Bücher veröffentlicht von Springer US

The conjunction of knowledge discovery and multimedia documents presents a very important challenge. This new field of knowledge discovery in multimedia documents, dealing with non-structured information such as texts, images, videos, audio and virtual data, requires the collaboration of experts in many areas of interest revolving around document management systems, data mining, visual computing, signal processing, multimedia data and machine learning. Multimedia Mining: A Highway to Intelligent Multimedia Documents will bring together experts in digital media content analysis, state-of-art data mining and knowledge discovery in multimedia database systems, knowledge engineers and domain experts from diverse applied disciplines.Multimedia documents are ubiquitous and often required, if not essential, in many applications today. This phenomenon has made multimedia documents widespread and extremely large. There are tools for managing and searching within these collections, but the need for tools to extract hidden useful knowledge embedded within multimedia objects is becoming pressing and central for many decision-making applications. The tools needed today are tools for discovering relationships between objects or segments within multimedia document components, such as classifying images based on their content, extracting patterns in sound, categorizing speech and music, and recognizing and tracking objects in video streams.Multimedia Mining: A Highway to Intelligent Multimedia Documents is designed to meet the needs of a professional audience composed of researchers and practitioners in industry and graduate-level students in computer science and engineering.

Pituitary Disease brings together an international panel of experts who summarize the most recent and exciting advances in the diagnosis and treatment of pituitary disease. Coverage includes pathogenesis and pathology of pituitary tumors; clinical scenarios underpinning each type of pituitary tumor as well as their diagnosis and treatment. It is a useful resource for clinicians, students or researchers with an interest in the pituitary and its disorders.

In today's complex, geographically mobile, electronically wired information society, the problem of identifying a person continues to pose a great challenge. Since the conventional technology of using a Personal Identification Number (PIN) or password hardly meets the requirements of an authentication system, biometric-based authentication is emerging as the most reliable method. Biometric Solutions for Authentication in an E-World provides a collection of sixteen chapters containing tutorial articles and new material in a unified manner. This includes the basic concepts, theories, and characteristic features of integrating/formulating different facets of biometric solutions for authentication, with recent developments and significant applications in an E-world. This book provides the reader with a basic concept of biometrics, an in-depth discussion exploring biometric technologies in various applications in an E-world. It also includes a detailed description of typical biometric-based security systems and up-to-date coverage of how these issues are developed. Experts from all over the world demonstrate the various ways this integration can be made to efficiently design methodologies, algorithms, architectures, and implementations for biometric-based applications in an E-world. Biometric Solutions for Authentication in an E-World meets the needs of a professional audience composed of researchers and practitioners in industry and graduate-level students in computer science and engineering. Researchers and practitioners in research and development laboratories working in fields of security systems design, biometrics, immigration, law enforcement, control, pattern recognition, and the Internet will benefit from this book.

Fungal infections are an increasing problem in critically ill patients and these infections carry an attributable mortality that is much higher than corresponding bacterial infections. In both Europe and North America, Candida infections predominate and much of this book concentrates on the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment of these infections. Particular reference is made to the cross-infection problems of Candida infection and the importance of infection control and preventative measures. However, other fungal infections are increasingly being seen in critically ill patients. This book is designed to offer a European and North American perspective on each topic. There are many similarities in experience and clinical practice but also significant differences that we hope will stimulate further thought and study. We hope the book will be of interest to intensivists, infectious disease specialists, medical microbiologists, and all those with an involvement in critical care. Progress in intensive care medicine is resulting in a growing population of critically ill patients at risk of fungal infection. Further improvements in survival will require a multidisciplinary approach.

Microarray technology is a major experimental tool for functional genomic explorations, and will continue to be a major tool throughout this decade and beyond. The recent explosion of this technology threatens to overwhelm the scientific community with massive quantities of data. Because microarray data analysis is an emerging field, very few analytical models currently exist. Methods of Microarray Data Analysis is one of the first books dedicated to this exciting new field. In a single reference, readers can learn about the most up-to-date methods ranging from data normalization, feature selection and discriminative analysis to machine learning techniques. Currently, there are no standard procedures for the design and analysis of microarray experiments. Methods of Microarray Data Analysis focuses on two well-known data sets, using a different method of analysis in each chapter. Real examples expose the strengths and weaknesses of each method for a given situation, aimed at helping readers choose appropriate protocols and utilize them for their own data set. In addition, web links are provided to the programs and tools discussed in several chapters. This book is an excellent reference not only for academic and industrial researchers, but also for core bioinformatics/genomics courses in undergraduate and graduate programs.

