WorldWideScience

Sample records for capacity achieving covariance

  1. Capacity-achieving CPM schemes

    OpenAIRE

    Perotti, Alberto; Tarable, Alberto; Benedetto, Sergio; Montorsi, Guido

    2008-01-01

    The pragmatic approach to coded continuous-phase modulation (CPM) is proposed as a capacity-achieving low-complexity alternative to the serially-concatenated CPM (SC-CPM) coding scheme. In this paper, we first perform a selection of the best spectrally-efficient CPM modulations to be embedded into SC-CPM schemes. Then, we consider the pragmatic capacity (a.k.a. BICM capacity) of CPM modulations and optimize it through a careful design of the mapping between input bits and CPM waveforms. The s...

  2. DFT-Based Closed-form Covariance Matrix and Direct Waveforms Design for MIMO Radar to Achieve Desired Beampatterns

    KAUST Repository

    Bouchoucha, Taha

    2017-01-23

    In multiple-input multiple-out (MIMO) radar, for desired transmit beampatterns, appropriate correlated waveforms are designed. To design such waveforms, conventional MIMO radar methods use two steps. In the first step, the waveforms covariance matrix, R, is synthesized to achieve the desired beampattern. While in the second step, to realize the synthesized covariance matrix, actual waveforms are designed. Most of the existing methods use iterative algorithms to solve these constrained optimization problems. The computational complexity of these algorithms is very high, which makes them difficult to use in practice. In this paper, to achieve the desired beampattern, a low complexity discrete-Fourier-transform based closed-form covariance matrix design technique is introduced for a MIMO radar. The designed covariance matrix is then exploited to derive a novel closed-form algorithm to directly design the finite-alphabet constant-envelope waveforms for the desired beampattern. The proposed technique can be used to design waveforms for large antenna array to change the beampattern in real time. It is also shown that the number of transmitted symbols from each antenna depends on the beampattern and is less than the total number of transmit antenna elements.

  3. Fuel cycle covariance of plutonium and americium separations to repository capacity using information theoretic measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scopatz, Anthony; Schneider, Erich; Li, Jun; Yim, Man-Sung

    2011-01-01

    A light water reactor, fast reactor symbiotic fuel cycle scenario was modeled and parameterized based on thirty independent inputs. Simultaneously and stochastically choosing different values for each of these inputs and performing the associated fuel cycle mass-balance calculation, the fuel cycle itself underwent Monte Carlo simulation. A novel information theoretic metric is postulated as a measure of system-wide covariance. This metric is the coefficient of variation of the set of uncertainty coefficients generated from 2D slices of a 3D contingency table. It is then applied to the fuel cycle, taking fast reactor used fuel plutonium and americium separations as independent variables and the capacity of a fully-loaded tuff repository as the response. This set of parameters is known from prior studies to have a strong covariance. When measured with all 435 other input parameters possible, the fast reactor plutonium and americium separations pair was found to be ranked the second most covariant. This verifies that the coefficient of variation metric captures the desired sensitivity of sensitivity effects in the nuclear fuel cycle. (author)

  4. DFT-Based Closed-form Covariance Matrix and Direct Waveforms Design for MIMO Radar to Achieve Desired Beampatterns

    KAUST Repository

    Bouchoucha, Taha; Ahmed, Sajid; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    optimization problems. The computational complexity of these algorithms is very high, which makes them difficult to use in practice. In this paper, to achieve the desired beampattern, a low complexity discrete-Fourier-transform based closed-form covariance

  5. Responsibility and Capacities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryberg, Jesper

    2014-01-01

    That responsible moral agency presupposes certain mental capacities, constitutes a widely accepted view among theorists. Moreover, it is often assumed that degrees in the development of the relevant capacities co-vary with degrees of responsibility. In this article it is argued that, the move from...... the view that responsibility requires certain mental capacities to the position that degrees of responsibility co-vary with degrees of the development of the mental capacities, is premature....

  6. Achievable capacity of a spectrum sharing system over hyper fading channels

    KAUST Repository

    Ekin, Sabit

    2009-11-01

    Cognitive radio with spectrum sharing feature is a promising technique to address the spectrum under-utilization problem in dynamically changing environments. In this paper, achievable capacity gain of spectrum sharing systems over dynamic fading environments is studied. For the analysis, a theoretical fading model called hyper fading model that is suitable to the dynamic nature of cognitive radio channel is proposed. Closed-form expression of probability density function (PDF) and cumulative density function (CDF) of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for secondary users in spectrum sharing systems are derived. In addition, the capacity gains achievable with spectrum sharing systems in high and low power regions are obtained. Numerical simulations are performed to study the effects of different fading figures, average powers, interference temperature, and number of secondary users on the achievable capacity.

  7. The role of postural control in the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity in chronic stroke: a cross-sectional analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Outermans, Jacqueline C; van de Port, Ingrid; Kwakkel, Gert; Visser-Meily, Johanna M; Wittink, Harriet

    2018-03-12

    Reports on the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity in people after stroke show disparate results. To determine (1) if the predictive validity of peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) for walking capacity post stroke is different from that of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and (2) if postural control, hemiplegic lower extremity muscle strength, age and gender distort the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity. Cross-sectional study. General community in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Community-dwelling people more than three months after stroke. Measurement of aerobic capacity were performed with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and differentiated between the achievement of VO2peak or VO2max. Measurement of walking capacity with the Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT), postural control with the Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) and hemiplegic lower extremity muscle strength with the Motricity Index (MI-LE). Fifty-one out of 62 eligible participants, aged 64.7 (±12.5) years were included. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed a nonsignificant difference between the predictive validities of VO2max (N = 22, β = 0.56; 95%CI 0.12 - 0.97) and VO2peak (N = 29, β = 0.72; 95%CI 0.38 - 0.92). Multiple regression analysis of the pooled sample showed a significant decrease in the β value of VO2peak (21.6%) for the 6MWT when adding the POMA as a covariate in the association model. VO2peak remained significantly related to 6MWT after correcting for the POMA (β = 0.56 (95%CI 0.39 - 0.75)) CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest similar predictive validity of aerobic capacity for walking capacity in participants achieving VO2max compared to those only achieving VO2peak. Postural control confounds the association between aerobic capacity and walking capacity. Aerobic capacity remains a valid predictor of walking capacity. Aerobic capacity is an important factor associated with walking capacity after stroke. However, to understand this

  8. Covariant canonical quantization of fields and Bohmian mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikolic, H.

    2005-01-01

    We propose a manifestly covariant canonical method of field quantization based on the classical De Donder-Weyl covariant canonical formulation of field theory. Owing to covariance, the space and time arguments of fields are treated on an equal footing. To achieve both covariance and consistency with standard non-covariant canonical quantization of fields in Minkowski spacetime, it is necessary to adopt a covariant Bohmian formulation of quantum field theory. A preferred foliation of spacetime emerges dynamically owing to a purely quantum effect. The application to a simple time-reparametrization invariant system and quantum gravity is discussed and compared with the conventional non-covariant Wheeler-DeWitt approach. (orig.)

  9. Multiple feature fusion via covariance matrix for visual tracking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Zefenfen; Hou, Zhiqiang; Yu, Wangsheng; Wang, Xin; Sun, Hui

    2018-04-01

    Aiming at the problem of complicated dynamic scenes in visual target tracking, a multi-feature fusion tracking algorithm based on covariance matrix is proposed to improve the robustness of the tracking algorithm. In the frame-work of quantum genetic algorithm, this paper uses the region covariance descriptor to fuse the color, edge and texture features. It also uses a fast covariance intersection algorithm to update the model. The low dimension of region covariance descriptor, the fast convergence speed and strong global optimization ability of quantum genetic algorithm, and the fast computation of fast covariance intersection algorithm are used to improve the computational efficiency of fusion, matching, and updating process, so that the algorithm achieves a fast and effective multi-feature fusion tracking. The experiments prove that the proposed algorithm can not only achieve fast and robust tracking but also effectively handle interference of occlusion, rotation, deformation, motion blur and so on.

  10. Achievable capacity of a spectrum sharing system over hyper fading channels

    KAUST Repository

    Ekin, Sabit; Yilmaz, Ferkan; Ç elebi, Hasari Burak; Qaraqe, Khalid A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Serpedin, Erchin

    2009-01-01

    Cognitive radio with spectrum sharing feature is a promising technique to address the spectrum under-utilization problem in dynamically changing environments. In this paper, achievable capacity gain of spectrum sharing systems over dynamic fading

  11. Adolescent reserve capacity, socioeconomic status and school achievement as predictors of mortality in Finland - a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acacio-Claro, Paulyn Jean; Koivusilta, Leena Kristiina; Borja, Judith Rafaelita; Rimpelä, Arja Hannele

    2017-12-28

    Despite robust evidence on the inverse relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and mortality, deviations from expected results have been observed likely due to school achievement and psychosocial resources, termed as "reserve capacity." Since adolescence is a critical period in developing sound psychological and behavioural patterns and adolescent markers of SES were seldom used, we determine if family SES in adolescence predicts later mortality. We also study how reserve capacity (perceived health, health-promoting behaviour and social support) and school achievement modify this relationship and reduce the negative effects of low SES. A longitudinal study was designed by linking baseline data on 12 to 18 year-old Finns in 1985-95 (N = 41,833) from the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Surveys with register data on mortality and SES from Statistics Finland. Average follow-up time was 18.4 years with a total of 770,161 person-years. Cox regression models, stratified by sex, were fitted to determine the effects of variables measured during adolescence: family SES, reserve capacity and school achievement on mortality risk. All reserve capacity dimensions significantly predicted mortality in boys. Perceived health and social support predicted that in girls. Adolescents with the lowest school achievement were more than twice at risk of dying compared to those with better school performance. Low SES increased the risk of death in boys (Hazard ratios: 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.4) but not in girls. Reserve capacity and school achievement weakened the effects of low SES on boys' risk of death. High reserve capacity and good school achievement in adolescence significantly reduce the risk of mortality. In boys, these also mitigate the negative effect of low SES on mortality. These findings underscore the roles of reserve capacity and school achievement during adolescence as likely causal or modifying factors in SES-health inequalities.

  12. Precomputing Process Noise Covariance for Onboard Sequential Filters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Corwin G.; Russell, Ryan P.; Carpenter, J. Russell

    2017-01-01

    Process noise is often used in estimation filters to account for unmodeled and mismodeled accelerations in the dynamics. The process noise covariance acts to inflate the state covariance over propagation intervals, increasing the uncertainty in the state. In scenarios where the acceleration errors change significantly over time, the standard process noise covariance approach can fail to provide effective representation of the state and its uncertainty. Consider covariance analysis techniques provide a method to precompute a process noise covariance profile along a reference trajectory using known model parameter uncertainties. The process noise covariance profile allows significantly improved state estimation and uncertainty representation over the traditional formulation. As a result, estimation performance on par with the consider filter is achieved for trajectories near the reference trajectory without the additional computational cost of the consider filter. The new formulation also has the potential to significantly reduce the trial-and-error tuning currently required of navigation analysts. A linear estimation problem as described in several previous consider covariance analysis studies is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the precomputed process noise covariance, as well as a nonlinear descent scenario at the asteroid Bennu with optical navigation.

  13. Group covariant protocols for quantum string commitment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsurumaru, Toyohiro

    2006-01-01

    We study the security of quantum string commitment (QSC) protocols with group covariant encoding scheme. First we consider a class of QSC protocol, which is general enough to incorporate all the QSC protocols given in the preceding literatures. Then among those protocols, we consider group covariant protocols and show that the exact upperbound on the binding condition can be calculated. Next using this result, we prove that for every irreducible representation of a finite group, there always exists a corresponding nontrivial QSC protocol which reaches a level of security impossible to achieve classically

  14. Multiple Imputation of a Randomly Censored Covariate Improves Logistic Regression Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atem, Folefac D; Qian, Jing; Maye, Jacqueline E; Johnson, Keith A; Betensky, Rebecca A

    2016-01-01

    Randomly censored covariates arise frequently in epidemiologic studies. The most commonly used methods, including complete case and single imputation or substitution, suffer from inefficiency and bias. They make strong parametric assumptions or they consider limit of detection censoring only. We employ multiple imputation, in conjunction with semi-parametric modeling of the censored covariate, to overcome these shortcomings and to facilitate robust estimation. We develop a multiple imputation approach for randomly censored covariates within the framework of a logistic regression model. We use the non-parametric estimate of the covariate distribution or the semiparametric Cox model estimate in the presence of additional covariates in the model. We evaluate this procedure in simulations, and compare its operating characteristics to those from the complete case analysis and a survival regression approach. We apply the procedures to an Alzheimer's study of the association between amyloid positivity and maternal age of onset of dementia. Multiple imputation achieves lower standard errors and higher power than the complete case approach under heavy and moderate censoring and is comparable under light censoring. The survival regression approach achieves the highest power among all procedures, but does not produce interpretable estimates of association. Multiple imputation offers a favorable alternative to complete case analysis and ad hoc substitution methods in the presence of randomly censored covariates within the framework of logistic regression.

  15. Progress on Nuclear Data Covariances: AFCI-1.2 Covariance Library

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oblozinsky, P.; Oblozinsky, P.; Mattoon, C.M.; Herman, M.; Mughabghab, S.F.; Pigni, M.T.; Talou, P.; Hale, G.M.; Kahler, A.C.; Kawano, T.; Little, R.C.; Young, P.G

    2009-01-01

    Improved neutron cross section covariances were produced for 110 materials including 12 light nuclei (coolants and moderators), 78 structural materials and fission products, and 20 actinides. Improved covariances were organized into AFCI-1.2 covariance library in 33-energy groups, from 10 -5 eV to 19.6 MeV. BNL contributed improved covariance data for the following materials: 23 Na and 55 Mn where more detailed evaluation was done; improvements in major structural materials 52 Cr, 56 Fe and 58 Ni; improved estimates for remaining structural materials and fission products; improved covariances for 14 minor actinides, and estimates of mubar covariances for 23 Na and 56 Fe. LANL contributed improved covariance data for 235 U and 239 Pu including prompt neutron fission spectra and completely new evaluation for 240 Pu. New R-matrix evaluation for 16 O including mubar covariances is under completion. BNL assembled the library and performed basic testing using improved procedures including inspection of uncertainty and correlation plots for each material. The AFCI-1.2 library was released to ANL and INL in August 2009.

  16. Covariance specification and estimation to improve top-down Green House Gas emission estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, S.; Lopez-Coto, I.; Prasad, K.; Whetstone, J. R.

    2015-12-01

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) operates the North-East Corridor (NEC) project and the Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) in order to develop measurement methods to quantify sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions as well as their uncertainties in urban domains using a top down inversion method. Top down inversion updates prior knowledge using observations in a Bayesian way. One primary consideration in a Bayesian inversion framework is the covariance structure of (1) the emission prior residuals and (2) the observation residuals (i.e. the difference between observations and model predicted observations). These covariance matrices are respectively referred to as the prior covariance matrix and the model-data mismatch covariance matrix. It is known that the choice of these covariances can have large effect on estimates. The main objective of this work is to determine the impact of different covariance models on inversion estimates and their associated uncertainties in urban domains. We use a pseudo-data Bayesian inversion framework using footprints (i.e. sensitivities of tower measurements of GHGs to surface emissions) and emission priors (based on Hestia project to quantify fossil-fuel emissions) to estimate posterior emissions using different covariance schemes. The posterior emission estimates and uncertainties are compared to the hypothetical truth. We find that, if we correctly specify spatial variability and spatio-temporal variability in prior and model-data mismatch covariances respectively, then we can compute more accurate posterior estimates. We discuss few covariance models to introduce space-time interacting mismatches along with estimation of the involved parameters. We then compare several candidate prior spatial covariance models from the Matern covariance class and estimate their parameters with specified mismatches. We find that best-fitted prior covariances are not always best in recovering the truth. To achieve

  17. Summary of the Workshop on Neutron Cross Section Covariances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Donald L.

    2008-01-01

    A Workshop on Neutron Cross Section Covariances was held from June 24-27, 2008, in Port Jefferson, New York. This Workshop was organized by the National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, to provide a forum for reporting on the status of the growing field of neutron cross section covariances for applications and for discussing future directions of the work in this field. The Workshop focused on the following four major topical areas: covariance methodology, recent covariance evaluations, covariance applications, and user perspectives. Attention was given to the entire spectrum of neutron cross section covariance concerns ranging from light nuclei to the actinides, and from the thermal energy region to 20 MeV. The papers presented at this conference explored topics ranging from fundamental nuclear physics concerns to very specific applications in advanced reactor design and nuclear criticality safety. This paper provides a summary of this workshop. Brief comments on the highlights of each Workshop contribution are provided. In addition, a perspective on the achievements and shortcomings of the Workshop as well as on the future direction of research in this field is offered

  18. Nuclear data covariances in the Indian context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganesan, S.

    2014-01-01

    The topic of covariances is recognized as an important part of several ongoing nuclear data science activities, since 2007, in the Nuclear Data Physics Centre of India (NDPCI). A Phase-1 project in collaboration with the Statistics department in Manipal University, Karnataka (Prof. K.M. Prasad and Prof. S. Nair) on nuclear data covariances was executed successfully during 2007-2011 period. In Phase-I, the NDPCI has conducted three national Theme meetings sponsored by the DAE-BRNS in 2008, 2010 and 2013 on nuclear data covariances. In Phase-1, the emphasis was on a thorough basic understanding of the concept of covariances including assigning uncertainties to experimental data in terms of partial errors and micro correlations, through a study and a detailed discussion of open literature. Towards the end of Phase-1, measurements and a first time covariance analysis of cross-sections for 58 Ni (n, p) 58 Co reaction measured in Mumbai Pelletron accelerator using 7 Li (p,n) reactions as neutron source in the MeV energy region were performed under a PhD programme on nuclear data covariances in which enrolled are two students, Shri B.S. Shivashankar and Ms. Shanti Sheela. India is also successfully evolving a team of young researchers to code nuclear data of uncertainties, with the perspectives on covariances, in the IAEA-EXFOR format. A Phase-II DAE-BRNS-NDPCI proposal of project at Manipal has been submitted and the proposal is undergoing a peer-review at this time. In Phase-2, modern nuclear data evaluation techniques that including covariances will be further studied as a research and development effort, as a first time effort. These efforts include the use of techniques such as that of the Kalman filter. Presently, a 48 hours lecture series on treatment of errors and their propagation is being formulated under auspices of the Homi Bhabha National Institute. The talk describes the progress achieved thus far in the learning curve of the above-mentioned and exciting

  19. Growth, functional capacities and motivation for achievement and competitiveness in youth basketball: an interdisciplinary approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Humberto Moreira; Gonçalves, Carlos E; Collins, Dave; Paes, Roberto R

    2018-04-01

    The interaction of multiple influences on the path to sport success is not yet fully understood by sport scientists. In this study, we examined variation in body size, functional capacities and motivation for achievement, competitiveness and deliberate practice of youth basketball players associated with differences in biological maturity status, chronological age and years of training experience. Reflecting the importance of interactive effects, we examined the relationships between the psychological variables and functional capacities. Fifty-eight male basketball players aged 9.5 to 15.5 years were considered. Variables included chronological age, estimated age at peak height velocity, stature, body mass and sitting height by anthropometry; the Work and Family Orientation and Deliberate Practice Motivation Questionnaires were also used. Finally, the Line Drill test and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1) tests were used as functional capacities indicators for basketball. Variance components models derived from series of multilevel linear regression models revealed a substantial variation by maturity status for body size, functional capacities indicators, mastery and will to excel. The influence of estimated maturity status on mastery and will to excel was independent of age and years of experience. In contrast, no relationships were observed between psychological variables and functional capacities indicators. We conclude that growth-related changes are relevant to understanding players´ motivations for achievement, competitiveness and deliberate practice. This should be of interest to those involved in the selection and development of youth basketball players.

  20. Contributions to Large Covariance and Inverse Covariance Matrices Estimation

    OpenAIRE

    Kang, Xiaoning

    2016-01-01

    Estimation of covariance matrix and its inverse is of great importance in multivariate statistics with broad applications such as dimension reduction, portfolio optimization, linear discriminant analysis and gene expression analysis. However, accurate estimation of covariance or inverse covariance matrices is challenging due to the positive definiteness constraint and large number of parameters, especially in the high-dimensional cases. In this thesis, I develop several approaches for estimat...

  1. Sparse reduced-rank regression with covariance estimation

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Lisha

    2014-12-08

    Improving the predicting performance of the multiple response regression compared with separate linear regressions is a challenging question. On the one hand, it is desirable to seek model parsimony when facing a large number of parameters. On the other hand, for certain applications it is necessary to take into account the general covariance structure for the errors of the regression model. We assume a reduced-rank regression model and work with the likelihood function with general error covariance to achieve both objectives. In addition we propose to select relevant variables for reduced-rank regression by using a sparsity-inducing penalty, and to estimate the error covariance matrix simultaneously by using a similar penalty on the precision matrix. We develop a numerical algorithm to solve the penalized regression problem. In a simulation study and real data analysis, the new method is compared with two recent methods for multivariate regression and exhibits competitive performance in prediction and variable selection.

  2. Sparse reduced-rank regression with covariance estimation

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Lisha; Huang, Jianhua Z.

    2014-01-01

    Improving the predicting performance of the multiple response regression compared with separate linear regressions is a challenging question. On the one hand, it is desirable to seek model parsimony when facing a large number of parameters. On the other hand, for certain applications it is necessary to take into account the general covariance structure for the errors of the regression model. We assume a reduced-rank regression model and work with the likelihood function with general error covariance to achieve both objectives. In addition we propose to select relevant variables for reduced-rank regression by using a sparsity-inducing penalty, and to estimate the error covariance matrix simultaneously by using a similar penalty on the precision matrix. We develop a numerical algorithm to solve the penalized regression problem. In a simulation study and real data analysis, the new method is compared with two recent methods for multivariate regression and exhibits competitive performance in prediction and variable selection.

  3. Covariant Transform

    OpenAIRE

    Kisil, Vladimir V.

    2010-01-01

    The paper develops theory of covariant transform, which is inspired by the wavelet construction. It was observed that many interesting types of wavelets (or coherent states) arise from group representations which are not square integrable or vacuum vectors which are not admissible. Covariant transform extends an applicability of the popular wavelets construction to classic examples like the Hardy space H_2, Banach spaces, covariant functional calculus and many others. Keywords: Wavelets, cohe...

  4. Covariation of Color and Luminance Facilitate Object Individuation in Infancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Rebecca J.; Wilcox, Teresa

    2010-01-01

    The ability to individuate objects is one of our most fundamental cognitive capacities. Recent research has revealed that when objects vary in color or luminance alone, infants fail to individuate those objects until 11.5 months. However, color and luminance frequently covary in the natural environment, thus providing a more salient and reliable…

  5. Are your covariates under control? How normalization can re-introduce covariate effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pain, Oliver; Dudbridge, Frank; Ronald, Angelica

    2018-04-30

    Many statistical tests rely on the assumption that the residuals of a model are normally distributed. Rank-based inverse normal transformation (INT) of the dependent variable is one of the most popular approaches to satisfy the normality assumption. When covariates are included in the analysis, a common approach is to first adjust for the covariates and then normalize the residuals. This study investigated the effect of regressing covariates against the dependent variable and then applying rank-based INT to the residuals. The correlation between the dependent variable and covariates at each stage of processing was assessed. An alternative approach was tested in which rank-based INT was applied to the dependent variable before regressing covariates. Analyses based on both simulated and real data examples demonstrated that applying rank-based INT to the dependent variable residuals after regressing out covariates re-introduces a linear correlation between the dependent variable and covariates, increasing type-I errors and reducing power. On the other hand, when rank-based INT was applied prior to controlling for covariate effects, residuals were normally distributed and linearly uncorrelated with covariates. This latter approach is therefore recommended in situations were normality of the dependent variable is required.

  6. Eddy Covariance Measurements of the Sea-Spray Aerosol Flu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, I. M.; Norris, S. J.; Yelland, M. J.; Pascal, R. W.; Prytherch, J.

    2015-12-01

    Historically, almost all estimates of the sea-spray aerosol source flux have been inferred through various indirect methods. Direct estimates via eddy covariance have been attempted by only a handful of studies, most of which measured only the total number flux, or achieved rather coarse size segregation. Applying eddy covariance to the measurement of sea-spray fluxes is challenging: most instrumentation must be located in a laboratory space requiring long sample lines to an inlet collocated with a sonic anemometer; however, larger particles are easily lost to the walls of the sample line. Marine particle concentrations are generally low, requiring a high sample volume to achieve adequate statistics. The highly hygroscopic nature of sea salt means particles change size rapidly with fluctuations in relative humidity; this introduces an apparent bias in flux measurements if particles are sized at ambient humidity. The Compact Lightweight Aerosol Spectrometer Probe (CLASP) was developed specifically to make high rate measurements of aerosol size distributions for use in eddy covariance measurements, and the instrument and data processing and analysis techniques have been refined over the course of several projects. Here we will review some of the issues and limitations related to making eddy covariance measurements of the sea spray source flux over the open ocean, summarise some key results from the last decade, and present new results from a 3-year long ship-based measurement campaign as part of the WAGES project. Finally we will consider requirements for future progress.

  7. Covariance evaluation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawano, Toshihiko; Shibata, Keiichi.

    1997-09-01

    A covariance evaluation system for the evaluated nuclear data library was established. The parameter estimation method and the least squares method with a spline function are used to generate the covariance data. Uncertainties of nuclear reaction model parameters are estimated from experimental data uncertainties, then the covariance of the evaluated cross sections is calculated by means of error propagation. Computer programs ELIESE-3, EGNASH4, ECIS, and CASTHY are used. Covariances of 238 U reaction cross sections were calculated with this system. (author)

  8. On the algebraic structure of covariant anomalies and covariant Schwinger terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelnhofer, G.

    1992-01-01

    A cohomological characterization of covariant anomalies and covariant Schwinger terms in an anomalous Yang-Mills theory is formulated and w ill be geometrically interpreted. The BRS and anti-BRS transformations are defined as purely differential geometric objects. Finally the covariant descent equations are formulated within this context. (author)

  9. A class of covariate-dependent spatiotemporal covariance functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reich, Brian J; Eidsvik, Jo; Guindani, Michele; Nail, Amy J; Schmidt, Alexandra M.

    2014-01-01

    In geostatistics, it is common to model spatially distributed phenomena through an underlying stationary and isotropic spatial process. However, these assumptions are often untenable in practice because of the influence of local effects in the correlation structure. Therefore, it has been of prolonged interest in the literature to provide flexible and effective ways to model non-stationarity in the spatial effects. Arguably, due to the local nature of the problem, we might envision that the correlation structure would be highly dependent on local characteristics of the domain of study, namely the latitude, longitude and altitude of the observation sites, as well as other locally defined covariate information. In this work, we provide a flexible and computationally feasible way for allowing the correlation structure of the underlying processes to depend on local covariate information. We discuss the properties of the induced covariance functions and discuss methods to assess its dependence on local covariate information by means of a simulation study and the analysis of data observed at ozone-monitoring stations in the Southeast United States. PMID:24772199

  10. ENDF-6 File 30: Data covariances obtained from parameter covariances and sensitivities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muir, D.W.

    1989-01-01

    File 30 is provided as a means of describing the covariances of tabulated cross sections, multiplicities, and energy-angle distributions that result from propagating the covariances of a set of underlying parameters (for example, the input parameters of a nuclear-model code), using an evaluator-supplied set of parameter covariances and sensitivities. Whenever nuclear data are evaluated primarily through the application of nuclear models, the covariances of the resulting data can be described very adequately, and compactly, by specifying the covariance matrix for the underlying nuclear parameters, along with a set of sensitivity coefficients giving the rate of change of each nuclear datum of interest with respect to each of the model parameters. Although motivated primarily by these applications of nuclear theory, use of File 30 is not restricted to any one particular evaluation methodology. It can be used to describe data covariances of any origin, so long as they can be formally separated into a set of parameters with specified covariances and a set of data sensitivities

  11. Partial covariance based functional connectivity computation using Ledoit-Wolf covariance regularization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brier, Matthew R; Mitra, Anish; McCarthy, John E; Ances, Beau M; Snyder, Abraham Z

    2015-11-01

    Functional connectivity refers to shared signals among brain regions and is typically assessed in a task free state. Functional connectivity commonly is quantified between signal pairs using Pearson correlation. However, resting-state fMRI is a multivariate process exhibiting a complicated covariance structure. Partial covariance assesses the unique variance shared between two brain regions excluding any widely shared variance, hence is appropriate for the analysis of multivariate fMRI datasets. However, calculation of partial covariance requires inversion of the covariance matrix, which, in most functional connectivity studies, is not invertible owing to rank deficiency. Here we apply Ledoit-Wolf shrinkage (L2 regularization) to invert the high dimensional BOLD covariance matrix. We investigate the network organization and brain-state dependence of partial covariance-based functional connectivity. Although RSNs are conventionally defined in terms of shared variance, removal of widely shared variance, surprisingly, improved the separation of RSNs in a spring embedded graphical model. This result suggests that pair-wise unique shared variance plays a heretofore unrecognized role in RSN covariance organization. In addition, application of partial correlation to fMRI data acquired in the eyes open vs. eyes closed states revealed focal changes in uniquely shared variance between the thalamus and visual cortices. This result suggests that partial correlation of resting state BOLD time series reflect functional processes in addition to structural connectivity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Brownian distance covariance

    OpenAIRE

    Székely, Gábor J.; Rizzo, Maria L.

    2010-01-01

    Distance correlation is a new class of multivariate dependence coefficients applicable to random vectors of arbitrary and not necessarily equal dimension. Distance covariance and distance correlation are analogous to product-moment covariance and correlation, but generalize and extend these classical bivariate measures of dependence. Distance correlation characterizes independence: it is zero if and only if the random vectors are independent. The notion of covariance with...

  13. The Implementation of Knowledge Strategy-Based Entrepreneurial Capacity to Achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage

    OpenAIRE

    Widodo

    2013-01-01

    This study aims to develop a model of knowledge strategy-based entrepreneurial capacity to achieve sustainable competitive advantage of rurol banking in Central Java province. The sampling method is ‘‘Purposive sampling’’ by considering the characteristics of the population items, namely: operational experience for at least 5 years and representatives of each area of rurol banking in Semarang, Surakarta and Purwokerto. Then, the sample size is 150 of 251 (59.7%) of top managers of rurol bank...

  14. Covariant representations of nuclear *-algebras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, S.M.

    1978-01-01

    Extensions of the Csup(*)-algebra theory for covariant representations to nuclear *-algebra are considered. Irreducible covariant representations are essentially unique, an invariant state produces a covariant representation with stable vacuum, and the usual relation between ergodic states and covariant representations holds. There exist construction and decomposition theorems and a possible relation between derivations and covariant representations

  15. Earth Observing System Covariance Realism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaidi, Waqar H.; Hejduk, Matthew D.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of covariance realism is to properly size a primary object's covariance in order to add validity to the calculation of the probability of collision. The covariance realism technique in this paper consists of three parts: collection/calculation of definitive state estimates through orbit determination, calculation of covariance realism test statistics at each covariance propagation point, and proper assessment of those test statistics. An empirical cumulative distribution function (ECDF) Goodness-of-Fit (GOF) method is employed to determine if a covariance is properly sized by comparing the empirical distribution of Mahalanobis distance calculations to the hypothesized parent 3-DoF chi-squared distribution. To realistically size a covariance for collision probability calculations, this study uses a state noise compensation algorithm that adds process noise to the definitive epoch covariance to account for uncertainty in the force model. Process noise is added until the GOF tests pass a group significance level threshold. The results of this study indicate that when outliers attributed to persistently high or extreme levels of solar activity are removed, the aforementioned covariance realism compensation method produces a tuned covariance with up to 80 to 90% of the covariance propagation timespan passing (against a 60% minimum passing threshold) the GOF tests-a quite satisfactory and useful result.

  16. Achieving successful evidence-based practice implementation in juvenile justice: The importance of diagnostic and evaluative capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Sarah Cusworth; Bumbarger, Brian K; Phillippi, Stephen W

    2015-10-01

    Evidence-based programs (EBPs) are an increasingly visible aspect of the treatment landscape in juvenile justice. Research demonstrates that such programs yield positive returns on investment and are replacing more expensive, less effective options. However, programs are unlikely to produce expected benefits when they are not well-matched to community needs, not sustained and do not reach sufficient reach and scale. We argue that achieving these benchmarks for successful implementation will require states and county governments to invest in data-driven decision infrastructure in order to respond in a rigorous and flexible way to shifting political and funding climates. We conceptualize this infrastructure as diagnostic capacity and evaluative capacity: Diagnostic capacity is defined as the process of selecting appropriate programing and evaluative capacity is defined as the ability to monitor and evaluate progress. Policy analyses of Washington State, Pennsylvania and Louisiana's program implementation successes are used to illustrate the benefits of diagnostic and evaluate capacity as a critical element of EBP implementation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A Robust Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter for Nonlinear Estimation with Uncertain Noise Covariance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Binqi; Fu, Pengcheng; Li, Baoqing; Yuan, Xiaobing

    2018-03-07

    The Unscented Kalman filter (UKF) may suffer from performance degradation and even divergence while mismatch between the noise distribution assumed as a priori by users and the actual ones in a real nonlinear system. To resolve this problem, this paper proposes a robust adaptive UKF (RAUKF) to improve the accuracy and robustness of state estimation with uncertain noise covariance. More specifically, at each timestep, a standard UKF will be implemented first to obtain the state estimations using the new acquired measurement data. Then an online fault-detection mechanism is adopted to judge if it is necessary to update current noise covariance. If necessary, innovation-based method and residual-based method are used to calculate the estimations of current noise covariance of process and measurement, respectively. By utilizing a weighting factor, the filter will combine the last noise covariance matrices with the estimations as the new noise covariance matrices. Finally, the state estimations will be corrected according to the new noise covariance matrices and previous state estimations. Compared with the standard UKF and other adaptive UKF algorithms, RAUKF converges faster to the actual noise covariance and thus achieves a better performance in terms of robustness, accuracy, and computation for nonlinear estimation with uncertain noise covariance, which is demonstrated by the simulation results.

  18. Dark matter statistics for large galaxy catalogs: power spectra and covariance matrices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klypin, Anatoly; Prada, Francisco

    2018-06-01

    Large-scale surveys of galaxies require accurate theoretical predictions of the dark matter clustering for thousands of mock galaxy catalogs. We demonstrate that this goal can be achieve with the new Parallel Particle-Mesh (PM) N-body code GLAM at a very low computational cost. We run ˜22, 000 simulations with ˜2 billion particles that provide ˜1% accuracy of the dark matter power spectra P(k) for wave-numbers up to k ˜ 1hMpc-1. Using this large data-set we study the power spectrum covariance matrix. In contrast to many previous analytical and numerical results, we find that the covariance matrix normalised to the power spectrum C(k, k΄)/P(k)P(k΄) has a complex structure of non-diagonal components: an upturn at small k, followed by a minimum at k ≈ 0.1 - 0.2 hMpc-1, and a maximum at k ≈ 0.5 - 0.6 hMpc-1. The normalised covariance matrix strongly evolves with redshift: C(k, k΄)∝δα(t)P(k)P(k΄), where δ is the linear growth factor and α ≈ 1 - 1.25, which indicates that the covariance matrix depends on cosmological parameters. We also show that waves longer than 1h-1Gpc have very little impact on the power spectrum and covariance matrix. This significantly reduces the computational costs and complexity of theoretical predictions: relatively small volume ˜(1h-1Gpc)3 simulations capture the necessary properties of dark matter clustering statistics. As our results also indicate, achieving ˜1% errors in the covariance matrix for k < 0.50 hMpc-1 requires a resolution better than ɛ ˜ 0.5h-1Mpc.

  19. Covariant field equations in supergravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vanhecke, Bram [KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leuven (Belgium); Ghent University, Faculty of Physics, Gent (Belgium); Proeyen, Antoine van [KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leuven (Belgium)

    2017-12-15

    Covariance is a useful property for handling supergravity theories. In this paper, we prove a covariance property of supergravity field equations: under reasonable conditions, field equations of supergravity are covariant modulo other field equations. We prove that for any supergravity there exist such covariant equations of motion, other than the regular equations of motion, that are equivalent to the latter. The relations that we find between field equations and their covariant form can be used to obtain multiplets of field equations. In practice, the covariant field equations are easily found by simply covariantizing the ordinary field equations. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  20. Covariant field equations in supergravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanhecke, Bram; Proeyen, Antoine van

    2017-01-01

    Covariance is a useful property for handling supergravity theories. In this paper, we prove a covariance property of supergravity field equations: under reasonable conditions, field equations of supergravity are covariant modulo other field equations. We prove that for any supergravity there exist such covariant equations of motion, other than the regular equations of motion, that are equivalent to the latter. The relations that we find between field equations and their covariant form can be used to obtain multiplets of field equations. In practice, the covariant field equations are easily found by simply covariantizing the ordinary field equations. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  1. Fast Component Pursuit for Large-Scale Inverse Covariance Estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Lei; Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Tong

    2016-08-01

    The maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) for the Gaussian graphical model, which is also known as the inverse covariance estimation problem, has gained increasing interest recently. Most existing works assume that inverse covariance estimators contain sparse structure and then construct models with the ℓ 1 regularization. In this paper, different from existing works, we study the inverse covariance estimation problem from another perspective by efficiently modeling the low-rank structure in the inverse covariance, which is assumed to be a combination of a low-rank part and a diagonal matrix. One motivation for this assumption is that the low-rank structure is common in many applications including the climate and financial analysis, and another one is that such assumption can reduce the computational complexity when computing its inverse. Specifically, we propose an efficient COmponent Pursuit (COP) method to obtain the low-rank part, where each component can be sparse. For optimization, the COP method greedily learns a rank-one component in each iteration by maximizing the log-likelihood. Moreover, the COP algorithm enjoys several appealing properties including the existence of an efficient solution in each iteration and the theoretical guarantee on the convergence of this greedy approach. Experiments on large-scale synthetic and real-world datasets including thousands of millions variables show that the COP method is faster than the state-of-the-art techniques for the inverse covariance estimation problem when achieving comparable log-likelihood on test data.

  2. A special covariance structure for random coefficient models with both between and within covariates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riedel, K.S.

    1990-07-01

    We review random coefficient (RC) models in linear regression and propose a bias correction to the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator. Asymmptotic expansion of the ML equations are given when the between individual variance is much larger or smaller than the variance from within individual fluctuations. The standard model assumes all but one covariate varies within each individual, (we denote the within covariates by vector χ 1 ). We consider random coefficient models where some of the covariates do not vary in any single individual (we denote the between covariates by vector χ 0 ). The regression coefficients, vector β k , can only be estimated in the subspace X k of X. Thus the number of individuals necessary to estimate vector β and the covariance matrix Δ of vector β increases significantly in the presence of more than one between covariate. When the number of individuals is sufficient to estimate vector β but not the entire matrix Δ , additional assumptions must be imposed on the structure of Δ. A simple reduced model is that the between component of vector β is fixed and only the within component varies randomly. This model fails because it is not invariant under linear coordinate transformations and it can significantly overestimate the variance of new observations. We propose a covariance structure for Δ without these difficulties by first projecting the within covariates onto the space perpendicular to be between covariates. (orig.)

  3. How large are the consequences of covariate imbalance in cluster randomized trials: a simulation study with a continuous outcome and a binary covariate at the cluster level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moerbeek, Mirjam; van Schie, Sander

    2016-07-11

    The number of clusters in a cluster randomized trial is often low. It is therefore likely random assignment of clusters to treatment conditions results in covariate imbalance. There are no studies that quantify the consequences of covariate imbalance in cluster randomized trials on parameter and standard error bias and on power to detect treatment effects. The consequences of covariance imbalance in unadjusted and adjusted linear mixed models are investigated by means of a simulation study. The factors in this study are the degree of imbalance, the covariate effect size, the cluster size and the intraclass correlation coefficient. The covariate is binary and measured at the cluster level; the outcome is continuous and measured at the individual level. The results show covariate imbalance results in negligible parameter bias and small standard error bias in adjusted linear mixed models. Ignoring the possibility of covariate imbalance while calculating the sample size at the cluster level may result in a loss in power of at most 25 % in the adjusted linear mixed model. The results are more severe for the unadjusted linear mixed model: parameter biases up to 100 % and standard error biases up to 200 % may be observed. Power levels based on the unadjusted linear mixed model are often too low. The consequences are most severe for large clusters and/or small intraclass correlation coefficients since then the required number of clusters to achieve a desired power level is smallest. The possibility of covariate imbalance should be taken into account while calculating the sample size of a cluster randomized trial. Otherwise more sophisticated methods to randomize clusters to treatments should be used, such as stratification or balance algorithms. All relevant covariates should be carefully identified, be actually measured and included in the statistical model to avoid severe levels of parameter and standard error bias and insufficient power levels.

