الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
Ontologies for Agents : Theory and Experiences
On the other hand, ontologies have established themselves as a powerful tool to enable kno- edge sharing, and a growing number of applications have bene?ted from the use of ontologies as a means to achieve semantic interoperability among heterogeneous, distributed systems. In principle ontologies and agents are a match made in heaven, that has failed to happen. What makes a simple piece of software an agent is its ability to communicate in a ”social” environment, to make autonomous decisions, and to be proactive on behalf of its user. Communication ultimately depends on und- standing the goals, preferences, and constraints posed by the user. Autonomy is theabilitytoperformataskwithlittleornouserintervention,whileproactiveness involves acting autonomously with no need for user prompting. Communication, but also autonomy and proactiveness, depend on knowledge. The ability to c- municate depends on understanding the syntax (terms and structure) and the semantics of a language. Ontologies provide the terms used to describe a domain and the semantics associated with them. In addition, ontologies are often comp- mented by some logical rules that constrain the meaning assigned to the terms. These constraints are represented by inference rules that can be used by agents to perform the reasoning on which autonomy and proactiveness are based.
Oncology : An Evidence-Based Approach
Reflect the principles and current practice of oncology with contributors from the fields of medical, surgical, and radiation oncology. The textbook will incorporate an evidence-based approach, enabling the reader to make decisions on the basis of concrete data. Sections on solid tumors, hematologic malignancies and the practice of oncology address the natural history and therapy for the full spectrum of neoplastic diseases in the adult. Further sections present fundamentals of supportive care of the cancer patient, the management of oncologic emergencies and acute toxicities of therapy, as well as care of metastatic disease and the terminally-ill patient. Breaking new ground, the textbook features thoughtful, in-depth sections on cancer prevention and control, cancer surviorship, the economics of cancer care, and cancer informatics. Cancer imaging is covered with an organ system-based approach, with an additional chapter on the especially intriguing potential of PET. Furthermore, a comprehensive section on translational basic science reviews the fundamentals of molecular biology, the cell cycle and signal transduction, carcinogenesis, cancer genetics, the biology of invations and metastasis, and tumor immunology.
On Bypass : Advanced Perfusion Techniques
With the introduction of cardiac surgery more than five decades ago and the use of the heart-lung machine for open heart surgical procedures granting the surgeon unlimited time in which to operate inside the heart, a complex task has been given to the Perfusionist. With a pairing of a perfusionist and a surgeon for each chapter, On Bypass: Advanced Perfusion Techniques is an essential collection of techniques and protocols to aid in the difficult and immediate decision making in the operating room. Among the topics covered in this comprehensive text are pediatric perfusion techniques for complex congenital, separation from cardiopumonary bypass, blood flow during cardiopumonary bypass, and minimally invasive perfusion techniques. Also covered is ultrafiltration in cardiac surgery, echocardiography and cardiopulmonary bypass, and advances in long-term pulmonary support.
Obstetrics in Family Medicine : A Practical Guide
The key points for each topic are summarized in tabular form for quick reference, and diagnostic flow charts illuminate all aspects of the decision-making process. Expert advice based on years of experience is also presented concerning physical and ultrasound examinations, laboratory tests, drug toxicities, and screening techniques.
Nuel Belnap on Indeterminism and Free Action
Seeks to further the use of formal methods in clarifying one of the central problems of philosophy: that of our free human agency and its place in our indeterministic world. It celebrates the important contributions made in this area by Nuel Belnap, American logician and philosopher. Philosophically, indeterminism and free action can seem far apart, but in Belnap’s work, they are intimately linked. This book explores their philosophical interconnectedness through a selection of original research papers that build forth on Belnap’s logical and philosophical work. Some contributions take the form of critical discussions of Belnap's published work, some develop points made in his publications in new directions, and others provide additional insights on the topics of indeterminism and free action.
Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies in Animal Production Systems, Preparedness, Response and Recovery
This volume explains how major nuclear and radiological emergencies (NREs) can have implications at local, national and international level. The response to NREs requires a competent decision-making structure, clear communication and effective information exchange. National veterinary services have the responsibility to plan, design and manage animal production system in their countries. These activities cover animal health, animal movement control, production control and improvement, and control of the products of animal origin before their placement on the market.
Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower
This book presents (selected) new and innovative developments for sustainable and fish-friendly hydropower. It offers unique insights into the challenges, practices and policies of hydropower developments across 8 European countries, providing examples from on-site studies and European-wide analyses. The case studies throughout the book are practical “real-world” examples, which are intended to serve as inspiration for anyone who would like to know more about how solutions for more sustainable hydropower production can be designed and implemented. Hydropower is an important renewable energy source, which, however, can also impact aquatic ecosystems, fish populations and hydro-morphology. EU and national water, environmental and energy legislation strive for sustainable energy and water resource management as well as the protection of important habitats and species. These have an effect on the requirements and decision making processes for hydropower planning, commissioning and operation. With a high variety of measures existing and site-specific conditions as well as national and EU level legal requirements to consider, it can be difficult to determine, what issues to address and which measures to implement.
Norwegian Shipping in the 20th Century : Norway's Successful Navigation of the World's Most Global Industry
This open access book discusses how Norwegian shipping companies played a crucial role in global shipping markets in the 20th century, at times transporting more than ten per cent of world seaborne trade. Chapters explore how Norway managed to remain competitive, despite being a high labour-cost country in an industry with global competition. Among the features that are emphasised are market developments, business strategies and political decisions The Norwegian experience was shaped by the main breaking points in 20th century world history, such as the two world wars, and by long-term trends, such as globalization and liberalization. The shipping companies introduced technological and organizational innovations to build or maintain a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world. The growing importance of offshore petroleum exploration in the North Sea from the 1970s was both a threat and an opportunity to the shipping companies. By adapting both business strategies and the political regime to the new circumstances, the Norwegian shipping sector managed to maintain a leading position internationally.
Nonlinear Integer Programming
It is not an exaggeration that much of what people devote in their hfe re solves around optimization in one way or another. On one hand, many decision making problems in real applications naturally result in optimization problems in a form of integer programming. On the other hand, integer programming has been one of the great challenges for the optimization research community for many years, due to its computational difficulties: Exponential growth in its computational complexity with respect to the problem dimension. This book addresses the topic of the general nonlinear integer programming (NLIP). The overall goal of the book is to bring the state of the art of the theoretical foundations and solution methods of NLIP to readers who are interested in optimization, operations research and computer science. This book investigates the theory and solution methodologies for the general NLIP and provides the developments
Nonlinear Analyses and Algorithms for Speech Processing ; International Conference on Non-Linear Speech Processing, NOLISP 2005, Barcelona, Spain, April 19-22, 2005, Revised Selected Papers
We present in this volume the collection of ?nally accepted papers of NOLISP 2005 conference. It has been the third event in a series of events related to N- linear speech processing, in the framework of the European COST action 277 “Nonlinear speech processing”. Many speci?cs of the speech signal are not well addressed by conv- tional models currently used in the ?eld of speech processing. The purpose of NOLISP is to present and discuss novel ideas, work and results related to alternative techniques for speech processing, which depart from mainstream approaches. With this intention in mind, we provide an open forum for discussion. Alt- nate approaches are appreciated, although the results achieved at present may not clearly surpass results based on state-of-the-art methods. The call for papers was launched at the beginning of 2005, addressing the following domains: 1. Non-Linear Approximation and Estimation 2. Non-Linear Oscillators and Predictors 3. Higher-Order Statistics 4. Independent Component Analysis 5. Nearest Neighbors 6. Neural Networks 7. Decision Trees 8. Non-Parametric Models 9. Dynamics of Non-Linear Systems 10. Fractal Methods 11. Chaos Modeling 12. Non-Linear Di?erential Equations 13. Others All the main ?elds of speech processing are targeted by the workshop, namely: 1. Speech Coding:Thebit rateavailablefor speechsignalsmustbe strictly l- ited in order to accommodate the constraints of the channel resource.
Noninvasive Imaging of Myocardial Ischemia
Non-invasive imaging plays a very important role in the assessment of patients investigated for coronary artery disease, providing valuable information for diagnosis and aiding management decisions. It covers a broad spectrum of investigations including radionuclide imaging, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. Progress towards the most efficacious means of assessing a patient is relentless, with recent years seeing an important shift in emphasis from invasive to noninvasive techniques. This informative book compares the various modalities in a practical diagnostic environment. It thus provides a forum for fertile discussion, bringing the discussion of these various methodologies together in one reference for the first time. The narrative flow is unique and will ensure that all levels of medical practitioners with an interest in cardiac imaging will find this an unparalleled resource for use in guiding their practice.
