The main task of the present work is to apply some methods for knowledge reductions in the case of knowledge based on equivalence relations. Topological techniques are applied to construct knowledge bases via general relations. Topological structures are used to obtain discernibility matrix and discernibility function for knowledge reduction and decision making. Topology plays a significant rol...

Knowledge has long been recognized as an essential prerequisite for quality decision making [9]. An individual's knowledge can be transferred to others through different modes, such as socialization, externalization, combination, internalization—mechanisms that create and expand organizational knowledge [7]. Knowledge management (KM) can be viewed as a class of managerial processes that creates...

PURPOSE Practice-based research is proposed as an additional way to bridge the divide between research and practice. METHOD The article compares the traditional, laboratory-based research with research that is generated from practice: practice-based research. The defining features of each are described, with an emphasis on contrasting internal and external validity. Retrospective and prospect...

Resource allocation is a central part of the decision-making process in any health care system. Resources have always been finite, thus the ethical issues raised are not new. The debate is now more open, and there is greater public awareness of the issues. It is increasingly recognised that it is the technology which determines resources. The ethical issues involved are often conflicting and re...

OBJECTIVES To study how professional radiologists describe, interpret and make decisions about micro-calcifications in mammograms. The purpose was to develop a model of the radiologists' decision making for use in CADMIUM II, a computerized aid for mammogram interpretation that combines symbolic reasoning with image processing. METHODS In Study 1, eleven radiologists were asked to 'think out ...

For finitely generated submonoids of the integer lattice and submodules over the associated monoid algebra, we investigate Gröbner bases with respect to generalised term orders. Up to now, this theory suffered two disadvantages: The algorithm for computing the Gröbner bases was slow and it was not known whether there existed generalised term orders for arbitrary finitely generated submonoids. T...

The objective of the current study was to explore the use of different suppository bases i.e. Cocoa butter and different grades of polyethylene glycol bases (4000 and 6000) and to observe the effect of plasticizers incorporated in the suppositories for the successful delivery of Zaltoprofen, an novel non steroidal anti inflammatory drug through rectal route of administration. Moreover, Zaltopro...

A preconditioning algorithm is developed in this paper for the iterative solution of the linear system of equations resulting from the p-version boundary element approximation of the three dimensional integral equation with hypersingular operators. The preconditioner is derived by first making the nodal and side basis functions locally orthogonal to the element internal bases, and then by decou...

We use a 1985-2005 panel of state data to investigate the relative tax base elasticities of two major US state taxes—corporate income taxes and sales taxes—with respect to changes in their tax rates. We focus on these two taxes because they are essentially flat-rate taxes at the state level, making it relatively straightforward to construct estimates of their bases using aggregate collections a...

Social neuroscience studies the neurobiological underpinnings of people making sense of people. Due to both conceptual and methodological constraints, the majority of studies in this field of research, however, has employed experimental paradigms that focus on social cognition from an observer's rather than from an interactor's point of view (offline vs. online social cognition). This calls for...