  4. Performance Analysis of Capacity of MIMO Systems under Multiuser Interference Based on Worst-Case Noise Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorswieck E. A.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The capacity of a cellular multiuser MIMO system depends on various parameters, for example, the system structure, the transmit and receive strategies, the channel state information at the transmitter and the receiver, and the channel properties. Recently, the main focus of research was on single-user MIMO systems, their channel capacity, and their error performance with space-time coding. In general, the capacity of a cellular multiuser MIMO system is limited by additive white Gaussian noise, intracell interference from other users within the cell, and intercell interference from users outside the considered cell. We study one point-to-point link, on which interference acts. The interference models the different system scenarios and various parameters. Therefore, we consider three scenarios in which the noise is subject to different constraints. A general trace constraint is used in the first scenario. The noise covariance matrix eigenvalues are kept fixed in the second scenario, and in the third scenario the entries on the diagonal of the noise covariance matrix are kept fixed. We assume that the receiver as well as the transmitter have perfect channel state information. We solve the corresponding minimax programming problems and characterize the worst-case noise and the optimal transmit strategy. In all scenarios, the achievable capacity of the MIMO system with worst-case noise is equal to the capacity of some MIMO system in which either the channels are orthogonal or the transmit antennas are not allowed to cooperate or in which no channel state information is available at the transmitter. Furthermore, the minimax expressions fulfill a saddle point property. All theoretical results are illustrated by examples and numerical simulations.

  5. Covariant w∞ gravity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergshoeff, E.; Pope, C.N.; Stelle, K.S.

    1990-01-01

    We discuss the notion of higher-spin covariance in w∞ gravity. We show how a recently proposed covariant w∞ gravity action can be obtained from non-chiral w∞ gravity by making field redefinitions that introduce new gauge-field components with corresponding new gauge transformations.

  6. Evaluation and processing of covariance data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, M.

    1993-01-01

    These proceedings of a specialists'meeting on evaluation and processing of covariance data is divided into 4 parts bearing on: part 1- Needs for evaluated covariance data (2 Papers), part 2- generation of covariance data (15 Papers), part 3- Processing of covariance files (2 Papers), part 4-Experience in the use of evaluated covariance data (2 Papers)

  7. Covariance data processing code. ERRORJ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosako, Kazuaki

    2001-01-01

    The covariance data processing code, ERRORJ, was developed to process the covariance data of JENDL-3.2. ERRORJ has the processing functions of covariance data for cross sections including resonance parameters, angular distribution and energy distribution. (author)

  8. Covariance Bell inequalities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pozsgay, Victor; Hirsch, Flavien; Branciard, Cyril; Brunner, Nicolas

    2017-12-01

    We introduce Bell inequalities based on covariance, one of the most common measures of correlation. Explicit examples are discussed, and violations in quantum theory are demonstrated. A crucial feature of these covariance Bell inequalities is their nonlinearity; this has nontrivial consequences for the derivation of their local bound, which is not reached by deterministic local correlations. For our simplest inequality, we derive analytically tight bounds for both local and quantum correlations. An interesting application of covariance Bell inequalities is that they can act as "shared randomness witnesses": specifically, the value of the Bell expression gives device-independent lower bounds on both the dimension and the entropy of the shared random variable in a local model.

  9. Distance covariance for stochastic processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Matsui, Muneya; Mikosch, Thomas Valentin; Samorodnitsky, Gennady

    2017-01-01

    The distance covariance of two random vectors is a measure of their dependence. The empirical distance covariance and correlation can be used as statistical tools for testing whether two random vectors are independent. We propose an analog of the distance covariance for two stochastic processes...

  10. Covariance Manipulation for Conjunction Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hejduk, M. D.

    2016-01-01

    The manipulation of space object covariances to try to provide additional or improved information to conjunction risk assessment is not an uncommon practice. Types of manipulation include fabricating a covariance when it is missing or unreliable to force the probability of collision (Pc) to a maximum value ('PcMax'), scaling a covariance to try to improve its realism or see the effect of covariance volatility on the calculated Pc, and constructing the equivalent of an epoch covariance at a convenient future point in the event ('covariance forecasting'). In bringing these methods to bear for Conjunction Assessment (CA) operations, however, some do not remain fully consistent with best practices for conducting risk management, some seem to be of relatively low utility, and some require additional information before they can contribute fully to risk analysis. This study describes some basic principles of modern risk management (following the Kaplan construct) and then examines the PcMax and covariance forecasting paradigms for alignment with these principles; it then further examines the expected utility of these methods in the modern CA framework. Both paradigms are found to be not without utility, but only in situations that are somewhat carefully circumscribed.

  11. Linear Covariance Analysis for a Lunar Lander

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Jiann-Woei; Bhatt, Sagar; Fritz, Matthew; Woffinden, David; May, Darryl; Braden, Ellen; Hannan, Michael

    2017-01-01

    A next-generation lunar lander Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) system, which includes a state-of-the-art optical sensor suite, is proposed in a concept design cycle. The design goal is to allow the lander to softly land within the prescribed landing precision. The achievement of this precision landing requirement depends on proper selection of the sensor suite. In this paper, a robust sensor selection procedure is demonstrated using a Linear Covariance (LinCov) analysis tool developed by Draper.

  12. Generalized Lagrangian Path Approach to Manifestly-Covariant Quantum Gravity Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimo Tessarotto

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available A trajectory-based representation for the quantum theory of the gravitational field is formulated. This is achieved in terms of a covariant Generalized Lagrangian-Path (GLP approach which relies on a suitable statistical representation of Bohmian Lagrangian trajectories, referred to here as GLP-representation. The result is established in the framework of the manifestly-covariant quantum gravity theory (CQG-theory proposed recently and the related CQG-wave equation advancing in proper-time the quantum state associated with massive gravitons. Generally non-stationary analytical solutions for the CQG-wave equation with non-vanishing cosmological constant are determined in such a framework, which exhibit Gaussian-like probability densities that are non-dispersive in proper-time. As a remarkable outcome of the theory achieved by implementing these analytical solutions, the existence of an emergent gravity phenomenon is proven to hold. Accordingly, it is shown that a mean-field background space-time metric tensor can be expressed in terms of a suitable statistical average of stochastic fluctuations of the quantum gravitational field whose quantum-wave dynamics is described by GLP trajectories.

  13. Sex differences in adults' motivation to achieve

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Sluis, S.; Vinkhuyzen, A.A.E.; Boomsma, D.I.; Posthuma, D.

    2010-01-01

    Achievement motivation is considered a prerequisite for success in academic as well as non-academic settings. We studied sex differences in academic and general achievement motivation in an adult sample of 338 men and 497 women (ages 18-70 years). Multi-group covariance and means structure analysis

  14. Poincare covariance and κ-Minkowski spacetime

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dabrowski, Ludwik; Piacitelli, Gherardo

    2011-01-01

    A fully Poincare covariant model is constructed as an extension of the κ-Minkowski spacetime. Covariance is implemented by a unitary representation of the Poincare group, and thus complies with the original Wigner approach to quantum symmetries. This provides yet another example (besides the DFR model), where Poincare covariance is realised a la Wigner in the presence of two characteristic dimensionful parameters: the light speed and the Planck length. In other words, a Doubly Special Relativity (DSR) framework may well be realised without deforming the meaning of 'Poincare covariance'. -- Highlights: → We construct a 4d model of noncommuting coordinates (quantum spacetime). → The coordinates are fully covariant under the undeformed Poincare group. → Covariance a la Wigner holds in presence of two dimensionful parameters. → Hence we are not forced to deform covariance (e.g. as quantum groups). → The underlying κ-Minkowski model is unphysical; covariantisation does not cure this.

  15. Modeling Covariance Breakdowns in Multivariate GARCH

    OpenAIRE

    Jin, Xin; Maheu, John M

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a flexible way of modeling dynamic heterogeneous covariance breakdowns in multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) models. During periods of normal market activity, volatility dynamics are governed by an MGARCH specification. A covariance breakdown is any significant temporary deviation of the conditional covariance matrix from its implied MGARCH dynamics. This is captured through a flexible stochastic component that allows for changes in the conditional variances, covariances and impl...

  16. Econometric analysis of realised covariation: high frequency covariance, regression and correlation in financial economics

    OpenAIRE

    Ole E. Barndorff-Nielsen; Neil Shephard

    2002-01-01

    This paper analyses multivariate high frequency financial data using realised covariation. We provide a new asymptotic distribution theory for standard methods such as regression, correlation analysis and covariance. It will be based on a fixed interval of time (e.g. a day or week), allowing the number of high frequency returns during this period to go to infinity. Our analysis allows us to study how high frequency correlations, regressions and covariances change through time. In particular w...

  17. ISSUES IN NEUTRON CROSS SECTION COVARIANCES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mattoon, C.M.; Oblozinsky,P.

    2010-04-30

    We review neutron cross section covariances in both the resonance and fast neutron regions with the goal to identify existing issues in evaluation methods and their impact on covariances. We also outline ideas for suitable covariance quality assurance procedures.We show that the topic of covariance data remains controversial, the evaluation methodologies are not fully established and covariances produced by different approaches have unacceptable spread. The main controversy is in very low uncertainties generated by rigorous evaluation methods and much larger uncertainties based on simple estimates from experimental data. Since the evaluators tend to trust the former, while the users tend to trust the latter, this controversy has considerable practical implications. Dedicated effort is needed to arrive at covariance evaluation methods that would resolve this issue and produce results accepted internationally both by evaluators and users.

  18. Covariance Partition Priors: A Bayesian Approach to Simultaneous Covariance Estimation for Longitudinal Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaskins, J T; Daniels, M J

    2016-01-02

    The estimation of the covariance matrix is a key concern in the analysis of longitudinal data. When data consists of multiple groups, it is often assumed the covariance matrices are either equal across groups or are completely distinct. We seek methodology to allow borrowing of strength across potentially similar groups to improve estimation. To that end, we introduce a covariance partition prior which proposes a partition of the groups at each measurement time. Groups in the same set of the partition share dependence parameters for the distribution of the current measurement given the preceding ones, and the sequence of partitions is modeled as a Markov chain to encourage similar structure at nearby measurement times. This approach additionally encourages a lower-dimensional structure of the covariance matrices by shrinking the parameters of the Cholesky decomposition toward zero. We demonstrate the performance of our model through two simulation studies and the analysis of data from a depression study. This article includes Supplementary Material available online.

  19. Covariant diagrams for one-loop matching

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Zhengkang [Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics (MCTP), University of Michigan,450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY),Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg (Germany)

    2017-05-30

    We present a diagrammatic formulation of recently-revived covariant functional approaches to one-loop matching from an ultraviolet (UV) theory to a low-energy effective field theory. Various terms following from a covariant derivative expansion (CDE) are represented by diagrams which, unlike conventional Feynman diagrams, involve gauge-covariant quantities and are thus dubbed “covariant diagrams.” The use of covariant diagrams helps organize and simplify one-loop matching calculations, which we illustrate with examples. Of particular interest is the derivation of UV model-independent universal results, which reduce matching calculations of specific UV models to applications of master formulas. We show how such derivation can be done in a more concise manner than the previous literature, and discuss how additional structures that are not directly captured by existing universal results, including mixed heavy-light loops, open covariant derivatives, and mixed statistics, can be easily accounted for.

  20. Covariant diagrams for one-loop matching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Zhengkang

    2017-01-01

    We present a diagrammatic formulation of recently-revived covariant functional approaches to one-loop matching from an ultraviolet (UV) theory to a low-energy effective field theory. Various terms following from a covariant derivative expansion (CDE) are represented by diagrams which, unlike conventional Feynman diagrams, involve gauge-covariant quantities and are thus dubbed “covariant diagrams.” The use of covariant diagrams helps organize and simplify one-loop matching calculations, which we illustrate with examples. Of particular interest is the derivation of UV model-independent universal results, which reduce matching calculations of specific UV models to applications of master formulas. We show how such derivation can be done in a more concise manner than the previous literature, and discuss how additional structures that are not directly captured by existing universal results, including mixed heavy-light loops, open covariant derivatives, and mixed statistics, can be easily accounted for.

  1. The effects of stress and sex on selection, genetic covariance, and the evolutionary response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, L; Jacomb, F

    2017-10-01

    The capacity of a population to adapt to selection (evolvability) depends on whether the structure of genetic variation permits the evolution of fitter trait combinations. Selection, genetic variance and genetic covariance can change under environmental stress, and males and females are not genetically independent, yet the combined effects of stress and dioecy on evolvability are not well understood. Here, we estimate selection, genetic (co)variance and evolvability in both sexes of Tribolium castaneum flour beetles under stressful and benign conditions, using a half-sib breeding design. Although stress uncovered substantial latent heritability, stress also affected genetic covariance, such that evolvability remained low under stress. Sexual selection on males and natural selection on females favoured a similar phenotype, and there was positive intersex genetic covariance. Consequently, sexual selection on males augmented adaptation in females, and intralocus sexual conflict was weak or absent. This study highlights that increased heritability does not necessarily increase evolvability, suggests that selection can deplete genetic variance for multivariate trait combinations with strong effects on fitness, and tests the recent hypothesis that sexual conflict is weaker in stressful or novel environments. © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  2. Fast Computing for Distance Covariance

    OpenAIRE

    Huo, Xiaoming; Szekely, Gabor J.

    2014-01-01

    Distance covariance and distance correlation have been widely adopted in measuring dependence of a pair of random variables or random vectors. If the computation of distance covariance and distance correlation is implemented directly accordingly to its definition then its computational complexity is O($n^2$) which is a disadvantage compared to other faster methods. In this paper we show that the computation of distance covariance and distance correlation of real valued random variables can be...

  3. On estimating cosmology-dependent covariance matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrison, Christopher B.; Schneider, Michael D.

    2013-01-01

    We describe a statistical model to estimate the covariance matrix of matter tracer two-point correlation functions with cosmological simulations. Assuming a fixed number of cosmological simulation runs, we describe how to build a 'statistical emulator' of the two-point function covariance over a specified range of input cosmological parameters. Because the simulation runs with different cosmological models help to constrain the form of the covariance, we predict that the cosmology-dependent covariance may be estimated with a comparable number of simulations as would be needed to estimate the covariance for fixed cosmology. Our framework is a necessary first step in planning a simulations campaign for analyzing the next generation of cosmological surveys

  4. Two-antenna GNSS Aided-INS Alignment Using Adaptive Control of Filter Noise Covariance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HAO Yushi

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper developed a theory of INS fine alignment in order to restrain the divergence of yaw angle,two antennas GNSS aided-INS integrated alignment algorithm was utilized.An attitude error measurement equation was conducted based on the relationship between baseline vectors calculated by two sensors and attitude error.The algorithm was executed by EKF using adaptive control of filter noise covariance.The experimental results showed that stability of the integrated system was improved under the system noise covariance adaptive control mechanism;The measurement noise covariance adaptive control mechanism can reduce the influence of measurement noise and improve the alignment absolute accuracy;Further improvement was achieved under the condition of minim bias of baseline length.The accuracy of roll and pitch was 0.02°,the accuracy of yaw was 0.04°.

  5. Capacity Bounds and High-SNR Capacity of MIMO Intensity-Modulation Optical Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas

    2018-02-19

    The capacity of the intensity modulation direct detection multiple-input multiple-output channel is studied. Therein, the nonnegativity constraint of the transmit signal limits the applicability of classical schemes, including precoding. Thus, new ways are required for deriving capacity bounds for this channel. To this end, capacity lower bounds are developed in this paper by deriving the achievable rates of two precodingfree schemes: Channel inversion and QR decomposition. The achievable rate of a DC-offset SVD-based scheme is also derived as a benchmark. Then, capacity upper bounds are derived and compared against the lower bounds. As a result, the capacity at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is characterized for the case where the number of transmit apertures is not larger than the number of receive apertures, and is shown to be achievable by the QR decomposition scheme. This is shown for a channel with average intensity or peak intensity constraints. Under both constraints, the high-SNR capacity is approximated within a small gap. Extensions to a channel with more transmit apertures than receive apertures are discussed, and capacity bounds for this case are derived.

  6. Capacity Bounds and High-SNR Capacity of MIMO Intensity-Modulation Optical Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas; Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2018-01-01

    The capacity of the intensity modulation direct detection multiple-input multiple-output channel is studied. Therein, the nonnegativity constraint of the transmit signal limits the applicability of classical schemes, including precoding. Thus, new ways are required for deriving capacity bounds for this channel. To this end, capacity lower bounds are developed in this paper by deriving the achievable rates of two precodingfree schemes: Channel inversion and QR decomposition. The achievable rate of a DC-offset SVD-based scheme is also derived as a benchmark. Then, capacity upper bounds are derived and compared against the lower bounds. As a result, the capacity at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is characterized for the case where the number of transmit apertures is not larger than the number of receive apertures, and is shown to be achievable by the QR decomposition scheme. This is shown for a channel with average intensity or peak intensity constraints. Under both constraints, the high-SNR capacity is approximated within a small gap. Extensions to a channel with more transmit apertures than receive apertures are discussed, and capacity bounds for this case are derived.

  7. ERRORJ. Covariance processing code. Version 2.2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiba, Go

    2004-07-01

    ERRORJ is the covariance processing code that can produce covariance data of multi-group cross sections, which are essential for uncertainty analyses of nuclear parameters, such as neutron multiplication factor. The ERRORJ code can process the covariance data of cross sections including resonance parameters, angular and energy distributions of secondary neutrons. Those covariance data cannot be processed by the other covariance processing codes. ERRORJ has been modified and the version 2.2 has been developed. This document describes the modifications and how to use. The main topics of the modifications are as follows. Non-diagonal elements of covariance matrices are calculated in the resonance energy region. Option for high-speed calculation is implemented. Perturbation amount is optimized in a sensitivity calculation. Effect of the resonance self-shielding on covariance of multi-group cross section can be considered. It is possible to read a compact covariance format proposed by N.M. Larson. (author)

  8. Covariance matrix estimation for stationary time series

    OpenAIRE

    Xiao, Han; Wu, Wei Biao

    2011-01-01

    We obtain a sharp convergence rate for banded covariance matrix estimates of stationary processes. A precise order of magnitude is derived for spectral radius of sample covariance matrices. We also consider a thresholded covariance matrix estimator that can better characterize sparsity if the true covariance matrix is sparse. As our main tool, we implement Toeplitz [Math. Ann. 70 (1911) 351–376] idea and relate eigenvalues of covariance matrices to the spectral densities or Fourier transforms...

  9. General Galilei Covariant Gaussian Maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasbarri, Giulio; Toroš, Marko; Bassi, Angelo

    2017-09-01

    We characterize general non-Markovian Gaussian maps which are covariant under Galilean transformations. In particular, we consider translational and Galilean covariant maps and show that they reduce to the known Holevo result in the Markovian limit. We apply the results to discuss measures of macroscopicity based on classicalization maps, specifically addressing dissipation, Galilean covariance and non-Markovianity. We further suggest a possible generalization of the macroscopicity measure defined by Nimmrichter and Hornberger [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 16 (2013)].

  10. Competing risks and time-dependent covariates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cortese, Giuliana; Andersen, Per K

    2010-01-01

    Time-dependent covariates are frequently encountered in regression analysis for event history data and competing risks. They are often essential predictors, which cannot be substituted by time-fixed covariates. This study briefly recalls the different types of time-dependent covariates......, as classified by Kalbfleisch and Prentice [The Statistical Analysis of Failure Time Data, Wiley, New York, 2002] with the intent of clarifying their role and emphasizing the limitations in standard survival models and in the competing risks setting. If random (internal) time-dependent covariates...

  11. Activities of covariance utilization working group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsujimoto, Kazufumi

    2013-01-01

    During the past decade, there has been a interest in the calculational uncertainties induced by nuclear data uncertainties in the neutronics design of advanced nuclear system. The covariance nuclear data is absolutely essential for the uncertainty analysis. In the latest version of JENDL, JENDL-4.0, the covariance data for many nuclides, especially actinide nuclides, was substantialy enhanced. The growing interest in the uncertainty analysis and the covariance data has led to the organisation of the working group for covariance utilization under the JENDL committee. (author)

  12. Quality Quantification of Evaluated Cross Section Covariances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varet, S.; Dossantos-Uzarralde, P.; Vayatis, N.

    2015-01-01

    Presently, several methods are used to estimate the covariance matrix of evaluated nuclear cross sections. Because the resulting covariance matrices can be different according to the method used and according to the assumptions of the method, we propose a general and objective approach to quantify the quality of the covariance estimation for evaluated cross sections. The first step consists in defining an objective criterion. The second step is computation of the criterion. In this paper the Kullback-Leibler distance is proposed for the quality quantification of a covariance matrix estimation and its inverse. It is based on the distance to the true covariance matrix. A method based on the bootstrap is presented for the estimation of this criterion, which can be applied with most methods for covariance matrix estimation and without the knowledge of the true covariance matrix. The full approach is illustrated on the 85 Rb nucleus evaluations and the results are then used for a discussion on scoring and Monte Carlo approaches for covariance matrix estimation of the cross section evaluations

  13. Improvement of covariance data for fast reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibata, Keiichi; Hasegawa, Akira

    2000-02-01

    We estimated covariances of the JENDL-3.2 data on the nuclides and reactions needed to analyze fast-reactor cores for the past three years, and produced covariance files. The present work was undertaken to re-examine the covariance files and to make some improvements. The covariances improved are the ones for the inelastic scattering cross section of 16 O, the total cross section of 23 Na, the fission cross section of 235 U, the capture cross section of 238 U, and the resolved resonance parameters for 238 U. Moreover, the covariances of 233 U data were newly estimated by the present work. The covariances obtained were compiled in the ENDF-6 format. (author)

  14. COVARIANCE ASSISTED SCREENING AND ESTIMATION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, By Tracy; Jin, Jiashun; Fan, Jianqing

    2014-11-01

    Consider a linear model Y = X β + z , where X = X n,p and z ~ N (0, I n ). The vector β is unknown and it is of interest to separate its nonzero coordinates from the zero ones (i.e., variable selection). Motivated by examples in long-memory time series (Fan and Yao, 2003) and the change-point problem (Bhattacharya, 1994), we are primarily interested in the case where the Gram matrix G = X ' X is non-sparse but sparsifiable by a finite order linear filter. We focus on the regime where signals are both rare and weak so that successful variable selection is very challenging but is still possible. We approach this problem by a new procedure called the Covariance Assisted Screening and Estimation (CASE). CASE first uses a linear filtering to reduce the original setting to a new regression model where the corresponding Gram (covariance) matrix is sparse. The new covariance matrix induces a sparse graph, which guides us to conduct multivariate screening without visiting all the submodels. By interacting with the signal sparsity, the graph enables us to decompose the original problem into many separated small-size subproblems (if only we know where they are!). Linear filtering also induces a so-called problem of information leakage , which can be overcome by the newly introduced patching technique. Together, these give rise to CASE, which is a two-stage Screen and Clean (Fan and Song, 2010; Wasserman and Roeder, 2009) procedure, where we first identify candidates of these submodels by patching and screening , and then re-examine each candidate to remove false positives. For any procedure β̂ for variable selection, we measure the performance by the minimax Hamming distance between the sign vectors of β̂ and β. We show that in a broad class of situations where the Gram matrix is non-sparse but sparsifiable, CASE achieves the optimal rate of convergence. The results are successfully applied to long-memory time series and the change-point model.

  15. Lorentz Covariance of Langevin Equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koide, T.; Denicol, G.S.; Kodama, T.

    2008-01-01

    Relativistic covariance of a Langevin type equation is discussed. The requirement of Lorentz invariance generates an entanglement between the force and noise terms so that the noise itself should not be a covariant quantity. (author)

  16. Covariance descriptor fusion for target detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cukur, Huseyin; Binol, Hamidullah; Bal, Abdullah; Yavuz, Fatih

    2016-05-01

    Target detection is one of the most important topics for military or civilian applications. In order to address such detection tasks, hyperspectral imaging sensors provide useful images data containing both spatial and spectral information. Target detection has various challenging scenarios for hyperspectral images. To overcome these challenges, covariance descriptor presents many advantages. Detection capability of the conventional covariance descriptor technique can be improved by fusion methods. In this paper, hyperspectral bands are clustered according to inter-bands correlation. Target detection is then realized by fusion of covariance descriptor results based on the band clusters. The proposed combination technique is denoted Covariance Descriptor Fusion (CDF). The efficiency of the CDF is evaluated by applying to hyperspectral imagery to detect man-made objects. The obtained results show that the CDF presents better performance than the conventional covariance descriptor.

  17. Generalized Linear Covariance Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, James R.; Markley, F. Landis

    2014-01-01

    This talk presents a comprehensive approach to filter modeling for generalized covariance analysis of both batch least-squares and sequential estimators. We review and extend in two directions the results of prior work that allowed for partitioning of the state space into solve-for'' and consider'' parameters, accounted for differences between the formal values and the true values of the measurement noise, process noise, and textita priori solve-for and consider covariances, and explicitly partitioned the errors into subspaces containing only the influence of the measurement noise, process noise, and solve-for and consider covariances. In this work, we explicitly add sensitivity analysis to this prior work, and relax an implicit assumption that the batch estimator's epoch time occurs prior to the definitive span. We also apply the method to an integrated orbit and attitude problem, in which gyro and accelerometer errors, though not estimated, influence the orbit determination performance. We illustrate our results using two graphical presentations, which we call the variance sandpile'' and the sensitivity mosaic,'' and we compare the linear covariance results to confidence intervals associated with ensemble statistics from a Monte Carlo analysis.

  18. Econometric analysis of realized covariation: high frequency based covariance, regression, and correlation in financial economics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barndorff-Nielsen, Ole Eiler; Shephard, N.

    2004-01-01

    This paper analyses multivariate high frequency financial data using realized covariation. We provide a new asymptotic distribution theory for standard methods such as regression, correlation analysis, and covariance. It will be based on a fixed interval of time (e.g., a day or week), allowing...... the number of high frequency returns during this period to go to infinity. Our analysis allows us to study how high frequency correlations, regressions, and covariances change through time. In particular we provide confidence intervals for each of these quantities....

  19. Proofs of Contracted Length Non-covariance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strel'tsov, V.N.

    1994-01-01

    Different proofs of contracted length non covariance are discussed. The way based on the establishment of interval inconstancy (dependence on velocity) seems to be the most convincing one. It is stressed that the known non covariance of the electromagnetic field energy and momentum of a moving charge ('the problem 4/3') is a direct consequence of contracted length non covariance. 8 refs

  20. Covariate analysis of bivariate survival data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bennett, L.E.

    1992-01-01

    The methods developed are used to analyze the effects of covariates on bivariate survival data when censoring and ties are present. The proposed method provides models for bivariate survival data that include differential covariate effects and censored observations. The proposed models are based on an extension of the univariate Buckley-James estimators which replace censored data points by their expected values, conditional on the censoring time and the covariates. For the bivariate situation, it is necessary to determine the expectation of the failure times for one component conditional on the failure or censoring time of the other component. Two different methods have been developed to estimate these expectations. In the semiparametric approach these expectations are determined from a modification of Burke's estimate of the bivariate empirical survival function. In the parametric approach censored data points are also replaced by their conditional expected values where the expected values are determined from a specified parametric distribution. The model estimation will be based on the revised data set, comprised of uncensored components and expected values for the censored components. The variance-covariance matrix for the estimated covariate parameters has also been derived for both the semiparametric and parametric methods. Data from the Demographic and Health Survey was analyzed by these methods. The two outcome variables are post-partum amenorrhea and breastfeeding; education and parity were used as the covariates. Both the covariate parameter estimates and the variance-covariance estimates for the semiparametric and parametric models will be compared. In addition, a multivariate test statistic was used in the semiparametric model to examine contrasts. The significance of the statistic was determined from a bootstrap distribution of the test statistic.

  1. Covariant diagrams for one-loop matching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Zhengkang

    2016-10-01

    We present a diagrammatic formulation of recently-revived covariant functional approaches to one-loop matching from an ultraviolet (UV) theory to a low-energy effective field theory. Various terms following from a covariant derivative expansion (CDE) are represented by diagrams which, unlike conventional Feynman diagrams, involve gaugecovariant quantities and are thus dubbed ''covariant diagrams.'' The use of covariant diagrams helps organize and simplify one-loop matching calculations, which we illustrate with examples. Of particular interest is the derivation of UV model-independent universal results, which reduce matching calculations of specific UV models to applications of master formulas. We show how such derivation can be done in a more concise manner than the previous literature, and discuss how additional structures that are not directly captured by existing universal results, including mixed heavy-light loops, open covariant derivatives, and mixed statistics, can be easily accounted for.

  2. Covariant diagrams for one-loop matching

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Zhengkang [Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics; Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2016-10-15

    We present a diagrammatic formulation of recently-revived covariant functional approaches to one-loop matching from an ultraviolet (UV) theory to a low-energy effective field theory. Various terms following from a covariant derivative expansion (CDE) are represented by diagrams which, unlike conventional Feynman diagrams, involve gaugecovariant quantities and are thus dubbed ''covariant diagrams.'' The use of covariant diagrams helps organize and simplify one-loop matching calculations, which we illustrate with examples. Of particular interest is the derivation of UV model-independent universal results, which reduce matching calculations of specific UV models to applications of master formulas. We show how such derivation can be done in a more concise manner than the previous literature, and discuss how additional structures that are not directly captured by existing universal results, including mixed heavy-light loops, open covariant derivatives, and mixed statistics, can be easily accounted for.

  3. Covariance and sensitivity data generation at ORNL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leal, L. C.; Derrien, H.; Larson, N. M.; Alpan, A.

    2005-01-01

    Covariance data are required to assess uncertainties in design parameters in several nuclear applications. The error estimation of calculated quantities relies on the nuclear data uncertainty information available in the basic nuclear data libraries, such as the US Evaluated Nuclear Data Library, ENDF/B. The uncertainty files in the ENDF/B library are obtained from the analysis of experimental data and are stored as variance and covariance data. In this paper we address the generation of covariance data in the resonance region done with the computer code SAMMY. SAMMY is used in the evaluation of the experimental data in the resolved and unresolved resonance energy regions. The data fitting of cross sections is based on the generalised least-squares formalism (Bayesian theory) together with the resonance formalism described by R-matrix theory. Two approaches are used in SAMMY for the generation of resonance parameter covariance data. In the evaluation process SAMMY generates a set of resonance parameters that fit the data, and, it provides the resonance parameter covariances. For resonance parameter evaluations where there are no resonance parameter covariance data available, the alternative is to use an approach called the 'retroactive' resonance parameter covariance generation. In this paper, we describe the application of the retroactive covariance generation approach for the gadolinium isotopes. (authors)

  4. Covariance Evaluation Methodology for Neutron Cross Sections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herman,M.; Arcilla, R.; Mattoon, C.M.; Mughabghab, S.F.; Oblozinsky, P.; Pigni, M.; Pritychenko, b.; Songzoni, A.A.

    2008-09-01

    We present the NNDC-BNL methodology for estimating neutron cross section covariances in thermal, resolved resonance, unresolved resonance and fast neutron regions. The three key elements of the methodology are Atlas of Neutron Resonances, nuclear reaction code EMPIRE, and the Bayesian code implementing Kalman filter concept. The covariance data processing, visualization and distribution capabilities are integral components of the NNDC methodology. We illustrate its application on examples including relatively detailed evaluation of covariances for two individual nuclei and massive production of simple covariance estimates for 307 materials. Certain peculiarities regarding evaluation of covariances for resolved resonances and the consistency between resonance parameter uncertainties and thermal cross section uncertainties are also discussed.

  5. Covariance matrices of experimental data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perey, F.G.

    1978-01-01

    A complete statement of the uncertainties in data is given by its covariance matrix. It is shown how the covariance matrix of data can be generated using the information available to obtain their standard deviations. Determination of resonance energies by the time-of-flight method is used as an example. The procedure for combining data when the covariance matrix is non-diagonal is given. The method is illustrated by means of examples taken from the recent literature to obtain an estimate of the energy of the first resonance in carbon and for five resonances of 238 U

  6. New perspective in covariance evaluation for nuclear data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanda, Y.

    1992-01-01

    Methods of nuclear data evaluation have been highly developed during the past decade, especially after introducing the concept of covariance. This makes it utmost important how to evaluate covariance matrices for nuclear data. It can be said that covariance evaluation is just the nuclear data evaluation, because the covariance matrix has quantitatively decisive function in current evaluation methods. The covariance primarily represents experimental uncertainties. However, correlation of individual uncertainties between different data must be taken into account and it can not be conducted without detailed physical considerations on experimental conditions. This procedure depends on the evaluator and the estimated covariance does also. The mathematical properties of the covariance have been intensively discussed. Their physical properties should be studied to apply it to the nuclear data evaluation, and then, in this report, are reviewed to give the base for further development of the covariance application. (orig.)

  7. Evaluation and capacity building to improve precollege science and mathematics achievement in the US: 10 CFR, Part 605

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1992-01-01

    The National Center for Improving Science Education has undertaken activities to achieve evaluation goals for DOE's Precollege programs: develop means to determine program quality; develop means for determining the contribution of DOE precollege programs to both teacher enhancement and student achievement; provide evaluation designs and instruments and reports of program quality and impact; and strengthen both DOE's and the Labs' capacity to do both short- and long-term planning as well as deliver effective programs and evaluation. Appendices include evaluation/technical assistance report, profiling teacher research participation and teacher development programs, teacher surveys, impact assessment design, and teacher research participation programs anecdotes for 8 labs.

  8. Covariant perturbations of Schwarzschild black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clarkson, Chris A; Barrett, Richard K

    2003-01-01

    We present a new covariant and gauge-invariant perturbation formalism for dealing with spacetimes having spherical symmetry (or some preferred spatial direction) in the background, and apply it to the case of gravitational wave propagation in a Schwarzschild black-hole spacetime. The 1 + 3 covariant approach is extended to a '1 + 1 + 2 covariant sheet' formalism by introducing a radial unit vector in addition to the timelike congruence, and decomposing all covariant quantities with respect to this. The background Schwarzschild solution is discussed and a covariant characterization is given. We give the full first-order system of linearized 1 + 1 + 2 covariant equations, and we show how, by introducing (time and spherical) harmonic functions, these may be reduced to a system of first-order ordinary differential equations and algebraic constraints for the 1 + 1 + 2 variables which may be solved straightforwardly. We show how both odd- and even-parity perturbations may be unified by the discovery of a covariant, frame- and gauge-invariant, transverse-traceless tensor describing gravitational waves, which satisfies a covariant wave equation equivalent to the Regge-Wheeler equation for both even- and odd-parity perturbations. We show how the Zerilli equation may be derived from this tensor, and derive a similar transverse-traceless tensor equation equivalent to this equation. The so-called special quasinormal modes with purely imaginary frequency emerge naturally. The significance of the degrees of freedom in the choice of the two frame vectors is discussed, and we demonstrate that, for a certain frame choice, the underlying dynamics is governed purely by the Regge-Wheeler tensor. The two transverse-traceless Weyl tensors which carry the curvature of gravitational waves are discussed, and we give the closed system of four first-order ordinary differential equations describing their propagation. Finally, we consider the extension of this work to the study of

  9. Hamiltonian approach to GR - Part 1: covariant theory of classical gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremaschini, Claudio; Tessarotto, Massimo

    2017-05-01

    A challenging issue in General Relativity concerns the determination of the manifestly covariant continuum Hamiltonian structure underlying the Einstein field equations and the related formulation of the corresponding covariant Hamilton-Jacobi theory. The task is achieved by adopting a synchronous variational principle requiring distinction between the prescribed deterministic metric tensor \\widehat{g}(r)≡ { \\widehat{g}_{μ ν }(r)} solution of the Einstein field equations which determines the geometry of the background space-time and suitable variational fields x≡ { g,π } obeying an appropriate set of continuum Hamilton equations, referred to here as GR-Hamilton equations. It is shown that a prerequisite for reaching such a goal is that of casting the same equations in evolutionary form by means of a Lagrangian parametrization for a suitably reduced canonical state. As a result, the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi theory is established in manifestly covariant form. Physical implications of the theory are discussed. These include the investigation of the structural stability of the GR-Hamilton equations with respect to vacuum solutions of the Einstein equations, assuming that wave-like perturbations are governed by the canonical evolution equations.

  10. Hamiltonian approach to GR. Pt. 1. Covariant theory of classical gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cremaschini, Claudio [Silesian University in Opava, Faculty of Philosophy and Science, Institute of Physics and Research Center for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Opava (Czech Republic); Tessarotto, Massimo [University of Trieste, Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Trieste (Italy); Silesian University in Opava, Faculty of Philosophy and Science, Institute of Physics, Opava (Czech Republic)

    2017-05-15

    A challenging issue in General Relativity concerns the determination of the manifestly covariant continuum Hamiltonian structure underlying the Einstein field equations and the related formulation of the corresponding covariant Hamilton-Jacobi theory. The task is achieved by adopting a synchronous variational principle requiring distinction between the prescribed deterministic metric tensor g(r) ≡ {g_μ_ν(r)} solution of the Einstein field equations which determines the geometry of the background space-time and suitable variational fields x ≡ {g,π} obeying an appropriate set of continuum Hamilton equations, referred to here as GR-Hamilton equations. It is shown that a prerequisite for reaching such a goal is that of casting the same equations in evolutionary form by means of a Lagrangian parametrization for a suitably reduced canonical state. As a result, the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi theory is established in manifestly covariant form. Physical implications of the theory are discussed. These include the investigation of the structural stability of the GR-Hamilton equations with respect to vacuum solutions of the Einstein equations, assuming that wave-like perturbations are governed by the canonical evolution equations. (orig.)

  11. Covariation in Natural Causal Induction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Patricia W.; Novick, Laura R.

    1991-01-01

    Biases and models usually offered by cognitive and social psychology and by philosophy to explain causal induction are evaluated with respect to focal sets (contextually determined sets of events over which covariation is computed). A probabilistic contrast model is proposed as underlying covariation computation in natural causal induction. (SLD)

  12. Structural Analysis of Covariance and Correlation Matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joreskog, Karl G.

    1978-01-01

    A general approach to analysis of covariance structures is considered, in which the variances and covariances or correlations of the observed variables are directly expressed in terms of the parameters of interest. The statistical problems of identification, estimation and testing of such covariance or correlation structures are discussed.…

  13. Spatiotemporal noise covariance estimation from limited empirical magnetoencephalographic data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jun, Sung C; Plis, Sergey M; Ranken, Doug M; Schmidt, David M

    2006-01-01

    The performance of parametric magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) source localization approaches can be degraded by the use of poor background noise covariance estimates. In general, estimation of the noise covariance for spatiotemporal analysis is difficult mainly due to the limited noise information available. Furthermore, its estimation requires a large amount of storage and a one-time but very large (and sometimes intractable) calculation or its inverse. To overcome these difficulties, noise covariance models consisting of one pair or a sum of multi-pairs of Kronecker products of spatial covariance and temporal covariance have been proposed. However, these approaches cannot be applied when the noise information is very limited, i.e., the amount of noise information is less than the degrees of freedom of the noise covariance models. A common example of this is when only averaged noise data are available for a limited prestimulus region (typically at most a few hundred milliseconds duration). For such cases, a diagonal spatiotemporal noise covariance model consisting of sensor variances with no spatial or temporal correlation has been the common choice for spatiotemporal analysis. In this work, we propose a different noise covariance model which consists of diagonal spatial noise covariance and Toeplitz temporal noise covariance. It can easily be estimated from limited noise information, and no time-consuming optimization and data-processing are required. Thus, it can be used as an alternative choice when one-pair or multi-pair noise covariance models cannot be estimated due to lack of noise information. To verify its capability we used Bayesian inference dipole analysis and a number of simulated and empirical datasets. We compared this covariance model with other existing covariance models such as conventional diagonal covariance, one-pair and multi-pair noise covariance models, when noise information is sufficient to estimate them. We

  14. Performance of penalized maximum likelihood in estimation of genetic covariances matrices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyer Karin

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Estimation of genetic covariance matrices for multivariate problems comprising more than a few traits is inherently problematic, since sampling variation increases dramatically with the number of traits. This paper investigates the efficacy of regularized estimation of covariance components in a maximum likelihood framework, imposing a penalty on the likelihood designed to reduce sampling variation. In particular, penalties that "borrow strength" from the phenotypic covariance matrix are considered. Methods An extensive simulation study was carried out to investigate the reduction in average 'loss', i.e. the deviation in estimated matrices from the population values, and the accompanying bias for a range of parameter values and sample sizes. A number of penalties are examined, penalizing either the canonical eigenvalues or the genetic covariance or correlation matrices. In addition, several strategies to determine the amount of penalization to be applied, i.e. to estimate the appropriate tuning factor, are explored. Results It is shown that substantial reductions in loss for estimates of genetic covariance can be achieved for small to moderate sample sizes. While no penalty performed best overall, penalizing the variance among the estimated canonical eigenvalues on the logarithmic scale or shrinking the genetic towards the phenotypic correlation matrix appeared most advantageous. Estimating the tuning factor using cross-validation resulted in a loss reduction 10 to 15% less than that obtained if population values were known. Applying a mild penalty, chosen so that the deviation in likelihood from the maximum was non-significant, performed as well if not better than cross-validation and can be recommended as a pragmatic strategy. Conclusions Penalized maximum likelihood estimation provides the means to 'make the most' of limited and precious data and facilitates more stable estimation for multi-dimensional analyses. It should

  15. Are Low-order Covariance Estimates Useful in Error Analyses?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, D. F.; Schimel, D.