Research and development of logic synthesis and verification have matured considerably over the past two decades. Many commercial products are available, and they have been critical in harnessing advances in fabrication technology to produce today's plethora of electronic components. While this maturity is assuring, the advances in fabrication continue to seemingly present unwieldy challenges. Logic Synthesis and Verification provides a state-of-the-art view of logic synthesis and verification. It consists of fifteen chapters, each focusing on a distinct aspect. Each chapter presents key developments, outlines future challenges, and lists essential references. Two unique features of this book are technical strength and comprehensiveness. The book chapters are written by twenty-eight recognized leaders in the field and reviewed by equally qualified experts. The topics collectively span the field. Logic Synthesis and Verification fills a current gap in the existing CAD literature. Each chapter contains essential information to study a topic at a great depth, and to understand further developments in the field. The book is intended for seniors, graduate students, researchers, and developers of related Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools. From the foreword: "e;The commercial success of logic synthesis and verification is due in large part to the ideas of many of the authors of this book. Their innovative work contributed to design automation tools that permanently changed the course of electronic design."e; by Aart J. de Geus, Chairman and CEO, Synopsys, Inc.

Infection Control in the ICU Environment provides the details of the most common infection control problems facing intensive care units. Authors include noted scientists, intensivists and epidemiologists from the United States and Europe as well as infection control experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Acinetobacter, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin resistant enterococci are examined in detail. This volume also includes cutting edge information regarding the potential for prophylactic and pre-emptive therapy of fungal infections in intensive care units. Innovations in vascular catheter care and prevention of bloodstream infections are discussed in this volume as well as the newest information in mathematical modeling to understand the epidemiology and control of infections in intensive care units.

The discovery and concept that Helicobacter pylori is associated with gastric disease including gastric cancer which is one of the most common and frequently lethal forms of malignancy, heralded a new and rapidly expanding field recognizing the emergence of many new pathogens and disease syndromes in clinical medicine, as well as basic infectious disease research. There is now an extensive and widely known literature of how H. pylori is involved in a wide variety of disease syn- dromes. As summarized in the introductory chapter of this volume, many major advances have been made in diagnosis, both serologic and endoscopic in time of the involvement of this organism in patients with upper GI ailments as well as its presence in those who are not clinically ill. The Introduction describes the rapid development of understanding the role of this organism in disease. The basic bacteriology of H. pylori is then described in the second chapter. Diagnostic tests for detecting H. pylori infection is then highlighted, as well as the role of such infection in gastric cancer. Current knowledge concerning risk factors and peptic ulcer pathology associated with H. pylori is then described. Newer information concerning therapy of H. pylori infection and colonization is described in a subsequent chapter as well as one concerning the effects of anti- biotics on H. pylori infection. The extensive literature on natural substances with anti-H.

It is evident that biochemical control is not strictly hierarchical and that intermediary metabolism can contribute to control of regulatory pathways. Metabolic studies are therefore increasingly important in gene function analyses, and an increased interest in metabolites as biomarkers for disease progression or response to therapeutic intervention is also evident in the pharmaceutical industry. This book offers guidelines to currently available technology and bioinformatics and database strategies now being developed. Evidence is presented that metabolic profiling is a valuable addition to genomics and proteomics strategies devoted to drug discovery and development, and that metabolic profiling offers numerous advantages.

The proliferation of massive data sets brings with it a series of special computational challenges. This "e;data avalanche"e; arises in a wide range of scientific and commercial applications. With advances in computer and information technologies, many of these challenges are beginning to be addressed by diverse inter-disciplinary groups, that indude computer scientists, mathematicians, statisticians and engineers, working in dose cooperation with application domain experts. High profile applications indude astrophysics, bio-technology, demographics, finance, geographi- cal information systems, government, medicine, telecommunications, the environment and the internet. John R. Tucker of the Board on Mathe- matical Seiences has stated: "e;My interest in this problern (Massive Data Sets) isthat I see it as the rnost irnportant cross-cutting problern for the rnathernatical sciences in practical problern solving for the next decade, because it is so pervasive. "e; The Handbook of Massive Data Sets is comprised of articles writ- ten by experts on selected topics that deal with some major aspect of massive data sets. It contains chapters on information retrieval both in the internet and in the traditional sense, web crawlers, massive graphs, string processing, data compression, dustering methods, wavelets, op- timization, external memory algorithms and data structures, the US national duster project, high performance computing, data warehouses, data cubes, semi-structured data, data squashing, data quality, billing in the large, fraud detection, and data processing in astrophysics, air pollution, biomolecular data, earth observation and the environment.

