module

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
    P. BURGESS
    Summary The latest version of our Laboratory Information System haematology laboratory expert system that handles the output of Abbott Cell-Dyn Sapphires, CD4000s and a CD3200 full blood count analyser in three high-volume haematology laboratories is described. The three hospital laboratories use Cerner Millennium Version 2007.02 software and the expert system uses Cerner Millennium Discern Expert rules and some small Cerner Command Language in-house programs. The entire expert system is totally integrated with the area-wide database and has been built and maintained by haematology staff members, as has the haematology database. Using patient demographic data, analyser numeric results, analyser error and morphology flags and previous results for the patient, this expert system decides whether to validate the main full blood count indices and white cell differential, or if the analyser results warrant further operator intervention/investigation before verifying, whether a blood film is required for microscopic review and if abnormal results require phoning to the staff treating the patient. The principles of this expert system can be generalized to different haematology analysers and haematology laboratories that have different workflows and different software. [source]


    A NEW APPROACH TO MODELING AND CONTROL OF A FOOD EXTRUSION PROCESS USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK AND AN EXPERT SYSTEM

    JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2001
    OTILIA POPESCU
    ABSTRACT The paper presents a new approach to the modeling of the start-up part of a food extrusion process. A neural network model is proposed and its parameters are determined. Simulation results with real data are also presented. The inputs and outputs of the model are among those used by the human operator during the start-up process for control. An intelligent controller structure that uses an expert system and "delta-variations" to modify inputs is also proposed. [source]


    DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR MANAGING GROUND WATER RESOURCES IN THE CHOUSHUI RIVER ALLUVIAL IN TAIWAN,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2004
    Chen Wuing Liu
    ABSTRACT: Ground water is a vital water resource in the Choushui River alluvial fan in Taiwan. A significantly increased demand for water, resulting from rapid economic development, has led to large scale ground water extraction. Overdraft of ground water has considerably lowered the ground water level, and caused seawater intrusion, land subsidence, and other environmental damage. Sound ground water management thus is essential. This study presents a decision support system (DSS) for managing ground water resources in the Choushui River alluvial fan. This DSS integrates geographic information, ground water simulation, and expert systems. The geographic information system effectively analyzes and displays the spatially varied data and interfaces with the ground water simulation system to compute the dynamic behavior of ground water flow and solute transport in the aquifer. Meanwhile, a ground water model, MODFLOW-96, is used to determine the permissible yield in the Choushui River alluvial fan. Additionally, an expert system of DSS employs the determined aquifer permissible yield to assist local government agencies in issuing water rights permits and managing ground water resources in the Choushui River alluvial fan. [source]


    A simple validated GIS expert system to map relative soil vulnerability and patterns of erosion during the muddy floods of 2000,2001 on the South Downs, Sussex, UK

    LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2010
    H. Faulkner
    Abstract The soils of the South Downs in East Sussex, England (UK), are dominated by loessic silt (>70 per cent) and are prone to crusting. Continuing erosion of these soils means that they are thin, typically less than 25,cm thick and are becoming stonier, more droughty and less easier to work. Rates of erosion are relatively low but during extreme events, soils are vulnerable and on- and off-site erosion is a current and long-term risk. Property damage due to muddy flooding is of particular concern. Due to a long history of research interest, a rich database exists on the erosional history of an area of approximately 75,km2 of these thin, calcareous South Downs soils. In particular, during the winter of 2000,2001, Hortonian overland flow was common on certain crop types. Consequent sheet, rill and gully erosion was intense. The gullies and rills formed by runoff during these winter events were mapped in detail. In this paper, a method to estimate soil vulnerability to erosion is described and illustrated. Then, to validate the predictive efficacy of the algorithm used, the actual mapped distribution of rills and gullies following the winter events of 2001 on a particularly badly-affected site are compared with predictions from our soil erosion vulnerability model. Methods for adjusting the land-cover weightings to optimise the map fit are outlined. In a further survey of the utility of the map, it was discovered that farmers' recollections of events provided additional verification. Thus, one implication of our research is that erosion models can be validated by inviting farmers to comment on their efficacy to predict known histories. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    A systematic approach for the generation and verification of structural hypotheses

    MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2009
    Mikhail Elyashberg
    Abstract During the process of molecular structure elucidation the selection of the most probable structural hypothesis may be based on chemical shift prediction. The prediction is carried out using either empirical or quantum-mechanical (QM) methods. When QM methods are used, NMR prediction commonly utilizes the GIAO option of the DFT approximation. In this approach the structural hypotheses are expected to be investigated by scientist. In this article we hope to show that the most rational manner by which to create structural hypotheses is actually by the application of an expert system capable of deducing all potential structures consistent with the experimental spectral data and specifically using 2D NMR data. When an expert system is used the best structure(s) can be distinguished using chemical shift prediction, which is best performed either by an incremental or neural net algorithm. The time-consuming QM calculations can then be applied, if necessary, to one or more of the ,best' structures to confirm the suggested solution. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Slipperiness on roads ,an expert system classification

    METEOROLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, Issue 1 2000
    Jonas Norrman
    A method for classifying different types of slipperiness on roads in Sweden is described. Using this method it is possible to survey road conditions in different areas and between different years to optimise winter road maintenance. Winter road maintenance in Sweden is generally undertaken by the national road administration to improve winter-time road conditions, thereby keeping up the traffic flow and decreasing the accident rate. As a number of different types of slipperiness may develop on roads in winter, each due to a specific set of meteorological variables, maintenance work can be a complicated task. With the proposed classification method it becomes easier for the winter maintenance personnel to analyse information on road conditions and survey the distribution of road slipperiness in a region. The classification is performed with an expert system using meteorological data from the Swedish Road Weather Information System. The road condition is classified as good or as one out of ten different types of slipperiness on roads. Road conditions during three different winter periods are analysed. The results show that variations in climate produce substantial differences in annual road condition characteristics. The output from the expert system classifying road slipperiness is compared with recorded winter road maintenance reports. Maintenance action took place on 49% of all occasions when road conditions were classified as slippery. Copyright © 2000 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


    Integrating artificial intelligence into on-line statistical process control

    QUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2003
    Ruey-Shiang Guh
    Abstract Statistical process control (SPC) is one of the most effective tools of total quality management, the main function of which is to monitor and minimize process variations. Typically, SPC applications involve three major tasks in sequence: (1) monitoring the process, (2) diagnosing the deviated process and (3) taking corrective action. With the movement towards a computer integrated manufacturing environment, computer based applications need to be developed to implement the various SPC tasks automatically. However, the pertinent literature shows that nearly all the researches in this field have only focussed on the automation of monitoring the process. The remaining two tasks still need to be carried out by quality practitioners. This project aims to apply a hybrid artificial intelligence technique in building a real time SPC system, in which an artificial neural network based control chart monitoring sub-system and an expert system based control chart alarm interpretation sub-system are integrated for automatically implementing the SPC tasks comprehensively. This system was designed to provide the quality practitioner with three kinds of information related to the current status of the process: (1) status of the process (in-control or out-of-control). If out-of-control, an alarm will be signaled, (2) plausible causes for the out-of-control situation and (3) effective actions against the out-of-control situation. An example is provided to demonstrate that hybrid intelligence can be usefully applied for solving the problems in a real time SPC system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    The Gas Resources Assessment Expert System of the Songliao Basin

    ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 3 2000
    LONG Shengxiang
    Abstract, The gas resources assessment expert system is one of the advanced methods for appraising oil and gas resources. The establishment of a knowledge base is the focal task in developing the expert system. This paper presents a summary of the mechanism and the major controlling factors in the formation of gas pools in the southeast uplift of the Songliao basin. Then an appropriate assessment model is established for trapping the gas resources and a knowledge base built in the expert system to realize the model. By using the expert system to appraise the gasbearing probability of 25 major traps of the Quantou and Denglouku Formations in the Shiwu-Dehui area, the authors have proved that the expert syster., is suitable for appraising traps in the Songliao basin and similar basins. [source]


    Contact allergy: the role of skin chemistry and metabolism

    CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
    C. K. Smith Pease
    Summary Chemical reactivity plays the driving role in the biological processes that result in the induction of allergic contact dermatitis. This paper presents an overview of the chemical basis of allergic contact dermatitis, including the physicochemical parameters governing skin penetration, chemical reaction mechanisms associated with haptenation of skin proteins, (quantitative) structure,activity relationships (Q)SARs for contact allergens and prohaptens/skin metabolism of contact allergens. Despite the complexities and poor understanding of some of the metabolic processes leading to skin sensitization, it is possible to describe some of the relationships between chemical structures and the ability to form covalent conjugates with proteins. This knowledge, which relates chemical structure to a specific endpoint, can be programmed into an expert system. The Deductive Estimation of Risk from Existing Knowledge (DEREK) is one such expert system which is described in further detail. [source]


    Cognitive analytic therapy: a sympathetic critique

    PSYCHOTHERAPY AND POLITICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2010
    Babak Fozooni
    Abstract Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is an increasingly popular form of time-limited therapeutic intervention in the UK, which claims success with a variety of psychological problems such as depression, trauma, eating disorders, anxiety related disorders, borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. This paper begins by outlining the theoretical origins of CAT as well as its main conceptual tools. Cognitive analytic therapy has its roots in the synthesis of cognitive psychology, personal construct theory and psychoanalytic object relations. However, I would suggest what is most promising in CAT is the (relatively) recent import of Vygotskian and Bakhtinian ideas such as the ,zone of proximal development' (ZPD) and ,dialogic interaction'. Further ideas from critical psychology/psychotherapy are used to interrogate some of the limitations of CAT. I will be asking if CAT is a genuine gain for the contemporary worker who has to deal with greater psychic tension than before under a crisis-ridden capitalist regime. The paper ends with an assessment of CAT's future influence and the two principle trajectories available to it: ,therapy as an expert system' or ,therapy as social critique' (Totton, 2005, 86). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]