    2005-12-01

    Atmospheric trace gas inversions, using modeled atmospheric transport to infer surface sources and sinks from measured concentrations, are most commonly done using least-squares techniques that return not only an estimate of the state (the surface fluxes) but also the covariance matrix describing the uncertainty in that estimate. Besides allowing one to place error bars around the estimate, the covariance matrix may be used in simulation studies to learn what uncertainties would be expected from various hypothetical observing strategies. This error analysis capability is routinely used in designing instrumentation, measurement campaigns, and satellite observing strategies. For example, Rayner, et al (2002) examined the ability of satellite-based column-integrated CO2 measurements to constrain monthly-average CO2 fluxes for about 100 emission regions using this approach. Exact solutions for both state vector and covariance matrix become computationally infeasible, however, when the surface fluxes are solved at finer resolution (e.g., daily in time, under 500 km in space). It is precisely at these finer scales, however, that one would hope to be able to estimate fluxes using high-density satellite measurements. Non-exact estimation methods such as variational data assimilation or the ensemble Kalman filter could be used, but they achieve their computational savings by obtaining an only approximate state estimate and a low-order approximation of the true covariance. One would like to be able to use this covariance matrix to do the same sort of error analyses as are done with the full-rank covariance, but is it correct to do so? Here we compare uncertainties and `information content' derived from full-rank covariance matrices obtained from a direct, batch least squares inversion to those from the incomplete-rank covariance matrices given by a variational data assimilation approach solved with a variable metric minimization technique (the Broyden-Fletcher- Goldfarb

  16. Modifications of Sp(2) covariant superfield quantization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gitman, D.M.; Moshin, P.Yu

    2003-12-04

    We propose a modification of the Sp(2) covariant superfield quantization to realize a superalgebra of generating operators isomorphic to the massless limit of the corresponding superalgebra of the osp(1,2) covariant formalism. The modified scheme ensures the compatibility of the superalgebra of generating operators with extended BRST symmetry without imposing restrictions eliminating superfield components from the quantum action. The formalism coincides with the Sp(2) covariant superfield scheme and with the massless limit of the osp(1,2) covariant quantization in particular cases of gauge-fixing and solutions of the quantum master equations.

  17. Covariant quantizations in plane and curved spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Assirati, J.L.M.; Gitman, D.M.

    2017-01-01

    We present covariant quantization rules for nonsingular finite-dimensional classical theories with flat and curved configuration spaces. In the beginning, we construct a family of covariant quantizations in flat spaces and Cartesian coordinates. This family is parametrized by a function ω(θ), θ element of (1,0), which describes an ambiguity of the quantization. We generalize this construction presenting covariant quantizations of theories with flat configuration spaces but already with arbitrary curvilinear coordinates. Then we construct a so-called minimal family of covariant quantizations for theories with curved configuration spaces. This family of quantizations is parametrized by the same function ω(θ). Finally, we describe a more wide family of covariant quantizations in curved spaces. This family is already parametrized by two functions, the previous one ω(θ) and by an additional function Θ(x,ξ). The above mentioned minimal family is a part at Θ = 1 of the wide family of quantizations. We study constructed quantizations in detail, proving their consistency and covariance. As a physical application, we consider a quantization of a non-relativistic particle moving in a curved space, discussing the problem of a quantum potential. Applying the covariant quantizations in flat spaces to an old problem of constructing quantum Hamiltonian in polar coordinates, we directly obtain a correct result. (orig.)

  18. Covariant quantizations in plane and curved spaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Assirati, J.L.M. [University of Sao Paulo, Institute of Physics, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Gitman, D.M. [Tomsk State University, Department of Physics, Tomsk (Russian Federation); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation); University of Sao Paulo, Institute of Physics, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2017-07-15

    We present covariant quantization rules for nonsingular finite-dimensional classical theories with flat and curved configuration spaces. In the beginning, we construct a family of covariant quantizations in flat spaces and Cartesian coordinates. This family is parametrized by a function ω(θ), θ element of (1,0), which describes an ambiguity of the quantization. We generalize this construction presenting covariant quantizations of theories with flat configuration spaces but already with arbitrary curvilinear coordinates. Then we construct a so-called minimal family of covariant quantizations for theories with curved configuration spaces. This family of quantizations is parametrized by the same function ω(θ). Finally, we describe a more wide family of covariant quantizations in curved spaces. This family is already parametrized by two functions, the previous one ω(θ) and by an additional function Θ(x,ξ). The above mentioned minimal family is a part at Θ = 1 of the wide family of quantizations. We study constructed quantizations in detail, proving their consistency and covariance. As a physical application, we consider a quantization of a non-relativistic particle moving in a curved space, discussing the problem of a quantum potential. Applying the covariant quantizations in flat spaces to an old problem of constructing quantum Hamiltonian in polar coordinates, we directly obtain a correct result. (orig.)

  19. Construction of covariance matrix for experimental data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Tingjin; Zhang Jianhua

    1992-01-01

    For evaluators and experimenters, the information is complete only in the case when the covariance matrix is given. The covariance matrix of the indirectly measured data has been constructed and discussed. As an example, the covariance matrix of 23 Na(n, 2n) cross section is constructed. A reasonable result is obtained

  20. Smooth individual level covariates adjustment in disease mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huque, Md Hamidul; Anderson, Craig; Walton, Richard; Woolford, Samuel; Ryan, Louise

    2018-05-01

    Spatial models for disease mapping should ideally account for covariates measured both at individual and area levels. The newly available "indiCAR" model fits the popular conditional autoregresssive (CAR) model by accommodating both individual and group level covariates while adjusting for spatial correlation in the disease rates. This algorithm has been shown to be effective but assumes log-linear associations between individual level covariates and outcome. In many studies, the relationship between individual level covariates and the outcome may be non-log-linear, and methods to track such nonlinearity between individual level covariate and outcome in spatial regression modeling are not well developed. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm, smooth-indiCAR, to fit an extension to the popular conditional autoregresssive model that can accommodate both linear and nonlinear individual level covariate effects while adjusting for group level covariates and spatial correlation in the disease rates. In this formulation, the effect of a continuous individual level covariate is accommodated via penalized splines. We describe a two-step estimation procedure to obtain reliable estimates of individual and group level covariate effects where both individual and group level covariate effects are estimated separately. This distributed computing framework enhances its application in the Big Data domain with a large number of individual/group level covariates. We evaluate the performance of smooth-indiCAR through simulation. Our results indicate that the smooth-indiCAR method provides reliable estimates of all regression and random effect parameters. We illustrate our proposed methodology with an analysis of data on neutropenia admissions in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. On the regularity of the covariance matrix of a discretized scalar field on the sphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bilbao-Ahedo, J.D. [Departamento de Física Moderna, Universidad de Cantabria, Av. los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander (Spain); Barreiro, R.B.; Herranz, D.; Vielva, P.; Martínez-González, E., E-mail: bilbao@ifca.unican.es, E-mail: barreiro@ifca.unican.es, E-mail: herranz@ifca.unican.es, E-mail: vielva@ifca.unican.es, E-mail: martinez@ifca.unican.es [Instituto de Física de Cantabria (CSIC-UC), Av. los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander (Spain)

    2017-02-01

    We present a comprehensive study of the regularity of the covariance matrix of a discretized field on the sphere. In a particular situation, the rank of the matrix depends on the number of pixels, the number of spherical harmonics, the symmetries of the pixelization scheme and the presence of a mask. Taking into account the above mentioned components, we provide analytical expressions that constrain the rank of the matrix. They are obtained by expanding the determinant of the covariance matrix as a sum of determinants of matrices made up of spherical harmonics. We investigate these constraints for five different pixelizations that have been used in the context of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data analysis: Cube, Icosahedron, Igloo, GLESP and HEALPix, finding that, at least in the considered cases, the HEALPix pixelization tends to provide a covariance matrix with a rank closer to the maximum expected theoretical value than the other pixelizations. The effect of the propagation of numerical errors in the regularity of the covariance matrix is also studied for different computational precisions, as well as the effect of adding a certain level of noise in order to regularize the matrix. In addition, we investigate the application of the previous results to a particular example that requires the inversion of the covariance matrix: the estimation of the CMB temperature power spectrum through the Quadratic Maximum Likelihood algorithm. Finally, some general considerations in order to achieve a regular covariance matrix are also presented.

  2. Development of covariance date for fast reactor cores. 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibata, Keiichi; Hasegawa, Akira

    1999-03-01

    Covariances have been estimated for nuclear data contained in JENDL-3.2. As for Cr and Ni, the physical quantities for which covariances are deduced are cross sections and the first order Legendre-polynomial coefficient for the angular distribution of elastically scattered neutrons. The covariances were estimated by using the same methodology that had been used in the JENDL-3.2 evaluation in order to keep a consistency between mean values and their covariances. In a case where evaluated data were based on experimental data, the covariances were estimated from the same experimental data. For cross section that had been evaluated by nuclear model calculations, the same model was applied to generate the covariances. The covariances obtained were compiled into ENDF-6 format files. The covariances, which had been prepared by the previous fiscal year, were re-examined, and some improvements were performed. Parts of Fe and 235 U covariances were updated. Covariances of nu-p and nu-d for 241 Pu and of fission neutron spectra for 233,235,238 U and 239,240 Pu were newly added to data files. (author)

  3. Multivariate analysis of covariates of adherence among HIV-positive mothers with low viral suppression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nsubuga-Nyombi, Tamara; Sensalire, Simon; Karamagi, Esther; Aloyo, Judith; Byabagambi, John; Rahimzai, Mirwais; Nabitaka, Linda Kisaakye; Calnan, Jacqueline

    2018-03-31

    As part of efforts to improve the prevention of mother-to-child transmission in Northern Uganda, we explored reasons for poor viral suppression among 122 pregnant and lactating women who were in care, received viral load tests, but had not achieved viral suppression and had more than 1000 copies/mL. Understanding the patient factors associated with low viral suppression was of interest to the Ministry of Health to guide the development of tools and interventions to achieve viral suppression for pregnant and lactating women newly initiating on ART as well as those on ART with unsuppressed viral load. A facility-based cross-sectional and mixed methods study design was used, with retrospective medical record review. We assessed 122 HIV-positive mothers with known low viral suppression across 31 health facilities in Northern Uganda. Adjusted odds ratios were used to determine the covariates of adherence among HIV positive mothers using logistic regression. A study among health care providers shed further light on predictors of low viral suppression and a history of low early retention. This study was part of a larger national evaluation of the performance of integrated care services for mothers. Adherence defined as taking antiretroviral medications correctly everyday was low at 67.2%. The covariates of low adherence are: taking other medications in addition to ART, missed appointments in the past 6 months, experienced violence in the past 6 months, and faces obstacles to treatment. Mothers who were experiencing each of these covariates were less likely to adhere to treatment. These covariates were triangulated with perspectives of health providers as covariates of low adherence and included: long distances to health facility, missed appointments, running out of pills, sharing antiretroviral drugs, violence, and social lifestyles such as multiple sexual partners coupled with non-disclosure to partners. Inadequate counseling, stigma, and lack of client identity are

  4. The covariant chiral ring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourget, Antoine; Troost, Jan [Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, École Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris (France)

    2016-03-23

    We construct a covariant generating function for the spectrum of chiral primaries of symmetric orbifold conformal field theories with N=(4,4) supersymmetry in two dimensions. For seed target spaces K3 and T{sup 4}, the generating functions capture the SO(21) and SO(5) representation theoretic content of the chiral ring respectively. Via string dualities, we relate the transformation properties of the chiral ring under these isometries of the moduli space to the Lorentz covariance of perturbative string partition functions in flat space.

  5. GLq(N)-covariant quantum algebras and covariant differential calculus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isaev, A.P.; Pyatov, P.N.

    1992-01-01

    GL q (N)-covariant quantum algebras with generators satisfying quadratic polynomial relations are considered. It is that, up to some innessential arbitrariness, there are only two kinds of such quantum algebras, namely, the algebras with q-deformed commutation and q-deformed anticommutation relations. 25 refs

  6. Introduction to covariant formulation of superstring (field) theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1987-01-01

    The author discusses covariant formulation of superstring theories based on BRS invariance. New formulation of superstring was constructed by Green and Schwarz in the light-cone gauge first and then a covariant action was discovered. The covariant action has some interesting geometrical interpretation, however, covariant quantizations are difficult to perform because of existence of local supersymmetries. Introducing extra variables into the action, a modified action has been proposed. However, it would be difficult to prescribe constraints to define a physical subspace, or to reproduce the correct physical spectrum. Hence the old formulation, i.e., the Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond (NSR) model for covariant quantization is used. The author begins by quantizing the NSR model in a covariant way using BRS charges. Then the author discusses the field theory of (free) superstring

  7. Graphical representation of covariant-contravariant modal formulae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Palomino

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Covariant-contravariant simulation is a combination of standard (covariant simulation, its contravariant counterpart and bisimulation. We have previously studied its logical characterization by means of the covariant-contravariant modal logic. Moreover, we have investigated the relationships between this model and that of modal transition systems, where two kinds of transitions (the so-called may and must transitions were combined in order to obtain a simple framework to express a notion of refinement over state-transition models. In a classic paper, Boudol and Larsen established a precise connection between the graphical approach, by means of modal transition systems, and the logical approach, based on Hennessy-Milner logic without negation, to system specification. They obtained a (graphical representation theorem proving that a formula can be represented by a term if, and only if, it is consistent and prime. We show in this paper that the formulae from the covariant-contravariant modal logic that admit a "graphical" representation by means of processes, modulo the covariant-contravariant simulation preorder, are also the consistent and prime ones. In order to obtain the desired graphical representation result, we first restrict ourselves to the case of covariant-contravariant systems without bivariant actions. Bivariant actions can be incorporated later by means of an encoding that splits each bivariant action into its covariant and its contravariant parts.

  8. Multivariate covariance generalized linear models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bonat, W. H.; Jørgensen, Bent

    2016-01-01

    are fitted by using an efficient Newton scoring algorithm based on quasi-likelihood and Pearson estimating functions, using only second-moment assumptions. This provides a unified approach to a wide variety of types of response variables and covariance structures, including multivariate extensions......We propose a general framework for non-normal multivariate data analysis called multivariate covariance generalized linear models, designed to handle multivariate response variables, along with a wide range of temporal and spatial correlation structures defined in terms of a covariance link...... function combined with a matrix linear predictor involving known matrices. The method is motivated by three data examples that are not easily handled by existing methods. The first example concerns multivariate count data, the second involves response variables of mixed types, combined with repeated...

  9. Covariant single-hole optical potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kam, J. de

    1982-01-01

    In this investigation a covariant optical potential model is constructed for scattering processes of mesons from nuclei in which the meson interacts repeatedly with one of the target nucleons. The nuclear binding interactions in the intermediate scattering state are consistently taken into account. In particular for pions and K - projectiles this is important in view of the strong energy dependence of the elementary projectile-nucleon amplitude. Furthermore, this optical potential satisfies unitarity and relativistic covariance. The starting point in our discussion is the three-body model for the optical potential. To obtain a practical covariant theory I formulate the three-body model as a relativistic quasi two-body problem. Expressions for the transition interactions and propagators in the quasi two-body equations are found by imposing the correct s-channel unitarity relations and by using dispersion integrals. This is done in such a way that the correct non-relativistic limit is obtained, avoiding clustering problems. Corrections to the quasi two-body treatment from the Pauli principle and the required ground-state exclusion are taken into account. The covariant equations that we arrive at are amenable to practical calculations. (orig.)

  10. AFCI-2.0 Neutron Cross Section Covariance Library

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herman, M.; Herman, M; Oblozinsky, P.; Mattoon, C.M.; Pigni, M.; Hoblit, S.; Mughabghab, S.F.; Sonzogni, A.; Talou, P.; Chadwick, M.B.; Hale, G.M.; Kahler, A.C.; Kawano, T.; Little, R.C.; Yount, P.G.

    2011-03-01

    The cross section covariance library has been under development by BNL-LANL collaborative effort over the last three years. The project builds on two covariance libraries developed earlier, with considerable input from BNL and LANL. In 2006, international effort under WPEC Subgroup 26 produced BOLNA covariance library by putting together data, often preliminary, from various sources for most important materials for nuclear reactor technology. This was followed in 2007 by collaborative effort of four US national laboratories to produce covariances, often of modest quality - hence the name low-fidelity, for virtually complete set of materials included in ENDF/B-VII.0. The present project is focusing on covariances of 4-5 major reaction channels for 110 materials of importance for power reactors. The work started under Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) in 2008, which changed to Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) in 2009. With the 2011 release the name has changed to the Covariance Multigroup Matrix for Advanced Reactor Applications (COMMARA) version 2.0. The primary purpose of the library is to provide covariances for AFCI data adjustment project, which is focusing on the needs of fast advanced burner reactors. Responsibility of BNL was defined as developing covariances for structural materials and fission products, management of the library and coordination of the work; LANL responsibility was defined as covariances for light nuclei and actinides. The COMMARA-2.0 covariance library has been developed by BNL-LANL collaboration for Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative applications over the period of three years, 2008-2010. It contains covariances for 110 materials relevant to fast reactor R&D. The library is to be used together with the ENDF/B-VII.0 central values of the latest official release of US files of evaluated neutron cross sections. COMMARA-2.0 library contains neutron cross section covariances for 12 light nuclei (coolants and moderators), 78 structural

  11. AFCI-2.0 Neutron Cross Section Covariance Library

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herman, M.; Oblozinsky, P.; Mattoon, C.M.; Pigni, M.; Hoblit, S.; Mughabghab, S.F.; Sonzogni, A.; Talou, P.; Chadwick, M.B.; Hale, G.M.; Kahler, A.C.; Kawano, T.; Little, R.C.; Yount, P.G.

    2011-01-01

    The cross section covariance library has been under development by BNL-LANL collaborative effort over the last three years. The project builds on two covariance libraries developed earlier, with considerable input from BNL and LANL. In 2006, international effort under WPEC Subgroup 26 produced BOLNA covariance library by putting together data, often preliminary, from various sources for most important materials for nuclear reactor technology. This was followed in 2007 by collaborative effort of four US national laboratories to produce covariances, often of modest quality - hence the name low-fidelity, for virtually complete set of materials included in ENDF/B-VII.0. The present project is focusing on covariances of 4-5 major reaction channels for 110 materials of importance for power reactors. The work started under Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) in 2008, which changed to Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) in 2009. With the 2011 release the name has changed to the Covariance Multigroup Matrix for Advanced Reactor Applications (COMMARA) version 2.0. The primary purpose of the library is to provide covariances for AFCI data adjustment project, which is focusing on the needs of fast advanced burner reactors. Responsibility of BNL was defined as developing covariances for structural materials and fission products, management of the library and coordination of the work; LANL responsibility was defined as covariances for light nuclei and actinides. The COMMARA-2.0 covariance library has been developed by BNL-LANL collaboration for Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative applications over the period of three years, 2008-2010. It contains covariances for 110 materials relevant to fast reactor R and D. The library is to be used together with the ENDF/B-VII.0 central values of the latest official release of US files of evaluated neutron cross sections. COMMARA-2.0 library contains neutron cross section covariances for 12 light nuclei (coolants and moderators), 78

  12. Experience in using the covariances of some ENDF/B-V dosimetry cross sections: proposed improvements and addition of cross-reaction covariances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu, C.Y.; Hetrick, D.M.

    1982-01-01

    Recent ratio data, with carefully evaluated covariances, were combined with eleven of the ENDF/B-V dosimetry cross sections using the generalized least-squares method. The purpose was to improve these evaluated cross sections and covariances, as well as to generate values for the cross-reaction covariances. The results represent improved cross sections as well as realistic and usable covariances. The latter are necessary for meaningful intergral-differential comparisons and for spectrum unfolding

  13. High-dimensional covariance estimation with high-dimensional data

    CERN Document Server

    Pourahmadi, Mohsen

    2013-01-01

    Methods for estimating sparse and large covariance matrices Covariance and correlation matrices play fundamental roles in every aspect of the analysis of multivariate data collected from a variety of fields including business and economics, health care, engineering, and environmental and physical sciences. High-Dimensional Covariance Estimation provides accessible and comprehensive coverage of the classical and modern approaches for estimating covariance matrices as well as their applications to the rapidly developing areas lying at the intersection of statistics and mac

  14. Covariance problem in two-dimensional quantum chromodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagen, C.R.

    1979-01-01

    The problem of covariance in the field theory of a two-dimensional non-Abelian gauge field is considered. Since earlier work has shown that covariance fails (in charged sectors) for the Schwinger model, particular attention is given to an evaluation of the role played by the non-Abelian nature of the fields. In contrast to all earlier attempts at this problem, it is found that the potential covariance-breaking terms are identical to those found in the Abelian theory provided that one expresses them in terms of the total (i.e., conserved) current operator. The question of covariance is thus seen to reduce in all cases to a determination as to whether there exists a conserved global charge in the theory. Since the charge operator in the Schwinger model is conserved only in neutral sectors, one is thereby led to infer a probable failure of covariance in the non-Abelian theory, but one which is identical to that found for the U(1) case

  15. Schroedinger covariance states in anisotropic waveguides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelow, A.; Trifonov, D.

    1995-03-01

    In this paper Squeezed and Covariance States based on Schroedinger inequality and their connection with other nonclassical states are considered for particular case of anisotropic waveguide in LiNiO 3 . Here, the problem of photon creation and generation of squeezed and Schroedinger covariance states in optical waveguides is solved in two steps: 1. Quantization of electromagnetic field is provided in the presence of dielectric waveguide using normal-mode expansion. The photon creation and annihilation operators are introduced, expanding the solution A-vector(r-vector,t) in a series in terms of the Sturm - Liouville mode-functions. 2. In terms of these operators the Hamiltonian of the field in a nonlinear waveguide is derived. For such Hamiltonian we construct the covariance states as stable (with nonzero covariance), which minimize the Schroedinger uncertainty relation. The evolutions of the three second momenta of q-circumflex j and p-circumflex j are calculated. For this Hamiltonian all three momenta are expressed in terms of one real parameters s only. It is found out how covariance, via this parameter s, depends on the waveguide profile n(x,y), on the mode-distributions u-vector j (x,y), and on the waveguide phase mismatching Δβ. (author). 37 refs

  16. Form of the manifestly covariant Lagrangian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johns, Oliver Davis

    1985-10-01

    The preferred form for the manifestly covariant Lagrangian function of a single, charged particle in a given electromagnetic field is the subject of some disagreement in the textbooks. Some authors use a ``homogeneous'' Lagrangian and others use a ``modified'' form in which the covariant Hamiltonian function is made to be nonzero. We argue in favor of the ``homogeneous'' form. We show that the covariant Lagrangian theories can be understood only if one is careful to distinguish quantities evaluated on the varied (in the sense of the calculus of variations) world lines from quantities evaluated on the unvaried world lines. By making this distinction, we are able to derive the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-Gordon equations from the ``homogeneous'' Lagrangian, even though the covariant Hamiltonian function is identically zero on all world lines. The derivation of the Klein-Gordon equation in particular gives Lagrangian theoretical support to the derivations found in standard quantum texts, and is also shown to be consistent with the Feynman path-integral method. We conclude that the ``homogeneous'' Lagrangian is a completely adequate basis for covariant Lagrangian theory both in classical and quantum mechanics. The article also explores the analogy with the Fermat theorem of optics, and illustrates a simple invariant notation for the Lagrangian and other four-vector equations.

  17. Convex Banding of the Covariance Matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bien, Jacob; Bunea, Florentina; Xiao, Luo

    2016-01-01

    We introduce a new sparse estimator of the covariance matrix for high-dimensional models in which the variables have a known ordering. Our estimator, which is the solution to a convex optimization problem, is equivalently expressed as an estimator which tapers the sample covariance matrix by a Toeplitz, sparsely-banded, data-adaptive matrix. As a result of this adaptivity, the convex banding estimator enjoys theoretical optimality properties not attained by previous banding or tapered estimators. In particular, our convex banding estimator is minimax rate adaptive in Frobenius and operator norms, up to log factors, over commonly-studied classes of covariance matrices, and over more general classes. Furthermore, it correctly recovers the bandwidth when the true covariance is exactly banded. Our convex formulation admits a simple and efficient algorithm. Empirical studies demonstrate its practical effectiveness and illustrate that our exactly-banded estimator works well even when the true covariance matrix is only close to a banded matrix, confirming our theoretical results. Our method compares favorably with all existing methods, in terms of accuracy and speed. We illustrate the practical merits of the convex banding estimator by showing that it can be used to improve the performance of discriminant analysis for classifying sound recordings.

  18. Determination of covariant Schwinger terms in anomalous gauge theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelnhofer, G.

    1991-01-01

    A functional integral method is used to determine equal time commutators between the covariant currents and the covariant Gauss-law operators in theories which are affected by an anomaly. By using a differential geometrical setup we show how the derivation of consistent- and covariant Schwinger terms can be understood on an equal footing. We find a modified consistency condition for the covariant anomaly. As a by-product the Bardeen-Zumino functional, which relates consistent and covariant anomalies, can be interpreted as connection on a certain line bundle over all gauge potentials. Finally the covariant commutator anomalies are calculated for the two- and four dimensional case. (orig.)

  19. Cross-population myelination covariance of human cerebral cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Zhiwei; Zhang, Nanyin

    2017-09-01

    Cross-population covariance of brain morphometric quantities provides a measure of interareal connectivity, as it is believed to be determined by the coordinated neurodevelopment of connected brain regions. Although useful, structural covariance analysis predominantly employed bulky morphological measures with mixed compartments, whereas studies of the structural covariance of any specific subdivisions such as myelin are rare. Characterizing myelination covariance is of interest, as it will reveal connectivity patterns determined by coordinated development of myeloarchitecture between brain regions. Using myelin content MRI maps from the Human Connectome Project, here we showed that the cortical myelination covariance was highly reproducible, and exhibited a brain organization similar to that previously revealed by other connectivity measures. Additionally, the myelination covariance network shared common topological features of human brain networks such as small-worldness. Furthermore, we found that the correlation between myelination covariance and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) was uniform within each resting-state network (RSN), but could considerably vary across RSNs. Interestingly, this myelination covariance-RSFC correlation was appreciably stronger in sensory and motor networks than cognitive and polymodal association networks, possibly due to their different circuitry structures. This study has established a new brain connectivity measure specifically related to axons, and this measure can be valuable to investigating coordinated myeloarchitecture development. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4730-4743, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Covariant extensions and the nonsymmetric unified field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borchsenius, K.

    1976-01-01

    The problem of generally covariant extension of Lorentz invariant field equations, by means of covariant derivatives extracted from the nonsymmetric unified field, is considered. It is shown that the contracted curvature tensor can be expressed in terms of a covariant gauge derivative which contains the gauge derivative corresponding to minimal coupling, if the universal constant p, characterizing the nonsymmetric theory, is fixed in terms of Planck's constant and the elementary quantum of charge. By this choice the spinor representation of the linear connection becomes closely related to the spinor affinity used by Infeld and Van Der Waerden (Sitzungsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Phys. Math. Kl.; 9:380 (1933)) in their generally covariant formulation of Dirac's equation. (author)

  1. Computing more proper covariances of energy dependent nuclear data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanhanen, R.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • We present conditions for covariances of energy dependent nuclear data to be proper. • We provide methods to detect non-positive and inconsistent covariances in ENDF-6 format. • We propose methods to find nearby more proper covariances. • The methods can be used as a part of a quality assurance program. - Abstract: We present conditions for covariances of energy dependent nuclear data to be proper in the sense that the covariances are positive, i.e., its eigenvalues are non-negative, and consistent with respect to the sum rules of nuclear data. For the ENDF-6 format covariances we present methods to detect non-positive and inconsistent covariances. These methods would be useful as a part of a quality assurance program. We also propose methods that can be used to find nearby more proper energy dependent covariances. These methods can be used to remove unphysical components, while preserving most of the physical components. We consider several different senses in which the nearness can be measured. These methods could be useful if a re-evaluation of improper covariances is not feasible. Two practical examples are processed and analyzed. These demonstrate some of the properties of the methods. We also demonstrate that the ENDF-6 format covariances of linearly dependent nuclear data should usually be encoded with the derivation rules.

  2. Covariance Spectroscopy for Fissile Material Detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trainham, Rusty; Tinsley, Jim; Hurley, Paul; Keegan, Ray

    2009-01-01

    Nuclear fission produces multiple prompt neutrons and gammas at each fission event. The resulting daughter nuclei continue to emit delayed radiation as neutrons boil off, beta decay occurs, etc. All of the radiations are causally connected, and therefore correlated. The correlations are generally positive, but when different decay channels compete, so that some radiations tend to exclude others, negative correlations could also be observed. A similar problem of reduced complexity is that of cascades radiation, whereby a simple radioactive decay produces two or more correlated gamma rays at each decay. Covariance is the usual means for measuring correlation, and techniques of covariance mapping may be useful to produce distinct signatures of special nuclear materials (SNM). A covariance measurement can also be used to filter data streams because uncorrelated signals are largely rejected. The technique is generally more effective than a coincidence measurement. In this poster, we concentrate on cascades and the covariance filtering problem

  3. Optimal covariate designs theory and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Das, Premadhis; Mandal, Nripes Kumar; Sinha, Bikas Kumar

    2015-01-01

    This book primarily addresses the optimality aspects of covariate designs. A covariate model is a combination of ANOVA and regression models. Optimal estimation of the parameters of the model using a suitable choice of designs is of great importance; as such choices allow experimenters to extract maximum information for the unknown model parameters. The main emphasis of this monograph is to start with an assumed covariate model in combination with some standard ANOVA set-ups such as CRD, RBD, BIBD, GDD, BTIBD, BPEBD, cross-over, multi-factor, split-plot and strip-plot designs, treatment control designs, etc. and discuss the nature and availability of optimal covariate designs. In some situations, optimal estimations of both ANOVA and the regression parameters are provided. Global optimality and D-optimality criteria are mainly used in selecting the design. The standard optimality results of both discrete and continuous set-ups have been adapted, and several novel combinatorial techniques have been applied for...

  4. Covariate Imbalance and Precision in Measuring Treatment Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaofeng Steven

    2011-01-01

    Covariate adjustment can increase the precision of estimates by removing unexplained variance from the error in randomized experiments, although chance covariate imbalance tends to counteract the improvement in precision. The author develops an easy measure to examine chance covariate imbalance in randomization by standardizing the average…

  5. Covariant description of Hamiltonian form for field dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ozaki, Hiroshi

    2005-01-01

    Hamiltonian form of field dynamics is developed on a space-like hypersurface in space-time. A covariant Poisson bracket on the space-like hypersurface is defined and it plays a key role to describe every algebraic relation into a covariant form. It is shown that the Poisson bracket has the same symplectic structure that was brought in the covariant symplectic approach. An identity invariant under the canonical transformations is obtained. The identity follows a canonical equation in which the interaction Hamiltonian density generates a deformation of the space-like hypersurface. The equation just corresponds to the Yang-Feldman equation in the Heisenberg pictures in quantum field theory. By converting the covariant Poisson bracket on the space-like hypersurface to four-dimensional commutator, we can pass over to quantum field theory in the Heisenberg picture without spoiling the explicit relativistic covariance. As an example the canonical QCD is displayed in a covariant way on a space-like hypersurface

  6. Dimension from covariance matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, T L; Byers, J M

    2017-02-01

    We describe a method to estimate embedding dimension from a time series. This method includes an estimate of the probability that the dimension estimate is valid. Such validity estimates are not common in algorithms for calculating the properties of dynamical systems. The algorithm described here compares the eigenvalues of covariance matrices created from an embedded signal to the eigenvalues for a covariance matrix of a Gaussian random process with the same dimension and number of points. A statistical test gives the probability that the eigenvalues for the embedded signal did not come from the Gaussian random process.

  7. ANL Critical Assembly Covariance Matrix Generation - Addendum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McKnight, Richard D. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Grimm, Karl N. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2014-01-13

    In March 2012, a report was issued on covariance matrices for Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) critical experiments. That report detailed the theory behind the calculation of covariance matrices and the methodology used to determine the matrices for a set of 33 ANL experimental set-ups. Since that time, three new experiments have been evaluated and approved. This report essentially updates the previous report by adding in these new experiments to the preceding covariance matrix structure.

  8. Condition Number Regularized Covariance Estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Won, Joong-Ho; Lim, Johan; Kim, Seung-Jean; Rajaratnam, Bala

    2013-06-01

    Estimation of high-dimensional covariance matrices is known to be a difficult problem, has many applications, and is of current interest to the larger statistics community. In many applications including so-called the "large p small n " setting, the estimate of the covariance matrix is required to be not only invertible, but also well-conditioned. Although many regularization schemes attempt to do this, none of them address the ill-conditioning problem directly. In this paper, we propose a maximum likelihood approach, with the direct goal of obtaining a well-conditioned estimator. No sparsity assumption on either the covariance matrix or its inverse are are imposed, thus making our procedure more widely applicable. We demonstrate that the proposed regularization scheme is computationally efficient, yields a type of Steinian shrinkage estimator, and has a natural Bayesian interpretation. We investigate the theoretical properties of the regularized covariance estimator comprehensively, including its regularization path, and proceed to develop an approach that adaptively determines the level of regularization that is required. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of the regularized estimator in decision-theoretic comparisons and in the financial portfolio optimization setting. The proposed approach has desirable properties, and can serve as a competitive procedure, especially when the sample size is small and when a well-conditioned estimator is required.

  9. Parametric Covariance Model for Horizon-Based Optical Navigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hikes, Jacob; Liounis, Andrew J.; Christian, John A.

    2016-01-01

    This Note presents an entirely parametric version of the covariance for horizon-based optical navigation measurements. The covariance can be written as a function of only the spacecraft position, two sensor design parameters, the illumination direction, the size of the observed planet, the size of the lit arc to be used, and the total number of observed horizon points. As a result, one may now more clearly understand the sensitivity of horizon-based optical navigation performance as a function of these key design parameters, which is insight that was obscured in previous (and nonparametric) versions of the covariance. Finally, the new parametric covariance is shown to agree with both the nonparametric analytic covariance and results from a Monte Carlo analysis.

  10. Activities on covariance estimation in Japanese Nuclear Data Committee

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shibata, Keiichi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1997-03-01

    Described are activities on covariance estimation in the Japanese Nuclear Data Committee. Covariances are obtained from measurements by using the least-squares methods. A simultaneous evaluation was performed to deduce covariances of fission cross sections of U and Pu isotopes. A code system, KALMAN, is used to estimate covariances of nuclear model calculations from uncertainties in model parameters. (author)

  11. Neutron spectrum adjustment. The role of covariances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Remec, I.

    1992-01-01

    Neutron spectrum adjustment method is shortly reviewed. Practical example dealing with power reactor pressure vessel exposure rates determination is analysed. Adjusted exposure rates are found only slightly affected by the covariances of measured reaction rates and activation cross sections, while the multigroup spectra covariances were found important. Approximate spectra covariance matrices, as suggested in Astm E944-89, were found useful but care is advised if they are applied in adjustments of spectra at locations without dosimetry. (author) [sl

  12. Cross-covariance functions for multivariate geostatistics

    KAUST Repository

    Genton, Marc G.

    2015-05-01

    Continuously indexed datasets with multiple variables have become ubiquitous in the geophysical, ecological, environmental and climate sciences, and pose substantial analysis challenges to scientists and statisticians. For many years, scientists developed models that aimed at capturing the spatial behavior for an individual process; only within the last few decades has it become commonplace to model multiple processes jointly. The key difficulty is in specifying the cross-covariance function, that is, the function responsible for the relationship between distinct variables. Indeed, these cross-covariance functions must be chosen to be consistent with marginal covariance functions in such a way that the second-order structure always yields a nonnegative definite covariance matrix. We review the main approaches to building cross-covariance models, including the linear model of coregionalization, convolution methods, the multivariate Matérn and nonstationary and space-time extensions of these among others. We additionally cover specialized constructions, including those designed for asymmetry, compact support and spherical domains, with a review of physics-constrained models. We illustrate select models on a bivariate regional climate model output example for temperature and pressure, along with a bivariate minimum and maximum temperature observational dataset; we compare models by likelihood value as well as via cross-validation co-kriging studies. The article closes with a discussion of unsolved problems. © Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2015.

  13. Cross-covariance functions for multivariate geostatistics

    KAUST Repository

    Genton, Marc G.; Kleiber, William

    2015-01-01

    Continuously indexed datasets with multiple variables have become ubiquitous in the geophysical, ecological, environmental and climate sciences, and pose substantial analysis challenges to scientists and statisticians. For many years, scientists developed models that aimed at capturing the spatial behavior for an individual process; only within the last few decades has it become commonplace to model multiple processes jointly. The key difficulty is in specifying the cross-covariance function, that is, the function responsible for the relationship between distinct variables. Indeed, these cross-covariance functions must be chosen to be consistent with marginal covariance functions in such a way that the second-order structure always yields a nonnegative definite covariance matrix. We review the main approaches to building cross-covariance models, including the linear model of coregionalization, convolution methods, the multivariate Matérn and nonstationary and space-time extensions of these among others. We additionally cover specialized constructions, including those designed for asymmetry, compact support and spherical domains, with a review of physics-constrained models. We illustrate select models on a bivariate regional climate model output example for temperature and pressure, along with a bivariate minimum and maximum temperature observational dataset; we compare models by likelihood value as well as via cross-validation co-kriging studies. The article closes with a discussion of unsolved problems. © Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2015.

  14. The method of covariant symbols in curved space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salcedo, L.L.

    2007-01-01

    Diagonal matrix elements of pseudodifferential operators are needed in order to compute effective Lagrangians and currents. For this purpose the method of symbols is often used, which however lacks manifest covariance. In this work the method of covariant symbols, introduced by Pletnev and Banin, is extended to curved space-time with arbitrary gauge and coordinate connections. For the Riemannian connection we compute the covariant symbols corresponding to external fields, the covariant derivative and the Laplacian, to fourth order in a covariant derivative expansion. This allows one to obtain the covariant symbol of general operators to the same order. The procedure is illustrated by computing the diagonal matrix element of a nontrivial operator to second order. Applications of the method are discussed. (orig.)

  15. Data Fusion of Gridded Snow Products Enhanced with Terrain Covariates and a Simple Snow Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snauffer, A. M.; Hsieh, W. W.; Cannon, A. J.

