Expert system technology

The expert system is a computer program which attempts to reproduce the problem-solving behavior of an expert, who is able to view problems from a broad perspective and arrive at conclusions rapidly, using intuition, shortcuts, and analogies to previous situations. Expert systems are a departure from the usual artificial intelligence approach to problem solving. Researchers have traditionally tried to develop general modes of human intelligence that could be applied to many different situations. Expert systems, on the other hand, tend to rely on large quantities of domain specific knowledge, much of it heuristic. The reasoning component of the system is relatively simple and straightforward. For this reason, expert systems are often called knowledge based systems. The report expands on the foregoing. Section 1 discusses the architecture of a typical expert system. Section 2 deals with the characteristics that make a problem a suitable candidate for expert system solution. Section 3 surveys current technology, describing some of the software aids available for expert system development. Section 4 discusses the limitations of the latter. The concluding section makes predictions of future trends

Titan Flagship Mission 3-Degree-of-Freedom Simulation Analysis

A NASA flagship mission to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and the only moon in the solar system with a significant atmosphere, has been designed that uses three separate spacecraft, each requiring significant interaction with the atmosphere. The first vehicle is a Titan lander for lower-atmosphere and surface science. The second is an aerial vehicle for aerial science at approximately 10 km altitude with an expected lifetime of one year. This spacecraft will use the natural winds of Titan to cover a large area over its lifetime. The third vehicle is a Titan orbiter that will interact with the atmosphere in two respects. The first atmospheric interaction is the orbital insertion maneuver that will be accomplished using aerocapture, during which time the hyperbolic approach of 6.5 km/s will be reduced to 1.6 km/s over 41 minutes with an exit periapsis altitude of 130 km. The second atmospheric interaction occurs after a propulsive maneuver has raised the periapsis after aerocapture to 1170 km, where the atmosphere will be sampled over several months. This is the first phase of aerosampling that covers southern latitudes. After a 3.3-year circular science phase at an altitude of 1700 km, a second phase of additional aerosampling is performed sampling northern latitudes. The atmospheric trajectory analysis for these three spacecraft will be discussed throughout this paper

Case 10 : Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities: Reducing Secondary School Non-Completion and its Associated Health Disparities

Shelley van Dam needs to write a policy brief for her board on the effects of learning disabilities. This policy brief is a response to the upcoming termination of some of the funding for the Learning Disabilities Association of Sudbury (LDAS). The LDAS provides various programs that support students and families that have, or are in the process of being identified as having, a learning disability. The LDAS is a not-for-profit organization that operates throughout Greater Sudbury and across Northeastern Ontario to provide assistance to students who have learning disabilities so they attain the highest level of education possible. Some funding sources are available in the short term, including an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant that allows the LDAS to hire part-time employees in the organization’s satellite offices located in North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Timmins. With this Ontario Trillium Foundation grant ending soon, Shelley realized that the LDAS would not be able to continue employing these people, and ultimately knew that the students in those regions who have learning disabilities would suffer. Shelley identified one possible solution that may help the organization avoid having to cease operations at their satellite offices—looking for more sustainable sources of funding from provincial ministries such as the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. In order to develop the appropriate policy brief required by her board, she needed to gather and present the most up-to-date information available. Students who have learning disabilities have average- to above-average intelligence but require different teaching methods in order to successfully complete school. Shelley found recent data from Statistics Canada (2015) showing the proportion of students who have learning disabilities dropping out of high school was 33% of total students with learning disabilities, compared with 13.1% of the total student population without learning disabilities. She wanted to discuss how socioeconomic status plays a role in one’s health and the importance of successfully obtaining at least a high school education, as that opens the door for other post-secondary educational opportunities. Graduating from high school is necessary in today’s job market because many jobs require post-secondary credentials as a prerequisite to employment. Shelley found research discussing how a lack of education for Canadians who have learning disabilities can fuel further inequities including food scarcity, incarceration and crime. The ecological systems theory, social learning theory, and strain theory were all discussed to better understand some underlying problems that may contribute to the continued, cyclical health disparities faced by Canadians who do not have a high school diploma. By including this information, Shelley hopes to highlight the effects of inadequate support for students who have learning disabilities throughout their academic careers, and how this can increase health care costs not only to the individual, but to society as a whole

Celebration of Brockport Faculty & Staff Scholarship : 2010-2014

Compiled by College at Brockport faculty member Laura Dumuhosky, and Professional staff members Kim Myers and Wendy Prince, with assistance from Library student staff member Emily Goldsmith. Foreward by Drake Library Director, Mary Jo Orzech. ... [a bibliography that] represents over 500 publications from the faculty and staff of The College at Brockport during 2010-2014.... is not exhaustive, but is intended as a representative sample...https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/bookshelf/1377/thumbnail.jp

BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF GARCINIA MANGOSTANA

  Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate in vitro antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities of different solvent extracts of Garcinia mangostana leaves.Methods: The powdered leaf was subjected to sequential extraction using hexane, ethyl acetate (EA), and methanol. The extracts were subjected to quantitative and qualitative phytochemical analysis, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities. The best solvent extract was subjected to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.Results: The highest activity was recorded in EA extract which was subjected to GC-MS analysis revealing the presence of squalene (17.09%).Conclusion: From this present study, we conclude that EA is the best solvent for extracting antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds from the leaves of G. mangostana

Intraperitoneal Injection into Adult Zebrafish

A convenient method for chemically treating zebrafish is to introduce the reagent into the tank water, where it will be taken up by the fish. However, this method makes it difficult to know how much reagent is absorbed or taken up per fish. Some experimental questions, particularly those related to metabolic studies, may be better addressed by delivering a defined quantity to each fish, based on weight. Here we present a method for intraperitoneal (IP) injection into adult zebrafish. Injection is into the abdominal cavity, posterior to the pelvic girdle. This procedure is adapted from veterinary methods used for larger fish. It is safe, as we have observed zero mortality. Additionally, we have seen bleeding at the injection site in only 5 out of 127 injections, and in each of those cases the bleeding was brief, lasting several seconds, and the quantity of blood lost was small. Success with this procedure requires gentle handling of the fish through several steps including fasting, weighing, anesthetizing, injection, and recovery. Precautions are required to minimize stress throughout the procedure. Our precautions include using a small injection volume and a 35G needle. We use Cortland salt solution as the vehicle, which is osmotically balanced for freshwater fish. Aeration of the gills is maintained during the injection procedure by first bringing the fish into a surgical plane of anesthesia, which allows slow operculum movements, and second, by holding the fish in a trough within a water-saturated sponge during the injection itself. We demonstrate the utility of IP injection by injecting glucose and monitoring the rise in blood glucose level and its subsequent return to normal. As stress is known to increase blood glucose in teleost fish, we compare blood glucose levels in vehicle-injected and non-injected adults and show that the procedure does not cause a significant rise in blood glucose

British Literature of the 18th-20th Cenutry

Openly licensed anthology focused on the theme of British Literature from the 18th-20th centuries. Includes: Persuasion by Jane Austen, Lady Audley’s Secret by M.E. Braddon, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Middlemarch by George Eliot, A Passage to India by E.M. Forrester, Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave by Mary Prince, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson