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The theory of T-spherical fuzzy (T-SF) sets possesses remarkable capability to manage intricate uncertain information. The REGIME method is a well-established technique concerning discrete choice analysis. This paper comes up with a multiple-criteria choice analysis approach supported by the REGIME structure for manipulating T-SF uncertainties. This paper constructs new-created measurements such as superiority identifiers and guide indices for relative attractiveness and fittingness, respectively, between T-SF characteristics. This study evolves the T-SF REGIME I and II prioritization procedures for decision support. The application and comparative studies exhibit the effectiveness and favorable features of the propounded T-SF REGIME methodology in real decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contains some remarks on building automated counterpart of a comparison of some generalized rough approximations of sets, where the classical indiscernibility relation is generalized to arbitrary binary relation. Our focus was on translating rationality postulates for such operators by means of the Mizar system – the software and the database which allows for expressing and checking mathematical knowledge for the logical correctness. The main objective was the formal (and machine-checked) proof of Theorem 4.1 from A. Gomolińska's paper "A Comparative Study of Some Generalized Rough Approximations", hence the present title. We provide also the discussion on how to make the presentation more efficient to reuse the reasoning techniques of the Mizar verifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ontology Driven Software Development (ODSD) combines traditional Model Based Software Development (MBSD) techniques with ontology technology in order to provide extensions to and advantages over MBSD. The goal of the paper is to identify current ODSD approaches and to provide qualitative and comparative analysis of the collection of identified approaches. Main research questions of the paper concern the ways of how ontologies are integrated toMBSD process and how their usage advances MBSD. Benefits and challenges of each of the discussed approaches are presented. The analysis is based on literature and projects reviews in the fields of ontology engineering, MBSD and ODSD. The result of the analysis provides understanding of what is the role of ontologies in ODSD and shows whether application of ontology technologies to the MBSD process gives rise to a new paradigm called consistency preserving software development or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the problem of high-school time-tabling that is important in applications, but hard for solving. The algorithm is presented for timetabling based on Multi-start and Simulated Annealing with parameters adapted using the Bayes approach. The algorithm proposed is compared with other timetabling algorithms using the web-based software. A multi-start algorithm is a simple way to provide the convergence, if the number of uniformly distributed starting points is large. A disadvantage is slow convergence. Therefore, the first aim of this paper is experimental comparisons of the efficiency of different versions of multi-start algorithms in the optimization of timetables. To obtain representative results, the algorithms should be compatible with the Lithuanian high school practice and flexible enough for adaptation to different high schools. The second aim is a web-based implementation of these algorithms in a way convenient for high schools. The web-based software is important for evaluation and comparison of algorithms by independent experts, as well, since the efficiency of algorithms depends on subjective parameters specific to each school, so on-line calculations are needed to obtain representative data. It is useful for scientific cooperation and applications to different schools. In addition, the software for evaluating of real timetables is included to compare with the results of optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful exams require a balance of easy, medium, and difficult questions. Question difficulty is generally either estimated by an expert or determined after an exam is taken. The latter provides no utility for the generation of new questions and the former is expensive both in terms of time and cost. Additionally, it is not known whether expert prediction is indeed a good proxy for estimating question difficulty. In this paper, we analyse and compare two ontology-based measures for difficulty prediction of multiple choice questions, as well as comparing each measure with expert prediction (by 15 experts) against the exam performance of 12 residents over a corpus of 231 medical case-based questions that are in multiple choice format. We find one ontology-based measure (relation strength indicativeness) to be of comparable performance (accuracy = 47%) to expert prediction (average accuracy = 49%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Infants can have muscle hypertonia due to cerebral palsy, muscle strength imbalances due to brachial plexus palsy, refractory clubfoot, and torticollis. These muscle problems can cause significant development impairments. A child with severe sialorrhea and dysphagia from leukodystrophy can aspirate, causing respiratory problems. Botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections can improve these conditions but may lead to adverse effects from the toxin spreading to non-targeted muscles, potentially impacting breathing, swallowing, and overall strength. This is particularly concerning in infants. This study assessed the safety of BoNT injections in children less than one year of age. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients (22 male, 25 female) received BoNT injections before one year of age (three to 12 months). Thirty-seven received one round of injections and 10 were injected on multiple occasions. Forty-five received onabotulinumtoxinA (15–100 units [U], 1.9–15.2 U/kg), one received abobotulinumtoxinA (70 U, 9.0 U/kg), and one received incobotulinumtoxinA (25 U, 3.5 U/kg). Lower extremities were treated in 15 patients, upper extremities in 38, the sternocleidomastoid in two, and the salivary glands in one. Forty-five patients had no reported complications. One experienced transient fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. The parent of another reported subjective weakness in one muscle. CONCLUSION: BoNT injections in children less than one year of age appear to be safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Informatica is the property of IOS Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper shows a few novel calculations for wind speed estimation, which is focused around soft computing. The inputs of to the estimators are picked as the wind turbine power coefficient, rotational rate and blade pitch angle. Polynomial and radial basis function (RBF) are applied as the kernel function of Support Vector Regression (SVR) technique to estimate the wind speed in this study. Instead of minimizing the observed training error, SVR_poly and SVR_rbf attempt to minimize the generalization error bound so as to achieve generalized performance. The results are compared with the adaptive neuro-fuzzy (ANFIS) results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An application of fuzzy modeling to the problem