    2017-12-01

    Hydrologic planning requires accurate estimates of regional snow water equivalent (SWE), particularly areas with hydrologic regimes dominated by spring melt. While numerous gridded data products provide such estimates, accurate representations are particularly challenging under conditions of mountainous terrain, heavy forest cover and large snow accumulations, contexts which in many ways define the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. One promising avenue of improving SWE estimates is a data fusion approach which combines field observations with gridded SWE products and relevant covariates. A base artificial neural network (ANN) was constructed using three of the best performing gridded SWE products over BC (ERA-Interim/Land, MERRA and GLDAS-2) and simple location and time covariates. This base ANN was then enhanced to include terrain covariates (slope, aspect and Terrain Roughness Index, TRI) as well as a simple 1-layer energy balance snow model driven by gridded bias-corrected ANUSPLIN temperature and precipitation values. The ANN enhanced with all aforementioned covariates performed better than the base ANN, but most of the skill improvement was attributable to the snow model with very little contribution from the terrain covariates. The enhanced ANN improved station mean absolute error (MAE) by an average of 53% relative to the composing gridded products over the province. Interannual peak SWE correlation coefficient was found to be 0.78, an improvement of 0.05 to 0.18 over the composing products. This nonlinear approach outperformed a comparable multiple linear regression (MLR) model by 22% in MAE and 0.04 in interannual correlation. The enhanced ANN has also been shown to estimate better than the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model calibrated and run for four BC watersheds, improving MAE by 22% and correlation by 0.05. The performance improvements of the enhanced ANN are statistically significant at the 5% level across the province and

  16. Inverse probability weighting for covariate adjustment in randomized studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Changyu; Li, Xiaochun; Li, Lingling

    2014-02-20

    Covariate adjustment in randomized clinical trials has the potential benefit of precision gain. It also has the potential pitfall of reduced objectivity as it opens the possibility of selecting a 'favorable' model that yields strong treatment benefit estimate. Although there is a large volume of statistical literature targeting on the first aspect, realistic solutions to enforce objective inference and improve precision are rare. As a typical randomized trial needs to accommodate many implementation issues beyond statistical considerations, maintaining the objectivity is at least as important as precision gain if not more, particularly from the perspective of the regulatory agencies. In this article, we propose a two-stage estimation procedure based on inverse probability weighting to achieve better precision without compromising objectivity. The procedure is designed in a way such that the covariate adjustment is performed before seeing the outcome, effectively reducing the possibility of selecting a 'favorable' model that yields a strong intervention effect. Both theoretical and numerical properties of the estimation procedure are presented. Application of the proposed method to a real data example is presented. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Conformally covariant massless spin-two field equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drew, M.S.; Gegenberg, J.D.

    1980-01-01

    An explicit proof is constructed to show that the field equations for a symmetric tensor field hsub(ab) describing massless spin-2 particles in Minkowski space-time are not covariant under the 15-parameter group SOsub(4,2); this group is usually associated with conformal transformations on flat space, and here it will be considered as a global gauge group which acts upon matter fields defined on space-time. Notwithstanding the above noncovariance, the equations governing the rank-4 tensor Ssub(abcd) constructed from hsub(ab) are shown to be covariant provided the contraction Ssub(ab) vanishes. Conformal covariance is proved by demonstrating the covariance of the equations for the equivalent 5-component complex field; in fact, covariance is proved for a general field equation applicable to massless particles of any spin >0. It is shown that the noncovariance of the hsub(ab) equations may be ascribed to the fact that the transformation behaviour of hsub(ab) is not the same as that of a field consisting of a gauge only. Since this is in contradistinction to the situation for the electromagnetic-field equations, the vector form of the electromagnetic equations is cast into a form which can be duplicated for the hsub(ab)-field. This procedure results in an alternative, covariant, field equation for hsub(ab). (author)

  18. Evaluation of covariance for 238U cross sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawano, Toshihiko; Nakamura, Masahiro; Matsuda, Nobuyuki; Kanda, Yukinori

    1995-01-01

    Covariances of 238 U are generated using analytic functions for representation of the cross sections. The covariances of the (n,2n) and (n,3n) reactions are derived with a spline function, while the covariances of the total and the inelastic scattering cross section are estimated with a linearized nuclear model calculation. (author)

  19. GLq(N)-covariant quantum algebras and covariant differential calculus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isaev, A.P.; Pyatov, P.N.

    1993-01-01

    We consider GL q (N)-covariant quantum algebras with generators satisfying quadratic polynomial relations. We show that, up to some inessential arbitrariness, there are only two kinds of such quantum algebras, namely, the algebras with q-deformed commutation and q-deformed anticommutation relations. The connection with the bicovariant differential calculus on the linear quantum groups is discussed. (orig.)

  20. Asset allocation with different covariance/correlation estimators

    OpenAIRE

    Μανταφούνη, Σοφία

    2007-01-01

    The subject of the study is to test whether the use of different covariance – correlation estimators than the historical covariance matrix that is widely used, would help in portfolio optimization through the mean-variance analysis. In other words, if an investor would like to use the mean-variance analysis in order to invest in assets like stocks or indices, would it be of some help to use more sophisticated estimators for the covariance matrix of the returns of his portfolio? The procedure ...

  1. Students’ Covariational Reasoning in Solving Integrals’ Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harini, N. V.; Fuad, Y.; Ekawati, R.

    2018-01-01

    Covariational reasoning plays an important role to indicate quantities vary in learning calculus. This study investigates students’ covariational reasoning during their studies concerning two covarying quantities in integral problem. Six undergraduate students were chosen to solve problems that involved interpreting and representing how quantities change in tandem. Interviews were conducted to reveal the students’ reasoning while solving covariational problems. The result emphasizes that undergraduate students were able to construct the relation of dependent variables that changes in tandem with the independent variable. However, students faced difficulty in forming images of continuously changing rates and could not accurately apply the concept of integrals. These findings suggest that learning calculus should be increased emphasis on coordinating images of two quantities changing in tandem about instantaneously rate of change and to promote conceptual knowledge in integral techniques.

  2. Forecasting Covariance Matrices: A Mixed Frequency Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halbleib, Roxana; Voev, Valeri

    This paper proposes a new method for forecasting covariance matrices of financial returns. The model mixes volatility forecasts from a dynamic model of daily realized volatilities estimated with high-frequency data with correlation forecasts based on daily data. This new approach allows for flexi......This paper proposes a new method for forecasting covariance matrices of financial returns. The model mixes volatility forecasts from a dynamic model of daily realized volatilities estimated with high-frequency data with correlation forecasts based on daily data. This new approach allows...... for flexible dependence patterns for volatilities and correlations, and can be applied to covariance matrices of large dimensions. The separate modeling of volatility and correlation forecasts considerably reduces the estimation and measurement error implied by the joint estimation and modeling of covariance...

  3. Covariance upperbound controllers for networked control systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Sang Ho

    2012-01-01

    This paper deals with designing covariance upperbound controllers for a linear system that can be used in a networked control environment in which control laws are calculated in a remote controller and transmitted through a shared communication link to the plant. In order to compensate for possible packet losses during the transmission, two different techniques are often employed: the zero-input and the hold-input strategy. These use zero input and the latest control input, respectively, when a packet is lost. For each strategy, we synthesize a class of output covariance upperbound controllers for a given covariance upperbound and a packet loss probability. Existence conditions of the covariance upperbound controller are also provided for each strategy. Through numerical examples, performance of the two strategies is compared in terms of feasibility of implementing the controllers

  4. ERRORJ. Covariance processing code system for JENDL. Version 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiba, Gou

    2003-09-01

    ERRORJ is the covariance processing code system for Japanese Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (JENDL) that can produce group-averaged covariance data to apply it to the uncertainty analysis of nuclear characteristics. ERRORJ can treat the covariance data for cross sections including resonance parameters as well as angular distributions and energy distributions of secondary neutrons which could not be dealt with by former covariance processing codes. In addition, ERRORJ can treat various forms of multi-group cross section and produce multi-group covariance file with various formats. This document describes an outline of ERRORJ and how to use it. (author)

  5. ACORNS, Covariance and Correlation Matrix Diagonalization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szondi, E.J.

    1990-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: The program allows the user to verify the different types of covariance/correlation matrices used in the activation neutron spectrometry. 2 - Method of solution: The program performs the diagonalization of the input covariance/relative covariance/correlation matrices. The Eigen values are then analyzed to determine the rank of the matrices. If the Eigen vectors of the pertinent correlation matrix have also been calculated, the program can perform a complete factor analysis (generation of the factor matrix and its rotation in Kaiser's 'varimax' sense to select the origin of the correlations). 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Matrix size is limited to 60 on PDP and to 100 on IBM PC/AT

  6. Condition Number Regularized Covariance Estimation*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Won, Joong-Ho; Lim, Johan; Kim, Seung-Jean; Rajaratnam, Bala

    2012-01-01

    Estimation of high-dimensional covariance matrices is known to be a difficult problem, has many applications, and is of current interest to the larger statistics community. In many applications including so-called the “large p small n” setting, the estimate of the covariance matrix is required to be not only invertible, but also well-conditioned. Although many regularization schemes attempt to do this, none of them address the ill-conditioning problem directly. In this paper, we propose a maximum likelihood approach, with the direct goal of obtaining a well-conditioned estimator. No sparsity assumption on either the covariance matrix or its inverse are are imposed, thus making our procedure more widely applicable. We demonstrate that the proposed regularization scheme is computationally efficient, yields a type of Steinian shrinkage estimator, and has a natural Bayesian interpretation. We investigate the theoretical properties of the regularized covariance estimator comprehensively, including its regularization path, and proceed to develop an approach that adaptively determines the level of regularization that is required. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of the regularized estimator in decision-theoretic comparisons and in the financial portfolio optimization setting. The proposed approach has desirable properties, and can serve as a competitive procedure, especially when the sample size is small and when a well-conditioned estimator is required. PMID:23730197

  7. Capacity market design and renewable energy: Performance incentives, qualifying capacity, and demand curves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Botterud, Audun; Levin, Todd; Byers, Conleigh

    2018-01-01

    A review of capacity markets in the United States in the context of increasing levels of variable renewable energy finds substantial differences with respect to incentives for operational performance, methods to calculate qualifying capacity for variable renewable energy and energy storage, and demand curves for capacity. The review also reveals large differences in historical capacity market clearing prices. The authors conclude that electricity market design must continue to evolve to achieve cost-effective policies for resource adequacy.

  8. Covariate-adjusted measures of discrimination for survival data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    White, Ian R; Rapsomaniki, Eleni; Frikke-Schmidt, Ruth

    2015-01-01

    by the study design (e.g. age and sex) influence discrimination and can make it difficult to compare model discrimination between studies. Although covariate adjustment is a standard procedure for quantifying disease-risk factor associations, there are no covariate adjustment methods for discrimination...... statistics in censored survival data. OBJECTIVE: To develop extensions of the C-index and D-index that describe the prognostic ability of a model adjusted for one or more covariate(s). METHOD: We define a covariate-adjusted C-index and D-index for censored survival data, propose several estimators......, and investigate their performance in simulation studies and in data from a large individual participant data meta-analysis, the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration. RESULTS: The proposed methods perform well in simulations. In the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration data, the age-adjusted C-index and D-index were...

  9. Heteroscedasticity resistant robust covariance matrix estimator

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Víšek, Jan Ámos

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 17, č. 27 (2010), s. 33-49 ISSN 1212-074X Grant - others:GA UK(CZ) GA402/09/0557 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Regression * Covariance matrix * Heteroscedasticity * Resistant Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2011/SI/visek-heteroscedasticity resistant robust covariance matrix estimator.pdf

  10. How much do genetic covariances alter the rate of adaptation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrawal, Aneil F; Stinchcombe, John R

    2009-03-22

    Genetically correlated traits do not evolve independently, and the covariances between traits affect the rate at which a population adapts to a specified selection regime. To measure the impact of genetic covariances on the rate of adaptation, we compare the rate fitness increases given the observed G matrix to the expected rate if all the covariances in the G matrix are set to zero. Using data from the literature, we estimate the effect of genetic covariances in real populations. We find no net tendency for covariances to constrain the rate of adaptation, though the quality and heterogeneity of the data limit the certainty of this result. There are some examples in which covariances strongly constrain the rate of adaptation but these are balanced by counter examples in which covariances facilitate the rate of adaptation; in many cases, covariances have little or no effect. We also discuss how our metric can be used to identify traits or suites of traits whose genetic covariances to other traits have a particularly large impact on the rate of adaptation.

  11. Comparative Analyses of Phenotypic Trait Covariation within and among Populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peiman, Kathryn S; Robinson, Beren W

    2017-10-01

    Many morphological, behavioral, physiological, and life-history traits covary across the biological scales of individuals, populations, and species. However, the processes that cause traits to covary also change over these scales, challenging our ability to use patterns of trait covariance to infer process. Trait relationships are also widely assumed to have generic functional relationships with similar evolutionary potentials, and even though many different trait relationships are now identified, there is little appreciation that these may influence trait covariation and evolution in unique ways. We use a trait-performance-fitness framework to classify and organize trait relationships into three general classes, address which ones more likely generate trait covariation among individuals in a population, and review how selection shapes phenotypic covariation. We generate predictions about how trait covariance changes within and among populations as a result of trait relationships and in response to selection and consider how these can be tested with comparative data. Careful comparisons of covariation patterns can narrow the set of hypothesized processes that cause trait covariation when the form of the trait relationship and how it responds to selection yield clear predictions about patterns of trait covariation. We discuss the opportunities and limitations of comparative approaches to evaluate hypotheses about the evolutionary causes and consequences of trait covariation and highlight the importance of evaluating patterns within populations replicated in the same and in different selective environments. Explicit hypotheses about trait relationships are key to generating effective predictions about phenotype and its evolution using covariance data.

  12. Earth Observation System Flight Dynamics System Covariance Realism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaidi, Waqar H.; Tracewell, David

    2016-01-01

    This presentation applies a covariance realism technique to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observation System (EOS) Aqua and Aura spacecraft based on inferential statistics. The technique consists of three parts: collection calculation of definitive state estimates through orbit determination, calculation of covariance realism test statistics at each covariance propagation point, and proper assessment of those test statistics.

  13. Determination of covariant Schwinger terms in anomalous gauge theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelnhofer, G.

    1991-01-01

    A functional integral method is used to determine equal time commutators between the covariant currents and the covariant Gauss-law operators in theories which are affected by an anomaly. By using a differential geometrical setup we show how the derivation of consistent- and covariant Schwinger terms can be understood on an equal footing. We find a modified consistency condition for the covariant anomaly. As a by-product the Bardeen-Zumino functional, which relates consistent and covariant anomalies, can be interpreted as connection on a certain line bundle over all gauge potentials. Finally the commutator anomalies are calculated for the two- and four dimensional case. (Author) 13 refs

  14. Coherent states and covariant semi-spectral measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scutaru, H.

    1976-01-01

    The close connection between Mackey's theory of imprimitivity systems and the so called generalized coherent states introduced by Perelomov is established. Coherent states give a covariant description of the ''localization'' of a quantum system in the phase space in a similar way as the imprimitivity systems give a covariant description of the localization of a quantum system in the configuration space. The observation that for any system of coherent states one can define a covariant semi-spectral measure made possible a rigurous formulation of this idea. A generalization of the notion of coherent states is given. Covariant semi-spectral measures associated with systems of coherent states are defined and characterized. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a unitary representation of a Lie group to be i) a subrepresentation of an induced one and ii) a representation with coherent states are given (author)

  15. Covariance NMR Processing and Analysis for Protein Assignment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harden, Bradley J; Frueh, Dominique P

    2018-01-01

    During NMR resonance assignment it is often necessary to relate nuclei to one another indirectly, through their common correlations to other nuclei. Covariance NMR has emerged as a powerful technique to correlate such nuclei without relying on error-prone peak peaking. However, false-positive artifacts in covariance spectra have impeded a general application to proteins. We recently introduced pre- and postprocessing steps to reduce the prevalence of artifacts in covariance spectra, allowing for the calculation of a variety of 4D covariance maps obtained from diverse combinations of pairs of 3D spectra, and we have employed them to assign backbone and sidechain resonances in two large and challenging proteins. In this chapter, we present a detailed protocol describing how to (1) properly prepare existing 3D spectra for covariance, (2) understand and apply our processing script, and (3) navigate and interpret the resulting 4D spectra. We also provide solutions to a number of errors that may occur when using our script, and we offer practical advice when assigning difficult signals. We believe such 4D spectra, and covariance NMR in general, can play an integral role in the assignment of NMR signals.

  16. Large Covariance Estimation by Thresholding Principal Orthogonal Complements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jianqing; Liao, Yuan; Mincheva, Martina

    2013-09-01

    This paper deals with the estimation of a high-dimensional covariance with a conditional sparsity structure and fast-diverging eigenvalues. By assuming sparse error covariance matrix in an approximate factor model, we allow for the presence of some cross-sectional correlation even after taking out common but unobservable factors. We introduce the Principal Orthogonal complEment Thresholding (POET) method to explore such an approximate factor structure with sparsity. The POET estimator includes the sample covariance matrix, the factor-based covariance matrix (Fan, Fan, and Lv, 2008), the thresholding estimator (Bickel and Levina, 2008) and the adaptive thresholding estimator (Cai and Liu, 2011) as specific examples. We provide mathematical insights when the factor analysis is approximately the same as the principal component analysis for high-dimensional data. The rates of convergence of the sparse residual covariance matrix and the conditional sparse covariance matrix are studied under various norms. It is shown that the impact of estimating the unknown factors vanishes as the dimensionality increases. The uniform rates of convergence for the unobserved factors and their factor loadings are derived. The asymptotic results are also verified by extensive simulation studies. Finally, a real data application on portfolio allocation is presented.

  17. Some remarks on general covariance of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmutzer, E.

    1977-01-01

    If one accepts Einstein's general principle of relativity (covariance principle) also for the sphere of microphysics (quantum, mechanics, quantum field theory, theory of elemtary particles), one has to ask how far the fundamental laws of traditional quantum physics fulfil this principle. Attention is here drawn to a series of papers that have appeared during the last years, in which the author criticized the usual scheme of quantum theory (Heisenberg picture, Schroedinger picture etc.) and presented a new foundation of the basic laws of quantum physics, obeying the 'principle of fundamental covariance' (Einstein's covariance principle in space-time and covariance principle in Hilbert space of quantum operators and states). (author)

  18. The Bayesian Covariance Lasso.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khondker, Zakaria S; Zhu, Hongtu; Chu, Haitao; Lin, Weili; Ibrahim, Joseph G

    2013-04-01

    Estimation of sparse covariance matrices and their inverse subject to positive definiteness constraints has drawn a lot of attention in recent years. The abundance of high-dimensional data, where the sample size ( n ) is less than the dimension ( d ), requires shrinkage estimation methods since the maximum likelihood estimator is not positive definite in this case. Furthermore, when n is larger than d but not sufficiently larger, shrinkage estimation is more stable than maximum likelihood as it reduces the condition number of the precision matrix. Frequentist methods have utilized penalized likelihood methods, whereas Bayesian approaches rely on matrix decompositions or Wishart priors for shrinkage. In this paper we propose a new method, called the Bayesian Covariance Lasso (BCLASSO), for the shrinkage estimation of a precision (covariance) matrix. We consider a class of priors for the precision matrix that leads to the popular frequentist penalties as special cases, develop a Bayes estimator for the precision matrix, and propose an efficient sampling scheme that does not precalculate boundaries for positive definiteness. The proposed method is permutation invariant and performs shrinkage and estimation simultaneously for non-full rank data. Simulations show that the proposed BCLASSO performs similarly as frequentist methods for non-full rank data.

  19. Galaxy-galaxy lensing estimators and their covariance properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Sukhdeep; Mandelbaum, Rachel; Seljak, Uroš; Slosar, Anže; Vazquez Gonzalez, Jose

    2017-11-01

    We study the covariance properties of real space correlation function estimators - primarily galaxy-shear correlations, or galaxy-galaxy lensing - using SDSS data for both shear catalogues and lenses (specifically the BOSS LOWZ sample). Using mock catalogues of lenses and sources, we disentangle the various contributions to the covariance matrix and compare them with a simple analytical model. We show that not subtracting the lensing measurement around random points from the measurement around the lens sample is equivalent to performing the measurement using the lens density field instead of the lens overdensity field. While the measurement using the lens density field is unbiased (in the absence of systematics), its error is significantly larger due to an additional term in the covariance. Therefore, this subtraction should be performed regardless of its beneficial effects on systematics. Comparing the error estimates from data and mocks for estimators that involve the overdensity, we find that the errors are dominated by the shape noise and lens clustering, which empirically estimated covariances (jackknife and standard deviation across mocks) that are consistent with theoretical estimates, and that both the connected parts of the four-point function and the supersample covariance can be neglected for the current levels of noise. While the trade-off between different terms in the covariance depends on the survey configuration (area, source number density), the diagnostics that we use in this work should be useful for future works to test their empirically determined covariances.

  20. Galaxy–galaxy lensing estimators and their covariance properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Sukhdeep; Mandelbaum, Rachel; Seljak, Uros; Slosar, Anze; Gonzalez, Jose Vazquez

    2017-01-01

    Here, we study the covariance properties of real space correlation function estimators – primarily galaxy–shear correlations, or galaxy–galaxy lensing – using SDSS data for both shear catalogues and lenses (specifically the BOSS LOWZ sample). Using mock catalogues of lenses and sources, we disentangle the various contributions to the covariance matrix and compare them with a simple analytical model. We show that not subtracting the lensing measurement around random points from the measurement around the lens sample is equivalent to performing the measurement using the lens density field instead of the lens overdensity field. While the measurement using the lens density field is unbiased (in the absence of systematics), its error is significantly larger due to an additional term in the covariance. Therefore, this subtraction should be performed regardless of its beneficial effects on systematics. Comparing the error estimates from data and mocks for estimators that involve the overdensity, we find that the errors are dominated by the shape noise and lens clustering, which empirically estimated covariances (jackknife and standard deviation across mocks) that are consistent with theoretical estimates, and that both the connected parts of the four-point function and the supersample covariance can be neglected for the current levels of noise. While the trade-off between different terms in the covariance depends on the survey configuration (area, source number density), the diagnostics that we use in this work should be useful for future works to test their empirically determined covariances.

  1. Treatment Effects with Many Covariates and Heteroskedasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cattaneo, Matias D.; Jansson, Michael; Newey, Whitney K.

    The linear regression model is widely used in empirical work in Economics. Researchers often include many covariates in their linear model specification in an attempt to control for confounders. We give inference methods that allow for many covariates and heteroskedasticity. Our results...

  2. Capacity Estimation and Near-Capacity Achieving Techniques for Digitally Modulated Communication Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yankov, Metodi Plamenov

    investigation will include linear interference channels of high dimensionality (such as multiple-input multiple-output), and the non-linear optical fiber channel, which has been gathering more and more attention from the information theory community in recent years. In both cases novel CCC estimates and lower......This thesis studies potential improvements that can be made to the current data rates of digital communication systems. The physical layer of the system will be investigated in band-limited scenarios, where high spectral efficiency is necessary in order to meet the ever-growing data rate demand....... Several issues are tackled, both with theoretical and more practical aspects. The theoretical part is mainly concerned with estimating the constellation constrained capacity (CCC) of channels with discrete input, which is an inherent property of digital communication systems. The channels under...

  3. Empirical Likelihood in Nonignorable Covariate-Missing Data Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yanmei; Zhang, Biao

    2017-04-20

    Missing covariate data occurs often in regression analysis, which frequently arises in the health and social sciences as well as in survey sampling. We study methods for the analysis of a nonignorable covariate-missing data problem in an assumed conditional mean function when some covariates are completely observed but other covariates are missing for some subjects. We adopt the semiparametric perspective of Bartlett et al. (Improving upon the efficiency of complete case analysis when covariates are MNAR. Biostatistics 2014;15:719-30) on regression analyses with nonignorable missing covariates, in which they have introduced the use of two working models, the working probability model of missingness and the working conditional score model. In this paper, we study an empirical likelihood approach to nonignorable covariate-missing data problems with the objective of effectively utilizing the two working models in the analysis of covariate-missing data. We propose a unified approach to constructing a system of unbiased estimating equations, where there are more equations than unknown parameters of interest. One useful feature of these unbiased estimating equations is that they naturally incorporate the incomplete data into the data analysis, making it possible to seek efficient estimation of the parameter of interest even when the working regression function is not specified to be the optimal regression function. We apply the general methodology of empirical likelihood to optimally combine these unbiased estimating equations. We propose three maximum empirical likelihood estimators of the underlying regression parameters and compare their efficiencies with other existing competitors. We present a simulation study to compare the finite-sample performance of various methods with respect to bias, efficiency, and robustness to model misspecification. The proposed empirical likelihood method is also illustrated by an analysis of a data set from the US National Health and

  4. Cosmic censorship conjecture revisited: covariantly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamid, Aymen I M; Goswami, Rituparno; Maharaj, Sunil D

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we study the dynamics of the trapped region using a frame independent semi-tetrad covariant formalism for general locally rotationally symmetric (LRS) class II spacetimes. We covariantly prove some important geometrical results for the apparent horizon, and state the necessary and sufficient conditions for a singularity to be locally naked. These conditions bring out, for the first time in a quantitative and transparent manner, the importance of the Weyl curvature in deforming and delaying the trapped region during continual gravitational collapse, making the central singularity locally visible. (paper)

  5. Evaluation of covariance in theoretical calculation of nuclear data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kikuchi, Yasuyuki

    1981-01-01

    Covariances of the cross sections are discussed on the statistical model calculations. Two categories of covariance are discussed: One is caused by the model approximation and the other by the errors in the model parameters. As an example, the covariances are calculated for 100 Ru. (author)

  6. Updated Covariance Processing Capabilities in the AMPX Code System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiarda, Dorothea; Dunn, Michael E.

    2007-01-01

    A concerted effort is in progress within the nuclear data community to provide new cross-section covariance data evaluations to support sensitivity/uncertainty analyses of fissionable systems. The objective of this work is to update processing capabilities of the AMPX library to process the latest Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF)/B formats to generate covariance data libraries for radiation transport software such as SCALE. The module PUFF-IV was updated to allow processing of new ENDF covariance formats in the resolved resonance region. In the resolved resonance region, covariance matrices are given in terms of resonance parameters, which need to be processed into covariance matrices with respect to the group-averaged cross-section data. The parameter covariance matrix can be quite large if the evaluation has many resonances. The PUFF-IV code has recently been used to process an evaluation of 235U, which was prepared in collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

  7. Decomposing variation in male reproductive success: age-specific variances and covariances through extra-pair and within-pair reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebigre, Christophe; Arcese, Peter; Reid, Jane M

    2013-07-01

    Age-specific variances and covariances in reproductive success shape the total variance in lifetime reproductive success (LRS), age-specific opportunities for selection, and population demographic variance and effective size. Age-specific (co)variances in reproductive success achieved through different reproductive routes must therefore be quantified to predict population, phenotypic and evolutionary dynamics in age-structured populations. While numerous studies have quantified age-specific variation in mean reproductive success, age-specific variances and covariances in reproductive success, and the contributions of different reproductive routes to these (co)variances, have not been comprehensively quantified in natural populations. We applied 'additive' and 'independent' methods of variance decomposition to complete data describing apparent (social) and realised (genetic) age-specific reproductive success across 11 cohorts of socially monogamous but genetically polygynandrous song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). We thereby quantified age-specific (co)variances in male within-pair and extra-pair reproductive success (WPRS and EPRS) and the contributions of these (co)variances to the total variances in age-specific reproductive success and LRS. 'Additive' decomposition showed that within-age and among-age (co)variances in WPRS across males aged 2-4 years contributed most to the total variance in LRS. Age-specific (co)variances in EPRS contributed relatively little. However, extra-pair reproduction altered age-specific variances in reproductive success relative to the social mating system, and hence altered the relative contributions of age-specific reproductive success to the total variance in LRS. 'Independent' decomposition showed that the (co)variances in age-specific WPRS, EPRS and total reproductive success, and the resulting opportunities for selection, varied substantially across males that survived to each age. Furthermore, extra-pair reproduction increased

  8. Large Covariance Estimation by Thresholding Principal Orthogonal Complements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jianqing; Liao, Yuan; Mincheva, Martina

    2012-01-01

    This paper deals with the estimation of a high-dimensional covariance with a conditional sparsity structure and fast-diverging eigenvalues. By assuming sparse error covariance matrix in an approximate factor model, we allow for the presence of some cross-sectional correlation even after taking out common but unobservable factors. We introduce the Principal Orthogonal complEment Thresholding (POET) method to explore such an approximate factor structure with sparsity. The POET estimator includes the sample covariance matrix, the factor-based covariance matrix (Fan, Fan, and Lv, 2008), the thresholding estimator (Bickel and Levina, 2008) and the adaptive thresholding estimator (Cai and Liu, 2011) as specific examples. We provide mathematical insights when the factor analysis is approximately the same as the principal component analysis for high-dimensional data. The rates of convergence of the sparse residual covariance matrix and the conditional sparse covariance matrix are studied under various norms. It is shown that the impact of estimating the unknown factors vanishes as the dimensionality increases. The uniform rates of convergence for the unobserved factors and their factor loadings are derived. The asymptotic results are also verified by extensive simulation studies. Finally, a real data application on portfolio allocation is presented. PMID:24348088

  9. Widespread covariation of early environmental exposures and trait-associated polygenic variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krapohl, E; Hannigan, L J; Pingault, J-B; Patel, H; Kadeva, N; Curtis, C; Breen, G; Newhouse, S J; Eley, T C; O'Reilly, P F; Plomin, R

    2017-10-31

    Although gene-environment correlation is recognized and investigated by family studies and recently by SNP-heritability studies, the possibility that genetic effects on traits capture environmental risk factors or protective factors has been neglected by polygenic prediction models. We investigated covariation between trait-associated polygenic variation identified by genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and specific environmental exposures, controlling for overall genetic relatedness using a genomic relatedness matrix restricted maximum-likelihood model. In a UK-representative sample ( n = 6,710), we find widespread covariation between offspring trait-associated polygenic variation and parental behavior and characteristics relevant to children's developmental outcomes-independently of population stratification. For instance, offspring genetic risk for schizophrenia was associated with paternal age ( R 2 = 0.002; P = 1e-04), and offspring education-associated variation was associated with variance in breastfeeding ( R 2 = 0.021; P = 7e-30), maternal smoking during pregnancy ( R 2 = 0.008; P = 5e-13), parental smacking ( R 2 = 0.01; P = 4e-15), household income ( R 2 = 0.032; P = 1e-22), watching television ( R 2 = 0.034; P = 5e-47), and maternal education ( R 2 = 0.065; P = 3e-96). Education-associated polygenic variation also captured covariation between environmental exposures and children's inattention/hyperactivity, conduct problems, and educational achievement. The finding that genetic variation identified by trait GWASs partially captures environmental risk factors or protective factors has direct implications for risk prediction models and the interpretation of GWAS findings.

  10. Impact of the 235U Covariance Data in Benchmark Calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leal, Luiz C.; Mueller, D.; Arbanas, G.; Wiarda, D.; Derrien, H.

    2008-01-01

    The error estimation for calculated quantities relies on nuclear data uncertainty information available in the basic nuclear data libraries such as the U.S. Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B). The uncertainty files (covariance matrices) in the ENDF/B library are generally obtained from analysis of experimental data. In the resonance region, the computer code SAMMY is used for analyses of experimental data and generation of resonance parameters. In addition to resonance parameters evaluation, SAMMY also generates resonance parameter covariance matrices (RPCM). SAMMY uses the generalized least-squares formalism (Bayes method) together with the resonance formalism (R-matrix theory) for analysis of experimental data. Two approaches are available for creation of resonance-parameter covariance data. (1) During the data-evaluation process, SAMMY generates both a set of resonance parameters that fit the experimental data and the associated resonance-parameter covariance matrix. (2) For existing resonance-parameter evaluations for which no resonance-parameter covariance data are available, SAMMY can retroactively create a resonance-parameter covariance matrix. The retroactive method was used to generate covariance data for 235U. The resulting 235U covariance matrix was then used as input to the PUFF-IV code, which processed the covariance data into multigroup form, and to the TSUNAMI code, which calculated the uncertainty in the multiplication factor due to uncertainty in the experimental cross sections. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the use of the 235U covariance data in calculations of critical benchmark systems

  11. Impact of the 235U covariance data in benchmark calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leal, Luiz; Mueller, Don; Arbanas, Goran; Wiarda, Dorothea; Derrien, Herve

    2008-01-01

    The error estimation for calculated quantities relies on nuclear data uncertainty information available in the basic nuclear data libraries such as the U.S. Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B). The uncertainty files (covariance matrices) in the ENDF/B library are generally obtained from analysis of experimental data. In the resonance region, the computer code SAMMY is used for analyses of experimental data and generation of resonance parameters. In addition to resonance parameters evaluation, SAMMY also generates resonance parameter covariance matrices (RPCM). SAMMY uses the generalized least-squares formalism (Bayes' method) together with the resonance formalism (R-matrix theory) for analysis of experimental data. Two approaches are available for creation of resonance-parameter covariance data. (1) During the data-evaluation process, SAMMY generates both a set of resonance parameters that fit the experimental data and the associated resonance-parameter covariance matrix. (2) For existing resonance-parameter evaluations for which no resonance-parameter covariance data are available, SAMMY can retroactively create a resonance-parameter covariance matrix. The retroactive method was used to generate covariance data for 235 U. The resulting 235 U covariance matrix was then used as input to the PUFF-IV code, which processed the covariance data into multigroup form, and to the TSUNAMI code, which calculated the uncertainty in the multiplication factor due to uncertainty in the experimental cross sections. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the use of the 235 U covariance data in calculations of critical benchmark systems. (authors)

  12. Parameters of the covariance function of galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fesenko, B.I.; Onuchina, E.V.

    1988-01-01

    The two-point angular covariance functions for two samples of galaxies are considered using quick methods of analysis. It is concluded that in the previous investigations the amplitude of the covariance function in the Lick counts was overestimated and the rate of decrease of the function underestimated

  13. Generally covariant gauge theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capovilla, R.

    1992-01-01

    A new class of generally covariant gauge theories in four space-time dimensions is investigated. The field variables are taken to be a Lie algebra valued connection 1-form and a scalar density. Modulo an important degeneracy, complex [euclidean] vacuum general relativity corresponds to a special case in this class. A canonical analysis of the generally covariant gauge theories with the same gauge group as general relativity shows that they describe two degrees of freedom per space point, qualifying therefore as a new set of neighbors of general relativity. The modification of the algebra of the constraints with respect to the general relativity case is computed; this is used in addressing the question of how general relativity stands out from its neighbors. (orig.)

  14. Evolution of the concept of Capacity-building, results achieved during the past years and the future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laffaiteur, M.; Camacho, S.

    Capacity-building is one of the key elements for the implementation of space applications programmes, particularly in developing countries. As early as 1982, the work programme of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications was expanded in order to promote education and training by organizing seminars, training courses and workshops in various areas, such as astronomy, telecommunications and Earth observation. In the framework of this Programme, the Office for Outer Space Affairs undertook the initiative, at the beginning of the 1990's, aimed at establishing regional centres for space science and technology education, affiliated to the United Nations and located in developing countries. These centres have started their activities between 1995 and 2000 in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The centres are based on the concept that by pooling material and human resources, developing countries can have education and training centres, of an international-level quality. A considerable impetus has been given to capacity-building after the UNISPACE III Conference, in particular in the "Vienna Declaration on Space and Human Development". The necessity to enhance capacity-building through the development of human and budgetary resources, the training of teachers, the exchange of teaching methods, materials and experience and the development of infrastructure and policy regulatories. In the process of the implementation of the recommendations of UNISPACE III, Action Teams led by Governments were established. One of them was exclusively dealing with capacity-building. Its proposals have been reviewed last June by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and will be examined, among other reports of Action Teams, by the General Assembly in next October. A lot of work has been done during the past years and have produced very important results. But there is still an important gap in capacity-building between space

  15. Nonrelativistic fluids on scale covariant Newton-Cartan backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitra, Arpita

    2017-12-01

    The nonrelativistic covariant framework for fields is extended to investigate fields and fluids on scale covariant curved backgrounds. The scale covariant Newton-Cartan background is constructed using the localization of space-time symmetries of nonrelativistic fields in flat space. Following this, we provide a Weyl covariant formalism which can be used to study scale invariant fluids. By considering ideal fluids as an example, we describe its thermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties and explicitly demonstrate that it satisfies the local second law of thermodynamics. As a further application, we consider the low energy description of Hall fluids. Specifically, we find that the gauge fields for scale transformations lead to corrections of the Wen-Zee and Berry phase terms contained in the effective action.

  16. Internal Accountability and District Achievement: How Superintendents Affect Student Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hough, Kimberly L.

    2014-01-01

    This quantitative survey study was designed to determine whether superintendent accountability behaviors or agreement about accountability behaviors between superintendents and their subordinate central office administrators predicted district student achievement. Hierarchical multiple regression and analyses of covariance were employed,…

  17. Bayes Factor Covariance Testing in Item Response Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Jean-Paul; Mulder, Joris; Sinharay, Sandip

    2017-12-01

    Two marginal one-parameter item response theory models are introduced, by integrating out the latent variable or random item parameter. It is shown that both marginal response models are multivariate (probit) models with a compound symmetry covariance structure. Several common hypotheses concerning the underlying covariance structure are evaluated using (fractional) Bayes factor tests. The support for a unidimensional factor (i.e., assumption of local independence) and differential item functioning are evaluated by testing the covariance components. The posterior distribution of common covariance components is obtained in closed form by transforming latent responses with an orthogonal (Helmert) matrix. This posterior distribution is defined as a shifted-inverse-gamma, thereby introducing a default prior and a balanced prior distribution. Based on that, an MCMC algorithm is described to estimate all model parameters and to compute (fractional) Bayes factor tests. Simulation studies are used to show that the (fractional) Bayes factor tests have good properties for testing the underlying covariance structure of binary response data. The method is illustrated with two real data studies.

  18. The K-Step Spatial Sign Covariance Matrix

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Croux, C.; Dehon, C.; Yadine, A.

    2010-01-01

    The Sign Covariance Matrix is an orthogonal equivariant estimator of mul- tivariate scale. It is often used as an easy-to-compute and highly robust estimator. In this paper we propose a k-step version of the Sign Covariance Matrix, which improves its e±ciency while keeping the maximal breakdown

  19. On the covariance matrices in the evaluated nuclear data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corcuera, R.P.

    1983-05-01

    The implications of the uncertainties of nuclear data on reactor calculations are shown. The concept of variance, covariance and correlation are expressed first by intuitive definitions and then through statistical theory. The format of the covariance data for ENDF/B is explained and the formulas to obtain the multigroup covariances are given. (Author) [pt

  20. Evaluation of digital soil mapping approaches with large sets of environmental covariates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nussbaum, Madlene; Spiess, Kay; Baltensweiler, Andri; Grob, Urs; Keller, Armin; Greiner, Lucie; Schaepman, Michael E.; Papritz, Andreas

    2018-01-01

    The spatial assessment of soil functions requires maps of basic soil properties. Unfortunately, these are either missing for many regions or are not available at the desired spatial resolution or down to the required soil depth. The field-based generation of large soil datasets and conventional soil maps remains costly. Meanwhile, legacy soil data and comprehensive sets of spatial environmental data are available for many regions. Digital soil mapping (DSM) approaches relating soil data (responses) to environmental data (covariates) face the challenge of building statistical models from large sets of covariates originating, for example, from airborne imaging spectroscopy or multi-scale terrain analysis. We evaluated six approaches for DSM in three study regions in Switzerland (Berne, Greifensee, ZH forest) by mapping the effective soil depth available to plants (SD), pH, soil organic matter (SOM), effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC), clay, silt, gravel content and fine fraction bulk density for four soil depths (totalling 48 responses). Models were built from 300-500 environmental covariates by selecting linear models through (1) grouped lasso and (2) an ad hoc stepwise procedure for robust external-drift kriging (georob). For (3) geoadditive models we selected penalized smoothing spline terms by component-wise gradient boosting (geoGAM). We further used two tree-based methods: (4) boosted regression trees (BRTs) and (5) random forest (RF). Lastly, we computed (6) weighted model averages (MAs) from the predictions obtained from methods 1-5. Lasso, georob and geoGAM successfully selected strongly reduced sets of covariates (subsets of 3-6 % of all covariates). Differences in predictive performance, tested on independent validation data, were mostly small and did not reveal a single best method for 48 responses. Nevertheless, RF was often the best among methods 1-5 (28 of 48 responses), but was outcompeted by MA for 14 of these 28 responses. RF tended to over

  1. Massive data compression for parameter-dependent covariance matrices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heavens, Alan F.; Sellentin, Elena; de Mijolla, Damien; Vianello, Alvise

    2017-12-01

    We show how the massive data compression algorithm MOPED can be used to reduce, by orders of magnitude, the number of simulated data sets which are required to estimate the covariance matrix required for the analysis of Gaussian-distributed data. This is relevant when the covariance matrix cannot be calculated directly. The compression is especially valuable when the covariance matrix varies with the model parameters. In this case, it may be prohibitively expensive to run enough simulations to estimate the full covariance matrix throughout the parameter space. This compression may be particularly valuable for the next generation of weak lensing surveys, such as proposed for Euclid and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, for which the number of summary data (such as band power or shear correlation estimates) is very large, ∼104, due to the large number of tomographic redshift bins which the data will be divided into. In the pessimistic case where the covariance matrix is estimated separately for all points in an Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis, this may require an unfeasible 109 simulations. We show here that MOPED can reduce this number by a factor of 1000, or a factor of ∼106 if some regularity in the covariance matrix is assumed, reducing the number of simulations required to a manageable 103, making an otherwise intractable analysis feasible.

