Awni Zebda, Barney Cargile, Mary Christ, Rick Christ and James Johnston
Auditing researchers have recommended that the use of audit decision models should be subject to cost‐benefit analysis. This paper provides insight into cost‐benefit analysis and…
Abstract
Auditing researchers have recommended that the use of audit decision models should be subject to cost‐benefit analysis. This paper provides insight into cost‐benefit analysis and its shortcomings as a tool for evaluating audit decision models. The paper also identifies and discusses the limitations of other evaluation methods. Finally, the paper suggests the use of model confidence as an alternative to model value and model validity.
Seth Dillard, James Buchholz, Sarah Vigmostad, Hyunggun Kim and H.S. Udaykumar
The performance of three frequently used level set-based segmentation methods is examined for the purpose of defining features and boundary conditions for image-based Eulerian…
Abstract
Purpose
The performance of three frequently used level set-based segmentation methods is examined for the purpose of defining features and boundary conditions for image-based Eulerian fluid and solid mechanics models. The focus of the evaluation is to identify an approach that produces the best geometric representation from a computational fluid/solid modeling point of view. In particular, extraction of geometries from a wide variety of imaging modalities and noise intensities, to supply to an immersed boundary approach, is targeted.
Design/methodology/approach
Two- and three-dimensional images, acquired from optical, X-ray CT, and ultrasound imaging modalities, are segmented with active contours, k-means, and adaptive clustering methods. Segmentation contours are converted to level sets and smoothed as necessary for use in fluid/solid simulations. Results produced by the three approaches are compared visually and with contrast ratio, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio measures.
Findings
While the active contours method possesses built-in smoothing and regularization and produces continuous contours, the clustering methods (k-means and adaptive clustering) produce discrete (pixelated) contours that require smoothing using speckle-reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD). Thus, for images with high contrast and low to moderate noise, active contours are generally preferable. However, adaptive clustering is found to be far superior to the other two methods for images possessing high levels of noise and global intensity variations, due to its more sophisticated use of local pixel/voxel intensity statistics.
Originality/value
It is often difficult to know a priori which segmentation will perform best for a given image type, particularly when geometric modeling is the ultimate goal. This work offers insight to the algorithm selection process, as well as outlining a practical framework for generating useful geometric surfaces in an Eulerian setting.
Details
Keywords
Some ten years ago, it was generally believed that corrosion was costing the United Kingdom something in the region of £600m annually; in 1971 a report issued by the Department of…
Abstract
Some ten years ago, it was generally believed that corrosion was costing the United Kingdom something in the region of £600m annually; in 1971 a report issued by the Department of Trade and Industry set the figure at £1,365m. Who can guess what the inflationary pressures since that time have done to this burden on the economy? Suffice it to say that this is surely an area demanding investigation in your constant fight against the depredations of inflation.
EVERY now and again, one of the solemn monthly or quarterly magazines, by way of enlivening its pages, inserts a terrific onslaught on municipal libraries, in which the judgment…
Abstract
EVERY now and again, one of the solemn monthly or quarterly magazines, by way of enlivening its pages, inserts a terrific onslaught on municipal libraries, in which the judgment of heaven is called down upon the fiction reader, and the library authorities are condemned as a set of ignorant and inefficient office‐holders, who pander to a depraved public taste. The last assailant of this sort whom we had the pleasure of setting right was Mr. J. Churton Collins, who used the Nineteenth Century and After, as the medium for conveying his accusations. Now comes Mr. W. H. Harwood, who fills six‐and‐a‐half pages of the Westminster Review for February, 1906, with a quantum of twaddle about libraries, which differs from most recent articles of the same sort only in its dulness. In his use of this journalistic cliché, Mr. Harwood displays the customary ignorance of the Public Libraries Acts, by styling his paper “Free Libraries and Fiction,” and by his failure to prove even one of his statements by reference to a single concrete fact. Briefly, Mr. Harwood's position is this:—
Safety in the laboratory. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, State House, High Holborn, London, W.C.1. This manual is the third edition published. Surviving…
Abstract
Safety in the laboratory. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, State House, High Holborn, London, W.C.1. This manual is the third edition published. Surviving sections have been rewritten and brought up to date, and several new ones added, notably on safety organisation and equipment, radiation hazards, dangerous chemicals and the handling of cylinders of compressed gases.
Primary care practitioners in the UK today undertake more responsibility for the management of chronic diseases than ever before, including the monitoring of medications initiated…
Abstract
Primary care practitioners in the UK today undertake more responsibility for the management of chronic diseases than ever before, including the monitoring of medications initiated in the secondary care setting. This has not necessarily been accompanied by the introduction of guidelines or additional funding. Examining the aminosalicylate group of drugs (sulfasalazine, mesalazine, olsalazine and balsalazide), it was found that despite their potential to cause life‐threatening adverse reactions, there is no agreed protocol on the most appropriate type and frequency of monitoring. A search of the literature confirmed that there is a paucity of evidence from which to construct a guideline. An audit of one family practice suggests current levels fall short of a minimal standard. Based on the current best available evidence, a protocol is suggested for aminosalicylate monitoring. Other groups of drugs warrant similar attention in primary care, and issues regarding funding for the responsibility and cost of monitoring need addressing.