Combining case based reasoning with neural networks

This paper presents a neural network based technique for mapping problem situations to problem solutions for Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) applications. Both neural networks and CBR are instance-based learning techniques, although neural nets work with numerical data and CBR systems work with symbolic data. This paper discusses how the application scope of both paradigms could be enhanced by the use of hybrid concepts. To make the use of neural networks possible, the problem's situation and solution features are transformed into continuous features, using techniques similar to CBR's definition of similarity metrics. Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural nets are used to create a multivariable, continuous input-output mapping. As the mapping is continuous, this technique also provides generalisation between cases, replacing the domain specific solution adaptation techniques required by conventional CBR. This continuous representation also allows, as in fuzzy logic, an associated membership measure to be output with each symbolic feature, aiding the prioritisation of various possible solutions. A further advantage is that, as the RBF neurons are only active in a limited area of the input space, the solution can be accompanied by local estimates of accuracy, based on the sufficiency of the cases present in that area as well as the results measured during testing. We describe how the application of this technique could be of benefit to the real world problem of sales advisory systems, among others

Numerical and Experimental Analysis of the Powder Flow Streams in the Laser Aided Material Deposition Process

Axial powder stream concentration between the nozzle end and the deposition point is an important process parameter in the laser aided material deposition process. The powder concentration is greatly influenced by the nozzle geometry in use. This paper describes the numerical and experimental analysis of this important parameter in relation to the coaxial nozzle. The experiments are performed with the different nozzle geometries to generate various flow patterns of the gravity fed powder in a cold stream. The results of the experimental analysis are compared with the numerical simulation and found justified. These results are used in concluding the significance of important nozzle parameters for various powder concentration modes.Mechanical Engineerin

NGC 4138 - A Case Study in Counterrotating Disk Formation

The Sa(r) galaxy NGC 4138 has been recently found to contain an extensive counterrotating disk which appears to be still forming. Up to a third of the stars in the disk system may be on retrograde orbits. A counterrotating ring of H II regions, along with extended counterrotating H I gas, suggests that the retrograde material has been recently acquired in the gas phase and is still trickling in. Using numerical simulations, we have attempted to model the process by which the counterrotating mass has been accreted by this galaxy. We investigate two possibilities: continuous retrograde infall of gas, and a retrograde merger with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy. Both processes are successful in producing a counterrotating disk of the observed mass and dimensions without heating up the primary significantly. Contrary to our experience with a fiducial cold, thin primary disk, the gas-rich merger works well for the massive, compact primary disk of NGC 4138 even though the mass of the dwarf galaxy is a significant fraction of the mass of the primary disk. Although we have restricted ourselves mainly to coplanar infall and mergers, we report on one inclined infall simulation as well. We also explore the possibility that the H-alpha ring seen in the inner half of the disk is a consequence of counterrotating gas clouds colliding with corotating gas already present in the disk and forming stars in the process.Comment: To appear in ApJ, 21 pages, LaTeX (aaspp4) format, 17 figs (gzipped tar file) also available at ftp://bessel.mps.ohio-state.edu/pub/thakar/cr2/ or at http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/~thakar

Studies on the Toxicity of TBT and Efficacy of few Therapeutic Treatments in some vital Tissues of Developing Chick

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Antibiotic Awareness Week: An Update

Antibiotic Awareness Week: An Update Editorial Comment by Dr. Sahil Thakar, Co-Editor, IHR

Time to be Alert!! Stay Safe from the Omicron Variant of COVID-19

Editorial Comment By Dr. Sahil Thakar on Behalf of the Editorial Board, IHR

Environmentalism: Now With More Empathy for Conservatives

We live in an age where stories of war, disease, hatred and celebrity wardrobe decisions spread at the speed of light. Some activists see waste and ignorance that needs to be toppled — others among us see an opportunity to widely disseminate a story that also speaks to people’s fears, indignance and boredom, but swiftly moves them to an inspiring new vision of what is possible for them to create here and now. It appears we have the raw materials for such a thing: The task of turning cynicism and apathy around has, in fact, a grounding in recent Ivy-League, Nobel Prize-winning psychological research. Tesla Motors' slick electric cars make headlines and high stock prices, with promises of bigger industrial feats to come. Better Block’s citizen activist- entrepreneurs, though without explicitly environmental aims, take over and renovate abandoned lots and storefronts with a joyful and reckless glee that's already gone viral. The idea that one could wrap these names, and the stories they represent, into a bigger and more powerful narrative — a story that reframes environmentalism as a sane, responsible, happy, energetic, and even profitable endeavor that inspires even the most apathetic to act — is less unthinkable.