  2. Alterations in Anatomical Covariance in the Prematurely Born.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheinost, Dustin; Kwon, Soo Hyun; Lacadie, Cheryl; Vohr, Betty R; Schneider, Karen C; Papademetris, Xenophon; Constable, R Todd; Ment, Laura R

    2017-01-01

    Preterm (PT) birth results in long-term alterations in functional and structural connectivity, but the related changes in anatomical covariance are just beginning to be explored. To test the hypothesis that PT birth alters patterns of anatomical covariance, we investigated brain volumes of 25 PTs and 22 terms at young adulthood using magnetic resonance imaging. Using regional volumetrics, seed-based analyses, and whole brain graphs, we show that PT birth is associated with reduced volume in bilateral temporal and inferior frontal lobes, left caudate, left fusiform, and posterior cingulate for prematurely born subjects at young adulthood. Seed-based analyses demonstrate altered patterns of anatomical covariance for PTs compared with terms. PTs exhibit reduced covariance with R Brodmann area (BA) 47, Broca's area, and L BA 21, Wernicke's area, and white matter volume in the left prefrontal lobe, but increased covariance with R BA 47 and left cerebellum. Graph theory analyses demonstrate that measures of network complexity are significantly less robust in PTs compared with term controls. Volumes in regions showing group differences are significantly correlated with phonological awareness, the fundamental basis for reading acquisition, for the PTs. These data suggest both long-lasting and clinically significant alterations in the covariance in the PTs at young adulthood. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Phase-covariant quantum cloning of qudits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan Heng; Imai, Hiroshi; Matsumoto, Keiji; Wang, Xiang-Bin

    2003-01-01

    We study the phase-covariant quantum cloning machine for qudits, i.e., the input states in a d-level quantum system have complex coefficients with arbitrary phase but constant module. A cloning unitary transformation is proposed. After optimizing the fidelity between input state and single qudit reduced density operator of output state, we obtain the optimal fidelity for 1 to 2 phase-covariant quantum cloning of qudits and the corresponding cloning transformation

  4. Covariant differential calculus on quantum spheres of odd dimension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Welk, M.

    1998-01-01

    Covariant differential calculus on the quantum spheres S q 2N-1 is studied. Two classification results for covariant first order differential calculi are proved. As an important step towards a description of the noncommutative geometry of the quantum spheres, a framework of covariant differential calculus is established, including first and higher order calculi and a symmetry concept. (author)

  5. Co-emergence of multi-scale cortical activities of irregular firing, oscillations and avalanches achieves cost-efficient information capacity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong-Ping Yang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The brain is highly energy consuming, therefore is under strong selective pressure to achieve cost-efficiency in both cortical connectivities and activities. However, cost-efficiency as a design principle for cortical activities has been rarely studied. Especially it is not clear how cost-efficiency is related to ubiquitously observed multi-scale properties: irregular firing, oscillations and neuronal avalanches. Here we demonstrate that these prominent properties can be simultaneously observed in a generic, biologically plausible neural circuit model that captures excitation-inhibition balance and realistic dynamics of synaptic conductance. Their co-emergence achieves minimal energy cost as well as maximal energy efficiency on information capacity, when neuronal firing are coordinated and shaped by moderate synchrony to reduce otherwise redundant spikes, and the dynamical clusterings are maintained in the form of neuronal avalanches. Such cost-efficient neural dynamics can be employed as a foundation for further efficient information processing under energy constraint.

  6. Covariant Spectator Theory of heavy–light and heavy mesons and the predictive power of covariant interaction kernels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leitão, Sofia, E-mail: sofia.leitao@tecnico.ulisboa.pt [CFTP, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Stadler, Alfred, E-mail: stadler@uevora.pt [Departamento de Física, Universidade de Évora, 7000-671 Évora (Portugal); CFTP, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Peña, M.T., E-mail: teresa.pena@tecnico.ulisboa.pt [Departamento de Física, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); CFTP, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Biernat, Elmar P., E-mail: elmar.biernat@tecnico.ulisboa.pt [CFTP, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)

    2017-01-10

    The Covariant Spectator Theory (CST) is used to calculate the mass spectrum and vertex functions of heavy–light and heavy mesons in Minkowski space. The covariant kernel contains Lorentz scalar, pseudoscalar, and vector contributions. The numerical calculations are performed in momentum space, where special care is taken to treat the strong singularities present in the confining kernel. The observed meson spectrum is very well reproduced after fitting a small number of model parameters. Remarkably, a fit to a few pseudoscalar meson states only, which are insensitive to spin–orbit and tensor forces and do not allow to separate the spin–spin from the central interaction, leads to essentially the same model parameters as a more general fit. This demonstrates that the covariance of the chosen interaction kernel is responsible for the very accurate prediction of the spin-dependent quark–antiquark interactions.

  7. HIGH DIMENSIONAL COVARIANCE MATRIX ESTIMATION IN APPROXIMATE FACTOR MODELS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jianqing; Liao, Yuan; Mincheva, Martina

    2011-01-01

    The variance covariance matrix plays a central role in the inferential theories of high dimensional factor models in finance and economics. Popular regularization methods of directly exploiting sparsity are not directly applicable to many financial problems. Classical methods of estimating the covariance matrices are based on the strict factor models, assuming independent idiosyncratic components. This assumption, however, is restrictive in practical applications. By assuming sparse error covariance matrix, we allow the presence of the cross-sectional correlation even after taking out common factors, and it enables us to combine the merits of both methods. We estimate the sparse covariance using the adaptive thresholding technique as in Cai and Liu (2011), taking into account the fact that direct observations of the idiosyncratic components are unavailable. The impact of high dimensionality on the covariance matrix estimation based on the factor structure is then studied.

  8. A New Approach for Nuclear Data Covariance and Sensitivity Generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leal, L.C.; Larson, N.M.; Derrien, H.; Kawano, T.; Chadwick, M.B.

    2005-01-01

    Covariance data are required to correctly assess uncertainties in design parameters in nuclear applications. The error estimation of calculated quantities relies on the nuclear data uncertainty information available in the basic nuclear data libraries, such as the U.S. Evaluated Nuclear Data File, ENDF/B. The uncertainty files in the ENDF/B library are obtained from the analysis of experimental data and are stored as variance and covariance data. The computer code SAMMY is used in the analysis of the experimental data in the resolved and unresolved resonance energy regions. The data fitting of cross sections is based on generalized least-squares formalism (Bayes' theory) together with the resonance formalism described by R-matrix theory. Two approaches are used in SAMMY for the generation of resonance-parameter covariance data. In the evaluation process SAMMY generates a set of resonance parameters that fit the data, and, in addition, it also provides the resonance-parameter covariances. For existing resonance-parameter evaluations where no resonance-parameter covariance data are available, the alternative is to use an approach called the 'retroactive' resonance-parameter covariance generation. In the high-energy region the methodology for generating covariance data consists of least-squares fitting and model parameter adjustment. The least-squares fitting method calculates covariances directly from experimental data. The parameter adjustment method employs a nuclear model calculation such as the optical model and the Hauser-Feshbach model, and estimates a covariance for the nuclear model parameters. In this paper we describe the application of the retroactive method and the parameter adjustment method to generate covariance data for the gadolinium isotopes

  9. Continuous Covariate Imbalance and Conditional Power for Clinical Trial Interim Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciolino, Jody D.; Martin, Renee' H.; Zhao, Wenle; Jauch, Edward C.; Hill, Michael D.; Palesch, Yuko Y.

    2014-01-01

    Oftentimes valid statistical analyses for clinical trials involve adjustment for known influential covariates, regardless of imbalance observed in these covariates at baseline across treatment groups. Thus, it must be the case that valid interim analyses also properly adjust for these covariates. There are situations, however, in which covariate adjustment is not possible, not planned, or simply carries less merit as it makes inferences less generalizable and less intuitive. In this case, covariate imbalance between treatment groups can have a substantial effect on both interim and final primary outcome analyses. This paper illustrates the effect of influential continuous baseline covariate imbalance on unadjusted conditional power (CP), and thus, on trial decisions based on futility stopping bounds. The robustness of the relationship is illustrated for normal, skewed, and bimodal continuous baseline covariates that are related to a normally distributed primary outcome. Results suggest that unadjusted CP calculations in the presence of influential covariate imbalance require careful interpretation and evaluation. PMID:24607294

  10. Covariation in community- and individual-based community capacity and health behavior: a multilevel analysis of populations in Seoul, South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Minsoo

    2012-01-01

    Community capacity is defined as the degree to which the human, physical, and potential resources of a neighborhood are organized based on mutual solidarity among the residents. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between community capacity and health behaviors in Seoul, South Korea. Multilevel models controlling for socioeconomic variables were used to measure the association between community capacity and health behaviors in 25 districts and 404 subdistricts (n = 14 228). Community capacity was determined to be significant at the more local community level, as it was a significant variable in the subdistrict analysis for explaining health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and exercising. Community capacity exists not only at the individual level but also at the community level. High community capacity further enhanced the positive effects of individual capacity on health behavior and further weakened the negative effects.

  11. Achieving increased spent fuel storage capacity at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, D.H.; Chang, S.J.; Dabs, R.D.; Freels, J.D.; Morgan, K.A.; Rothrock, R.B.; Griess, J.C.

    1994-01-01

    The HFIR facility was originally designed to store approximately 25 spent cores, sufficient to allow for operational contingencies and for cooling prior to off-site shipment for reprocessing. The original capacity has now been increased to 60 positions, of which 53 are currently filled (September 1994). Additional spent cores are produced at a rate of about 10 or 11 per year. Continued HFIR operation, therefore, depends on a significant near-term expansion of the pool storage capacity, as well as on a future capability of reprocessing or other storage alternatives once the practical capacity of the pool is reached. To store the much larger inventory of spent fuel that may remain on-site under various future scenarios, the pool capacity is being increased in a phased manner through installation of a new multi-tier spent fuel rack design for higher density storage. A total of 143 positions was used for this paper as the maximum practical pool capacity without impacting operations; however, greater ultimate capacities were addressed in the supporting analyses and approval documents. This paper addresses issues related to the pool storage expansion including (1) seismic effects on the three-tier storage arrays, (2) thermal performance of the new arrays, (3) spent fuel cladding corrosion concerns related to the longer period of pool storage, and (4) impacts of increased spent fuel inventory on the pool water quality, water treatment systems, and LLLW volume

  12. Minimal gravitational coupling in the Newtonian theory and the covariant Schroedinger equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duval, C.; Kuenzle, H.P.

    1983-02-01

    The role of the Bargmann group (11-dimensional extended Galilei group) in non relativistic gravitation theory is investigated. The generalized Newtonian gravitation theory (Newton-Cartan theory) achieves the status of a gauge theory about as much as General Relativity and couples minimally to a complex scalar field leading to a fourdimensionally covariant Schroedinger equation. Matter current and stress-energy tensor follow correctly from the Lagrangian. This theory on curved Newtonian space-time is also shown to be a limit of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon theory

  13. Minimal gravitational coupling in the Newtonian theory and the covariant Schroedinger equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duval, C.; Kuenzle, H.P.

    1984-01-01

    The role of the Bargmann group (11-dimensional extended Galilei group) in nonrelativistic gravitation theory is investigated. The generalized Newtonian gravitation theory (Newton-Cartan theory) achieves the status of a gauge theory about as much as general relativity and couples minimally to a complex scalar field leading to a four-dimensionally covariant Schroedinger equation. Matter current and stress-energy tensor follow correctly from the Lagrangian. This theory on curved Newtonian space-time is also shown to be a limit of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon theory. (author)

  14. MIMO Intensity-Modulation Channels: Capacity Bounds and High SNR Characterization

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas

    2016-10-01

    The capacity of MIMO intensity modulation channels is studied. The nonnegativity of the transmit signal (intensity) poses a challenge on the precoding of the transmit signal, which limits the applicability of classical schemes in this type of channels. To resolve this issue, capacity lower bounds are developed by using precoding-free schemes. This is achieved by channel inversion or QR decomposition to convert the MIMO channel to a set of parallel channels. The achievable rate of a DC-offset SVD based scheme is also derived as a benchmark. Then, a capacity upper bound is derived and is shown to coincide with the achievable rate of the QR decomposition based scheme at high SNR, consequently characterizing the high-SNR capacity of the channel. The high-SNR gap between capacity and the achievable rates of the channel inversion and the DC-offset SVD based schemes is also characterized. Finally, the ergodic capacity of the channel is also briefly discussed.

  15. Continuously Growing Ultrathick CrN Coating to Achieve High Load-Bearing Capacity and Good Tribological Property.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zechao; Wang, Yongxin; Cheng, Xiaoying; Zeng, Zhixiang; Li, Jinlong; Lu, Xia; Wang, Liping; Xue, Qunji

    2018-01-24

    Continuous growth of traditional monolayer CrN coatings up to 24 h is successfully achieved to fabricate ultrathickness of up to 80 μm on the 316 stainless steel substrate using a multiarc ion plating technique. The microstructures, mechanical properties, and tribological properties evolution with the CrN coating continuously growing was evaluated in detail. The transmission electron microscopy observations and inverse Fourier-filtered images reveal a relaxation mechanism during the continuous growth of CrN coating, which can lead to a decrease in the residual stress when coating growth time exceeds 5 h. The scratch test and friction test results both show that the load-bearing capacity of coating is significantly increased as CrN coatings growing thicker. During the scratch test, the ultrathick CrN coating of thickness 80.6 μm is not failed under the load of 180 N, and the dominant failure mechanism is the cohesive failure including wedge spallation and cracking. The dry-sliding friction test results show the mean coefficient of friction and the wear rate of ultrathick CrN are respectively decreased by 17.2 and 56.8% at most compared with the thin coating (thickness is 5.4 μm). The ultrahigh load-bearing capacity and excellent tribological property are attributed to the relaxation mechanism and limited contact pressure as the coating grows continuously.

  16. Covariance Function for Nearshore Wave Assimilation Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-30

    which is applicable for any spectral wave model. The four dimensional variational (4DVar) assimilation methods are based on the mathematical ...covariance can be modeled by a parameterized Gaussian function, for nearshore wave assimilation applications , the covariance function depends primarily on...SPECTRAL ACTION DENSITY, RESPECTIVELY. ............................ 5 FIGURE 2. TOP ROW: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WAVE-FIELD PROPERTIES AT THE

  17. The Implementation of Knowledge Strategy-Based Entrepreneurial Capacity to Achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Widodo

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to develop a model of knowledge strategy-based entrepreneurial capacity to achieve sustainable competitive advantage of rurol banking in Central Java province. The sampling method is ‘‘Purposive sampling’’ by considering the characteristics of the population items, namely: operational experience for at least 5 years and representatives of each area of rurol banking in Semarang, Surakarta and Purwokerto. Then, the sample size is 150 of 251 (59.7% of top managers of rurol banking. To analyze the data in this study, it used the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM, of the, AMOS software package. The findings of this study explain that 1. The first step in promoting a sustainable competitive advantage through knowledge sharing is by prioritizing the quality of interaction, willingness and ability. 2. Efforts to improve a sustainable competitive advantage through knowledge exploitation built by knowledge sharing are by prioritizing to actively accept changes and introduction, solve problems together, use and combine new knowledge in operation. 3. Efforts to improve a sustainable competitive advantage through the knowledge exploitation built by risk-taking are by prioritizing a strong tendency for high-risk projects (with the possibility of gaining high-return, a high courage for the actions necessary to achieve the goal, having an aggressive attitude to optimize the possibility of utilizing existing potential opportunities and enjoying the challenge of the risk situation. 4. Efforts to improve a sustainable competitive advantage through knowledge exploitation built by a pro-active are by prioritizing to anticipate problem more quickly than competitors, future oriented, addressed by technology, launching product selectively and systematically search for new ideas. 5. Efforts to improve a sustainable competitive advantage through knowledge exploitation built by the innovativeness are by prioritizing the speed of developing products

  18. Visualization and assessment of spatio-temporal covariance properties

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Huang

    2017-11-23

    Spatio-temporal covariances are important for describing the spatio-temporal variability of underlying random fields in geostatistical data. For second-order stationary random fields, there exist subclasses of covariance functions that assume a simpler spatio-temporal dependence structure with separability and full symmetry. However, it is challenging to visualize and assess separability and full symmetry from spatio-temporal observations. In this work, we propose a functional data analysis approach that constructs test functions using the cross-covariances from time series observed at each pair of spatial locations. These test functions of temporal lags summarize the properties of separability or symmetry for the given spatial pairs. We use functional boxplots to visualize the functional median and the variability of the test functions, where the extent of departure from zero at all temporal lags indicates the degree of non-separability or asymmetry. We also develop a rank-based nonparametric testing procedure for assessing the significance of the non-separability or asymmetry. Essentially, the proposed methods only require the analysis of temporal covariance functions. Thus, a major advantage over existing approaches is that there is no need to estimate any covariance matrix for selected spatio-temporal lags. The performances of the proposed methods are examined by simulations with various commonly used spatio-temporal covariance models. To illustrate our methods in practical applications, we apply it to real datasets, including weather station data and climate model outputs.

  19. Real-time probabilistic covariance tracking with efficient model update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yi; Cheng, Jian; Wang, Jinqiao; Lu, Hanqing; Wang, Jun; Ling, Haibin; Blasch, Erik; Bai, Li

    2012-05-01

    The recently proposed covariance region descriptor has been proven robust and versatile for a modest computational cost. The covariance matrix enables efficient fusion of different types of features, where the spatial and statistical properties, as well as their correlation, are characterized. The similarity between two covariance descriptors is measured on Riemannian manifolds. Based on the same metric but with a probabilistic framework, we propose a novel tracking approach on Riemannian manifolds with a novel incremental covariance tensor learning (ICTL). To address the appearance variations, ICTL incrementally learns a low-dimensional covariance tensor representation and efficiently adapts online to appearance changes of the target with only O(1) computational complexity, resulting in a real-time performance. The covariance-based representation and the ICTL are then combined with the particle filter framework to allow better handling of background clutter, as well as the temporary occlusions. We test the proposed probabilistic ICTL tracker on numerous benchmark sequences involving different types of challenges including occlusions and variations in illumination, scale, and pose. The proposed approach demonstrates excellent real-time performance, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in comparison with several previously proposed trackers.

  20. A three domain covariance framework for EEG/MEG data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roś, Beata P; Bijma, Fetsje; de Gunst, Mathisca C M; de Munck, Jan C

    2015-10-01

    In this paper we introduce a covariance framework for the analysis of single subject EEG and MEG data that takes into account observed temporal stationarity on small time scales and trial-to-trial variations. We formulate a model for the covariance matrix, which is a Kronecker product of three components that correspond to space, time and epochs/trials, and consider maximum likelihood estimation of the unknown parameter values. An iterative algorithm that finds approximations of the maximum likelihood estimates is proposed. Our covariance model is applicable in a variety of cases where spontaneous EEG or MEG acts as source of noise and realistic noise covariance estimates are needed, such as in evoked activity studies, or where the properties of spontaneous EEG or MEG are themselves the topic of interest, like in combined EEG-fMRI experiments in which the correlation between EEG and fMRI signals is investigated. We use a simulation study to assess the performance of the estimator and investigate the influence of different assumptions about the covariance factors on the estimated covariance matrix and on its components. We apply our method to real EEG and MEG data sets. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Bayesian hierarchical model for large-scale covariance matrix estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Dongxiao; Hero, Alfred O

    2007-12-01

    Many bioinformatics problems implicitly depend on estimating large-scale covariance matrix. The traditional approaches tend to give rise to high variance and low accuracy due to "overfitting." We cast the large-scale covariance matrix estimation problem into the Bayesian hierarchical model framework, and introduce dependency between covariance parameters. We demonstrate the advantages of our approaches over the traditional approaches using simulations and OMICS data analysis.

  2. Cross-covariance functions for multivariate random fields based on latent dimensions

    KAUST Repository

    Apanasovich, T. V.

    2010-02-16

    The problem of constructing valid parametric cross-covariance functions is challenging. We propose a simple methodology, based on latent dimensions and existing covariance models for univariate random fields, to develop flexible, interpretable and computationally feasible classes of cross-covariance functions in closed form. We focus on spatio-temporal cross-covariance functions that can be nonseparable, asymmetric and can have different covariance structures, for instance different smoothness parameters, in each component. We discuss estimation of these models and perform a small simulation study to demonstrate our approach. We illustrate our methodology on a trivariate spatio-temporal pollution dataset from California and demonstrate that our cross-covariance performs better than other competing models. © 2010 Biometrika Trust.

  3. Hierarchical matrix approximation of large covariance matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander

    2015-01-05

    We approximate large non-structured covariance matrices in the H-matrix format with a log-linear computational cost and storage O(nlogn). We compute inverse, Cholesky decomposition and determinant in H-format. As an example we consider the class of Matern covariance functions, which are very popular in spatial statistics, geostatistics, machine learning and image analysis. Applications are: kriging and op- timal design.

  4. Hierarchical matrix approximation of large covariance matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander; Genton, Marc G.; Sun, Ying; Tempone, Raul

    2015-01-01

    We approximate large non-structured covariance matrices in the H-matrix format with a log-linear computational cost and storage O(nlogn). We compute inverse, Cholesky decomposition and determinant in H-format. As an example we consider the class of Matern covariance functions, which are very popular in spatial statistics, geostatistics, machine learning and image analysis. Applications are: kriging and op- timal design.

  5. Position Error Covariance Matrix Validation and Correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisbee, Joe, Jr.

    2016-01-01

    In order to calculate operationally accurate collision probabilities, the position error covariance matrices predicted at times of closest approach must be sufficiently accurate representations of the position uncertainties. This presentation will discuss why the Gaussian distribution is a reasonable expectation for the position uncertainty and how this assumed distribution type is used in the validation and correction of position error covariance matrices.

  6. Covariant fields on anti-de Sitter spacetimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotăescu, Ion I.

    2018-02-01

    The covariant free fields of any spin on anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetimes are studied, pointing out that these transform under isometries according to covariant representations (CRs) of the AdS isometry group, induced by those of the Lorentz group. Applying the method of ladder operators, it is shown that the CRs with unique spin are equivalent with discrete unitary irreducible representations (UIRs) of positive energy of the universal covering group of the isometry one. The action of the Casimir operators is studied finding how the weights of these representations (reps.) may depend on the mass and spin of the covariant field. The conclusion is that on AdS spacetime, one cannot formulate a universal mass condition as in special relativity.

  7. Covariant Noncommutative Field Theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Estrada-Jimenez, S [Licenciaturas en Fisica y en Matematicas, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas Calle 4a Ote. Nte. 1428, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas (Mexico); Garcia-Compean, H [Departamento de Fisica, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN P.O. Box 14-740, 07000 Mexico D.F., Mexico and Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Unidad Monterrey Via del Conocimiento 201, Parque de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica (PIIT) Autopista nueva al Aeropuerto km 9.5, Lote 1, Manzana 29, cp. 66600 Apodaca Nuevo Leon (Mexico); Obregon, O [Instituto de Fisica de la Universidad de Guanajuato P.O. Box E-143, 37150 Leon Gto. (Mexico); Ramirez, C [Facultad de Ciencias Fisico Matematicas, Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, P.O. Box 1364, 72000 Puebla (Mexico)

    2008-07-02

    The covariant approach to noncommutative field and gauge theories is revisited. In the process the formalism is applied to field theories invariant under diffeomorphisms. Local differentiable forms are defined in this context. The lagrangian and hamiltonian formalism is consistently introduced.

  8. Covariant Noncommutative Field Theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Estrada-Jimenez, S.; Garcia-Compean, H.; Obregon, O.; Ramirez, C.

    2008-01-01

    The covariant approach to noncommutative field and gauge theories is revisited. In the process the formalism is applied to field theories invariant under diffeomorphisms. Local differentiable forms are defined in this context. The lagrangian and hamiltonian formalism is consistently introduced

  9. Physical properties of the Schur complement of local covariance matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haruna, L F; Oliveira, M C de

    2007-01-01

    General properties of global covariance matrices representing bipartite Gaussian states can be decomposed into properties of local covariance matrices and their Schur complements. We demonstrate that given a bipartite Gaussian state ρ 12 described by a 4 x 4 covariance matrix V, the Schur complement of a local covariance submatrix V 1 of it can be interpreted as a new covariance matrix representing a Gaussian operator of party 1 conditioned to local parity measurements on party 2. The connection with a partial parity measurement over a bipartite quantum state and the determination of the reduced Wigner function is given and an operational process of parity measurement is developed. Generalization of this procedure to an n-partite Gaussian state is given, and it is demonstrated that the n - 1 system state conditioned to a partial parity projection is given by a covariance matrix such that its 2 x 2 block elements are Schur complements of special local matrices

  10. Covariant n2-plet mass formulas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidson, A.

    1979-01-01

    Using a generalized internal symmetry group analogous to the Lorentz group, we have constructed a covariant n 2 -plet mass operator. This operator is built as a scalar matrix in the (n;n*) representation, and its SU(n) breaking parameters are identified as intrinsic boost ones. Its basic properties are: covariance, Hermiticity, positivity, charge conjugation, quark contents, and a self-consistent n 2 -1, 1 mixing. The GMO and the Okubo formulas are obtained by considering two different limits of the same generalized mass formula

  11. Summary report of technical meeting on neutron cross section covariances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trkov, A.; Smith, D.L.; Capote Noy, R.

    2011-01-01

    A summary is given of the Technical Meeting on Neutron Cross Section Covariances. The meeting goal was to assess covariance data needs and recommend appropriate methodologies to address those needs. Discussions on covariance data focused on three general topics: 1) Resonance and unresolved resonance regions; 2) Fast neutron region; and 3) Users' perspective: benchmarks' uncertainty and reactor dosimetry. A number of recommendations for further work were generated and the important work that remains to be done in the field of covariances was identified. (author)

  12. The impact of covariance misspecification in group-based trajectory models for longitudinal data with non-stationary covariance structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Christopher E; Glonek, Gary Fv; Giles, Lynne C

    2017-08-01

    One purpose of a longitudinal study is to gain a better understanding of how an outcome of interest changes among a given population over time. In what follows, a trajectory will be taken to mean the series of measurements of the outcome variable for an individual. Group-based trajectory modelling methods seek to identify subgroups of trajectories within a population, such that trajectories that are grouped together are more similar to each other than to trajectories in distinct groups. Group-based trajectory models generally assume a certain structure in the covariances between measurements, for example conditional independence, homogeneous variance between groups or stationary variance over time. Violations of these assumptions could be expected to result in poor model performance. We used simulation to investigate the effect of covariance misspecification on misclassification of trajectories in commonly used models under a range of scenarios. To do this we defined a measure of performance relative to the ideal Bayesian correct classification rate. We found that the more complex models generally performed better over a range of scenarios. In particular, incorrectly specified covariance matrices could significantly bias the results but using models with a correct but more complicated than necessary covariance matrix incurred little cost.

  13. Positive semidefinite integrated covariance estimation, factorizations and asynchronicity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boudt, Kris; Laurent, Sébastien; Lunde, Asger

    2017-01-01

    An estimator of the ex-post covariation of log-prices under asynchronicity and microstructure noise is proposed. It uses the Cholesky factorization of the covariance matrix in order to exploit the heterogeneity in trading intensities to estimate the different parameters sequentially with as many...

  14. Cross-covariance based global dynamic sensitivity analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yan; Lu, Zhenzhou; Li, Zhao; Wu, Mengmeng

    2018-02-01

    For identifying the cross-covariance source of dynamic output at each time instant for structural system involving both input random variables and stochastic processes, a global dynamic sensitivity (GDS) technique is proposed. The GDS considers the effect of time history inputs on the dynamic output. In the GDS, the cross-covariance decomposition is firstly developed to measure the contribution of the inputs to the output at different time instant, and an integration of the cross-covariance change over the specific time interval is employed to measure the whole contribution of the input to the cross-covariance of output. Then, the GDS main effect indices and the GDS total effect indices can be easily defined after the integration, and they are effective in identifying the important inputs and the non-influential inputs on the cross-covariance of output at each time instant, respectively. The established GDS analysis model has the same form with the classical ANOVA when it degenerates to the static case. After degeneration, the first order partial effect can reflect the individual effects of inputs to the output variance, and the second order partial effect can reflect the interaction effects to the output variance, which illustrates the consistency of the proposed GDS indices and the classical variance-based sensitivity indices. The MCS procedure and the Kriging surrogate method are developed to solve the proposed GDS indices. Several examples are introduced to illustrate the significance of the proposed GDS analysis technique and the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

  15. Hierarchical matrix approximation of large covariance matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander

    2015-01-07

    We approximate large non-structured covariance matrices in the H-matrix format with a log-linear computational cost and storage O(n log n). We compute inverse, Cholesky decomposition and determinant in H-format. As an example we consider the class of Matern covariance functions, which are very popular in spatial statistics, geostatistics, machine learning and image analysis. Applications are: kriging and optimal design

  16. Hierarchical matrix approximation of large covariance matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander; Genton, Marc G.; Sun, Ying; Tempone, Raul

    2015-01-01

    We approximate large non-structured covariance matrices in the H-matrix format with a log-linear computational cost and storage O(n log n). We compute inverse, Cholesky decomposition and determinant in H-format. As an example we consider the class of Matern covariance functions, which are very popular in spatial statistics, geostatistics, machine learning and image analysis. Applications are: kriging and optimal design

  17. Pu239 Cross-Section Variations Based on Experimental Uncertainties and Covariances

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sigeti, David Edward [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Williams, Brian J. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Parsons, D. Kent [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-10-18

    Algorithms and software have been developed for producing variations in plutonium-239 neutron cross sections based on experimental uncertainties and covariances. The varied cross-section sets may be produced as random samples from the multi-variate normal distribution defined by an experimental mean vector and covariance matrix, or they may be produced as Latin-Hypercube/Orthogonal-Array samples (based on the same means and covariances) for use in parametrized studies. The variations obey two classes of constraints that are obligatory for cross-section sets and which put related constraints on the mean vector and covariance matrix that detemine the sampling. Because the experimental means and covariances do not obey some of these constraints to sufficient precision, imposing the constraints requires modifying the experimental mean vector and covariance matrix. Modification is done with an algorithm based on linear algebra that minimizes changes to the means and covariances while insuring that the operations that impose the different constraints do not conflict with each other.

  18. Developmental constraints revealed by co-variation within and among molar rows in two murine rodents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renaud, Sabrina; Pantalacci, Sophie; Quéré, Jean-Pierre; Laudet, Vincent; Auffray, Jean-Christophe

    2009-01-01

    Morphological integration corresponds to interdependency between characters that can arise from several causes. Proximal causes of integration include that different phenotypic features may share common genetic sets and/or interact during their development. Ultimate causes may be the prolonged effect of selection favoring integration of functionally interacting characters, achieved by the molding of these proximal causes. Strong and direct interactions among successive teeth of a molar row are predicted by genetic and developmental evidences. Functional constraints related to occlusion, however, should have selected more strongly for a morphological integration of occluding teeth and a corresponding evolution of the underlying developmental and genetic pathways. To investigate how these predictions match the patterns of phenotypic integration, we studied the co-variation among the six molars of the murine molar row, focusing on two populations of house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). The size and shape of the three upper and lower molars were quantified and compared. Our results evidenced similar patterns in both species, size being more integrated than shape among all the teeth, and both size and shape co-varying strongly between adjacent teeth, but also between occluding teeth. Strong co-variation within each molar row is in agreement with developmental models showing a cascade influence of the first molar on the subsequent molars. In contrast, the strong co-variation between molars of the occluding tooth rows confirms that functional constraints molded patterns of integration and probably the underlying developmental pathways despite the low level of direct developmental interactions occurring among molar rows. These patterns of co-variation are furthermore conserved between the house mouse and the wood mouse that diverged >10 Ma, suggesting that they may constitute long-running constraints to the diversification of the murine

  19. Scalable implementation of ancilla-free optimal 1→M phase-covariant quantum cloning by combining quantum Zeno dynamics and adiabatic passage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shao, Xiao-Qiang; Zheng, Tai-Yu; Zhang, Shou

    2011-01-01

    A scalable way for implementation of ancilla-free optimal 1→M phase-covariant quantum cloning (PCC) is proposed by combining quantum Zeno dynamics and adiabatic passage. An optimal 1→M PCC can be achieved directly from the existed optimal 1→(M-1) PCC without excited states population during the whole process. The cases for optimal 1→3 (4) PCCs are discussed detailedly to show that the scheme is robust against the effect of decoherence. Moreover, the time for carrying out each cloning transformation is regular, which may reduce the complexity for achieving the optimal PCC in experiment. -- Highlights: → We implement the ancilla-free optimal 1→M phase-covariant quantum cloning machine. → This scheme is robust against the cavity decay and the spontaneous emission of atom. → The time for carrying out each cloning transformation is regular.

  20. Scalable implementation of ancilla-free optimal 1→M phase-covariant quantum cloning by combining quantum Zeno dynamics and adiabatic passage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shao, Xiao-Qiang, E-mail: xqshao83@yahoo.cn [School of Physics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Zheng, Tai-Yu, E-mail: zhengty@nenu.edu.cn [School of Physics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Zhang, Shou [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin 133002 (China)

    2011-09-19

    A scalable way for implementation of ancilla-free optimal 1→M phase-covariant quantum cloning (PCC) is proposed by combining quantum Zeno dynamics and adiabatic passage. An optimal 1→M PCC can be achieved directly from the existed optimal 1→(M-1) PCC without excited states population during the whole process. The cases for optimal 1→3 (4) PCCs are discussed detailedly to show that the scheme is robust against the effect of decoherence. Moreover, the time for carrying out each cloning transformation is regular, which may reduce the complexity for achieving the optimal PCC in experiment. -- Highlights: → We implement the ancilla-free optimal 1→M phase-covariant quantum cloning machine. → This scheme is robust against the cavity decay and the spontaneous emission of atom. → The time for carrying out each cloning transformation is regular.

  1. The capacity credit of micro-combined heat and power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawkes, A.D.; Leach, M.A.

    2008-01-01

    This article is concerned with development of a methodology to determine the capacity credit of micro-combined heat and power (micro-CHP), and application of the method for the UK. Capacity credit is an important parameter in electricity system planning because it measures the amount of conventional generation that would be displaced by an alternative technology. Firstly, a mathematical formulation is presented. Capacity credit is then calculated for three types of micro-CHP units-Stirling engine, internal combustion engine, and fuel cell systems-operating under various control strategies. It is found that low heat-to-power ratio fuel cell technologies achieve the highest capacity credit of approximately 85% for a 1.1 GW penetration when a heat-led control strategy is applied. Higher heat-to-power ratio Stirling engine technology achieves approximately 33% capacity credit for heat-led operation. Low heat-to-power ratio technologies achieve higher capacity credit because they are able to continue operating even when heat demand is relatively low. Capacity credit diminishes as penetration of the technology increases. Overall, the high capacity credit of micro-CHP contributes to the viewpoint that the technology can help meet a number of economic and environmental energy policy aims

  2. New challenges and opportunities in the eddy-covariance methodology for long-term monitoring networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papale, Dario; Fratini, Gerardo

    2013-04-01

    implementation in eddy-covariance processing software and will be readily applicable by individual investigators as well as by centralized processing facilities of long-term research infrastructures. This new understandings suggest that a reanalysis of eddy-covariance data collected in the last 20 years may be appropriate in order to obtain more accurate and consistent flux time series. The availability of dedicated powerful computing facilities at the research infrastructures today makes this goal achievable at an affordable cost.

  3. A scale invariant covariance structure on jet space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Kim Steenstrup; Loog, Marco; Markussen, Bo

    2005-01-01

    This paper considers scale invariance of statistical image models. We study statistical scale invariance of the covariance structure of jet space under scale space blurring and derive the necessary structure and conditions of the jet covariance matrix in order for it to be scale invariant. As par...

  4. Asymmetric information capacities of reciprocal pairs of quantum channels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosati, Matteo; Giovannetti, Vittorio

    2018-05-01

    Reciprocal pairs of quantum channels are defined as completely positive transformations which admit a rigid, distance-preserving, yet not completely positive transformation that allows one to reproduce the outcome of one from the corresponding outcome of the other. From a classical perspective these transmission lines should exhibit the same communication efficiency. This is no longer the case in the quantum setting: explicit asymmetric behaviors are reported studying the classical communication capacities of reciprocal pairs of depolarizing and Weyl-covariant channels.

  5. Covarient quantization of heterotic strings in supersymmetric chiral boson formulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, F.

    1992-01-01

    This dissertation presents the covariant supersymmetric chiral boson formulation of the heterotic strings. The main feature of this formulation is the covariant quantization of the so-called leftons and rightons -- the (1,0) supersymmetric generalizations of the world-sheet chiral bosons -- that constitute basic building blocks of general heterotic-type string models. Although the (Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond or Green-Schwarz) heterotic strings provide the most realistic string models, their covariant quantization, with the widely-used Siegel formalism, has never been rigorously carried out. It is clarified in this dissertation that the covariant Siegel formalism is pathological upon quantization. As a test, a general classical covariant (NSR) heterotic string action that has the Siegel symmetry is constructed in arbitrary curved space-time coupled to (1,0) world-sheet super-gravity. In the light-cone gauge quantization, the critical dimensions are derived for such an action with leftons and rightons compactified on group manifolds G L x G R . The covariant quantization of this action does not agree with the physical results in the light-cone gauge quantization. This dissertation establishes a new formalism for the covariant quantization of heterotic strings. The desired consistent covariant path integral quantization of supersymmetric chiral bosons, and thus the general (NSR) heterotic-type strings with leftons and rightons compactified on torus circle-times d L S 1 x circle-times d R S 1 are carried out. An infinite set of auxiliary (1,0) scalar superfields is introduced to convert the second-class chiral constraint into first-class ones. The covariant gauge-fixed action has an extended BRST symmetry described by the graded algebra GL(1/1). A regularization respecting this symmetry is proposed to deal with the contributions of the infinite towers of auxiliary fields and associated ghosts

  6. Covariance of time-ordered products implies local commutativity of fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenberg, O.W.

    2006-01-01

    We formulate Lorentz covariance of a quantum field theory in terms of covariance of time-ordered products (or other Green's functions). This formulation of Lorentz covariance implies spacelike local commutativity or anticommutativity of fields, sometimes called microscopic causality or microcausality. With this formulation microcausality does not have to be taken as a separate assumption

  7. Coordinate transformation and Polynomial Chaos for the Bayesian inference of a Gaussian process with parametrized prior covariance function

    KAUST Repository

    Sraj, Ihab

    2015-10-22

    This paper addresses model dimensionality reduction for Bayesian inference based on prior Gaussian fields with uncertainty in the covariance function hyper-parameters. The dimensionality reduction is traditionally achieved using the Karhunen-Loève expansion of a prior Gaussian process assuming covariance function with fixed hyper-parameters, despite the fact that these are uncertain in nature. The posterior distribution of the Karhunen-Loève coordinates is then inferred using available observations. The resulting inferred field is therefore dependent on the assumed hyper-parameters. Here, we seek to efficiently estimate both the field and covariance hyper-parameters using Bayesian inference. To this end, a generalized Karhunen-Loève expansion is derived using a coordinate transformation to account for the dependence with respect to the covariance hyper-parameters. Polynomial Chaos expansions are employed for the acceleration of the Bayesian inference using similar coordinate transformations, enabling us to avoid expanding explicitly the solution dependence on the uncertain hyper-parameters. We demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method on a transient diffusion equation by inferring spatially-varying log-diffusivity fields from noisy data. The inferred profiles were found closer to the true profiles when including the hyper-parameters’ uncertainty in the inference formulation.

  8. Noncommutative Gauge Theory with Covariant Star Product

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zet, G.

    2010-01-01

    We present a noncommutative gauge theory with covariant star product on a space-time with torsion. In order to obtain the covariant star product one imposes some restrictions on the connection of the space-time. Then, a noncommutative gauge theory is developed applying this product to the case of differential forms. Some comments on the advantages of using a space-time with torsion to describe the gravitational field are also given.