The stochastic calculus of variations of Paul Malliavin (1925 - 2010), known today as the Malliavin Calculus, has found many applications, within and beyond the core mathematical discipline. Stochastic analysis provides a fruitful interpretation of this calculus, particularly as described by David Nualart and the scores of mathematicians he influences and with whom he collaborates. Many of these, including leading stochastic analysts and junior researchers, presented their cutting-edge research at an international conference in honor of David Nualart's career, on March 19-21, 2011, at the University of Kansas, USA. These scholars and other top-level mathematicians have kindly contributed research articles for this refereed volume.

, Adrenal and Endocrine Tumors in Children' is the third volume in the series, 'Cancer Treatment and Research' devoted to pediatric oncology. Like its predecessors, it is organized into two sections. The first section again deals with issues of basic research germane to the understanding of childhood malignancies. In volume 3, the scope of the first section has been broadened to include a review that is epidemiologically oriented and a second review that is psychologically oriented. In the second part, major pediatric oncology units in Japan, Australia, Europe and the Americas have been invited to report their experience with of the multiple endocrine adrenal cortical carcinomas and the presentation neoplasia syndromes in children. In addition to these institutional reports of case material, there are reviews on genetics, pathology, and a diagnostic evaluation of children. The overview chapter on adrenal cortical carcinoma includes recommendations for radiotherapy from Dr. D' Angio and for che- motherapy from Dr. Philip Schein. Individuals using these recommended therapies are encouraged to report their results to the editors. The informa- tion will then be made available to others on request. List of Contributors ACTON, Dr. Ronald, Diabetes Research Hospital, Room 817, 1808 7th Ave. South, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA. BAUM, Edward S., M.D., Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University Medical School, Children's Memorial Hospital, 2300 Child- ren's Plaza, Chicago, IL 60614, USA. BENZ, Dr. Chris c., Dept. of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.

From the Proceedings of the Meeting of the American Section of the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) at Hilton Head, South Carolina, September 21-24, 1983

It appears that we live in an age of disasters: the mighty Missis- sippi and Missouri flood millions of acres, earthquakes hit Tokyo and California, airplanes crash due to mechanical failure and the seemingly ever increasing wind speeds make the storms more and more frightening. While all these may seem to be unexpected phenomena to the man on the street, they are actually happening according to well defined rules of science known as extreme value theory. We know that records must be broken in the future, so if a flood design is based on the worst case of the past then we are not really prepared against floods. Materials will fail due to fatigue, so if the body of an aircraft looks fine to the naked eye, it might still suddenly fail if the aircraft has been in operation over an extended period of time. Our theory has by now penetrated the so- cial sciences, the medical profession, economics and even astronomy. We believe that our field has come of age. In or~er to fully utilize the great progress in the theory of extremes and its ever increasing acceptance in practice, an international conference was organized in which equal weight was given to theory and practice. This book is Volume I of the Proceedings of this conference. In selecting the papers for Volume lour guide was to have authoritative works with a large variety of coverage of both theory and practice.

On February 15-17, 1993, a conference on Large Scale Optimization, hosted by the Center for Applied Optimization, was held at the University of Florida. The con- ference was supported by the National Science Foundation, the U. S. Army Research Office, and the University of Florida, with endorsements from SIAM, MPS, ORSA and IMACS. Forty one invited speakers presented papers on mathematical program- ming and optimal control topics with an emphasis on algorithm development, real world applications and numerical results. Participants from Canada, Japan, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Greece, and Denmark gave the meeting an important international component. At- tendees also included representatives from IBM, American Airlines, US Air, United Parcel Serice, AT & T Bell Labs, Thinking Machines, Army High Performance Com- puting Research Center, and Argonne National Laboratory. In addition, the NSF sponsored attendance of thirteen graduate students from universities in the United States and abroad. Accurate modeling of scientific problems often leads to the formulation of large- scale optimization problems involving thousands of continuous and/or discrete vari- ables. Large scale optimization has seen a dramatic increase in activities in the past decade. This has been a natural consequence of new algorithmic developments and of the increased power of computers. For example, decomposition ideas proposed by G. Dantzig and P. Wolfe in the 1960's, are now implement able in distributed process- ing systems, and today many optimization codes have been implemented on parallel machines.

