An easy-to-use diagnostic system development shell

The Diagnostic System Development Shell (DSDS), an expert system development shell for diagnostic systems, is described. The major objective of building the DSDS is to create a very easy to use and friendly environment for knowledge engineers and end-users. The DSDS is written in OPS5 and CommonLisp. It runs on a VAX/VMS system. A set of domain independent, generalized rules is built in the DSDS, so the users need not be concerned about building the rules. The facts are explicitly represented in a unified format. A powerful check facility which helps the user to check the errors in the created knowledge bases is provided. A judgement facility and other useful facilities are also available. A diagnostic system based on the DSDS system is question driven and can call or be called by other knowledge based systems written in OPS5 and CommonLisp. A prototype diagnostic system for diagnosing a Philips constant potential X-ray system has been built using the DSDS

Removal and Leaching of Nutrients by Salvin1a Molesta Mitchel and Eichhornia Crassipes (Mart.) Solms

Profuse growth of Eichhornia crassipes and Salvinia molesta in Singapore reservoirs required their regular manual removal as their prolonged presence can lead to deterioration in the quality of the potable water. Clearing of the reservoir catchments, together with regular removal of the weeds and dumping them away from the catchments, should, in the long term, reduce their presence in the reservoirs. Laboratory experiments showing the removal of chloride, sulphate, phosphorus and nitrate from the growing medium and the release of chloride, phosphorus and nitrate by rotting plants should convince the administrators of the benefit of proper management of the problem

Are Asians comfortable with discussing death in health valuation studies? A study in multi-ethnic Singapore

BACKGROUND To characterize ease in discussing death (EID) and its influence on health valuation in a multi-ethnic Asian population and to determine the acceptability of various descriptors of death and "pits"/"all-worst" in health valuation. METHODS In-depth interviews (English or mother-tongue) among adult Chinese, Malay and Indian Singaporeans selected to represent both genders and a wide range of ages/educational levels. Subjects rated using 0–10 visual analogue scales (VAS): (1) EID, (2) acceptability of 8 descriptors for death, and (3) appropriateness of "pits" and "all-worst" as descriptors for the worst possible health state. Subjects also valued 3 health states using VAS followed by time trade-off (TTO). The influence of sociocultural variables on EID and these descriptors was studied using univariable analyses and multiple linear regression (MLR). The influence of EID on VAS/TTO utilities with adjustment for sociocultural variables was assessed using MLR. RESULTS Subjects (n = 63, 35% Chinese, 32% Malay, median age 44 years) were generally comfortable with discussing death (median EID: 8.0). Only education significantly influenced EID (p = 0.045). EID correlated weakly with VAS/TTO scores (range: VAS: -0.23 to 0.07; TTO: -0.14 to 0.11). All subjects felt "passed away", "departed" and "deceased" were most acceptable (median acceptability: 8.0) while "sudden death" and "immediate death" were least acceptable (median acceptability: 5.0). Subjects clearly preferred "all-worst" to "pits" (63% vs. 19%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Singaporeans were generally comfortable with discussing death and had clear preferences for several descriptors of death and for "all-worst". EID is unlikely to influence health preference measurement in health valuation studies

Validation of the English and Chinese versions of the Quick-FLIC quality of life questionnaire.

A useful measure of quality of life should be easy and quick to complete. Recently, we reported the development and validation of a shortened Chinese version of the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC), which we called the Quick-FLIC. In the present study of 327 English-speaking and 221 Chinese-speaking cancer patients, we validated the English version of the Quick-FLIC and further assessed the Chinese version. The 11 Quick-FLIC items were administered alongside the 11 remaining items of the full FLIC, but there appeared to be little context effect. Validity of the English version of the Quick-FLIC was attested by its strong correlation with two other measures of quality of life, and its ability to detect differences between patients with different performance status and treatment status (each P<0.001). Its internal consistency (alpha=0.86) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation=0.76) were also satisfactory. The measure was responsive to changes in performance status (P<0.001). The Chinese version showed similar characteristics. The Quick-FLIC behaved in ways that are highly comparable with the FLIC, even though the Quick-FLIC comprised only 11 items whereas the FLIC comprised 22. Further research is required to see whether the use of shorter instruments can improve data quality and response rates, but the fact that shorter instruments place less burden on the patients is itself inherently important

Structural and electronic properties of Al nanowires: an ab initio pseudopotential study

The stability and electronic structure of a single monatomic Al wire has been studied using the ab initio pseudopotential method. The Al wire undergoes two structural rearrangements under compression, i.e., zigzag configurations at angles of $140^o$ and $60^o$. The evolution of electronic structures of the Al chain as a function of structural phase transition has been investigated. The relationship between electronic structure and geometric stability is also discussed. The 2p bands in the Al nanowire are shown to play a critical role in its stability. The effects of density functionals (GGA and LDA) on cohesive energy and bond length of Al nanostructures (dimmer, chains, and monolayers) are also examined. The link between low dimensional 0D structure (dimmer) to high dimensional 3D bulk Al is estimated. An example of optimized tip-suspended finite atomic chain is presented to bridge the gap between hypothetical infinite chains and experimental finite chains.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Enhanced surface transfer doping of diamond by V2O5 with improved thermal stability

Surface transfer doping of hydrogen-terminated diamond has been achieved utilising V2O5 as a surface electron accepting material. Contact between the oxide and diamondsurface promotes the transfer of electrons from the diamond into the V2O5 as revealed by the synchrotron-based high resolution photoemission spectroscopy. Electrical characterization by Hall measurement performed before and after V2O5 deposition shows an increase in hole carrier concentration in the diamond from 3.0 × 1012 to 1.8 × 1013 cm−2 at room temperature. High temperature Hall measurements performed up to 300 °C in atmosphere reveal greatly enhanced thermal stability of the hole channel produced using V2O5 in comparison with an air-induced surface conduction channel. Transfer doping of hydrogen-terminated diamond using high electron affinity oxides such as V2O5 is a promising approach for achieving thermally stable, high performance diamond based devices in comparison with air-induced surface transfer dopin