Non-Equilibrium Social Science and Policy : Introduction and Essays on New and Changing Paradigms in Socio-Economic Thinking
The overall aim of this book, an outcome of the European FP7 FET Open NESS project, is to contribute to the ongoing effort to put the quantitative social sciences on a proper footing for the 21st century. A key focus is economics, and its implications on policy making, where the still dominant traditional approach increasingly struggles to capture the economic realities we observe in the world today - with vested interests getting too often in the way of real advances.Insights into behavioral economics and modern computing techniques have made possible both the integration of larger information sets and the exploration of disequilibrium behavior
Nonbayesian Decision Theory : Beliefs and Desires as Reasons for Action
This book aims to present an account of rational choice from a non-Bayesian point of view. Rational agents maximize subjective expected utility, but contrary to what is claimed by Bayesians, the author argues that utility and subjective probability should not be defined in terms of preferences over uncertain prospects. To some extent, the author’s non-Bayesian view gives a modern account of what decision theory could have been like, had decision theorists not entered the Bayesian path discovered by Ramsey, Savage, and Jeffrey. The author argues that traditional Bayesian decision theory is unavailing from an action-guiding perspective. For the deliberating Bayesian agent, the output of decision theory is not a set of preferences over alternative acts - these preferences are on the contrary used as input to the theory.
New Frontiers in Enterprise Risk Management
This book provides introductory material about enterprise risk management, and the role of risk in decision making. It presents enterprise risk management from perspectives of finance, accounting, insurance, supply chain operations, and project management. Technology tools are addressed, to include financial models of risk as well as accounting aspects using data envelopment analysis, neural network tools for credit risk evaluation, and real option analysis applied to information technology outsourcing. Three chapters present enterprise risk management experience in China, to include banking, chemical plant operations, and information technology.
New and Old Routes of Portuguese Emigration : Uncertain Futures at the Periphery of Europe
This book offers a comparative overview on Portuguese emigration in Europe and outside the EU in times of recession. In addition to the dynamics of movement, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the heterogeneity of this emigration. It deepens the multifaceted identities concerning social and professional pathways among highly skilled and less skilled emigrants. The labour market continues to be the main regulatory force of Portuguese emigration, which helps to explain the outflow and the processes of settlement and return. Nonetheless, this book demonstrates that non-economic factors have likewise been of great importance in the decision to emigrate.
Neuromarketing e Processi Decisionali : Le evidenze di un test di memorizzazione condotto per la prima volta in Italia = Neuromarketing and decision-making processes: Evidence from a memory test conducted for the first time in Italy
Il libro fornisce alcuni strumenti scientifici per affrontare il problema di come il nostro cervello genera delle scelte in campo economico, in un linguaggio piano e non specialistico. Vengono descritti i risultati del primo studio italiano relativo all’osservazione di filmati commerciali televisivi, analizzati mediante l’elettroencefalografia ad alta risoluzione spaziale. La neuroeconomia è una nuova scienza che si sta sviluppando rapidamente nei paesi anglosassoni. Questo libro spiega i concetti di neuroeconomia e neuromarketing anche al pubblico italiano.
Neuroeconomia, neuromarketing e processi decisionali = Neuroeconomics, neuromarketing and decision-making processes
The book covers a sector, that of the application of modern neuroscience techniques to the fields of economics and marketing, recently born and of great interest to the public, to advertisers as well as to neuroscience scholars. The book presents, in plain language and not for experts in the field, the structure and functioning of the brain (as it is known today) during human decision-making processes. Of interest is the analysis of how the different neuronal systems within the brain can cooperate with each other in generating decisions. All this simple physiological treatment is inserted in the context of the analysis of brain activity while watching commercial clips. In the original study presented in this book, the variables involved were those related to the recall of television advertising in a sample of normal young subjects. This study is simply the first that is carried out of this type in Italy and will be intended to be a reference point for subsequent studies in the sector.
Neural Network Driven Artificial Intelligence : Decision Making Based On Fuzzy Logic
Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science and Internet, Computer Science, Technology and Applications, Mathematics Research Developments
Network-Centric Service-Oriented Enterprise
Network-Centric Service-Oriented Enterprise (NSCOE) is seen as heralding the next generation of mainstream Enterprise-business information collaboration solution that can enforce information and decision superiority in the decentralized, loosely-coupled, and highly interoperable service environments. Network-Centric Service Oriented Enterprise establishes a system-of-systems (SoS) view of information technologies, offering a synergistic combination of data and information-processing capacity upon an innovative networked-management framework.
Network Models and Optimization : Multiobjective Genetic Algorithm Approach
Network Models and Optimization: Multiobjective Genetic Algorithm Approach extensively covers algorithms and applications, including shortest path problems, minimum cost flow problems, maximum flow problems, minimum spanning tree problems, travelling salesman and postman problems, location-allocation problems, project scheduling problems, multistage-based scheduling problems, logistics network problems, communication network problem, and network models in assembly line balancing problems, and airline fleet assignment problems.
