Identification of Evolving Rule-based Models.

An approach to identification of evolving fuzzy rule-based (eR) models is proposed. eR models implement a method for the noniterative update of both the rule-base structure and parameters by incremental unsupervised learning. The rule-base evolves by adding more informative rules than those that previously formed the model. In addition, existing rules can be replaced with new rules based on ranking using the informative potential of the data. In this way, the rule-base structure is inherited and updated when new informative data become available, rather than being completely retrained. The adaptive nature of these evolving rule-based models, in combination with the highly transparent and compact form of fuzzy rules, makes them a promising candidate for modeling and control of complex processes, competitive to neural networks. The approach has been tested on a benchmark problem and on an air-conditioning component modeling application using data from an installation serving a real building. The results illustrate the viability and efficiency of the approach. (c) IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy System

The Potential of Freeform Construction Processes

The level of automation technology and processes control found in modern day construction lags significantly behind other industries such as automotive and aerospace. The construction industry has health and safety issues and still uses traditional methods of procurement. These problems are compounded by diminishing skills in the labour force. Methods of production must change if these issues are to be resolved and Freeform Construction is a collection of processes that could have potential impact. This paper outlines some of the major issues facing construction and sets a context with examples of digital fabrication in construction. Freeform Construction is defined and potential applications are presented and related to application scale. The viability of two potential applications are investigated in terms of cost.Mechanical Engineerin

Evolutionary Synthesis of HVAC System Configurations: Algorithm Development.

This paper describes the development of an optimization procedure for the synthesis of novel heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system configurations. Novel HVAC system designs can be synthesized using model-based optimization methods. The optimization problem can be considered as having three sub-optimization problems; the choice of a component set; the design of the topological connections between the components; and the design of a system operating strategy. In an attempt to limit the computational effort required to obtain a design solution, the approach adopted in this research is to solve all three sub-problems simultaneously. Further, the computational effort has been limited by implementing simplified component models and including the system performance evaluation as part of the optimization problem (there being no need in this respect to simulation the system performance). The optimization problem has been solved using a Genetic Algorithm (GA), with data structures and search operators that are specifically developed for the solution of HVAC system optimization problems (in some instances, certain of the novel operators may also be used in other topological optimization problems. The performance of the algorithm, and various search operators has been examined for a two-zone optimization problem (the objective of the optimization being to find a system design that minimizes the system energy use). In particular, the performance of the algorithm in finding feasible system designs has been examined. It was concluded that the search was unreliable when the component set was optimized, but if the component set was fixed as a boundary condition on the search, then the algorithm had an 81% probability of finding a feasible system design. The optimality of the solutions is not examined in this paper, but is described in an associated publication. It was concluded that, given a candidate set of system components, the algorithm described here provides an effective tool for exploring the novel design of HVAC systems. (c) HVAC & R journa

Difference between how ambulance service personnel use paper and electronic patient care records when attending older people at home.

This is the accepted manuscript. This is a non-final version of an article published in final form in European Journal of Emergency Medicine. The final version is available from Wolters Kluwer at http://journals.lww.com/euro-emergencymed/Citation/publishahead/Difference_between_how_ambulance_service_personnel.99454.aspx.The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care East of England at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Searching and fixating: scale-invariance vs. characteristic timescales in attentional processes

In an experiment involving semantic search, the visual movements of sample populations subjected to visual and aural input were tracked in a taskless paradigm. The probability distributions of saccades and fixations were obtained and analyzed. Scale-invariance was observed in the saccadic distributions, while the fixation distributions revealed the presence of a characteristic (attentional) time scale for literate subjects. A detailed analysis of our results suggests that saccadic eye motions are an example of Levy, rather than Brownian, dynamics.Comment: Accepted to Europhysics Letters (2011

Appropriate Physical Education Service for ALL Students

All students, including those with disabilities, deserve appropriate, safe, and meaningful physical education instructional programs as identified by Texas Education Agency (2006) and that are reflected in the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE, 2005) standards

Chiasma

Newspaper reporting on events at the Boston University School of Medicine in the 1960s

Development of a viable concrete printing process

A novel Concrete Printing process has been developed, inspired and informed by advances in 3D printing, which has the potential to produce highly customised building components. Whilst still in their infancy, these technologies could create a new era of architecture that is better adapted to the environment and integrated with engineering function. This paper describes the development of a viable concrete printing process with a practical example in designing and manufacturing a concrete component (called Wonder Bench) that includes service voids and reinforcement. The challenges met and those still to be overcome particularly in the evaluation of the manufacturing tolerances of prints are also discussed

Liquid-phase synthesis of 2′-methyl-RNA on a homostar support through organic-solvent nanofiltration

Due to the discovery of RNAi, oligonucleotides (oligos) have re-emerged as a major pharmaceutical target that may soon be required in ton quantities. However, it is questionable whether solid-phase oligo synthesis (SPOS) methods can provide a scalable synthesis. Liquid-phase oligo synthesis (LPOS) is intrinsically scalable and amenable to standard industrial batch synthesis techniques. However, most reported LPOS strategies rely upon at least one precipitation per chain extension cycle to separate the growing oligonucleotide from reaction debris. Precipitation can be difficult to develop and control on an industrial scale and, because many precipitations would be required to prepare a therapeutic oligonucleotide, we contend that this approach is not viable for large-scale industrial preparation. We are developing an LPOS synthetic strategy for 2′-methyl RNA phosphorothioate that is more amenable to standard batch production techniques, using organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) as the critical scalable separation technology. We report the first LPOS-OSN preparation of a 2′-Me RNA phosphorothioate 9-mer, using commercial phosphoramidite monomers, and monitoring all reactions by HPLC, (31)P NMR spectroscopy and MS