of telecommunications time-series prediction is proposed in this paper. The model building process is a two-stage sequential algorithm, based on Subtractive Clustering (SC) and the Orthogonal Least Squares (OLS) techniques. Particularly, the SC is first employed to partition the input space and determine the number of fuzzy rules and the premise parameters. In the sequel, an orthogonal estimator determines the input terms which should be included in the consequent part of each fuzzy rule and calculate their parameters. A comparative analysis with well-established forecasting models is conducted on real world telecommunications data, where the characteristics of the proposed forecaster are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction site selection is a complex probleminvolving many alternatives and conflicting criteria with vague and imprecise evaluations. Fuzzymulti-criteria decision-making methods are the most effective tools to obtain optimum solutions under possibilistic uncertainty. In this paper, a novel interval hesitant fuzzy CODAS method is proposed and applied to a residential construction site selection problem. A comparative analysis with ordinary fuzzy CODAS method is applied for validating the proposed method. Also, a sensitivity analysis is conducted for the stability of the ranking results of the interval hesitant fuzzy CODAS method. The results of the analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: This pilot study aimed to determine the parent/caregiver's role in nutrition/eating habits, physical activity behaviors, and food access among children diagnosed with spina bifida (SB). METHODS: Parents/caregivers of children with SB were asked to participate at a single, outpatient SB clinic. Demographic, biomedical data, parent/caregiver nutrition knowledge, family nutrition and physical activity (FNPA), and food security survey scores were compared. Descriptive, regression, and correlational statistics were conducted for analysis via SPSS 29. RESULTS: Of the 117 parents/caregivers surveyed, completed data suggested most were overweight/obese (average body mass index [BMI] of 30.63 kg/m2±8.40; n = 99) with an average nutrition knowledge score of 71% (17.83±3.33). As FNPA scores decreased, the patient/child's maximum BMI z scores increased (β= –0.043; confidence interval –0.079, –0.007; p = 0.020), suggesting the less active and/or less healthy eating habits, the higher body mass was noted for the child. Forty four percent of children (n = 99) were in the overweight/obese weight range based on maximum BMI z score. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest there is a need for parental/caregiver nutrition education to assist children with SB with meal and activity planning to achieve optimal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: This study aimed to analyze organ system-based causes and non-organ system-based mechanisms of death (COD, MOD) in people with myelomeningocele (MMC), comparing urological to other COD. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of 16 institutions in Canada/United States of non-random convenience sample of people with MMC (born > = 1972) using non-parametric statistics. RESULTS: Of 293 deaths (89% shunted hydrocephalus), 12% occurred in infancy, 35% in childhood, and 53% in adulthood (documented COD: 74%). For 261 shunted individuals, leading COD were neurological (21%) and pulmonary (17%), and leading MOD were infections (34%, including shunt infections: 4%) and non-infectious shunt malfunctions (14%). For 32 unshunted individuals, leading COD were pulmonary (34%) and cardiovascular (13%), and leading MOD were infections (38%) and non-infectious pulmonary (16%). COD and MOD varied by shunt status and age (p < = 0.04), not ambulation or birthyear (p > = 0.16). Urology-related deaths (urosepsis, renal failure, hematuria, bladder perforation/cancer: 10%) were more likely in females (p = 0.01), independent of age, shunt, or ambulatory status (p > = 0.40). COD/MOD were independent of bladder augmentation (p = >0.11). Unexplained deaths while asleep (4%) were independent of age, shunt status, and epilepsy (p >= 0.47). CONCLUSION: COD varied by shunt status. Leading MOD were infectious. Urology-related deaths (10%) were independent of shunt status; 26% of COD were unknown. Life-long multidisciplinary care and accurate mortality documentation are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work compares different algorithms to replace the genetic optimizer used in a recent methodology for creating realistic and computationally efficient neuron models. That method focuses on single-neuron processing and has been applied to cerebellar granule cells. It relies on the adaptive-exponential integrate-and-fire (AdEx) model, which must be adjusted with experimental data. The alternatives considered are: i) a memetic extension of the original genetic method, ii) Differential Evolution, iii) Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization, and iv) a local optimizer within a multi-start procedure. All of them ultimately outperform the original method, and the last two do it in all the scenarios considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data involving spatial and/or temporal attributes are often represented at different levels of granularity in different source schemata. In this work, a model of such multigranular data is developed, which supports not only the usual order structure on granules, but also lattice-like join and disjointness operators for relating such granules in much more complex ways. In addition, a model for multigranular thematic attributes, to which aggregation operators are applied, is provided. Finally, the notion of a thematic multigranular comparison dependency, generalizing ordinary functional and order dependencies but specifically designed to model the kinds of functional and order dependencies which arise in the multigranular context, and in particular incorporating aggregation into the definition of the constraint, is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an adaptive inverse control scheme, which employs a neural network for the system identification phase and updates its weights in online mode. The theoretical basis of the method is given and its performance is illustrated by means of its application to different control problems showing that our proposal is able to overcome the problems generated by dynamic nature of the process or by physical changes of the system which originate important modifications in the process. A comparative experimental study is presented in order to show the more stable behavior of the proposed method in several working ranks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we evaluated the effects of the normalization procedures on decision outcomes of a given MADM method. For this aim, using the weights of a number of attributes calculated from FAHP method, we applied TOPSIS method to evaluate the financial performances of 13 Turkish deposit banks. In doing this, we used the most popular four normalization procedures. Our study revealed that vector normalization procedure, which is mostly used in the TOPSIS method by default, generated the most consistent results. Among the linear normalization procedures, max-min and max methods appeared as the possible alternatives to the vector normalization procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]