Primary Audience for the Book * Specialists in numerical computations who are interested in algorithms with automatic result verification. * Engineers, scientists, and practitioners who desire results with automatic verification and who would therefore benefit from the experience of suc- cessful applications. * Students in applied mathematics and computer science who want to learn these methods. Goal Of the Book This book contains surveys of applications of interval computations, i. e. , appli- cations of numerical methods with automatic result verification, that were pre- sented at an international workshop on the subject in EI Paso, Texas, February 23-25, 1995. The purpose of this book is to disseminate detailed and surveyed information about existing and potential applications of this new growing field. Brief Description of the Papers At the most fundamental level, interval arithmetic operations work with sets: The result of a single arithmetic operation is the set of all possible results as the operands range over the domain. For example, [0. 9,1. 1] + [2. 9,3. 1] = [3. 8,4. 2], where [3. 8,4. 2] = {x + ylx E [0. 9,1. 1] and y E [3. 8,4. 2]}. The power of interval arithmetic comes from the fact that (i) the elementary operations and standard functions can be computed for intervals with formulas and subroutines; and (ii) directed roundings can be used, so that the images of these operations (e. g.

Optimization problems abound in most fields of science, engineering, and tech- nology. In many of these problems it is necessary to compute the global optimum (or a good approximation) of a multivariable function. The variables that define the function to be optimized can be continuous and/or discrete and, in addition, many times satisfy certain constraints. Global optimization problems belong to the complexity class of NP-hard prob- lems. Such problems are very difficult to solve. Traditional descent optimization algorithms based on local information are not adequate for solving these problems. In most cases of practical interest the number of local optima increases, on the aver- age, exponentially with the size of the problem (number of variables). Furthermore, most of the traditional approaches fail to escape from a local optimum in order to continue the search for the global solution. Global optimization has received a lot of attention in the past ten years, due to the success of new algorithms for solving large classes of problems from diverse areas such as engineering design and control, computational chemistry and biology, structural optimization, computer science, operations research, and economics. This book contains refereed invited papers presented at the conference on "e;State of the Art in Global Optimization: Computational Methods and Applications"e; held at Princeton University, April 28-30, 1995. The conference presented current re- search on global optimization and related applications in science and engineering. The papers included in this book cover a wide spectrum of approaches for solving global optimization problems and applications.

A function is convex if its epigraph is convex. This geometrical structure has very strong implications in terms of continuity and differentiability. Separation theorems lead to optimality conditions and duality for convex problems. A function is quasiconvex if its lower level sets are convex. Here again, the geo- metrical structure of the level sets implies some continuity and differentiability properties for quasiconvex functions. Optimality conditions and duality can be derived for optimization problems involving such functions as well. Over a period of about fifty years, quasiconvex and other generalized convex functions have been considered in a variety of fields including economies, man- agement science, engineering, probability and applied sciences in accordance with the need of particular applications. During the last twenty-five years, an increase of research activities in this field has been witnessed. More recently generalized monotonicity of maps has been studied. It relates to generalized convexity off unctions as monotonicity relates to convexity. Generalized monotonicity plays a role in variational inequality problems, complementarity problems and more generally, in equilibrium prob- lems.

About 60 scientists and students attended the 96' International Conference on Nonlinear Programming, which was held September 2-5 at Institute of Compu- tational Mathematics and Scientific/Engineering Computing (ICMSEC), Chi- nese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 25 participants were from outside China and 35 from China. The conference was to celebrate the 60's birthday of Professor M.J.D. Powell (Fellow of Royal Society, University of Cambridge) for his many contributions to nonlinear optimization. On behalf of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, vice president Professor Zhi- hong Xu attended the opening ceremony of the conference to express his warm welcome to all the participants. After the opening ceremony, Professor M.J.D. Powell gave the keynote lecture "e;The use of band matrices for second derivative approximations in trust region methods"e;. 13 other invited lectures on recent advances of nonlinear programming were given during the four day meeting: "e;Primal-dual methods for nonconvex optimization"e; by M. H. Wright (SIAM President, Bell Labs), "e;Interior point trajectories in semidefinite programming"e; by D. Goldfarb (Columbia University, Editor-in-Chief for Series A of Mathe- matical Programming), "e;An approach to derivative free optimization"e; by A.

