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Biomedical subjects

F De Rosis

Publications and source records attributed to F De Rosis.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

A consultation system constructor for medical data analysis.

MAD is a system that helps an expert data analyst in a specific application domain (like epidemiology or image analysis) to build reasoning models aimed at fulfilling specific tasks. These models may be subsequently used to guide doctors in the analysis of a set of data referring to a specific ground domain. Expert knowledge is represented at various levels: a general description of an application domain and various models that formalize the reasoning followed to perform specific tasks within a defined application domain. Reasoning models are represented as rules of propositional calculus, and a meta-knowledge permits to support knowledge acquisition. During the consultation, different external programs may be run when needed, without the doctor having to learn how to use them. MAD is written in Golden Common LISP and may be linked to any external software for data analysis, provided it runs under MS-DOS and does not require more than 192 Kb. Examples of application of the system to epidemiology and image analysis are given.

Computer Simulation↗

Female reproductive health in two lamp factories: effects of exposure to inorganic mercury vapour and stress factors.

To evaluate the possible influence of mercury vapour on female reproduction, 153 women working in a mercury vapour lamp factory have been compared with 193 women employed in another factory of the same company, where mercury was not used. Both groups of subjects were exposed to stress factors (noise, rhythms of production, and shift work). The production process has been analysed by inspection of the plants and by collective discussions with "homogeneous groups" of workers; a retrospective inquiry into work history and reproductive health events has been subsequently performed by an individual interview. Women exposed to mercury vapour currently not exceeding the time weighted average air concentration of 0.01 mg/m3 declared higher prevalence and incidence rates of menstrual disorders, primary subfecundity, and adverse pregnancy outcome; however, the progression of these problems with the level of exposure to mercury inside the same factory was not always clear. The results of this study neither prove nor exclude the possibility that occupational exposure to this concentration of mercury has a negative effect on female reproduction.

Adult↗

MICRO-IDEA: improving decisions in epidemiological analysis by a microcomputer.

A microcomputer system has been designed to promote uniform and correct epidemiological data handling in the Local Health Units of the National Health Service in Italy. The system allows to define files of any format, to perform the common data manipulation procedures and to make simple statistical analyses. Two modules, based on artificial intelligence techniques, give the possibility to input from 'experts' and to update domain-specific knowledge concerning facts which characterize the application area covered by the file, and some consultation models which represent the reasoning to follow when solving problems of epidemiological data analysis. A decision support module allows an inexpert user to have access to these models, and to be guided in the choice of the appropriate procedure. The menu-driven interactive approach insures a friendly user-to-system interface, and entails a little training for effective use by health workers inexpert in informatics.

Artificial Intelligence↗