  9. Signs of depth-luminance covariance in 3-D cluttered scenes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scaccia, Milena; Langer, Michael S

    2018-03-01

    In three-dimensional (3-D) cluttered scenes such as foliage, deeper surfaces often are more shadowed and hence darker, and so depth and luminance often have negative covariance. We examined whether the sign of depth-luminance covariance plays a role in depth perception in 3-D clutter. We compared scenes rendered with negative and positive depth-luminance covariance where positive covariance means that deeper surfaces are brighter and negative covariance means deeper surfaces are darker. For each scene, the sign of the depth-luminance covariance was given by occlusion cues. We tested whether subjects could use this sign information to judge the depth order of two target surfaces embedded in 3-D clutter. The clutter consisted of distractor surfaces that were randomly distributed in a 3-D volume. We tested three independent variables: the sign of the depth-luminance covariance, the colors of the targets and distractors, and the background luminance. An analysis of variance showed two main effects: Subjects performed better when the deeper surfaces were darker and when the color of the target surfaces was the same as the color of the distractors. There was also a strong interaction: Subjects performed better under a negative depth-luminance covariance condition when targets and distractors had different colors than when they had the same color. Our results are consistent with a "dark means deep" rule, but the use of this rule depends on the similarity between the color of the targets and color of the 3-D clutter.

  10. Covariance fitting of highly-correlated data in lattice QCD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Boram; Jang, Yong-Chull; Jung, Chulwoo; Lee, Weonjong

    2013-07-01

    We address a frequently-asked question on the covariance fitting of highly-correlated data such as our B K data based on the SU(2) staggered chiral perturbation theory. Basically, the essence of the problem is that we do not have a fitting function accurate enough to fit extremely precise data. When eigenvalues of the covariance matrix are small, even a tiny error in the fitting function yields a large chi-square value and spoils the fitting procedure. We have applied a number of prescriptions available in the market, such as the cut-off method, modified covariance matrix method, and Bayesian method. We also propose a brand new method, the eigenmode shift (ES) method, which allows a full covariance fitting without modifying the covariance matrix at all. We provide a pedagogical example of data analysis in which the cut-off method manifestly fails in fitting, but the rest work well. In our case of the B K fitting, the diagonal approximation, the cut-off method, the ES method, and the Bayesian method work reasonably well in an engineering sense. However, interpreting the meaning of χ 2 is easier in the case of the ES method and the Bayesian method in a theoretical sense aesthetically. Hence, the ES method can be a useful alternative optional tool to check the systematic error caused by the covariance fitting procedure.

  11. Flexible Bayesian Dynamic Modeling of Covariance and Correlation Matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Lan, Shiwei; Holbrook, Andrew; Fortin, Norbert J.; Ombao, Hernando; Shahbaba, Babak

    2017-01-01

    Modeling covariance (and correlation) matrices is a challenging problem due to the large dimensionality and positive-definiteness constraint. In this paper, we propose a novel Bayesian framework based on decomposing the covariance matrix

  12. Matérn-based nonstationary cross-covariance models for global processes

    KAUST Repository

    Jun, Mikyoung

    2014-01-01

    -covariance models, based on the Matérn covariance model class, that are suitable for describing prominent nonstationary characteristics of the global processes. In particular, we seek nonstationary versions of Matérn covariance models whose smoothness parameters

  13. Fermionic covariant prolongation structure theory for supernonlinear evolution equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng Jipeng; Wang Shikun; Wu Ke; Zhao Weizhong

    2010-01-01

    We investigate the superprincipal bundle and its associated superbundle. The super(nonlinear)connection on the superfiber bundle is constructed. Then by means of the connection theory, we establish the fermionic covariant prolongation structure theory of the supernonlinear evolution equation. In this geometry theory, the fermionic covariant fundamental equations determining the prolongation structure are presented. As an example, the supernonlinear Schroedinger equation is analyzed in the framework of this fermionic covariant prolongation structure theory. We obtain its Lax pairs and Baecklund transformation.

  14. On Galilean covariant quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horzela, A.; Kapuscik, E.; Kempczynski, J.; Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna

    1991-08-01

    Formalism exhibiting the Galilean covariance of wave mechanics is proposed. A new notion of quantum mechanical forces is introduced. The formalism is illustrated on the example of the harmonic oscillator. (author)

  15. Growth, maturation, functional capacities and sport-specific skills in 12-13 year-old- basketball players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coelho E Silva, M J; Moreira Carvalho, H; Gonçalves, C E; Figueiredo, A J; Elferink-Gemser, M T; Philippaerts, R M; Malina, R M

    2010-06-01

    The influence of maturity status on body size, functional capacities and basketball-specific skills was evaluated and multivariate relationships between domains of variables were examined in 80 male basketball players 12.0-13.9 years. Height, body mass and two skinfolds were measured. Stage of pubic hair (PH) was assessed clinically. Functional capacity was assessed with the vertical jump (squat jump, countermovement jump), 2-kg medicine ball throw, hand grip strength, 60-second sit-ups and endurance shuttle run. Performances on four basketball skills were tested: shooting, passing, dribbling and defensive movements. Analysis of covariance with age as the covariate was used to test differences among players by stage of puberty. Associations among body size, adiposity, functional capacities and skills were evaluated with canonical correlation analysis. Maturity status explained a significant portion of variance in body size (F=50.13, Pjumps and upper limb strength, but not for sit-ups or aerobic endurance. Canonical correlations showed an inverse relationship of height and adiposity with skill tests, and a positive relationship between skills and a combination of abdominal muscular strength (sit-ups) and aerobic endurance. Skill appeared to be independent of pubertal status and the tallest group of basketball players did not attain better scores in basketball-specific skill tests.

  16. Astrophysical tests of scale-covariant gravity theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mansfield, V.N.; Malin, S.

    1980-01-01

    Starting from the most general form of the conservation laws in scale-covariant gravitation theory, a conservation of energy equation appropriate for stars is derived. Applications to white dwarfs and neutron stars reveal serious difficulties for some choices of gauge that have been frequently employed in the literature on scale-covariant gravity. We also show how to restrict some of the possible gauges that result from theories which are independent of the Large Numbers Hypothesis

  17. Covariant phase difference observables in quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinonen, Teiko; Lahti, Pekka; Pellonpaeae, Juha-Pekka

    2003-01-01

    Covariant phase difference observables are determined in two different ways, by a direct computation and by a group theoretical method. A characterization of phase difference observables which can be expressed as the difference of two phase observables is given. The classical limits of such phase difference observables are determined and the Pegg-Barnett phase difference distribution is obtained from the phase difference representation. The relation of Ban's theory to the covariant phase theories is exhibited

  18. Phenotypic covariance at species' borders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caley, M Julian; Cripps, Edward; Game, Edward T

    2013-05-28

    Understanding the evolution of species limits is important in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. Despite its likely importance in the evolution of these limits, little is known about phenotypic covariance in geographically marginal populations, and the degree to which it constrains, or facilitates, responses to selection. We investigated phenotypic covariance in morphological traits at species' borders by comparing phenotypic covariance matrices (P), including the degree of shared structure, the distribution of strengths of pair-wise correlations between traits, the degree of morphological integration of traits, and the ranks of matricies, between central and marginal populations of three species-pairs of coral reef fishes. Greater structural differences in P were observed between populations close to range margins and conspecific populations toward range centres, than between pairs of conspecific populations that were both more centrally located within their ranges. Approximately 80% of all pair-wise trait correlations within populations were greater in the north, but these differences were unrelated to the position of the sampled population with respect to the geographic range of the species. Neither the degree of morphological integration, nor ranks of P, indicated greater evolutionary constraint at range edges. Characteristics of P observed here provide no support for constraint contributing to the formation of these species' borders, but may instead reflect structural change in P caused by selection or drift, and their potential to evolve in the future.

  19. Two-stage sparse coding of region covariance via Log-Euclidean kernels to detect saliency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ying-Ying; Yang, Cai; Zhang, Ping

    2017-05-01

    In this paper, we present a novel bottom-up saliency detection algorithm from the perspective of covariance matrices on a Riemannian manifold. Each superpixel is described by a region covariance matrix on Riemannian Manifolds. We carry out a two-stage sparse coding scheme via Log-Euclidean kernels to extract salient objects efficiently. In the first stage, given background dictionary on image borders, sparse coding of each region covariance via Log-Euclidean kernels is performed. The reconstruction error on the background dictionary is regarded as the initial saliency of each superpixel. In the second stage, an improvement of the initial result is achieved by calculating reconstruction errors of the superpixels on foreground dictionary, which is extracted from the first stage saliency map. The sparse coding in the second stage is similar to the first stage, but is able to effectively highlight the salient objects uniformly from the background. Finally, three post-processing methods-highlight-inhibition function, context-based saliency weighting, and the graph cut-are adopted to further refine the saliency map. Experiments on four public benchmark datasets show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of precision, recall and mean absolute error, and demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Quasi-local mass in the covariant Newtonian spacetime

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Y-H; Wang, C-H

    2008-01-01

    In general relativity, quasi-local energy-momentum expressions have been constructed from various formulae. However, the Newtonian theory of gravity gives a well-known and a unique quasi-local mass expression (surface integration). Since geometrical formulation of Newtonian gravity has been established in the covariant Newtonian spacetime, it provides a covariant approximation from relativistic to Newtonian theories. By using this approximation, we calculate the Komar integral, the Brown-York quasi-local energy and the Dougan-Mason quasi-local mass in the covariant Newtonian spacetime. It turns out that the Komar integral naturally gives the Newtonian quasi-local mass expression; however, further conditions (spherical symmetry) need to be made for Brown-York and Dougan-Mason expressions

  1. The Performance Analysis Based on SAR Sample Covariance Matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esra Erten

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Multi-channel systems appear in several fields of application in science. In the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR context, multi-channel systems may refer to different domains, as multi-polarization, multi-interferometric or multi-temporal data, or even a combination of them. Due to the inherent speckle phenomenon present in SAR images, the statistical description of the data is almost mandatory for its utilization. The complex images acquired over natural media present in general zero-mean circular Gaussian characteristics. In this case, second order statistics as the multi-channel covariance matrix fully describe the data. For practical situations however, the covariance matrix has to be estimated using a limited number of samples, and this sample covariance matrix follow the complex Wishart distribution. In this context, the eigendecomposition of the multi-channel covariance matrix has been shown in different areas of high relevance regarding the physical properties of the imaged scene. Specifically, the maximum eigenvalue of the covariance matrix has been frequently used in different applications as target or change detection, estimation of the dominant scattering mechanism in polarimetric data, moving target indication, etc. In this paper, the statistical behavior of the maximum eigenvalue derived from the eigendecomposition of the sample multi-channel covariance matrix in terms of multi-channel SAR images is simplified for SAR community. Validation is performed against simulated data and examples of estimation and detection problems using the analytical expressions are as well given.

  2. ANGELO-LAMBDA, Covariance matrix interpolation and mathematical verification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kodeli, Ivo

    2007-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: The codes ANGELO-2.3 and LAMBDA-2.3 are used for the interpolation of the cross section covariance data from the original to a user defined energy group structure, and for the mathematical tests of the matrices, respectively. The LAMBDA-2.3 code calculates the eigenvalues of the matrices (both for the original or the converted) and lists them accordingly into positive and negative matrices. This verification is strongly recommended before using any covariance matrices. These versions of the two codes are the extended versions of the previous codes available in the Packages NEA-1264 - ZZ-VITAMIN-J/COVA. They were specifically developed for the purposes of the OECD LWR UAM benchmark, in particular for the processing of the ZZ-SCALE5.1/COVA-44G cross section covariance matrix library retrieved from the SCALE-5.1 package. Either the original SCALE-5.1 libraries or the libraries separated into several files by Nuclides can be (in principle) processed by ANGELO/LAMBDA codes, but the use of the one-nuclide data is strongly recommended. Due to large deviations of the correlation matrix terms from unity observed in some SCALE5.1 covariance matrices, the previous more severe acceptance condition in the ANGELO2.3 code was released. In case the correlation coefficients exceed 1.0, only a warning message is issued, and coefficients are replaced by 1.0. 2 - Methods: ANGELO-2.3 interpolates the covariance matrices to a union grid using flat weighting. LAMBDA-2.3 code includes the mathematical routines to calculate the eigenvalues of the covariance matrices. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The algorithm used in ANGELO is relatively simple, therefore the interpolations involving energy group structure which are very different from the original (e.g. large difference in the number of energy groups) may not be accurate. In particular in the case of the MT=1018 data (fission spectra covariances) the algorithm may not be

  3. Using machine learning to assess covariate balance in matching studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linden, Ariel; Yarnold, Paul R

    2016-12-01

    In order to assess the effectiveness of matching approaches in observational studies, investigators typically present summary statistics for each observed pre-intervention covariate, with the objective of showing that matching reduces the difference in means (or proportions) between groups to as close to zero as possible. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to distinguish between study groups based on their distributions of the covariates using a machine-learning algorithm called optimal discriminant analysis (ODA). Assessing covariate balance using ODA as compared with the conventional method has several key advantages: the ability to ascertain how individuals self-select based on optimal (maximum-accuracy) cut-points on the covariates; the application to any variable metric and number of groups; its insensitivity to skewed data or outliers; and the use of accuracy measures that can be widely applied to all analyses. Moreover, ODA accepts analytic weights, thereby extending the assessment of covariate balance to any study design where weights are used for covariate adjustment. By comparing the two approaches using empirical data, we are able to demonstrate that using measures of classification accuracy as balance diagnostics produces highly consistent results to those obtained via the conventional approach (in our matched-pairs example, ODA revealed a weak statistically significant relationship not detected by the conventional approach). Thus, investigators should consider ODA as a robust complement, or perhaps alternative, to the conventional approach for assessing covariate balance in matching studies. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. The Effects of Chess Instruction on the Mathematics Achievement of Southern, Rural, Black Secondary Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, James P.; Cage. Bob N.

    2000-01-01

    Studied the effects of 120 hours of chess instruction on the mathematics achievement of southern, rural, black secondary students. Analysis of covariance results show the treatment group (11 females, 9 males) scored significantly higher than the control group (10 females, 10 males) in mathematics achievement. Discusses results in terms of altering…

  5. Covariance and correlation estimation in electron-density maps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altomare, Angela; Cuocci, Corrado; Giacovazzo, Carmelo; Moliterni, Anna; Rizzi, Rosanna

    2012-03-01

    Quite recently two papers have been published [Giacovazzo & Mazzone (2011). Acta Cryst. A67, 210-218; Giacovazzo et al. (2011). Acta Cryst. A67, 368-382] which calculate the variance in any point of an electron-density map at any stage of the phasing process. The main aim of the papers was to associate a standard deviation to each pixel of the map, in order to obtain a better estimate of the map reliability. This paper deals with the covariance estimate between points of an electron-density map in any space group, centrosymmetric or non-centrosymmetric, no matter the correlation between the model and target structures. The aim is as follows: to verify if the electron density in one point of the map is amplified or depressed as an effect of the electron density in one or more other points of the map. High values of the covariances are usually connected with undesired features of the map. The phases are the primitive random variables of our probabilistic model; the covariance changes with the quality of the model and therefore with the quality of the phases. The conclusive formulas show that the covariance is also influenced by the Patterson map. Uncertainty on measurements may influence the covariance, particularly in the final stages of the structure refinement; a general formula is obtained taking into account both phase and measurement uncertainty, valid at any stage of the crystal structure solution.

  6. Portfolio management using realized covariances: Evidence from Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João F. Caldeira

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available It is often argued that intraday returns can be used to construct covariance estimates that are more accurate than those based on daily returns. However, it is still unclear whether high frequency data provide more precise covariance estimates in markets more contaminated from microstructure noise such as higher bid-ask spreads and lower liquidity. We address this question by investigating the benefits of using high frequency data in the Brazilian equities market to construct optimal minimum variance portfolios. We implement alternative realized covariance estimators based on intraday returns sampled at alternative frequencies and obtain their dynamic versions using a multivariate GARCH framework. Our evidence based on a high-dimensional data set suggests that realized covariance estimators performed significantly better from an economic point of view in comparison to standard estimators based on low-frequency (close-to-close data as they delivered less risky portfolios. Resumo: Argumenta-se frequentemente que retornos intradiários podem ser usados para construir estimativas de covariâncias mais precisas em relação àquelas obtidas com retornos diários. No entanto, ainda não está claro se os dados de alta freqüência fornecem estimativas de covariância mais precisas em mercados mais contaminados pelo ruído da microestrutura, como maiores spreads entre ofertas de compra e venda e baixa liquidez. Abordamos essa questão investigando os benefícios do uso de dados de alta freqüência no mercado de ações brasileiro através da construção de portfólios ótimos de variância mínima. Implementamos diversos estimadores de covariâncias realizadas com base em retornos intradiários amostrados em diferentes frequências e obtemos suas versões dinâmicas usando uma estrutura GARCH multivariada. Nossa evidência baseada em um conjunto de dados de alta dimensão sugere que os estimadores de covariâncias realizadas obtiveram um desempenho

  7. Effect of correlation on covariate selection in linear and nonlinear mixed effect models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonate, Peter L

    2017-01-01

    The effect of correlation among covariates on covariate selection was examined with linear and nonlinear mixed effect models. Demographic covariates were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III database. Concentration-time profiles were Monte Carlo simulated where only one covariate affected apparent oral clearance (CL/F). A series of univariate covariate population pharmacokinetic models was fit to the data and compared with the reduced model without covariate. The "best" covariate was identified using either the likelihood ratio test statistic or AIC. Weight and body surface area (calculated using Gehan and George equation, 1970) were highly correlated (r = 0.98). Body surface area was often selected as a better covariate than weight, sometimes as high as 1 in 5 times, when weight was the covariate used in the data generating mechanism. In a second simulation, parent drug concentration and three metabolites were simulated from a thorough QT study and used as covariates in a series of univariate linear mixed effects models of ddQTc interval prolongation. The covariate with the largest significant LRT statistic was deemed the "best" predictor. When the metabolite was formation-rate limited and only parent concentrations affected ddQTc intervals the metabolite was chosen as a better predictor as often as 1 in 5 times depending on the slope of the relationship between parent concentrations and ddQTc intervals. A correlated covariate can be chosen as being a better predictor than another covariate in a linear or nonlinear population analysis by sheer correlation These results explain why for the same drug different covariates may be identified in different analyses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Extended covariance data formats for the ENDF/B-VI differential data evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peelle, R.W.; Muir, D.W.

    1988-01-01

    The ENDF/B-V included cross section covariance data, but covariances could not be encoded for all the important data types. New ENDF-6 covariance formats are outlined including those for cross-file (MF) covariances, resonance parameters over the whole range, and secondary energy and angle distributions. One ''late entry'' format encodes covariance data for cross sections that are output from model or fitting codes in terms of the model parameter covariance matrix and the tabulated derivatives of cross sections with respect to the model parameters. Another new format yields multigroup cross section variances that increase as the group width decreases. When evaluators use the new formats, the files can be processed and used for improved uncertainty propagation and data combination. 22 refs

  9. Midwifery capacity building in Papua New Guinea: Key achievements and ways forward.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Angela; Kililo, Mary; Geita, Lahui; Mola, Glen; Brodie, Pat M; Rumsey, Michele; Copeland, Felicity; Neill, Amanda; Homer, Caroline S E

    2016-04-01

    Papua New Guinea has some of the poorest health outcomes in the Asia-Pacific region. Maternal mortality is unacceptably high and there is a severe midwifery shortage requiring a quadrupling of the workforce. This paper outlines the findings of an evaluation of the Maternal Child Health Initiative (MCHI) (2012-2013) to determine key factors contributing to maternal health workforce strengthening. A descriptive mixed methods study was undertaken. Data were gathered through interviews, focus group discussions and surveys with clinicians, midwifery students and staff from nursing and midwifery schools and National Department of Health staff. Documentation from stakeholder meetings and regular site reports were reviewed. Each data set was analysed separately and meta-inferences were drawn across all data. Learning opportunities were found to have increased for midwifery educators and improvements were described in midwifery educators teaching capacity and student clinical education experience. There was an increase in the number of midwifery graduates and improvements were noted in the working environment and skills of clinical staff. Education challenges were described including the lack of clinical preceptoring and limited continuing education for clinical educators. Participants recommended increasing clinical education hours and extending the length of the midwifery program. Ongoing efforts to accredit the midwifery curricula and regulate midwifery graduates were noted. The MCHI has contributed to strengthening the midwifery workforce nationally. However, scaling-up and sustaining these achievements requires leadership and funding commitments from the midwifery schools and government alongside the accreditation of midwifery curricula and regulation of new graduates. Copyright © 2015 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Parametric number covariance in quantum chaotic spectra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinayak; Kumar, Sandeep; Pandey, Akhilesh

    2016-03-01

    We study spectral parametric correlations in quantum chaotic systems and introduce the number covariance as a measure of such correlations. We derive analytic results for the classical random matrix ensembles using the binary correlation method and obtain compact expressions for the covariance. We illustrate the universality of this measure by presenting the spectral analysis of the quantum kicked rotors for the time-reversal invariant and time-reversal noninvariant cases. A local version of the parametric number variance introduced earlier is also investigated.

  11. Modular invariance and covariant loop calculus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, J.L.; Roland, K.O.; Sidenius, J.R.

    1988-01-01

    The covariant loop calculus provides an efficient technique for computing explicit expressions for the density on moduli space corresponding to arbitrary (bosonic string) loop diagrams. Since modular invariance is not manifest, however, we carry out a detailed comparison with known explicit two- and three-loop results derived using analytic geometry (one loop is known to be okay). We establish identity to 'high' order in some moduli and exactly in others. Agreement is found as a result of various nontrivial cancellations, in part related to number theory. We feel our results provide very strong support for the correctness of the covariant loop calculus approach. (orig.)

  12. Modular invariance and covariant loop calculus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, J.L.; Roland, K.O.; Sidenius, J.R.

    1988-01-01

    The covariant loop calculus provides and efficient technique for computing explicit expressions for the density on moduli space corresponding to arbitrary (bosonic string) loop diagrams. Since modular invariance is not manifest, however, we carry out a detailed comparison with known explicit 2- and 3- loop results derived using analytic geometry (1 loop is known to be ok). We establish identity to 'high' order in some moduli and exactly in others. Agreement is found as a result of various non-trivial cancellations, in part related to number theory. We feel our results provide very strong support for the correctness of the covariant loop calculus approach. (orig.)

  13. A covariant canonical description of Liouville field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papadopoulos, G.; Spence, B.

    1993-03-01

    This paper presents a new parametrisation of the space of solutions of Liouville field theory on a cylinder. In this parametrisation, the solutions are well-defined and manifestly real functions over all space-time and all of parameter space. It is shown that the resulting covariant phase space of the Liouville theory is diffeomorphic to the Hamiltonian one, and to the space of initial data of the theory. The Poisson brackets are derived and shown to be those of the co-tangent bundle of the loop group of the real line. Using Hamiltonian reduction, it is shown that this covariant phase space formulation of Liouville theory may also be obtained from the covariant phase space formulation of the Wess-Zumino-Witten model. 19 refs

  14. Covariance measurement in the presence of non-synchronous trading and market microstructure noise

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Griffin, J.E.; Oomen, R.C.A.

    2011-01-01

    This paper studies the problem of covariance estimation when prices are observed non-synchronously and contaminated by i.i.d. microstructure noise. We derive closed form expressions for the bias and variance of three popular covariance estimators, namely realised covariance, realised covariance plus

  15. Abnormalities in structural covariance of cortical gyrification in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palaniyappan, Lena; Park, Bert; Balain, Vijender; Dangi, Raj; Liddle, Peter

    2015-07-01

    The highly convoluted shape of the adult human brain results from several well-coordinated maturational events that start from embryonic development and extend through the adult life span. Disturbances in these maturational events can result in various neurological and psychiatric disorders, resulting in abnormal patterns of morphological relationship among cortical structures (structural covariance). Structural covariance can be studied using graph theory-based approaches that evaluate topological properties of brain networks. Covariance-based graph metrics allow cross-sectional study of coordinated maturational relationship among brain regions. Disrupted gyrification of focal brain regions is a consistent feature of schizophrenia. However, it is unclear if these localized disturbances result from a failure of coordinated development of brain regions in schizophrenia. We studied the structural covariance of gyrification in a sample of 41 patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls by constructing gyrification-based networks using a 3-dimensional index. We found that several key regions including anterior insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex show increased segregation in schizophrenia, alongside reduced segregation in somato-sensory and occipital regions. Patients also showed a lack of prominence of the distributed covariance (hubness) of cingulate cortex. The abnormal segregated folding pattern in the right peri-sylvian regions (insula and fronto-temporal cortex) was associated with greater severity of illness. The study of structural covariance in cortical folding supports the presence of subtle deviation in the coordinated development of cortical convolutions in schizophrenia. The heterogeneity in the severity of schizophrenia could be explained in part by aberrant trajectories of neurodevelopment.

  16. An Empirical State Error Covariance Matrix Orbit Determination Example

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisbee, Joseph H., Jr.

    2015-01-01

    State estimation techniques serve effectively to provide mean state estimates. However, the state error covariance matrices provided as part of these techniques suffer from some degree of lack of confidence in their ability to adequately describe the uncertainty in the estimated states. A specific problem with the traditional form of state error covariance matrices is that they represent only a mapping of the assumed observation error characteristics into the state space. Any errors that arise from other sources (environment modeling, precision, etc.) are not directly represented in a traditional, theoretical state error covariance matrix. First, consider that an actual observation contains only measurement error and that an estimated observation contains all other errors, known and unknown. Then it follows that a measurement residual (the difference between expected and observed measurements) contains all errors for that measurement. Therefore, a direct and appropriate inclusion of the actual measurement residuals in the state error covariance matrix of the estimate will result in an empirical state error covariance matrix. This empirical state error covariance matrix will fully include all of the errors in the state estimate. The empirical error covariance matrix is determined from a literal reinterpretation of the equations involved in the weighted least squares estimation algorithm. It is a formally correct, empirical state error covariance matrix obtained through use of the average form of the weighted measurement residual variance performance index rather than the usual total weighted residual form. Based on its formulation, this matrix will contain the total uncertainty in the state estimate, regardless as to the source of the uncertainty and whether the source is anticipated or not. It is expected that the empirical error covariance matrix will give a better, statistical representation of the state error in poorly modeled systems or when sensor performance

  17. Contributions to Estimation and Testing Block Covariance Structures in Multivariate Normal Models

    OpenAIRE

    Liang, Yuli

    2015-01-01

    This thesis concerns inference problems in balanced random effects models with a so-called block circular Toeplitz covariance structure. This class of covariance structures describes the dependency of some specific multivariate two-level data when both compound symmetry and circular symmetry appear simultaneously. We derive two covariance structures under two different invariance restrictions. The obtained covariance structures reflect both circularity and exchangeability present in the data....

  18. The covariant formulation of f ( T ) gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krššák, Martin; Saridakis, Emmanuel N

    2016-01-01

    We show that the well-known problem of frame dependence and violation of local Lorentz invariance in the usual formulation of f ( T ) gravity is a consequence of neglecting the role of spin connection. We re-formulate f ( T ) gravity starting from, instead of the ‘pure tetrad’ teleparallel gravity, the covariant teleparallel gravity, using both the tetrad and the spin connection as dynamical variables, resulting in a fully covariant, consistent, and frame-independent version of f ( T ) gravity, which does not suffer from the notorious problems of the usual, pure tetrad, f ( T ) theory. We present the method to extract solutions for the most physically important cases, such as the Minkowski, the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) and the spherically symmetric ones. We show that in covariant f ( T ) gravity we are allowed to use an arbitrary tetrad in an arbitrary coordinate system along with the corresponding spin connection, resulting always in the same physically relevant field equations. (paper)

  19. Recent Advances with the AMPX Covariance Processing Capabilities in PUFF-IV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiarda, Dorothea; Arbanas, Goran; Leal, Luiz C.; Dunn, Michael E.

    2008-01-01

    The program PUFF-IV is used to process resonance parameter covariance information given in ENDF/B File 32 and point-wise covariance matrices given in ENDF/B File 33 into group-averaged covariances matrices on a user-supplied group structure. For large resonance covariance matrices, found for example in 235U, the execution time of PUFF-IV can be quite long. Recently the code was modified to take advandage of Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) routines for the most time-consuming matrix multiplications. This led to a substantial decrease in execution time. This faster processing capability allowed us to investigate the conversion of File 32 data into File 33 data using a larger number of user-defined groups. While conversion substantially reduces the ENDF/B file size requirements for evaluations with a large number of resonances, a trade-off is made between the number of groups used to represent the resonance parameter covariance as a point-wise covariance matrix and the file size. We are also investigating a hybrid version of the conversion, in which the low-energy part of the File 32 resonance parameter covariances matrix is retained and the correlations with higher energies as well as the high energy part are given in File 33.

  20. Conversed, gauge-covariant colour charge in Su(n)QCD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Selikhov, A.V.

    1988-01-01

    The definition of the integral of the group tensor and the gauge-covariant differential with respect to a distant point are given in the work. A conserved covariant charge dependence on family of paths has been contracted with the help of these notions. It has been shown that the same family of paths fixes a gauge in which the covariant and noncovariant conserved currents coicide. The gauge is characterized by representation of the vector potential via field strength tensor. The possibility of connecting the choice of the family of paths with the measurement procedure is discussed. 13 refs.; 2 figs

  1. Semiparametric estimation of covariance matrices for longitudinal data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jianqing; Wu, Yichao

    2008-12-01

    Estimation of longitudinal data covariance structure poses significant challenges because the data are usually collected at irregular time points. A viable semiparametric model for covariance matrices was proposed in Fan, Huang and Li (2007) that allows one to estimate the variance function nonparametrically and to estimate the correlation function parametrically via aggregating information from irregular and sparse data points within each subject. However, the asymptotic properties of their quasi-maximum likelihood estimator (QMLE) of parameters in the covariance model are largely unknown. In the current work, we address this problem in the context of more general models for the conditional mean function including parametric, nonparametric, or semi-parametric. We also consider the possibility of rough mean regression function and introduce the difference-based method to reduce biases in the context of varying-coefficient partially linear mean regression models. This provides a more robust estimator of the covariance function under a wider range of situations. Under some technical conditions, consistency and asymptotic normality are obtained for the QMLE of the parameters in the correlation function. Simulation studies and a real data example are used to illustrate the proposed approach.

  2. Altered Cerebral Blood Flow Covariance Network in Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feng; Zhuo, Chuanjun; Yu, Chunshui

    2016-01-01

    Many studies have shown abnormal cerebral blood flow (CBF) in schizophrenia; however, it remains unclear how topological properties of CBF network are altered in this disorder. Here, arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI was employed to measure resting-state CBF in 96 schizophrenia patients and 91 healthy controls. CBF covariance network of each group was constructed by calculating across-subject CBF covariance between 90 brain regions. Graph theory was used to compare intergroup differences in global and nodal topological measures of the network. Both schizophrenia patients and healthy controls had small-world topology in CBF covariance networks, implying an optimal balance between functional segregation and integration. Compared with healthy controls, schizophrenia patients showed reduced small-worldness, normalized clustering coefficient and local efficiency of the network, suggesting a shift toward randomized network topology in schizophrenia. Furthermore, schizophrenia patients exhibited altered nodal centrality in the perceptual-, affective-, language-, and spatial-related regions, indicating functional disturbance of these systems in schizophrenia. This study demonstrated for the first time that schizophrenia patients have disrupted topological properties in CBF covariance network, which provides a new perspective (efficiency of blood flow distribution between brain regions) for understanding neural mechanisms of schizophrenia.

  3. Covariant Gauss law commutator anomaly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunne, G.V.; Trugenberger, C.A.; Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge

    1990-01-01

    Using a (fixed-time) hamiltonian formalism we derive a covariant form for the anomaly in the commutator algebra of Gauss law generators for chiral fermions interacting with a dynamical non-abelian gauge field in 3+1 dimensions. (orig.)

  4. Some remarks on estimating a covariance structure model from a sample correlation matrix

    OpenAIRE

    Maydeu Olivares, Alberto; Hernández Estrada, Adolfo

    2000-01-01

    A popular model in structural equation modeling involves a multivariate normal density with a structured covariance matrix that has been categorized according to a set of thresholds. In this setup one may estimate the covariance structure parameters from the sample tetrachoricl polychoric correlations but only if the covariance structure is scale invariant. Doing so when the covariance structure is not scale invariant results in estimating a more restricted covariance structure than the one i...

  5. Non-stationary covariance function modelling in 2D least-squares collocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darbeheshti, N.; Featherstone, W. E.

    2009-06-01

    Standard least-squares collocation (LSC) assumes 2D stationarity and 3D isotropy, and relies on a covariance function to account for spatial dependence in the observed data. However, the assumption that the spatial dependence is constant throughout the region of interest may sometimes be violated. Assuming a stationary covariance structure can result in over-smoothing of, e.g., the gravity field in mountains and under-smoothing in great plains. We introduce the kernel convolution method from spatial statistics for non-stationary covariance structures, and demonstrate its advantage for dealing with non-stationarity in geodetic data. We then compared stationary and non- stationary covariance functions in 2D LSC to the empirical example of gravity anomaly interpolation near the Darling Fault, Western Australia, where the field is anisotropic and non-stationary. The results with non-stationary covariance functions are better than standard LSC in terms of formal errors and cross-validation against data not used in the interpolation, demonstrating that the use of non-stationary covariance functions can improve upon standard (stationary) LSC.

  6. Matérn-based nonstationary cross-covariance models for global processes

    KAUST Repository

    Jun, Mikyoung

    2014-07-01

    Many spatial processes in environmental applications, such as climate variables and climate model errors on a global scale, exhibit complex nonstationary dependence structure, in not only their marginal covariance but also their cross-covariance. Flexible cross-covariance models for processes on a global scale are critical for an accurate description of each spatial process as well as the cross-dependences between them and also for improved predictions. We propose various ways to produce cross-covariance models, based on the Matérn covariance model class, that are suitable for describing prominent nonstationary characteristics of the global processes. In particular, we seek nonstationary versions of Matérn covariance models whose smoothness parameters vary over space, coupled with a differential operators approach for modeling large-scale nonstationarity. We compare their performance to the performance of some existing models in terms of the aic and spatial predictions in two applications: joint modeling of surface temperature and precipitation, and joint modeling of errors in climate model ensembles. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

  7. Evaluation and capacity building to improve precollege science and mathematics achievement in the US: 10 CFR, Part 605. Technical progress report, June--December 1992

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1992-12-31

    The National Center for Improving Science Education has undertaken activities to achieve evaluation goals for DOE`s Precollege programs: develop means to determine program quality; develop means for determining the contribution of DOE precollege programs to both teacher enhancement and student achievement; provide evaluation designs and instruments and reports of program quality and impact; and strengthen both DOE`s and the Labs` capacity to do both short- and long-term planning as well as deliver effective programs and evaluation. Appendices include evaluation/technical assistance report, profiling teacher research participation and teacher development programs, teacher surveys, impact assessment design, and teacher research participation programs anecdotes for 8 labs.

  8. Generally covariant theories: the Noether obstruction for realizing certain space-time diffeomorphisms in phase space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pons, Josep M

    2003-01-01

    Relying on known results of the Noether theory of symmetries extended to constrained systems, it is shown that there exists an obstruction that prevents certain tangent-space diffeomorphisms being projectable to phase space, for generally covariant theories. This main result throws new light on the old fact that the algebra of gauge generators in the phase space of general relativity, or other generally covariant theories, only closes as a soft algebra and not as a Lie algebra. The deep relationship between these two issues is clarified. In particular, we see that the second one may be understood as a side effect of the procedure to solve the first. It is explicitly shown how the adoption of specific metric-dependent diffeomorphisms, as a way to achieve projectability, causes the algebra of gauge generators (constraints) in phase space not to be a Lie algebra -with structure constants - but a soft algebra - with structure functions

  9. Covariance Based Pre-Filters and Screening Criteria for Conjunction Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, E., Chan, K.

    2012-09-01

    Several relationships are developed relating object size, initial covariance and range at closest approach to probability of collision. These relationships address the following questions: - Given the objects' initial covariance and combined hard body size, what is the maximum possible value of the probability of collision (Pc)? - Given the objects' initial covariance, what is the maximum combined hard body radius for which the probability of collision does not exceed the tolerance limit? - Given the objects' initial covariance and the combined hard body radius, what is the minimum miss distance for which the probability of collision does not exceed the tolerance limit? - Given the objects' initial covariance and the miss distance, what is the maximum combined hard body radius for which the probability of collision does not exceed the tolerance limit? The first relationship above allows the elimination of object pairs from conjunction analysis (CA) on the basis of the initial covariance and hard-body sizes of the objects. The application of this pre-filter to present day catalogs with estimated covariance results in the elimination of approximately 35% of object pairs as unable to ever conjunct with a probability of collision exceeding 1x10-6. Because Pc is directly proportional to object size and inversely proportional to covariance size, this pre-filter will have a significantly larger impact on future catalogs, which are expected to contain a much larger fraction of small debris tracked only by a limited subset of available sensors. This relationship also provides a mathematically rigorous basis for eliminating objects from analysis entirely based on element set age or quality - a practice commonly done by rough rules of thumb today. Further, these relations can be used to determine the required geometric screening radius for all objects. This analysis reveals the screening volumes for small objects are much larger than needed, while the screening volumes for

  10. High-dimensional covariance forecasting for short intra-day horizons

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oomen, R.C.A.

    2010-01-01

    Asset return covariances at intra-day horizons are known to tend towards zero due to market microstructure effects. Thus, traders who simply scale their daily covariance forecast to match their trading horizon are likely to over-estimate the actual experienced asset dependence. In this paper, some

  11. Cortisol covariation within parents of young children: Moderation by relationship aggression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxbe, Darby E; Adam, Emma K; Schetter, Christine Dunkel; Guardino, Christine M; Simon, Clarissa; McKinney, Chelsea O; Shalowitz, Madeleine U

    2015-12-01

    Covariation in diurnal cortisol has been observed in several studies of cohabiting couples. In two such studies (Liu et al., 2013; Saxbe and Repetti, 2010), relationship distress was associated with stronger within-couple correlations, suggesting that couples' physiological linkage with each other may indicate problematic dyadic functioning. Although intimate partner aggression has been associated with dysregulation in women's diurnal cortisol, it has not yet been tested as a moderator of within-couple covariation. This study reports on a diverse sample of 122 parents who sampled salivary cortisol on matched days for two years following the birth of an infant. Partners showed strong positive cortisol covariation. In couples with higher levels of partner-perpetrated aggression reported by women at one year postpartum, both women and men had a flatter diurnal decrease in cortisol and stronger correlations with partners' cortisol sampled at the same timepoints. In other words, relationship aggression was linked both with indices of suboptimal cortisol rhythms in both members of the couples and with stronger within-couple covariation coefficients. These results persisted when relationship satisfaction and demographic covariates were included in the model. During some of the sampling days, some women were pregnant with a subsequent child, but pregnancy did not significantly moderate cortisol levels or within-couple covariation. The findings suggest that couples experiencing relationship aggression have both suboptimal neuroendocrine profiles and stronger covariation. Cortisol covariation is an understudied phenomenon with potential implications for couples' relationship functioning and physical health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Reconstruction of sparse connectivity in neural networks from spike train covariances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pernice, Volker; Rotter, Stefan

    2013-01-01

    The inference of causation from correlation is in general highly problematic. Correspondingly, it is difficult to infer the existence of physical synaptic connections between neurons from correlations in their activity. Covariances in neural spike trains and their relation to network structure have been the subject of intense research, both experimentally and theoretically. The influence of recurrent connections on covariances can be characterized directly in linear models, where connectivity in the network is described by a matrix of linear coupling kernels. However, as indirect connections also give rise to covariances, the inverse problem of inferring network structure from covariances can generally not be solved unambiguously. Here we study to what degree this ambiguity can be resolved if the sparseness of neural networks is taken into account. To reconstruct a sparse network, we determine the minimal set of linear couplings consistent with the measured covariances by minimizing the L 1 norm of the coupling matrix under appropriate constraints. Contrary to intuition, after stochastic optimization of the coupling matrix, the resulting estimate of the underlying network is directed, despite the fact that a symmetric matrix of count covariances is used for inference. The performance of the new method is best if connections are neither exceedingly sparse, nor too dense, and it is easily applicable for networks of a few hundred nodes. Full coupling kernels can be obtained from the matrix of full covariance functions. We apply our method to networks of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons in an asynchronous–irregular state, where spike train covariances are well described by a linear model. (paper)

  13. Spatio-Temporal Audio Enhancement Based on IAA Noise Covariance Matrix Estimates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørholm, Sidsel Marie; Jensen, Jesper Rindom; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2014-01-01

    A method for estimating the noise covariance matrix in a mul- tichannel setup is proposed. The method is based on the iter- ative adaptive approach (IAA), which only needs short seg- ments of data to estimate the covariance matrix. Therefore, the method can be used for fast varying signals....... The method is based on an assumption of the desired signal being harmonic, which is used for estimating the noise covariance matrix from the covariance matrix of the observed signal. The noise co- variance estimate is used in the linearly constrained minimum variance (LCMV) filter and compared...