This book presents a selection of papers presented to the Second Inter- national Symposium on Semi-Markov Models: Theory and Applications held in Compiegne (France) in December 1998. This international meeting had the same aim as the first one held in Brussels in 1984 : to make, fourteen years later, the state of the art in the field of semi-Markov processes and their applications, bring together researchers in this field and also to stimulate fruitful discussions. The set of the subjects of the papers presented in Compiegne has a lot of similarities with the preceding Symposium; this shows that the main fields of semi-Markov processes are now well established particularly for basic applications in Reliability and Maintenance, Biomedicine, Queue- ing, Control processes and production. A growing field is the one of insurance and finance but this is not really a surprising fact as the problem of pricing derivative products represents now a crucial problem in economics and finance. For example, stochastic models can be applied to financial and insur- ance models as we have to evaluate the uncertainty of the future market behavior in order, firstly, to propose different measures for important risks such as the interest risk, the risk of default or the risk of catas- trophe and secondly, to describe how to act in order to optimize the situation in time. Recently, the concept of VaR (Value at Risk) was "e;discovered"e; in portfolio theory enlarging so the fundamental model of Markowitz.

The technique of randomization has been employed to solve numerous prob- lems of computing both sequentially and in parallel. Examples of randomized algorithms that are asymptotically better than their deterministic counterparts in solving various fundamental problems abound. Randomized algorithms have the advantages of simplicity and better performance both in theory and often in practice. This book is a collection of articles written by renowned experts in the area of randomized parallel computing. A brief introduction to randomized algorithms In the aflalysis of algorithms, at least three different measures of performance can be used: the best case, the worst case, and the average case. Often, the average case run time of an algorithm is much smaller than the worst case. 2 For instance, the worst case run time of Hoare's quicksort is O(n ), whereas its average case run time is only O( n log n). The average case analysis is conducted with an assumption on the input space. The assumption made to arrive at the O( n log n) average run time for quicksort is that each input permutation is equally likely. Clearly, any average case analysis is only as good as how valid the assumption made on the input space is. Randomized algorithms achieve superior performances without making any assumptions on the inputs by making coin flips within the algorithm. Any analysis done of randomized algorithms will be valid for all p0:.sible inputs.

This book contains a selection of papers presented at the conference on High Performance Software for Nonlinear Optimization (HPSN097) which was held in Ischia, Italy, in June 1997. The rapid progress of computer technologies, including new parallel architec- tures, has stimulated a large amount of research devoted to building software environments and defining algorithms able to fully exploit this new computa- tional power. In some sense, numerical analysis has to conform itself to the new tools. The impact of parallel computing in nonlinear optimization, which had a slow start at the beginning, seems now to increase at a fast rate, and it is reasonable to expect an even greater acceleration in the future. As with the first HPSNO conference, the goal of the HPSN097 conference was to supply a broad overview of the more recent developments and trends in nonlinear optimization, emphasizing the algorithmic and high performance software aspects. Bringing together new computational methodologies with theoretical ad- vances and new computer technologies is an exciting challenge that involves all scientists willing to develop high performance numerical software. This book contains several important contributions from different and com- plementary standpoints. Obviously, the articles in the book do not cover all the areas of the conference topic or all the most recent developments, because of the large number of new theoretical and computational ideas of the last few years.

This volume of the Proceedings of the congress ISAAC '97 collects the con- tributions of the four sections 1. Function theoretic and functional analytic methods for pde, 2. Applications of function theory of several complex variables to pde, 3. Integral equations and boundary value problems, 4. Partial differential equations. Most but not all of the authors have participated in the congress. Unfortunately some from Eastern Europe and Asia have not managed to come because of lack of financial support. Nevertheless their manuscripts of the proposed talks are included in this volume. The majority of the papers deal with complex methods. Among them boundary value problems in particular the Riemann-Hilbert, the Riemann (Hilbert) and related problems are treated. Boundary behaviour of vector-valued functions are studied too. The Riemann-Hilbert problem is solved for elliptic complex equations, for mixed complex equations, and for several complex variables. It is considered in a general topological setting for mappings into q;n and related to Toeplitz operators. Convolution operators are investigated for nilpotent Lie groups leading to some consequences for the null space of the tangential Cauchy Riemann operator. Some boundary value problems for overdetermined systems in balls of q;n are solved explicitly. A survey is given for the Gauss-Manin connection associated with deformations of curve singularities. Several papers deal with generalizations of analytic functions with various applications to mathematical physics. Singular integrals in quaternionic anal- ysis are studied which are applied to the time-harmonic Maxwell equations.

Ronald Brisman, M.D. This book will discuss three areas where the The multiplicity of procedures with varying neurosurgeon may provide an important degrees of risks and benefits sometimes re- contribution to the relief of intractable pain: quires a sequential approach, but always an trigeminal and other facial neuralgias, chronic individual one, matching an appropriate treat- noncancer pain, and cancer pain. By one ment plan or procedure for a particular patient intervention, the neurosurgeon often may pro- at a specific time in his or her illness. vide long-lasting pain relief. New techniques, The neurosurgical chapters in this book which have developed since the 1970s and represent my experience with several hundred continue to evolve, dominate the neurosur- patients during a 12-year period from 1975 gical armamentarium because they are not only through 1987. I have relied heavily on the effective, but safe. These include percutaneous works of others, which have been quoted from radio frequency electrocoagulation for trigem- the neurosurgical literature, but this book is inal neuralgia, spinal stimulation for chronic not meant to be encyclopedic. noncancer pain, and intraspinal morphine in- At least as important as knowing when to fusion for cancer pain. operate is knowing when not to do so, and this Sometimes a procedure relieves pain but the is particularly true of the treatment of pain. pain recurs; it may be necessary to repeat the Most patients with pain do not require neuro- procedure, which in the case of radiofrequency surgical intervention.

Enormous progress has been made in the treatment of chronic renal failure over the last decades. Until the 1950s, chronic renal failure was considered to be an inexorably lethal condition. This is no longer the case. In addition, the disease, severe uremic syndrome, is now extremely rare, if existent at all, in industrialized countries. Physicians of my generation who saw patients hospitalized with hemor- raghes, pericarditis, severe anemia, cardiac failure, "e;malignant hypertension,"e; pruritus, vomiting, generalized edema, and convulsions are particularly grate- ful for this progress. I well remember seeing such patients hospitalized in the last days or weeks of their lives and also remember the sense of impotence I suffered for the com- plete lack of efficient measures I had at my disposal to manage their condition. Nowadays, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation allow patients with chronic renal failure to survive for very long periods of time in a satisfactory condition. Why then is there still a sense of dissatisfaction and why should we study dietary management? The drawbacks of dialysis and transplantation are the main reasons, but the certainty that dietary therapy is complementary to dialysis and even better than dialysis in certain conditions, is also very important.

Very large scale integration (VLSI) technologies are now maturing with a current emphasis toward submicron structures and sophisticated applications combining digital as well as analog circuits on a single chip. Abundant examples are found on today's advanced systems for telecom- munications, robotics, automotive electronics, image processing, intelli- gent sensors, etc .. Exciting new applications are being unveiled in the field of neural computing where the massive use of analog/digital VLSI technologies will have a significant impact. To match such a fast technological trend towards single chip ana- logi digital VLSI systems, researchers worldwide have long realized the vital need of producing advanced computer aided tools for designing both digital and analog circuits and systems for silicon integration. Ar- chitecture and circuit compilation, device sizing and the layout genera- tion are but a few familiar tasks on the world of digital integrated circuit design which can be efficiently accomplished by matured computer aided tools. In contrast, the art of tools for designing and producing analog or even analogi digital integrated circuits is quite primitive and still lack- ing the industrial penetration and acceptance already achieved by digital counterparts. In fact, analog design is commonly perceived to be one of the most knowledge-intensive design tasks and analog circuits are still designed, largely by hand, by expert intimately familiar with nuances of the target application and integrated circuit fabrication process. The techniques needed to build good analog circuits seem to exist solely as expertise invested in individual designers.

