Neural networks (NNs) have been successfully used in the environmental sciences over the last two decades. However, only a few review papers have been published, most of which cover image processing, classification, prediction and geophysical retrieval in general, while neglecting rainfall estimation issues. This paper reviews, without aiming to be exhaustive, NN approaches to satellite rainfal...

Glucose tolerance and body composition were determined in male rats given non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) (aspartame or sucralose) in drinking water. Areas under the curve for glucose and insulin with NNS did not differ from control. NNS treatment had no effect on weight gain or percent body fat. Epididymal fat pad mass was higher with aspartame and the ratio of trunk to total fat was less with ...

Background Subjects with morbid obesity commonly use Non-Nutritive Sweeteners (NNS), but the health-related effects of NNS have been questioned. The objectives of this study were to explore the associations between theuse of NNS and the health and lifestyle in subjects with morbid obesity. Methods This cross-sectional study included subjects with morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 or ≥35 kg/m2 wi...

The present study investigated the mechanism by which continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) suppresses nonnutritive swallowing (NNS) during quiet sleep (QS) in newborn lambs. Eighteen full-term lambs were chronically instrumented and evenly distributed into three separate groups to determine the extent to which modulation of NNS may be attributed to stimulation of upper airway and/or bronc...

The purpose of this study was to compare circadian blood pressure and heart rate patterns and other cardiovascular effects of nicotine delivered rapidly (via nasal spray, NNS), slowly (transdermal nicotine, TDN), by cigarette smoking (rapid delivery of nicotine plus other smoke toxins), and placebo NNS. Twelve healthy cigarette smokers were studied on a research ward when they smoked cigarettes...

Local competition among neighboring neurons is common in biological neural networks (NNs). We apply the concept to gradient-based, backprop-trained artificial multilayer NNs. NNs with competing linear units tend to outperform those with non-competing nonlinear units, and avoid catastrophic forgetting when training sets change over time.

The term Soft Computing (SC) represents the combination of emerging problem-solving technologies such as Fuzzy Logic (FL), Probabilistic Reasoning (PR), Neural Networks (NNs), and Genetic Algorithms (GAs). Each of these technologies provide us with complementary reasoning and searching methods to solve complex, real-world problems. After a brief description of each of these technologies, we wil...

Nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) are ecologically novel chemosensory signaling compounds that influence ingestive processes and behavior. Only about 15% of the US population aged >2 y ingest NNS, but the incidence is increasing. These sweeteners have the potential to moderate sugar and energy intakes while maintaining diet palatability, but their use has increased in concert with BMI in the popula...

In this paper, a sensitivity analysis of artificial neural networks (NNs) is presented and employed for estimating the patch load resistance of plate girders subjected to patch loading. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed NN model, the results are compared with the previously proposed empirical models, so that we can estimate the resistance of plate girders subjected to patch loading. The ...

Variation in pacifier stiffness on non-nutritive suck (NNS) dynamics was examined among infants born prematurely with a history of respiratory distress syndrome. Three types of silicone pacifiers used in the NICU were tested for stiffness, revealing the Super Soothie™ nipple is 7 times stiffer than the Wee™ or Soothie™ pacifiers even though shape and displaced volume are identical. Suck dynamic...