  14. application of covariance analysis to feed/ ration experimental data

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prince Acheampong

    ABSTRACT. The use Analysis of Covariance (ANOCOVA) to feed/ration experimental data for birds was examined. Correlation and Regression analyses were used to adjust for the covariate – initial weight of the experimental birds. The Fisher's F statistic for the straight forward Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed ...

  15. A three domain covariance framework for EEG/MEG data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ros, B.P.; Bijma, F.; de Gunst, M.C.M.; de Munck, J.C.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we introduce a covariance framework for the analysis of single subject EEG and MEG data that takes into account observed temporal stationarity on small time scales and trial-to-trial variations. We formulate a model for the covariance matrix, which is a Kronecker product of three

  16. An Empirical State Error Covariance Matrix for Batch State Estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisbee, Joseph H., Jr.

    2011-01-01

    State estimation techniques serve effectively to provide mean state estimates. However, the state error covariance matrices provided as part of these techniques suffer from some degree of lack of confidence in their ability to adequately describe the uncertainty in the estimated states. A specific problem with the traditional form of state error covariance matrices is that they represent only a mapping of the assumed observation error characteristics into the state space. Any errors that arise from other sources (environment modeling, precision, etc.) are not directly represented in a traditional, theoretical state error covariance matrix. Consider that an actual observation contains only measurement error and that an estimated observation contains all other errors, known and unknown. It then follows that a measurement residual (the difference between expected and observed measurements) contains all errors for that measurement. Therefore, a direct and appropriate inclusion of the actual measurement residuals in the state error covariance matrix will result in an empirical state error covariance matrix. This empirical state error covariance matrix will fully account for the error in the state estimate. By way of a literal reinterpretation of the equations involved in the weighted least squares estimation algorithm, it is possible to arrive at an appropriate, and formally correct, empirical state error covariance matrix. The first specific step of the method is to use the average form of the weighted measurement residual variance performance index rather than its usual total weighted residual form. Next it is helpful to interpret the solution to the normal equations as the average of a collection of sample vectors drawn from a hypothetical parent population. From here, using a standard statistical analysis approach, it directly follows as to how to determine the standard empirical state error covariance matrix. This matrix will contain the total uncertainty in the

  17. Paragrassmann analysis and covariant quantum algebras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Filippov, A.T.; Isaev, A.P.; Kurdikov, A.B.; Pyatov, P.N.

    1993-01-01

    This report is devoted to the consideration from the algebraic point of view the paragrassmann algebras with one and many paragrassmann generators Θ i , Θ p+1 i = 0. We construct the paragrassmann versions of the Heisenberg algebra. For the special case, this algebra is nothing but the algebra for coordinates and derivatives considered in the context of covariant differential calculus on quantum hyperplane. The parameter of deformation q in our case is (p+1)-root of unity. Our construction is nondegenerate only for even p. Taking bilinear combinations of paragrassmann derivatives and coordinates we realize generators for the covariant quantum algebras as tensor products of (p+1) x (p+1) matrices. (orig./HSI)

  18. Remarks on Bousso's covariant entropy bound

    CERN Document Server

    Mayo, A E

    2002-01-01

    Bousso's covariant entropy bound is put to the test in the context of a non-singular cosmological solution of general relativity found by Bekenstein. Although the model complies with every assumption made in Bousso's original conjecture, the entropy bound is violated due to the occurrence of negative energy density associated with the interaction of some the matter components in the model. We demonstrate how this property allows for the test model to 'elude' a proof of Bousso's conjecture which was given recently by Flanagan, Marolf and Wald. This corroborates the view that the covariant entropy bound should be applied only to stable systems for which every matter component carries positive energy density.

  19. More on Estimation of Banded and Banded Toeplitz Covariance Matrices

    OpenAIRE

    Berntsson, Fredrik; Ohlson, Martin

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we consider two different linear covariance structures, e.g., banded and bended Toeplitz, and how to estimate them using different methods, e.g., by minimizing different norms. One way to estimate the parameters in a linear covariance structure is to use tapering, which has been shown to be the solution to a universal least squares problem. We know that tapering not always guarantee the positive definite constraints on the estimated covariance matrix and may not be a suitable me...

  20. Covariance as input to and output from resonance analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larson, N.M.

    1992-01-01

    Accurate data analysis requires understanding of the roles played by both data and parameter covariance matrices. In this paper the entire data reduction/analysis process is examined, for neutron-induced reactions in the resonance region. Interrelationships between data and parameter covariance matrices are examined and alternative reduction/analysis methods discussed

  1. Spinors, tensors and the covariant form of Dirac's equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, W.Q.; Cook, A.H.

    1986-01-01

    The relations between tensors and spinors are used to establish the form of the covariant derivative of a spinor, making use of the fact that certain bilinear combinations of spinors are vectors. The covariant forms of Dirac's equation are thus obtained and examples in specific coordinate systems are displayed. (author)

  2. Covariant effective action for loop quantum cosmology from order reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sotiriou, Thomas P.

    2009-01-01

    Loop quantum cosmology (LQC) seems to be predicting modified effective Friedmann equations without extra degrees of freedom. A puzzle arises if one decides to seek for a covariant effective action which would lead to the given Friedmann equation: The Einstein-Hilbert action is the only action that leads to second order field equations and, hence, there exists no covariant action which, under metric variation, leads to a modified Friedmann equation without extra degrees of freedom. It is shown that, at least for isotropic models in LQC, this issue is naturally resolved and a covariant effective action can be found if one considers higher order theories of gravity but faithfully follows effective field theory techniques. However, our analysis also raises doubts on whether a covariant description without background structures can be found for anisotropic models.

  3. Mixed model with spatial variance-covariance structure for accommodating of local stationary trend and its influence on multi-environmental crop variety trial assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Negash, A. W.; Mwambi, H.; Zewotir, T.; Eweke, G.

    2014-06-01

    The most common procedure for analyzing multi-environmental trials is based on the assumption that the residual error variance is homogenous across all locations considered. However, this may often be unrealistic, and therefore limit the accuracy of variety evaluation or the reliability of variety recommendations. The objectives of this study were to show the advantages of mixed models with spatial variance-covariance structures, and direct implications of model choice on the inference of varietal performance, ranking and testing based on two multi-environmental data sets from realistic national trials. A model comparison with a {chi}{sup 2}-test for the trials in the two data sets (wheat data set BW00RVTI and barley data set BW01RVII) suggested that selected spatial variance-covariance structures fitted the data significantly better than the ANOVA model. The forms of optimally-fitted spatial variance-covariance, ranking and consistency ratio test were not the same from one trial (location) to the other. Linear mixed models with single stage analysis including spatial variance-covariance structure with a group factor of location on the random model also improved the real estimation of genotype effect and their ranking. The model also improved varietal performance estimation because of its capacity to handle additional sources of variation, location and genotype by location (environment) interaction variation and accommodating of local stationary trend. (Author)

  4. Structural and Maturational Covariance in Early Childhood Brain Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Xiujuan; Li, Gang; Lu, Zhaohua; Gao, Wei; Wang, Li; Shen, Dinggang; Zhu, Hongtu; Gilmore, John H

    2017-03-01

    Brain structural covariance networks (SCNs) composed of regions with correlated variation are altered in neuropsychiatric disease and change with age. Little is known about the development of SCNs in early childhood, a period of rapid cortical growth. We investigated the development of structural and maturational covariance networks, including default, dorsal attention, primary visual and sensorimotor networks in a longitudinal population of 118 children after birth to 2 years old and compared them with intrinsic functional connectivity networks. We found that structural covariance of all networks exhibit strong correlations mostly limited to their seed regions. By Age 2, default and dorsal attention structural networks are much less distributed compared with their functional maps. The maturational covariance maps, however, revealed significant couplings in rates of change between distributed regions, which partially recapitulate their functional networks. The structural and maturational covariance of the primary visual and sensorimotor networks shows similar patterns to the corresponding functional networks. Results indicate that functional networks are in place prior to structural networks, that correlated structural patterns in adult may arise in part from coordinated cortical maturation, and that regional co-activation in functional networks may guide and refine the maturation of SCNs over childhood development. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Group covariance and metrical theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halpern, L.

    1983-01-01

    The a priori introduction of a Lie group of transformations into a physical theory has often proved to be useful; it usually serves to describe special simplified conditions before a general theory can be worked out. Newton's assumptions of absolute space and time are examples where the Euclidian group and translation group have been introduced. These groups were extended to the Galilei group and modified in the special theory of relativity to the Poincare group to describe physics under the given conditions covariantly in the simplest way. The criticism of the a priori character leads to the formulation of the general theory of relativity. The general metric theory does not really give preference to a particular invariance group - even the principle of equivalence can be adapted to a whole family of groups. The physical laws covariantly inserted into the metric space are however adapted to the Poincare group. 8 references

  6. Striving for Excellence Sometimes Hinders High Achievers: Performance-Approach Goals Deplete Arithmetical Performance in Students with High Working Memory Capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crouzevialle, Marie; Smeding, Annique; Butera, Fabrizio

    2015-01-01

    We tested whether the goal to attain normative superiority over other students, referred to as performance-approach goals, is particularly distractive for high-Working Memory Capacity (WMC) students—that is, those who are used to being high achievers. Indeed, WMC is positively related to high-order cognitive performance and academic success, a record of success that confers benefits on high-WMC as compared to low-WMC students. We tested whether such benefits may turn out to be a burden under performance-approach goal pursuit. Indeed, for high achievers, aiming to rise above others may represent an opportunity to reaffirm their positive status—a stake susceptible to trigger disruptive outcome concerns that interfere with task processing. Results revealed that with performance-approach goals—as compared to goals with no emphasis on social comparison—the higher the students’ WMC, the lower their performance at a complex arithmetic task (Experiment 1). Crucially, this pattern appeared to be driven by uncertainty regarding the chances to outclass others (Experiment 2). Moreover, an accessibility measure suggested the mediational role played by status-related concerns in the observed disruption of performance. We discuss why high-stake situations can paradoxically lead high-achievers to sub-optimally perform when high-order cognitive performance is at play. PMID:26407097

  7. Transformation of covariant quark Wigner operator to noncovariant one

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Selikhov, A.V.

    1989-01-01

    The gauge in which covariant and noncovariant quark Wigner operators coincide has been found. In this gauge the representations of vector potential via field strength tensor is valid. The system of equations for the coefficients of covariant Wigner operator expansion in the basis γ-matrices algebra is obtained. 12 refs.; 3 figs

  8. Some observations on interpolating gauges and non-covariant gauges

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We discuss the viability of using interpolating gauges to define the non-covariant gauges starting from the covariant ones. We draw attention to the need for a very careful treatment of boundary condition defining term. We show that the boundary condition needed to maintain gauge-invariance as the interpolating parameter ...

  9. ARMA Cholesky Factor Models for the Covariance Matrix of Linear Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Keunbaik; Baek, Changryong; Daniels, Michael J

    2017-11-01

    In longitudinal studies, serial dependence of repeated outcomes must be taken into account to make correct inferences on covariate effects. As such, care must be taken in modeling the covariance matrix. However, estimation of the covariance matrix is challenging because there are many parameters in the matrix and the estimated covariance matrix should be positive definite. To overcomes these limitations, two Cholesky decomposition approaches have been proposed: modified Cholesky decomposition for autoregressive (AR) structure and moving average Cholesky decomposition for moving average (MA) structure, respectively. However, the correlations of repeated outcomes are often not captured parsimoniously using either approach separately. In this paper, we propose a class of flexible, nonstationary, heteroscedastic models that exploits the structure allowed by combining the AR and MA modeling of the covariance matrix that we denote as ARMACD. We analyze a recent lung cancer study to illustrate the power of our proposed methods.

  10. Covariant conserved currents for scalar-tensor Horndeski theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, J.; Bičák, J.

    2018-04-01

    The scalar-tensor theories have become popular recently in particular in connection with attempts to explain present accelerated expansion of the universe, but they have been considered as a natural extension of general relativity long time ago. The Horndeski scalar-tensor theory involving four invariantly defined Lagrangians is a natural choice since it implies field equations involving at most second derivatives. Following the formalisms of defining covariant global quantities and conservation laws for perturbations of spacetimes in standard general relativity, we extend these methods to the general Horndeski theory and find the covariant conserved currents for all four Lagrangians. The current is also constructed in the case of linear perturbations involving both metric and scalar fields. As a specific illustration, we derive a superpotential that leads to the covariantly conserved current in the Branse-Dicke theory.

  11. Covariant electrodynamics in linear media: Optical metric

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Robert T.

    2018-03-01

    While the postulate of covariance of Maxwell's equations for all inertial observers led Einstein to special relativity, it was the further demand of general covariance—form invariance under general coordinate transformations, including between accelerating frames—that led to general relativity. Several lines of inquiry over the past two decades, notably the development of metamaterial-based transformation optics, has spurred a greater interest in the role of geometry and space-time covariance for electrodynamics in ponderable media. I develop a generally covariant, coordinate-free framework for electrodynamics in general dielectric media residing in curved background space-times. In particular, I derive a relation for the spatial medium parameters measured by an arbitrary timelike observer. In terms of those medium parameters I derive an explicit expression for the pseudo-Finslerian optical metric of birefringent media and show how it reduces to a pseudo-Riemannian optical metric for nonbirefringent media. This formulation provides a basis for a unified approach to ray and congruence tracing through media in curved space-times that may smoothly vary among positively refracting, negatively refracting, and vacuum.

  12. Development of covariance capabilities in EMPIRE code

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herman,M.; Pigni, M.T.; Oblozinsky, P.; Mughabghab, S.F.; Mattoon, C.M.; Capote, R.; Cho, Young-Sik; Trkov, A.

    2008-06-24

    The nuclear reaction code EMPIRE has been extended to provide evaluation capabilities for neutron cross section covariances in the thermal, resolved resonance, unresolved resonance and fast neutron regions. The Atlas of Neutron Resonances by Mughabghab is used as a primary source of information on uncertainties at low energies. Care is taken to ensure consistency among the resonance parameter uncertainties and those for thermal cross sections. The resulting resonance parameter covariances are formatted in the ENDF-6 File 32. In the fast neutron range our methodology is based on model calculations with the code EMPIRE combined with experimental data through several available approaches. The model-based covariances can be obtained using deterministic (Kalman) or stochastic (Monte Carlo) propagation of model parameter uncertainties. We show that these two procedures yield comparable results. The Kalman filter and/or the generalized least square fitting procedures are employed to incorporate experimental information. We compare the two approaches analyzing results for the major reaction channels on {sup 89}Y. We also discuss a long-standing issue of unreasonably low uncertainties and link it to the rigidity of the model.

  13. Earth Observing System Covariance Realism Updates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojeda Romero, Juan A.; Miguel, Fred

    2017-01-01

    This presentation will be given at the International Earth Science Constellation Mission Operations Working Group meetings June 13-15, 2017 to discuss the Earth Observing System Covariance Realism updates.

  14. Optimal covariance selection for estimation using graphical models

    OpenAIRE

    Vichik, Sergey; Oshman, Yaakov

    2011-01-01

    We consider a problem encountered when trying to estimate a Gaussian random field using a distributed estimation approach based on Gaussian graphical models. Because of constraints imposed by estimation tools used in Gaussian graphical models, the a priori covariance of the random field is constrained to embed conditional independence constraints among a significant number of variables. The problem is, then: given the (unconstrained) a priori covariance of the random field, and the conditiona...

  15. Measuring organizational flexibility in community pharmacy: Building the capacity to implement cognitive pharmaceutical services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feletto, Eleonora; Wilson, Laura Kate; Roberts, Alison Sarah; Benrimoj, Shalom Isaac

    2011-03-01

    Community pharmacy is undergoing transformation with increasing pressure to build its capacity to deliver cognitive pharmaceutical services ("services"). The theoretical framework of organizational flexibility (OF) may be used to assess the capacity of community pharmacy to implement change programs and guide capacity-building initiatives. To test the applicability of an existing scale measuring OF to the industry of community pharmacy in Australia. A mail survey was used to test a preexisting scale measuring OF amended from 28 items to 20 items testing 3 underlying factors of operational, structural, and strategic flexibility in the Australian community pharmacy context. The sample was 2006 randomly-stratified community pharmacies. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the 1-factor models for each underlying construct and the full measurement model. Responses were received from a total of 395 (19.7%) community pharmacies. The 1-factor models of operational, structural, and strategic flexibility fit the data with appropriate respecification. Overall, the favorable fit of the individual factor constructs suggested that the multiple-factor measurement model should be tested. However, this model did not yield an interpretable response. Operational flexibility covaried negatively to the other factors, whereas structural and strategic flexibility shared covariance. Despite this, the results highlighting the individual factor fit suggest the constructs have application to pharmacy. The individual OF constructs were useful in the development and initial testing of a scale adapted for community pharmacy. When further developed and validated, the scale could be used to identify group of pharmacies that require individualized assistance to build capacity and integrate services and other new endeavors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Autism-specific covariation in perceptual performances: "g" or "p" factor?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meilleur, Andrée-Anne S; Berthiaume, Claude; Bertone, Armando; Mottron, Laurent

    2014-01-01

    Autistic perception is characterized by atypical and sometimes exceptional performance in several low- (e.g., discrimination) and mid-level (e.g., pattern matching) tasks in both visual and auditory domains. A factor that specifically affects perceptive abilities in autistic individuals should manifest as an autism-specific association between perceptual tasks. The first purpose of this study was to explore how perceptual performances are associated within or across processing levels and/or modalities. The second purpose was to determine if general intelligence, the major factor that accounts for covariation in task performances in non-autistic individuals, equally controls perceptual abilities in autistic individuals. We asked 46 autistic individuals and 46 typically developing controls to perform four tasks measuring low- or mid-level visual or auditory processing. Intelligence was measured with the Wechsler's Intelligence Scale (FSIQ) and Raven Progressive Matrices (RPM). We conducted linear regression models to compare task performances between groups and patterns of covariation between tasks. The addition of either Wechsler's FSIQ or RPM in the regression models controlled for the effects of intelligence. In typically developing individuals, most perceptual tasks were associated with intelligence measured either by RPM or Wechsler FSIQ. The residual covariation between unimodal tasks, i.e. covariation not explained by intelligence, could be explained by a modality-specific factor. In the autistic group, residual covariation revealed the presence of a plurimodal factor specific to autism. Autistic individuals show exceptional performance in some perceptual tasks. Here, we demonstrate the existence of specific, plurimodal covariation that does not dependent on general intelligence (or "g" factor). Instead, this residual covariation is accounted for by a common perceptual process (or "p" factor), which may drive perceptual abilities differently in autistic and

  17. Autism-specific covariation in perceptual performances: "g" or "p" factor?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrée-Anne S Meilleur

    Full Text Available Autistic perception is characterized by atypical and sometimes exceptional performance in several low- (e.g., discrimination and mid-level (e.g., pattern matching tasks in both visual and auditory domains. A factor that specifically affects perceptive abilities in autistic individuals should manifest as an autism-specific association between perceptual tasks. The first purpose of this study was to explore how perceptual performances are associated within or across processing levels and/or modalities. The second purpose was to determine if general intelligence, the major factor that accounts for covariation in task performances in non-autistic individuals, equally controls perceptual abilities in autistic individuals.We asked 46 autistic individuals and 46 typically developing controls to perform four tasks measuring low- or mid-level visual or auditory processing. Intelligence was measured with the Wechsler's Intelligence Scale (FSIQ and Raven Progressive Matrices (RPM. We conducted linear regression models to compare task performances between groups and patterns of covariation between tasks. The addition of either Wechsler's FSIQ or RPM in the regression models controlled for the effects of intelligence.In typically developing individuals, most perceptual tasks were associated with intelligence measured either by RPM or Wechsler FSIQ. The residual covariation between unimodal tasks, i.e. covariation not explained by intelligence, could be explained by a modality-specific factor. In the autistic group, residual covariation revealed the presence of a plurimodal factor specific to autism.Autistic individuals show exceptional performance in some perceptual tasks. Here, we demonstrate the existence of specific, plurimodal covariation that does not dependent on general intelligence (or "g" factor. Instead, this residual covariation is accounted for by a common perceptual process (or "p" factor, which may drive perceptual abilities differently in

  18. Multilevel maximum likelihood estimation with application to covariance matrices

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Turčičová, Marie; Mandel, J.; Eben, Kryštof

    Published online: 23 January ( 2018 ) ISSN 0361-0926 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-34856S Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : Fisher information * High dimension * Hierarchical maximum likelihood * Nested parameter spaces * Spectral diagonal covariance model * Sparse inverse covariance model Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.311, year: 2016

  19. Beamforming using subspace estimation from a diagonally averaged sample covariance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quijano, Jorge E; Zurk, Lisa M

    2017-08-01

    The potential benefit of a large-aperture sonar array for high resolution target localization is often challenged by the lack of sufficient data required for adaptive beamforming. This paper introduces a Toeplitz-constrained estimator of the clairvoyant signal covariance matrix corresponding to multiple far-field targets embedded in background isotropic noise. The estimator is obtained by averaging along subdiagonals of the sample covariance matrix, followed by covariance extrapolation using the method of maximum entropy. The sample covariance is computed from limited data snapshots, a situation commonly encountered with large-aperture arrays in environments characterized by short periods of local stationarity. Eigenvectors computed from the Toeplitz-constrained covariance are used to construct signal-subspace projector matrices, which are shown to reduce background noise and improve detection of closely spaced targets when applied to subspace beamforming. Monte Carlo simulations corresponding to increasing array aperture suggest convergence of the proposed projector to the clairvoyant signal projector, thereby outperforming the classic projector obtained from the sample eigenvectors. Beamforming performance of the proposed method is analyzed using simulated data, as well as experimental data from the Shallow Water Array Performance experiment.

  20. Missing continuous outcomes under covariate dependent missingness in cluster randomised trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hossain, Anower; Diaz-Ordaz, Karla; Bartlett, Jonathan W

    2017-06-01

    Attrition is a common occurrence in cluster randomised trials which leads to missing outcome data. Two approaches for analysing such trials are cluster-level analysis and individual-level analysis. This paper compares the performance of unadjusted cluster-level analysis, baseline covariate adjusted cluster-level analysis and linear mixed model analysis, under baseline covariate dependent missingness in continuous outcomes, in terms of bias, average estimated standard error and coverage probability. The methods of complete records analysis and multiple imputation are used to handle the missing outcome data. We considered four scenarios, with the missingness mechanism and baseline covariate effect on outcome either the same or different between intervention groups. We show that both unadjusted cluster-level analysis and baseline covariate adjusted cluster-level analysis give unbiased estimates of the intervention effect only if both intervention groups have the same missingness mechanisms and there is no interaction between baseline covariate and intervention group. Linear mixed model and multiple imputation give unbiased estimates under all four considered scenarios, provided that an interaction of intervention and baseline covariate is included in the model when appropriate. Cluster mean imputation has been proposed as a valid approach for handling missing outcomes in cluster randomised trials. We show that cluster mean imputation only gives unbiased estimates when missingness mechanism is the same between the intervention groups and there is no interaction between baseline covariate and intervention group. Multiple imputation shows overcoverage for small number of clusters in each intervention group.

  1. Flexible Bayesian Dynamic Modeling of Covariance and Correlation Matrices

    KAUST Repository

    Lan, Shiwei

    2017-11-08

    Modeling covariance (and correlation) matrices is a challenging problem due to the large dimensionality and positive-definiteness constraint. In this paper, we propose a novel Bayesian framework based on decomposing the covariance matrix into variance and correlation matrices. The highlight is that the correlations are represented as products of vectors on unit spheres. We propose a variety of distributions on spheres (e.g. the squared-Dirichlet distribution) to induce flexible prior distributions for covariance matrices that go beyond the commonly used inverse-Wishart prior. To handle the intractability of the resulting posterior, we introduce the adaptive $\\\\Delta$-Spherical Hamiltonian Monte Carlo. We also extend our structured framework to dynamic cases and introduce unit-vector Gaussian process priors for modeling the evolution of correlation among multiple time series. Using an example of Normal-Inverse-Wishart problem, a simulated periodic process, and an analysis of local field potential data (collected from the hippocampus of rats performing a complex sequence memory task), we demonstrated the validity and effectiveness of our proposed framework for (dynamic) modeling covariance and correlation matrices.

  2. Video based object representation and classification using multiple covariance matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yurong; Liu, Quan

    2017-01-01

    Video based object recognition and classification has been widely studied in computer vision and image processing area. One main issue of this task is to develop an effective representation for video. This problem can generally be formulated as image set representation. In this paper, we present a new method called Multiple Covariance Discriminative Learning (MCDL) for image set representation and classification problem. The core idea of MCDL is to represent an image set using multiple covariance matrices with each covariance matrix representing one cluster of images. Firstly, we use the Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) method to do image clustering within each image set, and then adopt Covariance Discriminative Learning on each cluster (subset) of images. At last, we adopt KLDA and nearest neighborhood classification method for image set classification. Promising experimental results on several datasets show the effectiveness of our MCDL method.

  3. The utility of covariance of combining ability in plant breeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arunachalam, V

    1976-11-01

    The definition of covariances of half- and full sibs, and hence that of variances of general and specific combining ability with regard to a quantitative character, is extended to take into account the respective covariances between a pair of characters. The interpretation of the dispersion and correlation matrices of general and specific combining ability is discussed by considering a set of single, three- and four-way crosses, made using diallel and line × tester mating systems in Pennisetum typhoides. The general implications of the concept of covariance of combining ability in plant breeding are discussed.

  4. Fast covariance estimation for innovations computed from a spatial Gibbs point process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coeurjolly, Jean-Francois; Rubak, Ege

    In this paper, we derive an exact formula for the covariance of two innovations computed from a spatial Gibbs point process and suggest a fast method for estimating this covariance. We show how this methodology can be used to estimate the asymptotic covariance matrix of the maximum pseudo...

  5. Maximum covariance analysis to identify intraseasonal oscillations over tropical Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barreto, Naurinete J. C.; Mesquita, Michel d. S.; Mendes, David; Spyrides, Maria H. C.; Pedra, George U.; Lucio, Paulo S.

    2017-09-01

    A reliable prognosis of extreme precipitation events in the tropics is arguably challenging to obtain due to the interaction of meteorological systems at various time scales. A pivotal component of the global climate variability is the so-called intraseasonal oscillations, phenomena that occur between 20 and 100 days. The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), which is directly related to the modulation of convective precipitation in the equatorial belt, is considered the primary oscillation in the tropical region. The aim of this study is to diagnose the connection between the MJO signal and the regional intraseasonal rainfall variability over tropical Brazil. This is achieved through the development of an index called Multivariate Intraseasonal Index for Tropical Brazil (MITB). This index is based on Maximum Covariance Analysis (MCA) applied to the filtered daily anomalies of rainfall data over tropical Brazil against a group of covariates consisting of: outgoing longwave radiation and the zonal component u of the wind at 850 and 200 hPa. The first two MCA modes, which were used to create the { MITB}_1 and { MITB}_2 indices, represent 65 and 16 % of the explained variance, respectively. The combined multivariate index was able to satisfactorily represent the pattern of intraseasonal variability over tropical Brazil, showing that there are periods of activation and inhibition of precipitation connected with the pattern of MJO propagation. The MITB index could potentially be used as a diagnostic tool for intraseasonal forecasting.

  6. A Comparison of Methods for Estimating the Determinant of High-Dimensional Covariance Matrix

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Zongliang; Dong, Kai; Dai, Wenlin; Tong, Tiejun

    2017-01-01

    The determinant of the covariance matrix for high-dimensional data plays an important role in statistical inference and decision. It has many real applications including statistical tests and information theory. Due to the statistical and computational challenges with high dimensionality, little work has been proposed in the literature for estimating the determinant of high-dimensional covariance matrix. In this paper, we estimate the determinant of the covariance matrix using some recent proposals for estimating high-dimensional covariance matrix. Specifically, we consider a total of eight covariance matrix estimation methods for comparison. Through extensive simulation studies, we explore and summarize some interesting comparison results among all compared methods. We also provide practical guidelines based on the sample size, the dimension, and the correlation of the data set for estimating the determinant of high-dimensional covariance matrix. Finally, from a perspective of the loss function, the comparison study in this paper may also serve as a proxy to assess the performance of the covariance matrix estimation.

  7. A Comparison of Methods for Estimating the Determinant of High-Dimensional Covariance Matrix

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Zongliang

    2017-09-27

    The determinant of the covariance matrix for high-dimensional data plays an important role in statistical inference and decision. It has many real applications including statistical tests and information theory. Due to the statistical and computational challenges with high dimensionality, little work has been proposed in the literature for estimating the determinant of high-dimensional covariance matrix. In this paper, we estimate the determinant of the covariance matrix using some recent proposals for estimating high-dimensional covariance matrix. Specifically, we consider a total of eight covariance matrix estimation methods for comparison. Through extensive simulation studies, we explore and summarize some interesting comparison results among all compared methods. We also provide practical guidelines based on the sample size, the dimension, and the correlation of the data set for estimating the determinant of high-dimensional covariance matrix. Finally, from a perspective of the loss function, the comparison study in this paper may also serve as a proxy to assess the performance of the covariance matrix estimation.

  8. A Comparison of Methods for Estimating the Determinant of High-Dimensional Covariance Matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Zongliang; Dong, Kai; Dai, Wenlin; Tong, Tiejun

    2017-09-21

    The determinant of the covariance matrix for high-dimensional data plays an important role in statistical inference and decision. It has many real applications including statistical tests and information theory. Due to the statistical and computational challenges with high dimensionality, little work has been proposed in the literature for estimating the determinant of high-dimensional covariance matrix. In this paper, we estimate the determinant of the covariance matrix using some recent proposals for estimating high-dimensional covariance matrix. Specifically, we consider a total of eight covariance matrix estimation methods for comparison. Through extensive simulation studies, we explore and summarize some interesting comparison results among all compared methods. We also provide practical guidelines based on the sample size, the dimension, and the correlation of the data set for estimating the determinant of high-dimensional covariance matrix. Finally, from a perspective of the loss function, the comparison study in this paper may also serve as a proxy to assess the performance of the covariance matrix estimation.

  9. On the Methodology to Calculate the Covariance of Estimated Resonance Parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, B.; Kopecky, S.; Schillebeeckx, P.

    2015-01-01

    Principles to determine resonance parameters and their covariance from experimental data are discussed. Different methods to propagate the covariance of experimental parameters are compared. A full Bayesian statistical analysis reveals that the level to which the initial uncertainty of the experimental parameters propagates, strongly depends on the experimental conditions. For high precision data the initial uncertainties of experimental parameters, like a normalization factor, has almost no impact on the covariance of the parameters in case of thick sample measurements and conventional uncertainty propagation or full Bayesian analysis. The covariances derived from a full Bayesian analysis and least-squares fit are derived under the condition that the model describing the experimental observables is perfect. When the quality of the model can not be verified a more conservative method based on a renormalization of the covariance matrix is recommended to propagate fully the uncertainty of experimental systematic effects. Finally, neutron resonance transmission analysis is proposed as an accurate method to validate evaluated data libraries in the resolved resonance region

  10. On the Covariance of Moore-Penrose Inverses in Rings with Involution

    OpenAIRE

    Mahzoon, Hesam

    2014-01-01

    We consider the so-called covariance set of Moore-Penrose inverses in rings with an involution. We deduce some new results concerning covariance set. We will show that if $a$ is a regular element in a ${C}^{\\ast }$ -algebra, then the covariance set of $a$ is closed in the set of invertible elements (with relative topology) of ${C}^{\\ast }$ -algebra and is a cone in the ${C}^{\\ast }$ -algebra.

  11. The covariant entropy bound in gravitational collapse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Sijie; Lemos, Jose P. S.

    2004-01-01

    We study the covariant entropy bound in the context of gravitational collapse. First, we discuss critically the heuristic arguments advanced by Bousso. Then we solve the problem through an exact model: a Tolman-Bondi dust shell collapsing into a Schwarzschild black hole. After the collapse, a new black hole with a larger mass is formed. The horizon, L, of the old black hole then terminates at the singularity. We show that the entropy crossing L does not exceed a quarter of the area of the old horizon. Therefore, the covariant entropy bound is satisfied in this process. (author)

  12. THE MEASUREMENT, TREATMENT, AND IMPACT OF SPECTRAL COVARIANCE AND BAYESIAN PRIORS IN INTEGRAL -FIELD SPECTROSCOPY OF EXOPLANETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greco, Johnny P. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (United States); Brandt, Timothy D. [Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (United States)

    2016-12-20

    The recovery of an exoplanet’s atmospheric parameters from its spectrum requires accurate knowledge of the spectral errors and covariances. Unfortunately, the complex image processing used in high-contrast integral-field spectrograph (IFS) observations generally produces spectral covariances that are poorly understood and often ignored. In this work, we show how to measure the spectral errors and covariances and include them self-consistently in parameter retrievals. By combining model exoplanet spectra with a realistic noise model generated from the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) early science data, we show that ignoring spectral covariance in high-contrast IFS data can both bias inferred parameters and lead to unreliable confidence regions on those parameters. This problem is made worse by the common practice of scaling the χ {sup 2} per degree of freedom to unity; the input parameters then fall outside the 95% confidence regions in as many as ∼80% of noise realizations. The biases we observe can approach the typical levels of precision achieved in high-contrast spectroscopy. Accounting for realistic priors in fully Bayesian retrievals can also have a significant impact on the inferred parameters. Plausible priors on effective temperature and surface gravity can vary by an order of magnitude across the confidence regions appropriate for objects with weak age constraints; priors for objects with good age constraints are dominated by modeling uncertainties. Our methods are directly applicable to existing high-contrast IFSs including GPI and SPHERE, as well as upcoming instruments like CHARIS and, ultimately, WFIRST-AFTA.

  13. Potential and limitations of inferring ecosystem photosynthetic capacity from leaf functional traits

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Musavi, T.; Migliavacca, M.; van de Weg, M. J.; Kattge, J.; Wohlfahrt, G.; van Bodegom, P. M.; Reichstein, M.; Bahn, M.; Carrara, A.; Domingues, T. F.; Gavazzi, M.; Gianelle, D.; Gimeno, C.; Granier, A.; Gruening, C.; Havránková, Kateřina; Herbst, M.; Hrynkiw, Ch.; Kalhori, A.; Kaminski, T.; Klumpp, K.; Kolari, P.; Longdoz, B.; Minerbi, S.; Montagnani, L.; Moors, E.; Oechel, W.; Reich, P. B.; Rohatyn, S.; Rossi, A.; Rotenberg, E.; Varlagin, A.; Wilkinson, M.; Wirth, C.; Mahecha, M. D.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 6, č. 20 (2016), s. 7352-7366 ISSN 2045-7758 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1415 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : gross primary production * cross-biome analysis * relative growth-rate * plant traits * carbon-dioxide * forest productivity * wide-range * environmental variation * nutrient concentrations * terrestrial biosphere * ecosystem functional property * eddy covariance * fluxnet * interannual variability * photosynthetic capacity * plant traits * spatiotemporal variability * TRY database Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 2.440, year: 2016

  14. Are the invariance principles really truly Lorentz covariant?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arunasalam, V.

    1994-02-01

    It is shown that some sections of the invariance (or symmetry) principles such as the space reversal symmetry (or parity P) and time reversal symmetry T (of elementary particle and condensed matter physics, etc.) are not really truly Lorentz covariant. Indeed, I find that the Dirac-Wigner sense of Lorentz invariance is not in full compliance with the Einstein-Minkowski reguirements of the Lorentz covariance of all physical laws (i.e., the world space Mach principle)

  15. Covariate selection for the semiparametric additive risk model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinussen, Torben; Scheike, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    This paper considers covariate selection for the additive hazards model. This model is particularly simple to study theoretically and its practical implementation has several major advantages to the similar methodology for the proportional hazards model. One complication compared...... and study their large sample properties for the situation where the number of covariates p is smaller than the number of observations. We also show that the adaptive Lasso has the oracle property. In many practical situations, it is more relevant to tackle the situation with large p compared with the number...... of observations. We do this by studying the properties of the so-called Dantzig selector in the setting of the additive risk model. Specifically, we establish a bound on how close the solution is to a true sparse signal in the case where the number of covariates is large. In a simulation study, we also compare...

  16. Super-sample covariance approximations and partial sky coverage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacasa, Fabien; Lima, Marcos; Aguena, Michel

    2018-04-01

    Super-sample covariance (SSC) is the dominant source of statistical error on large scale structure (LSS) observables for both current and future galaxy surveys. In this work, we concentrate on the SSC of cluster counts, also known as sample variance, which is particularly useful for the self-calibration of the cluster observable-mass relation; our approach can similarly be applied to other observables, such as galaxy clustering and lensing shear. We first examined the accuracy of two analytical approximations proposed in the literature for the flat sky limit, finding that they are accurate at the 15% and 30-35% level, respectively, for covariances of counts in the same redshift bin. We then developed a harmonic expansion formalism that allows for the prediction of SSC in an arbitrary survey mask geometry, such as large sky areas of current and future surveys. We show analytically and numerically that this formalism recovers the full sky and flat sky limits present in the literature. We then present an efficient numerical implementation of the formalism, which allows fast and easy runs of covariance predictions when the survey mask is modified. We applied our method to a mask that is broadly similar to the Dark Energy Survey footprint, finding a non-negligible negative cross-z covariance, i.e. redshift bins are anti-correlated. We also examined the case of data removal from holes due to, for example bright stars, quality cuts, or systematic removals, and find that this does not have noticeable effects on the structure of the SSC matrix, only rescaling its amplitude by the effective survey area. These advances enable analytical covariances of LSS observables to be computed for current and future galaxy surveys, which cover large areas of the sky where the flat sky approximation fails.

  17. An Adaptive Low-Cost INS/GNSS Tightly-Coupled Integration Architecture Based on Redundant Measurement Noise Covariance Estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zheng; Zhang, Hai; Zhou, Qifan; Che, Huan

    2017-09-05

    The main objective of the introduced study is to design an adaptive Inertial Navigation System/Global Navigation Satellite System (INS/GNSS) tightly-coupled integration system that can provide more reliable navigation solutions by making full use of an adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) and satellite selection algorithm. To achieve this goal, we develop a novel redundant measurement noise covariance estimation (RMNCE) theorem, which adaptively estimates measurement noise properties by analyzing the difference sequences of system measurements. The proposed RMNCE approach is then applied to design both a modified weighted satellite selection algorithm and a type of adaptive unscented Kalman filter (UKF) to improve the performance of the tightly-coupled integration system. In addition, an adaptive measurement noise covariance expanding algorithm is developed to mitigate outliers when facing heavy multipath and other harsh situations. Both semi-physical simulation and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed architecture and were compared with state-of-the-art algorithms. The results validate that the RMNCE provides a significant improvement in the measurement noise covariance estimation and the proposed architecture can improve the accuracy and reliability of the INS/GNSS tightly-coupled systems. The proposed architecture can effectively limit positioning errors under conditions of poor GNSS measurement quality and outperforms all the compared schemes.

  18. Capacity Markets and Market Stability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stauffer, Hoff

    2006-01-01

    The good news is that market stability can be achieved through a combination of longer-term contracts, auctions for far enough in the future to permit new entry, a capacity management system, and a demand curve. The bad news is that if and when stable capacity markets are designed, the markets may seem to be relatively close to where we started - with integrated resource planning. Market ideologues will find this anathema. (author)

  19. Predicting kidney graft failure using time-dependent renal function covariates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Bruijne, Mattheus H. J.; Sijpkens, Yvo W. J.; Paul, Leendert C.; Westendorp, Rudi G. J.; van Houwelingen, Hans C.; Zwinderman, Aeilko H.

    2003-01-01

    Chronic rejection and recurrent disease are the major causes of late graft failure in renal transplantation. To assess outcome, most researchers use Cox proportional hazard analysis with time-fixed covariates. We developed a model adding time-dependent renal function covariates to improve the

  20. Revealing hidden covariation detection: evidence for implicit abstraction at study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossnagel, C S

    2001-09-01

    Four experiments in the brain scans paradigm (P. Lewicki, T. Hill, & I. Sasaki, 1989) investigated hidden covariation detection (HCD). In Experiment 1 HCD was found in an implicit- but not in an explicit-instruction group. In Experiment 2 HCD was impaired by nonholistic perception of stimuli but not by divided attention. In Experiment 3 HCD was eliminated by interspersing stimuli that deviated from the critical covariation. In Experiment 4 a transfer procedure was used. HCD was found with dissimilar test stimuli that preserved the covariation but was almost eliminated with similar stimuli that were neutral as to the covariation. Awareness was assessed both by objective and subjective tests in all experiments. Results suggest that HCD is an effect of implicit rule abstraction and that similarity processing plays only a minor role. HCD might be suppressed by intentional search strategies that induce inappropriate aggregation of stimulus information.

