Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART): An Introduction

this paper is to provide an introduction to Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) by examining ART-1, the first member of the family of ART neural networks. The only prerequisite knowledge in the area of neural networks necessary for understanding this paper is backpropagation [Hinton86]. For an easy introduction to neural networks see [Freeman91], for a more in depth overview of the field see [Hertz91]. Many interesting problems concern the classification of data. For example, say we want to classify animals according to certain characteristics described by a set of parameters. We might have a dog, a cat and an owl. Some characteristics might be "number of legs", "can fly", "has fur" and "is a carnivore". With these characteristics we would hope that the cat and the dog are classified together and the owl separately. In this paper an algorithm which performs this mapping is called a clustering algorithm. A clustering algorithm takes as input a set of input vectors and gives as output a set of clusters and a mapping of each input vector to a cluster. Input vectors which are close to each other according to a specific similarity measure should be mapped to the same cluster. Clusters can be labelled to indicate a particular semantic meaning pertaining to all input vectors mapped to that cluster. The cat and the dog might be classified in a cluster labelled "mammals" and the owl in "birds". However one could also choose "pets" as label for the cluster with the cat and the dog and "winged animal" for the other. Clusters are usually internally represented using prototype vectors which are vectors indicating a certain similarity between the input vectors which are mapped to a cluster. In the above example the first cluster might have prototype vector (4 legs,can't fly,has fur,is a ..

Applications of aerospace technology in industry, a technology transfer profile: Fire safety

The fire safety field is considered as being composed of three parts: an industry, a technology base, and a user base. An overview of the field is presented, including a perspective on the magnitude of the national fire safety problem. Selected NASA contributions to the technology of fire safety are considered. Communication mechanisms, particularly conferences and publications, used by NASA to alert the community to new developments in the fire safety field, are reviewed. Several examples of nonaerospace applications of NASA-generated fire safety technology are also presented. Issues associated with attempts to transfer this technology from the space program to other sectors of the American economy are outlined

Applications of aerospace technology in industry, a technology transfer profile: Lubrication

Technology transfer in the lubrication field is discussed in terms of the movement of NASA-generated lubrication technology into the private sector as affected by evolving industrial requirements. An overview of the field is presented, and NASA technical contributions to lubrication technology are described. Specific examples in which these technologies have been used in the private sector are summarized

Languages and Learning at Key Stage 2: A Longitudinal Study Final Report

In 2006, The Open University, the University of Southampton and Canterbury Christ Church University were commissioned by the then Department for Education and Skills (DfES), now Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to conduct a three-year longitudinal study of languages learning at Key Stage 2 (KS2). The qualitative study was designed to explore provision, practice and developments over three school years between 2006/07 and 2008/09 in a sample of primary schools and explore children’s achievement in oracy and literacy, as well as the possible broader cross-curricular impact of languages learning

Coulomb charging energy for arbitrary tunneling strength

The Coulomb energy of a small metallic island coupled to an electrode by a tunnel junction is investigated. We employ Monte Carlo simulations to determine the effective charging energy for arbitrary tunneling strength. For small tunneling conductance, the data agree with analytical results based on a perturbative treatment of electron tunneling, while for very strong tunneling recent semiclassical results for large conductance are approached. The data allow for an identification of the range of validity of various analytical predictions.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX, incl 3 figures, to appear in Europhys.Let

A scalable forecasting framework to predict COVID-19 hospital bed occupancy

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to capacity problems in many hospitals around the world. During the peak of new infections in Germany in April 2020 and October to December 2020, most hospitals had to cancel elective procedures for patients because of capacity shortages. We present a scalable forecasting framework with a Monte Carlo simulation to forecast the short-term bed occupancy of patients with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 in intensive care units and regular wards. We apply the simulation to different granularity and geographical levels. Our forecasts were a central part of the official weekly reports of the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care, which were sent to key decision makers in the individual ambulance districts from May 2020 to March 2021. Our evaluation shows that the forecasting framework delivers accurate forecasts despite data availability and quality issues

New advances in the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)

Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) have increased in frequency throughout the world. In addition to an increase in frequency, recent CDI epidemics have been linked to a hypervirulent C. difficile strain resulting in greater severity of disease. Although most mild to moderate cases of CDI continue to respond to metronidazole or vancomycin, refractory and recurrent cases of CDI may require alternative therapies. This review provides a brief overview of CDI and summarizes studies involving alternative antibiotics, toxin binders, probiotics, and immunological therapies that can be considered for treatment of acute and recurrent CDI in severe and refractory situations

Path integrals, particular kinds, and strange things

This paper describes a path integral formulation of the free energy principle. The ensuing account expresses the paths or trajectories that a particle takes as it evolves over time. The main results are a method or principle of least action that can be used to emulate the behaviour of particles in open exchange with their external milieu. Particles are defined by a particular partition, in which internal states are individuated from external states by active and sensory blanket states. The variational principle at hand allows one to interpret internal dynamics - of certain kinds of particles - as inferring external states that are hidden behind blanket states. We consider different kinds of particles, and to what extent they can be imbued with an elementary form of inference or sentience. Specifically, we consider the distinction between dissipative and conservative particles, inert and active particles and, finally, ordinary and strange particles. Strange particles (look as if they) infer their own actions, endowing them with apparent autonomy or agency. In short - of the kinds of particles afforded by a particular partition - strange kinds may be apt for describing sentient behaviour.Comment: 31 pages (excluding references), 6 figure