The development of a fuzzy expert system to help top decision makers in political and investment domains

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel UniversityThe world’s increasing interconnectedness and the recent increase in the number of notable regional and international events pose greater and greater challenges for political decision-making, especially the decision to strengthen bilateral economic relationships between friendly nations. Typically, such critical decisions are influenced by certain factors and variables that are based on heterogeneous and vague information that exists in different domains. A serious problem that the decision-maker faces is the difficulty in building efficient political decision support systems (DSS) with heterogeneous factors. One must take many factors into account, for example, language (natural or human language), the availability, or lack thereof, of precise data (vague information), and possible consequences (rule conclusions). The basic concept is a linguistic variable whose values are words rather than numbers and are therefore closer to human intuition. A common language is thus needed to describe such information which requires human knowledge for interpretation. To achieve robustness and efficiency of interpretation, we need to apply a method that can be used to generate high-level knowledge and information integration. Fuzzy logic is based on natural language and is tolerant of imprecise data. Fuzzy logic’s greatest strength lies in its ability to handle imprecise data, and it is perfectly suited for this situation. In this thesis, we propose to use ontology to integrate the scattered information resources from the political and investment domains. The process started with understanding each concept and extracting key ideas and relationships between sets of information by constructing object paradigm ontology. Re-engineering according to the object-paradigm (OP) provided quality for the developed ontology where conceptualization can provide more expressive, reusable object and temporal ontology. Then fuzzy logic has been integrated with ontology. And a fuzzy ontology membership value that reflects the strength of an inter-concept relationship to represent pairs of concepts across ontology has been consistently used. Each concept is assigned a fixed numerical value representing the concept consistency. Concept consistency is computed as a function of strength of all the relationships associated with the concept. Fuzzy expert systems enable one to weigh the consequences (rule conclusions) of certain choices based on vague information. Rule conclusions follow from rules composed of two parts, the if antecedent (input) and the then consequent (output). With fuzzy expert systems, one uses fuzzy logic toolbox graphical user interface (GUI) tools to build up a fuzzy inference system (FIS) to aid in decision-making. This research includes four main phases to develop a prototype architecture for an intelligent DSS that can help top political decision makers

Exploring multiplicative reasoning with grade four learners through structured problem solving

Research Report submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg In partial fulfilment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Science (Mathematics Education) Johannesburg, 2017South Africa’s performance in mathematics education is ranked amongst the world’s worst. This performance is not only alarming at an international level, but also nationally. Annual National Assessments (ANA) conducted by the Department of Education have showed that the level of mathematics across the foundation and intermediate phase is poor with a pronounced dip in performance at a Grade 4 level (Department of Basic Education, 2014). Multiplication and division are common challenging areas that contribute to this poor performance. This is concerning as mathematics is globally recognised as a key competence for providing access to higher education and developing a country’s society and economy. My study, aimed at exploring multiplicative reasoning with Grade 4 learners through structured problem solving, is focused on the learning of multiplication and division within the context of an intervention concentrated on developing learners’ ability to model multiplicative situations. Shifts in the use of models were investigated following a smallscale intervention in which different modelling approaches (particularly ratio modelling) were introduced and developed. A control group was used to determine the usefulness of the intervention. Questions which I sought to answer were: (a) what kinds of multiplicative reasoning (models) are Grade 4 learners using prior to intervention, (b) what changes, if any, are seen in overall performance, across the intervention and control group, in the post-test, and, (c) what kinds of differences in model use were associated with the shifts in performance? The main dataset comprised of 61 pre- and post-test scripts across three Grade 4 classes in a former Model C school in a Johannesburg district. A sample of 15 interviews were also conducted across the classes. Document analysis and transcription notes were used to analyse data with a Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) framework informing my analysis. Findings from my study reveal that prior to intervention, Grade 4 learners presented limited multiplicative models which were predominantly confined to traditional algorithms. After the small-scale intervention, learners used a broader range of models with an emerging take up of ratio models. The success rate associated with the models presented by learners also improved. Limited and/or no changes in model use and their respective success rates were seen in the control group suggesting that the intervention program was useful. These findings suggest that, as a future recommendation, it would be worthwhile to investigate the outcomes of running a similar intervention in less privileged settings.MT 201

Trust Account Fraud and Effective Information Security Management

The integrity of lawyers’ trust accounts has come under scrutiny in the last few years. There are strong possibilities of information technology security breaches happening within the firms, either accidental or deliberate. The damage caused by these security breaches could be extreme. For example, a trust account fund in an Australian law firm was misused in a security breach in which Telstra charged A$50,000 for phone usage, mainly for ISD calls to Hong Kong. Our study involved interviewing principals of ten law companies to find out solicitors’ attitudes to computer security and the possibility of breaches of their trust accounts. We simultaneously carried out a survey to see if the trends identified in our case-studies could be backed up with broader quantitative data. We have also conducted in-depth interviews of five trust account regulators from the Law society of South Australia to know their view points on security threats on trust accounts. An overall finding highlights that law firms were not current with technology to combat computer crime, and inadequate access control was a major concern in safeguarding account data. Our conclusions revealed the urgent need for law firms to adopt security controls, implement information security policies and procedures and obtain cooperation from management to communicate these policies to staff