What follows is a sampler of work in knowledge acquisition. It comprises three technical papers and six guest editorials. The technical papers give an in-depth look at some of the important issues and current approaches in knowledge acquisition. The editorials were pro- duced by authors who were basically invited to sound off. I've tried to group and order the contributions somewhat coherently. The following annotations emphasize the connections among the separate pieces. Buchanan's editorial starts on the theme of "e;Can machine learning offer anything to expert systems?"e; He emphasizes the practical goals of knowledge acquisition and the challenge of aiming for them. Lenat's editorial briefly describes experience in the development of CYC that straddles both fields. He outlines a two-phase development that relies on an engineering approach early on and aims for a crossover to more automated techniques as the size of the knowledge base increases. Bareiss, Porter, and Murray give the first technical paper. It comes from a laboratory of machine learning researchers who have taken an interest in supporting the development of knowledge bases, with an emphasis on how development changes with the growth of the knowledge base. The paper describes two systems. The first, Protos, adjusts the training it expects and the assistance it provides as its knowledge grows. The second, KI, is a system that helps integrate knowledge into an already very large knowledge base.

Change of Representation and Inductive Bias One of the most important emerging concerns of machine learning researchers is the dependence of their learning programs on the underlying representations, especially on the languages used to describe hypotheses. The effectiveness of learning algorithms is very sensitive to this choice of language; choosing too large a language permits too many possible hypotheses for a program to consider, precluding effective learning, but choosing too small a language can prohibit a program from being able to find acceptable hypotheses. This dependence is not just a pitfall, however; it is also an opportunity. The work of Saul Amarel over the past two decades has demonstrated the effectiveness of representational shift as a problem-solving technique. An increasing number of machine learning researchers are building programs that learn to alter their language to improve their effectiveness. At the Fourth Machine Learning Workshop held in June, 1987, at the University of California at Irvine, it became clear that the both the machine learning community and the number of topics it addresses had grown so large that the representation issue could not be discussed in sufficient depth. A number of attendees were particularly interested in the related topics of constructive induction, problem reformulation, representation selection, and multiple levels of abstraction. Rob Holte, Larry Rendell, and I decided to hold a workshop in 1988 to discuss these topics. To keep this workshop small, we decided that participation be by invitation only.

The calcified tissues have fundamental functions in the biology of organisms, not only because their strength, solidity, and elasticity permit movement and mechanical activities, and protect soft tissues against traumatic forces, but also on account of their role in mineral homeostasis. For this reason, extensive investigation in the last 30 years has provided much to explain the complex chemical and physical processes occurring in cells and matrices composing the skeleton, and their alterations in pathological conditions. The use of ultrastructural methods such as immunocytochemistry, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cytoautoradiography, freeze/fracture etching, high voltage, etc. has proven to be of great value when applied to cells and matrix components of bone and cartilage, in spite of the technical difficulties due to the hardness of these tissues. However, available information on this subject is disseminated in a variety of scientific and medical articles. This volume is an attempt to collect together the most significant data on the ultrastructure of cartilage and bone in normalcy and pathology. Obviously, it cannot be a complete report of all these data, its principal aim being that of: a) giving a comprehensive statement of the results concerning the basic structures common to these tissues, especially collagen fibrils, noncollagenous proteins, and proteoglycans, and their relationships with the mineral substance (for which another volume of this series can also be consulted; see Ruggeri A. , Motta P. M. (eds.

All life came from sea but all robots were born on land. The vast majority of both industrial and mobile robots operate on land, since the technology to allow them to operate in and under the ocean has only become available in recent years. A number of complex issues due to the unstructured, hazardous undersea environment, makes it difficult to travel in the ocean while today's technologies allow humans to land on the moon and robots to travel to Mars . . Clearly, the obstacles to allowing robots to operate in a saline, aqueous, and pressurized environment are formidable. Mobile robots operating on land work under nearly constant atmospheric pressure; their legs (or wheels or tracks) can operate on a firm footing; their bearings are not subjected to moisture and corrosion; they can use simple visual sensing and be observed by their creators working in simple environments. In contrast, consider the environment where undersea robots must operate. The pressure they are subjected to can be enormous, thus requiring extremely rugged designs. The deep oceans range between 19,000 to 36,000 ft. At a mere 33-foot depth, the pressure will be twice the normal one atmosphere pressure of 29. 4 psi. The chemical environment of the sea is highly corrosive, thus requiring the use of special materials. Lubrication of moving parts in water is also difficult, and may require special sealed, waterproof joints.