On the origin of back pain

Dieen, J.H. van [Promotor]Bongers, P.M. [Promotor]Kingma, I. [Copromotor]Boot, C.R.L. [Copromotor

Towards an agent-based framework for online after-sales services

The multi-agent paradigm for building intelligent systems has gradually been accepted by researchers and practitioners in the research field of artificial intelligence. There are also attempts of adapting agents and agent-based systems for creating industrial applications and providing e-services. In this paper, we present an attempt to use agents for constructing an online after-sale services system. The system is decomposed into four major cooperative agents, and in which each agent concentrates on particular aspects in the system and expresses intelligence by using various techniques. The proposed agent-based framework for the system is presented at both the micro-level and the macro-level according to the Gaia methodology. UML notations are also used to represent some software design models. As the result of this, agents are implemented into a framework for which exploits Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) technique to fulfil real life on-line services' diagnoses and tasks

Non-Boussinesq stability analysis of natural-convection gaseous flow on inclined hot plates

The buoyancy-driven boundary-layer flow that develops over a semi-infinite inclined hot plate is known to become unstable at a finite distance from the leading edge, characterized by a critical value of the Grashof number Gr based on the local boundary-layer thickness. The nature of the resulting instability depends on the inclination angle /, measured from the vertical direction. For values of / below a critical value /c the instability is characterized by the appearance of spanwise traveling waves, whereas for/ > /c the bifurcated flow displays Görtler-like streamwise vortices. The Boussinesq approximation, employed in previous linear stability analyses, ceases to be valid for gaseous flow when the wall-to- ambient temperature ratio Hw is not close to unity. The corresponding non-Boussinesq analysis is pre- sented here, accounting also for the variation with temperature of the different transport properties. A temporal stability analysis including nonparallel effects of the base flow is used to determine curves of neutral stability, which are then employed to delineate the dependences of the critical Grashof number and of its associated wave length on the inclination angle / and on the temperature ratio Hw for the two instability modes, giving quantitative information of interest for configurations with Hw 1 1. The analysis provides in particular the predicted dependence of the crossover inclination angle /c on Hw , indicating that for gaseous flow with Hw 1 1 spanwise traveling waves are predominant over a range of inclination angles 0 6 / 6 /c that is significantly wider than that predicted in the Boussinesq approximation

Image mining approaches for the screening of age-related macular degeneration

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss in those aged over 50. In this chapter we investigating two techniques to support automated AMD screening. First of all we conceptualise AMD screening in terms of a binary classification problem (disease v. no-disease). We then propose and compare two very different techniques whereby the desired classification can be undertaken. The first is founded on a histogram based retinal image representation and the second on a graph based representation. In the histogram based approach each image is defined in terms of a histograms that in turn is presented as "time series curves". Given a training set (a collection of labelled positive and negative examples) we create a Case Base (CB) of labelled curves to which a Case Based Reasoning (CBR) mechanism is applied so as to classify "unseen" images according to whether they feature AMD or not. Curve comparison is conducted using a time series comparison technique. For the graph mining based approach a hierarchical decomposition technique is proposed, whereby pre-labelled retinal images contained in a training set, are successively decomposed into smaller and smaller segments until each segment describes a uniform set of features. The resulting decomposition is stored in a tree structure, one per image, to which a frequent sub-graph (sub-tree) mining technique is applied so as to identify the frequently occurring sub-trees that exist within the overall tree data set. The identified sub-trees then form the global attribute set from which a collection of feature vectors (one per image) is derived so as to describe the training set. A standard classifier generator is then applied to this feature vector representation to produce the desired classifier. The two approaches are compared and evaluated using two publicly available data sets, ARIA and STARE, respectively comprising 161 and 97 pre-labelled retinal images. The paper details both approaches and reports on their evaluation

Фактор страху в ранньомодерних теоріях держави: проект Томаса Гоббса

Стаття присвячена висвітленню трансформаційних форм та місця феномену страху в політичній теорії Т. Гоббса, значення страху в принципах державного суверенітету.Статья посвящена исследованию трансформационных форм и места феномена страха в политической теории Т. Гоббса, его значение в принципе государственного суверенитета.The article is devoted to research the transformation forms and place of the phenomenon of fear in the political theory of Thomas Hobbs, its value in the principle of state sovereignty

Quantum Technologies and Society: Towards a Different Spin

Due primarily to technological advances over the last decade, quantum research has become a key priority area for science and technology policy all over the world. With this manifesto, we wish to prevent quantum technology from running into fiascos of implementation at the interface of science and society. To this end, we identify key stumbling blocks and propose recommendations

The short term musculoskeletal and cognitive effects of prolonged sitting during office computer work

Office workers are exposed to high levels of sedentary time. In addition to cardio-vascular and metabolic health risks, this sedentary time may have musculoskeletal and/or cognitive impacts on office workers. Participants (n = 20) undertook two hours of laboratory-based sitting computer work to investigate changes in discomfort and cognitive function (sustained attention and problem solving), along with muscle fatigue, movement and mental state. Over time, discomfort increased in all body areas (total body IRR [95% confidence interval]: 1.43 [1.33–1.53]) reaching clinically meaningful levels in the low back and hip/thigh/buttock areas. Creative problem solving errors increased (ß = 0.25 [0.03–1.47]) while sustained attention did not change. There was no change in erector spinae, trapezius, rectus femoris, biceps femoris and external oblique median frequency or amplitude; low back angle changed towards less lordosis, pelvis movement increased, and mental state deteriorated. There were no substantial correlations between discomfort and cognitive function. The observed changes suggest prolonged sitting may have consequences for musculoskeletal discomfort and cognitive function and breaks to interrupt prolonged sitting are recommended

What Makes a Terrorist? Muslims’ and non-Muslims’ Lay Perceptions of Risk Factors and Their Consequences for Counter-terrorism Policy Support

The question of why people become terrorists has preoccupied scholars and policy makers for decades. Yet, very little is known about how lay people perceive individuals at risk of becoming terrorists. In two studies conducted in the U.K., we aimed to fill this gap. Study 1 showed that Muslims and non-Muslims perceived a potential minority-group terrorist in terms of both structural (e.g., life-history, social) and individual risk factors (e.g., personality, psychopathology, ideology). In Study 2, Muslims and non-Muslims perceived a potential right-wing majority-group terrorist as having more individual predispositions to terrorism than a potential left-wing majority-group terrorist. Importantly, in both studies, individualist perceptions such as psychopathology were positively associated with support for stricter law enforcement, whereas structuralist perceptions such as adverse childhood experiences were positively associated with support for social interventions. Lay people seem to have multifactorial understandings of individuals at risk of becoming terrorists, which influence their counter-terrorism policy support