Automated interpretation of digital images of hydrographic charts.

Details of research into the automated generation of a digital database of hydrographic charts is presented. Low level processing of digital images of hydrographic charts provides image line feature segments which serve as input to a semi-automated feature extraction system, (SAFE). This system is able to perform a great deal of the building of chart features from the image segments simply on the basis of proximity of the segments. The system solicits user interaction when ambiguities arise. IThe creation of an intelligent knowledge based system (IKBS) implemented in the form of a backward chained production rule based system, which cooperates with the SAFE system, is described. The 1KBS attempts to resolve ambiguities using domain knowledge coded in the form of production rules. The two systems communicate by the passing of goals from SAFE to the IKBS and the return of a certainty factor by the IKBS for each goal submitted. The SAFE system can make additional feature building decisions on the basis of collected sets of certainty factors, thus reducing the need for user interaction. This thesis establishes that the cooperating IKBS approach to image interpretation offers an effective route to automated image understanding

Dimensional perturbation theory for vibration-rotation spectra of linear triatomic molecules

A very efficient large-order perturbation theory is formulated for the nuclear motion of a linear triatomic molecule. To demonstrate the method, all of the experimentally observed rotational energies, with values of $J$ almost up to 100, for the ground and first excited vibrational states of CO$_2$ and for the ground vibrational states of N$_2$O and of OCS are calculated. All coupling between vibration and rotation is included. The perturbation expansions reported here are rapidly convergent. The perturbation parameter is $D^{-1/2}$, where $D$ is the dimensionality of space. Increasing $D$ is qualitatively similar to increasing the angular momentum quantum number $J$. Therefore, this approach is especially suited for states with high rotational excitation. The computational cost of the method scales only as $JN_v^{5/3}$, where $N_v$ is the size of the vibrational basis set.Comment: submitted to Journal of Chemical Physics, 23 pages, REVTeX, no figure

Decision Accuracy for the Relevant_Irrelevant Screening Test: Influence of an Algorithm on Human Decision_Making

"The Relevant-Irrelevant (RI) has been used as a polygraph screening technique by several decades longer than any other. It has demonstrated practical value in prompting self-report from applicants and employees of behaviours of interest to employers. The RI has certain strengths that have made it an attractive alternative (Krapohl & Shaw 2015). With no comparison questions, the RI is not subject to criticisms that the examiner must manipulate the examinee in some fashion to make the technique effective, as probable-lie comparison question techniques may. It is more flexible than most other methods, accommodating from two to five relevant questions in a single test series. The RI may also be more resistant to countermeasures, at least of the type in which examinees induce reactions to comparison questions. "(...

The economics of hardwood management in the United States: 1950-1995, an annotated bibliography

This bibliography includes journal articles, published reports, conference proceedings articles, and academic theses and dissertations dated between 1950 and 1995 that concern economic aspects of managing hardwood tree species for timber production in the United States. The articles and reports were identified through keyword searches of computer databases available through the Mississippi State University computer system. Keywords used included individual species names as well as economic terms such as costs, returns, investment, and profit. The specific databases included the 1) USDA Agricultural Library - AGRICOLA CD-ROMs, 2) Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries System, 3) EBSCO Dissertation Abstracts, and 4) the Social Sciences in Forestry Bibliography maintained at the University of Minnesota Library. Additional references were acquired by examining the literature cited pages of the articles found through computer search

Factors associated with colorectal cancer screening among younger African American men: A systematic review

Of cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cancer killer among African Americans in the U.S. Compared to White men, African American men have incidence and mortality rates 25% and 50% higher from CRC. Despite the benefits of early detection and the availability of effective screening, most adults over age 50 have not undergone testing, and disparities in colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) persist. Owing to CRC's high incidence and younger age at presentation among African American men, CRCS is warranted at age 45 rather than 50. However, the factors influencing young adult (i.e., age < 50) African American men's intention to screen and/or their CRCS behaviors has not been systematically assessed. To assess whether the factors influencing young adult African American men's screening intentions and behaviors are changeable through structured health education interventions, we conducted a systematic review, with the two-fold purpose of: (1) synthesizing studies examining African American men's knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors regarding CRCS; and (2) assessing these studies' methodological quality. Utilizing Garrard's Matrix Method, a total of 28 manuscripts met our inclusion/exclusion criteria: 20 studies followed a non-experimental research design, 4 comprised a quasi-experimental design, and 4, an experimental design. Studies were published between 2002 and 2012; the majority, between 2007 and 2011. The factors most frequently assessed were behaviors (79%), beliefs (68%), and knowledge (61%) of CRC and CRCS. Six factors associated with CRC and CRCS emerged: previous CRCS, CRC test preference, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, CRC/CRCS knowledge, and physician support/recommendation. Studies were assigned a methodological quality score (MQS - ranging from 0 to 21). The mean MQS of 10.9 indicated these studies were, overall, of medium quality and suffered from specific flaws. Alongside a call for more rigorous research, this review provides important suggestions for practice and culturally relevant interventions

Invariance of the correlation energy at high density and large dimension in two-electron systems

We prove that, in the large-dimension limit, the high-density correlation energy \Ec of two opposite-spin electrons confined in a $D$-dimensional space and interacting {\em via} a Coulomb potential is given by \Ec \sim -1/(8D^2) for any radial confining potential $V(r)$. This result explains the observed similarity of \Ec in a variety of two-electron systems in three-dimensional space.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let