INFLUENCE OF THE SEROTONERGIC SYSTEM ON PHYSIOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND BEHAVIOR OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

The regulation and modulation of the serotonergic system is clinically significant in humans. Abnormally low levels of serotonin can result in depression and conditions like panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, sudden infant death syndrome, and eating disorders. The mechanistic role of serotonin (5-HT) on the neural circuits related with these diseases is not definitively known. Drosophila is a simple model system that provides an advantage over vertebrates to modify genetically and for electrophysiological studies on identifiable cells. In this organism the sensory-CNS-motor circuit is modulated by 5-HT, octopamine (OA), and dopamine (DA), which gives one insight that these neuromodulators are playing a role in central neuronal circuits. The role of 5-HT in the behavior and development of Drosophila melanogaster larvae is being studied. p-CPA (para-chlorophenylalanine) blocks the synthesis of 5-HT by inhibiting tryptophan hydroxylase. The development, behavior and physiology in 3rd instar larvae are affected after feeding this drug. MDMA (3,4 methylenedioxyamphetamine), an analog of methamphetamine is a drug of abuse that has been shown to cause depletion of 5-HT from nerve terminals. It causes the 5-HT transporter to work in reverse. Thus, a dumping of 5-HT results. In Drosophila 3rd instar larva development, physiology and behavior are effected when MDMA is fed throughout their development period. Also at the fly neuromuscular junction, (NMJ) MDMA is causing more evoked vesicular release of glutamate from the presynaptic nerve terminal. Also using anti-sense expression of the 5-HT2dro receptor, role of 5-HT and one of its receptors is studied on development, physiology and behavior. Knock down of 5-HT2dro resulted in developmental delay. Physiology and behavior were also abnormal in these animals

Guide to undertaking virtual respiratory assessment for adults. NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation 2020

Healthcare assessments have traditionally been undertaken during face-to-face clinical interactions. Social distancing requirements introduced to prevent community transmission of COVID-19 have resulted in much broader use of virtual care models. This document provides guidance about broader virtual basic respiratory assessment for patients with acute and chronic respiratory condition

Green synthesis, characterization and in-vitro bioactivities of gold nanoparticles mediated by turmeric crude extract and curcumin

In the present study, green synthesis and characterization of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using the ethanolic crude extract of turmeric (Tur-CE) and curcumin (Cur) have been described. Antioxidant, anticholinesterase (anti-ChE), and antiurolithiatic activities of the extracts and the GNPs were tested in vitro and Pearson’s correlation analysis was performed. The optimization of GNP synthesis was performed using Tur-CE (2 % of 10 mg/mL) and curcumin (0.5 % of 10 mg/mL) at a reactant ratio (Tur-CE or Cur: HAuCl4) of 1:4, pH 6 and 12 of Tur-CE and curcumin, respectively. The other conditions include the concentration of HAuCl4 (0.25 mM) and different reaction temperatures (25, 40, 55 and 70 °C). FESEM analysis of GNPs synthesized at 25 °C by using Tur-CE (TP6.25) and curcumin (CP12.25) revealed the size range of 11-40 and 31-100 nm, respectively. The highest antioxidant activity was recorded for TP6.25, that is, 82.60, 79.60 and 12.22 % for ABTS, DPPH and FRAP, respectively, and anti-ChE activity at 75.10 and 74.33 % for AChE and BChE, respectively, However, the maximum % I for ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP, that is, 87.20, 86.00 % and 19.36 µg FSE, respectively, was shown by positive control ascorbic acid, and for AChE and BChE inhibition, 86.69 and 89.30 %, respectively, by galanthamine. TP6.25 also showed good antiurolithiatic activity as indicated by absorbance value of 0.198 and 0.164 in nucleation and crystallization assays, respectively. Pearson correlation revealed a positive correlation between antioxidant and anti-ChE, as well as antioxidant and antiurolithiatic activities. The GNPs were haemocompatible as TP6.25 and CP12.25 induced 1.172 and 0.763 % haemolysis, respectively, at the highest concentration of 500 µL in haemolysis assay compared to 99.85 % haemolysis by positive control. In conclusion, Tur-GNPs and Cur-GNPs possess good antioxidant, anticholinesterase and antiurolithiatic properties, in addition to being non-haemolytic, may be an option to further explore their therapeutic potential as antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antiurolithiatic agents in neurodegeneration and urolithiasis