Artificial Neural Networks

This book provides comprehensive coverage of neural networks, their evolution, their structure, the problems they can solve, and their applications. The first half of the book looks at theoretical investigations on artificial neural networks and addresses the key architectures that are capable of implementation in various application scenarios. The second half is designed specifically for the production of solutions using artificial neural networks to solve practical problems arising from different areas of knowledge. It also describes the various implementation details that were taken into account to achieve the reported results. These aspects contribute to the maturation and improvement of experimental techniques to specify the neural network architecture that is most appropriate for a particular application scope. The book is appropriate for students in graduate and upper undergraduate courses in addition to researchers and professionals.

This tutorial text provides the reader with an understanding of artificial neural networks (ANNs), and their application, beginning with the biological systems which inspired them, through the learning methods that have been developed, and the data collection processes, to the many ways ANNs are being used today. The material is presented with a minimum of math (although the mathematical details are included in the appendices for interested readers), and with a maximum of hands-on experience. All specialized terms are included in a glossary. The result is a highly readable text that will teach the engineer the guiding principles necessary to use and apply artificial neural networks.

Elements of Artificial Neural Networks provides a clearly organized general introduction, focusing on a broad range of algorithms, for students and others who want to use neural networks rather than simply study them. The authors, who have been developing and team teaching the material in a one-semester course over the past six years, describe most of the basic neural network models (with several detailed solved examples) and discuss the rationale and advantages of the models, as well as their limitations. The approach is practical and open-minded and requires very little mathematical or technical background. Written from a computer science and statistics point of view, the text stresses links to contiguous fields and can easily serve as a first course for students in economics and management. The opening chapter sets the stage, presenting the basic concepts in a clear and objective way and tackling important -- yet rarely addressed -- questions related to the use of neural networks in practical situations. Subsequent chapters on supervised learning (single layer and multilayer networks), unsupervised learning, and associative models are structured around classes of problems to which networks can be applied. Applications are discussed along with the algorithms. A separate chapter takes up optimization methods. The most frequently used algorithms, such as backpropagation, are introduced early on, right after perceptrons, so that these can form the basis for initiating course projects. Algorithms published as late as 1995 are also included. All of the algorithms are presented using block-structured pseudo-code, and exercises are provided throughout. Software implementing many commonly used neural network algorithms is available at the book's website. Transparency masters, including abbreviated text and figures for the entire book, are available for instructors using the text.

This book covers theoretical aspects as well as recent innovative applications of Artificial Neural networks (ANNs) in natural, environmental, biological, social, industrial and automated systems. It presents recent results of ANNs in modelling small, large and complex systems under three categories, namely, 1) Networks, Structure Optimisation, Robustness and Stochasticity 2) Advances in Modelling Biological and Environmental Systems and 3) Advances in Modelling Social and Economic Systems. The book aims at serving undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in ANN computational modelling.

While the primary objective of the text is to provide a teaching tool, practicing engineers and scientists are likely to find the clear, concept-based treatment useful in updating their backgrounds.

In this book, international experts report the history of the application of ANN to chemical and biological problems, provide a guide to network architectures, training and the extraction of rules from trained networks, and cover many cutting-edge examples of the application of ANN to chemistry and biology. Methods involving the mapping and interpretation of Infra Red spectra and modelling environmental toxicology are included. This book is an excellent guide to this exciting field.

A systematic account of artificial neural network paradigms that identifies fundamental concepts and major methodologies. Important results are integrated into the text in order to explain a wide range of existing empirical observations and commonly used heuristics.

This volume provides a state-of-the-art survey of artificial neural network applications in biomedical diagnosis, laboratory data analysis and related practical areas. It looks at biomedical applications which involve customising neural network technology to resolve specific difficulties with data processing, and deals with applications relating to particular aspects of clinical practice and laboratory or medically-related analysis. Each chapter is self-contained with regard to the technology used, covering important technical points and implementation issues like the design of user interfaces and hardware/software platforms. Artificial Neural Networks in Biomedicine will be of interest to computer scientists and neural network practitioners who want to extend their knowledge of issues relevant to biomedical applications, developers of clinical computer systems, and medical researchers looking for new methods and computational tools.