  1. Using Covariant Lyapunov Vectors to Understand Spatiotemporal Chaos in Fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Mark; Xu, Mu; Barbish, Johnathon; Mukherjee, Saikat

    2017-11-01

    The spatiotemporal chaos of fluids present many difficult and fascinating challenges. Recent progress in computing covariant Lyapunov vectors for a variety of model systems has made it possible to probe fundamental ideas from dynamical systems theory including the degree of hyperbolicity, the fractal dimension, the dimension of the inertial manifold, and the decomposition of the dynamics into a finite number of physical modes and spurious modes. We are interested in building upon insights such as these for fluid systems. We first demonstrate the power of covariant Lyapunov vectors using a system of maps on a lattice with a nonlinear coupling. We then compute the covariant Lyapunov vectors for chaotic Rayleigh-Bénard convection for experimentally accessible conditions. We show that chaotic convection is non-hyperbolic and we quantify the spatiotemporal features of the spectrum of covariant Lyapunov vectors. NSF DMS-1622299 and DARPA/DSO Models, Dynamics, and Learning (MoDyL).

  2. Lorentz covariant canonical symplectic algorithms for dynamics of charged particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yulei; Liu, Jian; Qin, Hong

    2016-12-01

    In this paper, the Lorentz covariance of algorithms is introduced. Under Lorentz transformation, both the form and performance of a Lorentz covariant algorithm are invariant. To acquire the advantages of symplectic algorithms and Lorentz covariance, a general procedure for constructing Lorentz covariant canonical symplectic algorithms (LCCSAs) is provided, based on which an explicit LCCSA for dynamics of relativistic charged particles is built. LCCSA possesses Lorentz invariance as well as long-term numerical accuracy and stability, due to the preservation of a discrete symplectic structure and the Lorentz symmetry of the system. For situations with time-dependent electromagnetic fields, which are difficult to handle in traditional construction procedures of symplectic algorithms, LCCSA provides a perfect explicit canonical symplectic solution by implementing the discretization in 4-spacetime. We also show that LCCSA has built-in energy-based adaptive time steps, which can optimize the computation performance when the Lorentz factor varies.

  3. Estimation of covariances of Cr and Ni neutron nuclear data in JENDL-3.2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shibata, Keiichi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Oh, Soo Youl [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea)

    2000-02-01

    Covariances of nuclear data have been estimated for 2 nuclides contained in JENDL-3.2. The nuclides considered are Cr and Ni, which are regarded as important for the nuclear design study of fast reactors. The physical quantities for which covariances are deduced are cross sections and the first order Legendre-polynomial coefficient for the angular distribution of elastically scattered neutrons. The covariances were estimated by using the same methodology that had been used in the JENDL-3.2 evaluation in order to keep a consistency between mean values and their covariances. The least-squares fitting code GMA was used in estimating covariances for reactions of which JENDL-3.2 cross sections had been evaluated by taking account of measurements. Covariances of nuclear model calculations were deduced by using the KALMAN system. The covariance data obtained were compiled in the ENDF-6 format, and will be put into the JENDL-3.2 Covariance File which is one of JENDL special purpose files. (author)

  4. Uncertainty covariances in robotics applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, D.L.

    1984-01-01

    The application of uncertainty covariance matrices in the analysis of robot trajectory errors is explored. First, relevant statistical concepts are reviewed briefly. Then, a simple, hypothetical robot model is considered to illustrate methods for error propagation and performance test data evaluation. The importance of including error correlations is emphasized

  5. Covariant Quantization with Extended BRST Symmetry

    OpenAIRE

    Geyer, B.; Gitman, D. M.; Lavrov, P. M.

    1999-01-01

    A short rewiev of covariant quantization methods based on BRST-antiBRST symmetry is given. In particular problems of correct definition of Sp(2) symmetric quantization scheme known as triplectic quantization are considered.

  6. Globally covering a-priori regional gravity covariance models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Arabelos

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Gravity anomaly data generated using Wenzel’s GPM98A model complete to degree 1800, from which OSU91A has been subtracted, have been used to estimate covariance functions for a set of globally covering equal-area blocks of size 22.5° × 22.5° at Equator, having a 2.5° overlap. For each block an analytic covariance function model was determined. The models are based on 4 parameters: the depth to the Bjerhammar sphere (determines correlation, the free-air gravity anomaly variance, a scale factor of the OSU91A error degree-variances and a maximal summation index, N, of the error degree-variances. The depth of Bjerhammar-sphere varies from -134km to nearly zero, N varies from 360 to 40, the scale factor from 0.03 to 38.0 and the gravity variance from 1081 to 24(10µms-22. The parameters are interpreted in terms of the quality of the data used to construct OSU91A and GPM98A and general conditions such as the occurrence of mountain chains. The variation of the parameters show that it is necessary to use regional covariance models in order to obtain a realistic signal to noise ratio in global applications.Key words. GOCE mission, Covariance function, Spacewise approach`

  7. Directional selection effects on patterns of phenotypic (co)variation in wild populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assis, A P A; Patton, J L; Hubbe, A; Marroig, G

    2016-11-30

    Phenotypic (co)variation is a prerequisite for evolutionary change, and understanding how (co)variation evolves is of crucial importance to the biological sciences. Theoretical models predict that under directional selection, phenotypic (co)variation should evolve in step with the underlying adaptive landscape, increasing the degree of correlation among co-selected traits as well as the amount of genetic variance in the direction of selection. Whether either of these outcomes occurs in natural populations is an open question and thus an important gap in evolutionary theory. Here, we documented changes in the phenotypic (co)variation structure in two separate natural populations in each of two chipmunk species (Tamias alpinus and T. speciosus) undergoing directional selection. In populations where selection was strongest (those of T. alpinus), we observed changes, at least for one population, in phenotypic (co)variation that matched theoretical expectations, namely an increase of both phenotypic integration and (co)variance in the direction of selection and a re-alignment of the major axis of variation with the selection gradient. © 2016 The Author(s).

  8. Extensive set of low-fidelity cross sections covariances in fast neutron region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pigni, M.T.; Herman, M.; Oblozinsky, P.

    2008-01-01

    We produced a large set of neutron cross section covariances in the energy range of 5 keV - 20 MeV. The covariance matrices were calculated for 307 isotopes divided into three major regions: structural materials, fission products, and heavy nuclei. These results have been developed to provide initial, but consistent estimates of covariance data for nuclear criticality safety applications. The methodology for the determination of such covariance matrices is presented. It combines the nuclear reaction model code EMPIRE which calculates sensitivity of cross sections to nuclear reaction model parameters, and the Bayesian code KALMAN that propagates uncertainties of the model parameters to cross sections. Taking into account large number of materials, only marginal reference to experimental data was made. The covariances were derived from the perturbation of several key model parameters selected by the sensitivity analysis. These parameters refer to the optical model potential, the level densities and the strength of the pre-equilibrium emission. This work represents the first try ever to generate nuclear data covariances on such a large scale. (authors)

  9. Reprint of "Two-stage sparse coding of region covariance via Log-Euclidean kernels to detect saliency".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ying-Ying; Yang, Cai; Zhang, Ping

    2017-08-01

    In this paper, we present a novel bottom-up saliency detection algorithm from the perspective of covariance matrices on a Riemannian manifold. Each superpixel is described by a region covariance matrix on Riemannian Manifolds. We carry out a two-stage sparse coding scheme via Log-Euclidean kernels to extract salient objects efficiently. In the first stage, given background dictionary on image borders, sparse coding of each region covariance via Log-Euclidean kernels is performed. The reconstruction error on the background dictionary is regarded as the initial saliency of each superpixel. In the second stage, an improvement of the initial result is achieved by calculating reconstruction errors of the superpixels on foreground dictionary, which is extracted from the first stage saliency map. The sparse coding in the second stage is similar to the first stage, but is able to effectively highlight the salient objects uniformly from the background. Finally, three post-processing methods-highlight-inhibition function, context-based saliency weighting, and the graph cut-are adopted to further refine the saliency map. Experiments on four public benchmark datasets show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of precision, recall and mean absolute error, and demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Super-Poincare covariant canonical formulation of superparticles and Green-Schwarz superstrings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nissimov, E.R.; Pacheva, S.J.

    1987-11-01

    First, a new unified covariant formulation simultaneously describing both superparticles and spinning particles is proposed. In this formulation both models emerge as different gauge fixings from a more general point-particle model with larger and gauge invariance. The general model possesses covariant and functionally independent first-class constraints only. Next, the above construction is generalized to the case of Green-Schwarz (GS) superstrings. This allows straightforward application of the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky (BFV) Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism for a manifestly super-Poincare covariant canonical quantization. The corresponding BRST charge turns out to be remarkably simple and is of rank one. It is used to construct a covariant BFV Hamiltonian for the GS superstring exhibiting explicit Parisi-Sourlas OSp(1,1/2) symmetry. (author). 21 refs

  11. Phenotypic Covariation and Morphological Diversification in the Ruminant Skull.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haber, Annat

    2016-05-01

    Differences among clades in their diversification patterns result from a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. In this study, I examined the role of intrinsic factors in the morphological diversification of ruminants, in general, and in the differences between bovids and cervids, in particular. Using skull morphology, which embodies many of the adaptations that distinguish bovids and cervids, I examined 132 of the 200 extant ruminant species. As a proxy for intrinsic constraints, I quantified different aspects of the phenotypic covariation structure within species and compared them with the among-species divergence patterns, using phylogenetic comparative methods. My results show that for most species, divergence is well aligned with their phenotypic covariance matrix and that those that are better aligned have diverged further away from their ancestor. Bovids have dispersed into a wider range of directions in morphospace than cervids, and their overall disparity is higher. This difference is best explained by the lower eccentricity of bovids' within-species covariance matrices. These results are consistent with the role of intrinsic constraints in determining amount, range, and direction of dispersion and demonstrate that intrinsic constraints can influence macroevolutionary patterns even as the covariance structure evolves.

  12. Scale covariant physics: a 'quantum deformation' of classical electrodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knoll, Yehonatan; Yavneh, Irad

    2010-01-01

    We present a deformation of classical electrodynamics, continuously depending on a 'quantum parameter', featuring manifest gauge, Poincare and scale covariance. The theory, dubbed extended charge dynamics (ECD), associates a certain length scale with each charge which, due to scale covariance, is an attribute of a solution, not a parameter of the theory. When the EM field experienced by an ECD charge is slowly varying over that length scale, the dynamics of the charge reduces to classical dynamics, its emitted radiation reduces to the familiar Lienard-Wiechert potential and the above length scale is identified as the charge's Compton length. It is conjectured that quantum mechanics describes statistical aspects of ensembles of ECD solutions, much like classical thermodynamics describes statistical aspects of ensembles of classical solutions. A unique 'remote sensing' feature of ECD, supporting that conjecture, is presented, along with an explanation for the illusion of a photon within a classical treatment of the EM field. Finally, a novel conservation law associated with the scale covariance of ECD is derived, indicating that the scale of a solution may 'drift' with time at a constant rate, much like translation covariance implies a uniform drift of the (average) position.

  13. Covariance data evaluation for experimental data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Tingjin

    1993-01-01

    Some methods and codes have been developed and utilized for covariance data evaluation of experimental data, including parameter analysis, physical analysis, Spline fitting etc.. These methods and codes can be used in many different cases

  14. Covariate Imbalance and Adjustment for Logistic Regression Analysis of Clinical Trial Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciolino, Jody D.; Martin, Reneé H.; Zhao, Wenle; Jauch, Edward C.; Hill, Michael D.; Palesch, Yuko Y.

    2014-01-01

    In logistic regression analysis for binary clinical trial data, adjusted treatment effect estimates are often not equivalent to unadjusted estimates in the presence of influential covariates. This paper uses simulation to quantify the benefit of covariate adjustment in logistic regression. However, International Conference on Harmonization guidelines suggest that covariate adjustment be pre-specified. Unplanned adjusted analyses should be considered secondary. Results suggest that that if adjustment is not possible or unplanned in a logistic setting, balance in continuous covariates can alleviate some (but never all) of the shortcomings of unadjusted analyses. The case of log binomial regression is also explored. PMID:24138438

  15. Theory of Covariance Equivalent ARMAV Models of Civil Engineering Structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, P.; Brincker, Rune; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

    1996-01-01

    In this paper the theoretical background for using covariance equivalent ARMAV models in modal analysis is discussed. It is shown how to obtain a covariance equivalent ARMA model for a univariate linear second order continous-time system excited by Gaussian white noise. This result is generalized...

  16. Theory of Covariance Equivalent ARMAV Models of Civil Engineering Structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, P.; Brincker, Rune; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

    In this paper the theoretical background for using covariance equivalent ARMAV models in modal analysis is discussed. It is shown how to obtain a covariance equivalent ARMA model for a univariate linear second order continuous-time system excited by Gaussian white noise. This result is generalize...

  17. Validity of covariance models for the analysis of geographical variation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guillot, Gilles; Schilling, Rene L.; Porcu, Emilio

    2014-01-01

    1. Due to the availability of large molecular data-sets, covariance models are increasingly used to describe the structure of genetic variation as an alternative to more heavily parametrised biological models. 2. We focus here on a class of parametric covariance models that received sustained att...

  18. A special form of SPD covariance matrix for interpretation and visualization of data manipulated with Riemannian geometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Congedo, Marco; Barachant, Alexandre

    2015-01-01

    Currently the Riemannian geometry of symmetric positive definite (SPD) matrices is gaining momentum as a powerful tool in a wide range of engineering applications such as image, radar and biomedical data signal processing. If the data is not natively represented in the form of SPD matrices, typically we may summarize them in such form by estimating covariance matrices of the data. However once we manipulate such covariance matrices on the Riemannian manifold we lose the representation in the original data space. For instance, we can evaluate the geometric mean of a set of covariance matrices, but not the geometric mean of the data generating the covariance matrices, the space of interest in which the geometric mean can be interpreted. As a consequence, Riemannian information geometry is often perceived by non-experts as a "black-box" tool and this perception prevents a wider adoption in the scientific community. Hereby we show that we can overcome this limitation by constructing a special form of SPD matrix embedding both the covariance structure of the data and the data itself. Incidentally, whenever the original data can be represented in the form of a generic data matrix (not even square), this special SPD matrix enables an exhaustive and unique description of the data up to second-order statistics. This is achieved embedding the covariance structure of both the rows and columns of the data matrix, allowing naturally a wide range of possible applications and bringing us over and above just an interpretability issue. We demonstrate the method by manipulating satellite images (pansharpening) and event-related potentials (ERPs) of an electroencephalography brain-computer interface (BCI) study. The first example illustrates the effect of moving along geodesics in the original data space and the second provides a novel estimation of ERP average (geometric mean), showing that, in contrast to the usual arithmetic mean, this estimation is robust to outliers. In

  19. ADM pseudotensors, conserved quantities and covariant conservation laws in general relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fatibene, L.; Ferraris, M.; Francaviglia, M.; Lusanna, L.

    2012-01-01

    The ADM formalism is reviewed and techniques for decomposing generic components of metric, connection and curvature are obtained. These techniques will turn out to be enough to decompose not only Einstein equations but also covariant conservation laws. Then a number of independent sets of hypotheses that are sufficient (though not necessary) to obtain standard ADM quantities (and Hamiltonian) from covariant conservation laws are considered. This determines explicitly the range in which standard techniques are equivalent to covariant conserved quantities. The Schwarzschild metric in different coordinates is then considered, showing how the standard ADM quantities fail dramatically in non-Cartesian coordinates or even worse when asymptotically flatness is not manifest; while, in view of their covariance, covariant conservation laws give the correct result in all cases. - Highlights: ► In the paper ADM conserved quantities for GR are obtained from augmented conservation laws. ► Boundary conditions for this to be possible are considered and compared with the literature. ► Some different forms of Schwarzschild solutions are considered as simple examples of different boundary conditions.

  20. Robust estimation for partially linear models with large-dimensional covariates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, LiPing; Li, RunZe; Cui, HengJian

    2013-10-01

    We are concerned with robust estimation procedures to estimate the parameters in partially linear models with large-dimensional covariates. To enhance the interpretability, we suggest implementing a noncon-cave regularization method in the robust estimation procedure to select important covariates from the linear component. We establish the consistency for both the linear and the nonlinear components when the covariate dimension diverges at the rate of [Formula: see text], where n is the sample size. We show that the robust estimate of linear component performs asymptotically as well as its oracle counterpart which assumes the baseline function and the unimportant covariates were known a priori. With a consistent estimator of the linear component, we estimate the nonparametric component by a robust local linear regression. It is proved that the robust estimate of nonlinear component performs asymptotically as well as if the linear component were known in advance. Comprehensive simulation studies are carried out and an application is presented to examine the finite-sample performance of the proposed procedures.

  1. Cross-covariance functions for multivariate random fields based on latent dimensions

    KAUST Repository

    Apanasovich, T. V.; Genton, M. G.

    2010-01-01

    The problem of constructing valid parametric cross-covariance functions is challenging. We propose a simple methodology, based on latent dimensions and existing covariance models for univariate random fields, to develop flexible, interpretable

  2. Analysis of covariance with pre-treatment measurements in randomized trials under the cases that covariances and post-treatment variances differ between groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funatogawa, Takashi; Funatogawa, Ikuko; Shyr, Yu

    2011-05-01

    When primary endpoints of randomized trials are continuous variables, the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with pre-treatment measurements as a covariate is often used to compare two treatment groups. In the ANCOVA, equal slopes (coefficients of pre-treatment measurements) and equal residual variances are commonly assumed. However, random allocation guarantees only equal variances of pre-treatment measurements. Unequal covariances and variances of post-treatment measurements indicate unequal slopes and, usually, unequal residual variances. For non-normal data with unequal covariances and variances of post-treatment measurements, it is known that the ANCOVA with equal slopes and equal variances using an ordinary least-squares method provides an asymptotically normal estimator for the treatment effect. However, the asymptotic variance of the estimator differs from the variance estimated from a standard formula, and its property is unclear. Furthermore, the asymptotic properties of the ANCOVA with equal slopes and unequal variances using a generalized least-squares method are unclear. In this paper, we consider non-normal data with unequal covariances and variances of post-treatment measurements, and examine the asymptotic properties of the ANCOVA with equal slopes using the variance estimated from a standard formula. Analytically, we show that the actual type I error rate, thus the coverage, of the ANCOVA with equal variances is asymptotically at a nominal level under equal sample sizes. That of the ANCOVA with unequal variances using a generalized least-squares method is asymptotically at a nominal level, even under unequal sample sizes. In conclusion, the ANCOVA with equal slopes can be asymptotically justified under random allocation. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Multi-Group Covariance Data Generation from Continuous-Energy Monte Carlo Transport Calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Dong Hyuk; Shim, Hyung Jin

    2015-01-01

    The sensitivity and uncertainty (S/U) methodology in deterministic tools has been utilized for quantifying uncertainties of nuclear design parameters induced by those of nuclear data. The S/U analyses which are based on multi-group cross sections can be conducted by an simple error propagation formula with the sensitivities of nuclear design parameters to multi-group cross sections and the covariance of multi-group cross section. The multi-group covariance data required for S/U analysis have been produced by nuclear data processing codes such as ERRORJ or PUFF from the covariance data in evaluated nuclear data files. However in the existing nuclear data processing codes, an asymptotic neutron flux energy spectrum, not the exact one, has been applied to the multi-group covariance generation since the flux spectrum is unknown before the neutron transport calculation. It can cause an inconsistency between the sensitivity profiles and the covariance data of multi-group cross section especially in resolved resonance energy region, because the sensitivities we usually use are resonance self-shielded while the multi-group cross sections produced from an asymptotic flux spectrum are infinitely-diluted. In order to calculate the multi-group covariance estimation in the ongoing MC simulation, mathematical derivations for converting the double integration equation into a single one by utilizing sampling method have been introduced along with the procedure of multi-group covariance tally

  4. Abnormalities in structural covariance of cortical gyrification in schizophrenia

    OpenAIRE

    Palaniyappan, Lena; Park, Bert; Balain, Vijender; Dangi, Raj; Liddle, Peter

    2014-01-01

    The highly convoluted shape of the adult human brain results from several well-coordinated maturational events that start from embryonic development and extend through the adult life span. Disturbances in these maturational events can result in various neurological and psychiatric disorders, resulting in abnormal patterns of morphological relationship among cortical structures (structural covariance). Structural covariance can be studied using graph theory-based approaches that evaluate topol...

  5. Structural Covariance Networks in Children with Autism or ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bethlehem, R A I; Romero-Garcia, R; Mak, E; Bullmore, E T; Baron-Cohen, S

    2017-08-01

    While autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are considered distinct conditions from a diagnostic perspective, clinically they share some phenotypic features and have high comorbidity. Regardless, most studies have focused on only one condition, with considerable heterogeneity in their results. Taking a dual-condition approach might help elucidate shared and distinct neural characteristics. Graph theory was used to analyse topological properties of structural covariance networks across both conditions and relative to a neurotypical (NT; n = 87) group using data from the ABIDE (autism; n = 62) and ADHD-200 datasets (ADHD; n = 69). Regional cortical thickness was used to construct the structural covariance networks. This was analysed in a theoretical framework examining potential differences in long and short-range connectivity, with a specific focus on relation between central graph measures and cortical thickness. We found convergence between autism and ADHD, where both conditions show an overall decrease in CT covariance with increased Euclidean distance between centroids compared with a NT population. The 2 conditions also show divergence. Namely, there is less modular overlap between the 2 conditions than there is between each condition and the NT group. The ADHD group also showed reduced cortical thickness and lower degree in hub regions than the autism group. Lastly, the ADHD group also showed reduced wiring costs compared with the autism groups. Our results indicate a need for taking an integrated approach when considering highly comorbid conditions such as autism and ADHD. Furthermore, autism and ADHD both showed alterations in the relation between inter-regional covariance and centroid distance, where both groups show a steeper decline in covariance as a function of distance. The 2 groups also diverge on modular organization, cortical thickness of hub regions and wiring cost of the covariance network. Thus, on some network features the

  6. Rotational covariance and light-front current matrix elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keister, B.D.

    1994-01-01

    Light-front current matrix elements for elastic scattering from hadrons with spin 1 or greater must satisfy a nontrivial constraint associated with the requirement of rotational covariance for the current operator. Using a model ρ meson as a prototype for hadronic quark models, this constraint and its implications are studied at both low and high momentum transfers. In the kinematic region appropriate for asymptotic QCD, helicity rules, together with the rotational covariance condition, yield an additional relation between the light-front current matrix elements

  7. Noncoherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion

    KAUST Repository

    Agrawal, Anurag

    2011-09-01

    We study the noncoherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion over independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) Rayleigh fading wireless channels, where neither the sender nor the receivers have access to instantaneous channel state information (CSI). We present two results. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the secret-key capacity is bounded in SNR, regardless of the number of antennas at each terminal. Second, for a system with a single antenna at both the legitimate and the eavesdropper terminals and an arbitrary number of transmit antennas, the secret-key capacity-achieving input distribution is discrete, with a finite number of mass points. Numerically we observe that at low SNR, the capacity achieving distribution has two mass points with one of them at the origin. © 2011 IEEE.

  8. Noncoherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion

    KAUST Repository

    Agrawal, Anurag; Rezki, Zouheir; Khisti, Ashish J.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2011-01-01

    We study the noncoherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion over independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) Rayleigh fading wireless channels, where neither the sender nor the receivers have access to instantaneous channel state information (CSI). We present two results. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the secret-key capacity is bounded in SNR, regardless of the number of antennas at each terminal. Second, for a system with a single antenna at both the legitimate and the eavesdropper terminals and an arbitrary number of transmit antennas, the secret-key capacity-achieving input distribution is discrete, with a finite number of mass points. Numerically we observe that at low SNR, the capacity achieving distribution has two mass points with one of them at the origin. © 2011 IEEE.

  9. Covariant amplitudes in Polyakov string theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoyama, H.; Dhar, A.; Namazie, M.A.

    1986-01-01

    A manifestly Lorentz-covariant and reparametrization-invariant procedure for computing string amplitudes using Polyakov's formulation is described. Both bosonic and superstring theories are dealt with. The computation of string amplitudes is greatly facilitated by this formalism. (orig.)

  10. Preparation of covariance data for the fast reactor. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibata, Keiichi; Hasagawa, Akira

    1998-03-01

    For some isotopes important for core analysis of the fast reactor, covariance data of neutron nuclear data in the evaluated nuclear data library (JENDL-3.2) were presumed to file. Objected isotopes were 10-B, 11-B, 55-Mn, 240-Pu and 241-Pu. Physical amounts presumed on covariance were cross section, isolated and unisolated resonance parameters and first order Legendre coefficient of elastic scattering angle distribution. Presumption of the covariance was conducted in accordance with the data estimation method of JENDL-3.2 as possible. In other ward, when the estimated value was based on the experimental one, error of the experimental value was calculated, and when based on the calculated value, error of the calculated one was obtained. Their estimated results were prepared with ENDF-6 format. (G.K.)

  11. Maintainability analysis considering time-dependent and time-independent covariates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barabadi, Abbas; Barabady, Javad; Markeset, Tore

    2011-01-01

    Traditional parametric methods for assessing maintainability most often only consider time to repair (TTR) as a single explanatory variable. However, to predict availability more precisely for high availability systems, a better model is needed to quantify the effect of operational environment on maintainability. The proportional repair model (PRM), which is developed based on proportional hazard model (PHM), may be used to analyze maintainability in the present of covariates. In the PRM, the effect of covariates is considered to be time independent. However this assumption may not be valid for some situations. The aim of this paper is to develop the Cox regression model and its extension in the presence of time-dependent covariates for determining maintainability. A simple case study is used to demonstrate how the model can be applied in a real case.

  12. Spatial implications of covariate adjustment on patterns of risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sabel, Clive Eric; Wilson, Jeff Gaines; Kingham, Simon

    2007-01-01

    Epidemiological studies that examine the relationship between environmental exposures and health often address other determinants of health that may influence the relationship being studied by adjusting for these factors as covariates. While disease surveillance methods routinely control...... for covariates such as deprivation, there has been limited investigative work on the spatial movement of risk at the intraurban scale due to the adjustment. It is important that the nature of any spatial relocation be well understood as a relocation to areas of increased risk may also introduce additional...... localised factors that influence the exposure-response relationship. This paper examines the spatial patterns of relative risk and clusters of hospitalisations based on an illustrative small-area example from Christchurch, New Zealand. A four-stage test of the spatial relocation effects of covariate...

  13. Fitting direct covariance structures by the MSTRUCT modeling language of the CALIS procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yung, Yiu-Fai; Browne, Michael W; Zhang, Wei

    2015-02-01

    This paper demonstrates the usefulness and flexibility of the general structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to fitting direct covariance patterns or structures (as opposed to fitting implied covariance structures from functional relationships among variables). In particular, the MSTRUCT modelling language (or syntax) of the CALIS procedure (SAS/STAT version 9.22 or later: SAS Institute, 2010) is used to illustrate the SEM approach. The MSTRUCT modelling language supports a direct covariance pattern specification of each covariance element. It also supports the input of additional independent and dependent parameters. Model tests, fit statistics, estimates, and their standard errors are then produced under the general SEM framework. By using numerical and computational examples, the following tests of basic covariance patterns are illustrated: sphericity, compound symmetry, and multiple-group covariance patterns. Specification and testing of two complex correlation structures, the circumplex pattern and the composite direct product models with or without composite errors and scales, are also illustrated by the MSTRUCT syntax. It is concluded that the SEM approach offers a general and flexible modelling of direct covariance and correlation patterns. In conjunction with the use of SAS macros, the MSTRUCT syntax provides an easy-to-use interface for specifying and fitting complex covariance and correlation structures, even when the number of variables or parameters becomes large. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

  14. Covariance matrices and applications to the field of nuclear data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, D.L.

    1981-11-01

    A student's introduction to covariance error analysis and least-squares evaluation of data is provided. It is shown that the basic formulas used in error propagation can be derived from a consideration of the geometry of curvilinear coordinates. Procedures for deriving covariances for scaler and vector functions of several variables are presented. Proper methods for reporting experimental errors and for deriving covariance matrices from these errors are indicated. The generalized least-squares method for evaluating experimental data is described. Finally, the use of least-squares techniques in data fitting applications is discussed. Specific examples of the various procedures are presented to clarify the concepts

  15. Construction and use of gene expression covariation matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bellis Michel

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background One essential step in the massive analysis of transcriptomic profiles is the calculation of the correlation coefficient, a value used to select pairs of genes with similar or inverse transcriptional profiles across a large fraction of the biological conditions examined. Until now, the choice between the two available methods for calculating the coefficient has been dictated mainly by technological considerations. Specifically, in analyses based on double-channel techniques, researchers have been required to use covariation correlation, i.e. the correlation between gene expression changes measured between several pairs of biological conditions, expressed for example as fold-change. In contrast, in analyses of single-channel techniques scientists have been restricted to the use of coexpression correlation, i.e. correlation between gene expression levels. To our knowledge, nobody has ever examined the possible benefits of using covariation instead of coexpression in massive analyses of single channel microarray results. Results We describe here how single-channel techniques can be treated like double-channel techniques and used to generate both gene expression changes and covariation measures. We also present a new method that allows the calculation of both positive and negative correlation coefficients between genes. First, we perform systematic comparisons between two given biological conditions and classify, for each comparison, genes as increased (I, decreased (D, or not changed (N. As a result, the original series of n gene expression level measures assigned to each gene is replaced by an ordered string of n(n-1/2 symbols, e.g. IDDNNIDID....DNNNNNNID, with the length of the string corresponding to the number of comparisons. In a second step, positive and negative covariation matrices (CVM are constructed by calculating statistically significant positive or negative correlation scores for any pair of genes by comparing their

  16. On the Capacity of the Intensity-Modulation Direct-Detection Optical Broadcast Channel

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas

    2016-01-12

    The capacity of the intensity-modulation directdetection optical broadcast channel (OBC) is investigated, under both average and peak intensity constraints. An outer bound on the capacity region is derived by adapting Bergmans’ approach to the OBC. Inner bounds are derived by using superposition coding with either truncated-Gaussian (TG) distributions or discrete distributions. While the discrete distribution achieves higher rates, the TG distribution leads to a simpler representation of the achievable rate region. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), it is shown that the TG distribution is nearly optimal. It achieves the symmetric-capacity within a constant gap (independent of SNR), which approaches half a bit as the number of users grows. It also achieves the capacity region within a constant gap. At low SNR, it is shown that on-off keying (OOK) with time-division multipleaccess (TDMA) is optimal. This is interesting in practice since both OOK and TDMA have low complexity. At moderate SNR (typically [0,8] dB), a discrete distribution with a small alphabet size achieves fairly good performance.

  17. On the Capacity of the Intensity-Modulation Direct-Detection Optical Broadcast Channel

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas; Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2016-01-01

    The capacity of the intensity-modulation directdetection optical broadcast channel (OBC) is investigated, under both average and peak intensity constraints. An outer bound on the capacity region is derived by adapting Bergmans’ approach to the OBC. Inner bounds are derived by using superposition coding with either truncated-Gaussian (TG) distributions or discrete distributions. While the discrete distribution achieves higher rates, the TG distribution leads to a simpler representation of the achievable rate region. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), it is shown that the TG distribution is nearly optimal. It achieves the symmetric-capacity within a constant gap (independent of SNR), which approaches half a bit as the number of users grows. It also achieves the capacity region within a constant gap. At low SNR, it is shown that on-off keying (OOK) with time-division multipleaccess (TDMA) is optimal. This is interesting in practice since both OOK and TDMA have low complexity. At moderate SNR (typically [0,8] dB), a discrete distribution with a small alphabet size achieves fairly good performance.

  18. The Developmental Influence of Primary Memory Capacity on Working Memory and Academic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we investigate the development of primary memory capacity among children. Children between the ages of 5 and 8 completed 3 novel tasks (split span, interleaved lists, and a modified free-recall task) that measured primary memory by estimating the number of items in the focus of attention that could be spontaneously recalled in serial order. These tasks were calibrated against traditional measures of simple and complex span. Clear age-related changes in these primary memory estimates were observed. There were marked individual differences in primary memory capacity, but each novel measure was predictive of simple span performance. Among older children, each measure shared variance with reading and mathematics performance, whereas for younger children, the interleaved lists task was the strongest single predictor of academic ability. We argue that these novel tasks have considerable potential for the measurement of primary memory capacity and provide new, complementary ways of measuring the transient memory processes that predict academic performance. The interleaved lists task also shared features with interference control tasks, and our findings suggest that young children have a particular difficulty in resisting distraction and that variance in the ability to resist distraction is also shared with measures of educational attainment. PMID:26075630

  19. Estimation of covariance matrix on the experimental data for nuclear data evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murata, T.

    1985-01-01

    In order to evaluate fission and capture cross sections of some U and Pu isotopes for JENDL-3, we have a plan for evaluating them simultaneously with a least-squares method. For the simultaneous evaluation, the covariance matrix is required for each experimental data set. In the present work, we have studied the procedures for deriving the covariance matrix from the error data given in the experimental papers. The covariance matrices were obtained using the partial errors and estimated correlation coefficients between the same type partial errors for different neutron energy. Some examples of the covariance matrix estimation are explained and the preliminary results of the simultaneous evaluation are presented. (author)

  20. A cautionary note on generalized linear models for covariance of unbalanced longitudinal data

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jianhua Z.

    2012-03-01

    Missing data in longitudinal studies can create enormous challenges in data analysis when coupled with the positive-definiteness constraint on a covariance matrix. For complete balanced data, the Cholesky decomposition of a covariance matrix makes it possible to remove the positive-definiteness constraint and use a generalized linear model setup to jointly model the mean and covariance using covariates (Pourahmadi, 2000). However, this approach may not be directly applicable when the longitudinal data are unbalanced, as coherent regression models for the dependence across all times and subjects may not exist. Within the existing generalized linear model framework, we show how to overcome this and other challenges by embedding the covariance matrix of the observed data for each subject in a larger covariance matrix and employing the familiar EM algorithm to compute the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters and their standard errors. We illustrate and assess the methodology using real data sets and simulations. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

  1. Pairwise registration of TLS point clouds using covariance descriptors and a non-cooperative game

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zai, Dawei; Li, Jonathan; Guo, Yulan; Cheng, Ming; Huang, Pengdi; Cao, Xiaofei; Wang, Cheng

    2017-12-01

    It is challenging to automatically register TLS point clouds with noise, outliers and varying overlap. In this paper, we propose a new method for pairwise registration of TLS point clouds. We first generate covariance matrix descriptors with an adaptive neighborhood size from point clouds to find candidate correspondences, we then construct a non-cooperative game to isolate mutual compatible correspondences, which are considered as true positives. The method was tested on three models acquired by two different TLS systems. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed adaptive covariance (ACOV) descriptor is invariant to rigid transformation and robust to noise and varying resolutions. The average registration errors achieved on three models are 0.46 cm, 0.32 cm and 1.73 cm, respectively. The computational times cost on these models are about 288 s, 184 s and 903 s, respectively. Besides, our registration framework using ACOV descriptors and a game theoretic method is superior to the state-of-the-art methods in terms of both registration error and computational time. The experiment on a large outdoor scene further demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed pairwise registration framework.

  2. Covariance expressions for eigenvalue and eigenvector problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liounis, Andrew J.

    There are a number of important scientific and engineering problems whose solutions take the form of an eigenvalue--eigenvector problem. Some notable examples include solutions to linear systems of ordinary differential equations, controllability of linear systems, finite element analysis, chemical kinetics, fitting ellipses to noisy data, and optimal estimation of attitude from unit vectors. In many of these problems, having knowledge of the eigenvalue and eigenvector Jacobians is either necessary or is nearly as important as having the solution itself. For instance, Jacobians are necessary to find the uncertainty in a computed eigenvalue or eigenvector estimate. This uncertainty, which is usually represented as a covariance matrix, has been well studied for problems similar to the eigenvalue and eigenvector problem, such as singular value decomposition. There has been substantially less research on the covariance of an optimal estimate originating from an eigenvalue-eigenvector problem. In this thesis we develop two general expressions for the Jacobians of eigenvalues and eigenvectors with respect to the elements of their parent matrix. The expressions developed make use of only the parent matrix and the eigenvalue and eigenvector pair under consideration. In addition, they are applicable to any general matrix (including complex valued matrices, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors) as long as the eigenvalues are simple. Alongside this, we develop expressions that determine the uncertainty in a vector estimate obtained from an eigenvalue-eigenvector problem given the uncertainty of the terms of the matrix. The Jacobian expressions developed are numerically validated with forward finite, differencing and the covariance expressions are validated using Monte Carlo analysis. Finally, the results from this work are used to determine covariance expressions for a variety of estimation problem examples and are also applied to the design of a dynamical system.

  3. ICTP lectures on covariant quantization of the superstring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berkovits, N.

    2003-01-01

    These ICTP Trieste lecture notes review the pure spinor approach to quantizing the superstring with manifest D=10 super-Poincare invariance. The first section discusses covariant quantization of the superparticle and gives a new proof of equivalence with the Brink-Schwarz superparticle. The second section discusses the superstring in a flat background and shows how to construct vertex operators and compute tree amplitudes in a manifestly super-Poincare covariant manner. And the third section discusses quantization of the superstring in curved backgrounds which can include Ramond-Ramond flux. (author)

  4. Sp(2) covariant quantisation of general gauge theories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vazquez-Bello, J L

    1994-11-01

    The Sp(2) covariant quantization of gauge theories is studied. The geometrical interpretation of gauge theories in terms of quasi principal fibre bundles Q(M{sub s}, G{sub s}) is reviewed. It is then described the Sp(2) algebra of ordinary Yang-Mills theory. A consistent formulation of covariant Lagrangian quantisation for general gauge theories based on Sp(2) BRST symmetry is established. The original N = 1, ten dimensional superparticle is considered as an example of infinitely reducible gauge algebras, and given explicitly its Sp(2) BRST invariant action. (author). 18 refs.

  5. Sp(2) covariant quantisation of general gauge theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vazquez-Bello, J.L.

    1994-11-01

    The Sp(2) covariant quantization of gauge theories is studied. The geometrical interpretation of gauge theories in terms of quasi principal fibre bundles Q(M s , G s ) is reviewed. It is then described the Sp(2) algebra of ordinary Yang-Mills theory. A consistent formulation of covariant Lagrangian quantisation for general gauge theories based on Sp(2) BRST symmetry is established. The original N = 1, ten dimensional superparticle is considered as an example of infinitely reducible gauge algebras, and given explicitly its Sp(2) BRST invariant action. (author). 18 refs

  6. On spectral distribution of high dimensional covariation matrices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heinrich, Claudio; Podolskij, Mark

    In this paper we present the asymptotic theory for spectral distributions of high dimensional covariation matrices of Brownian diffusions. More specifically, we consider N-dimensional Itô integrals with time varying matrix-valued integrands. We observe n equidistant high frequency data points...... of the underlying Brownian diffusion and we assume that N/n -> c in (0,oo). We show that under a certain mixed spectral moment condition the spectral distribution of the empirical covariation matrix converges in distribution almost surely. Our proof relies on method of moments and applications of graph theory....

  7. ICTP lectures on covariant quantization of the superstring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berkovits, N [Instituto de Fisica Teorica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2003-08-15

    These ICTP Trieste lecture notes review the pure spinor approach to quantizing the superstring with manifest D=10 super-Poincare invariance. The first section discusses covariant quantization of the superparticle and gives a new proof of equivalence with the Brink-Schwarz superparticle. The second section discusses the superstring in a flat background and shows how to construct vertex operators and compute tree amplitudes in a manifestly super-Poincare covariant manner. And the third section discusses quantization of the superstring in curved backgrounds which can include Ramond-Ramond flux. (author)

  8. SIMULATIONS OF WIDE-FIELD WEAK-LENSING SURVEYS. II. COVARIANCE MATRIX OF REAL-SPACE CORRELATION FUNCTIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Masanori; Matsubara, Takahiko; Takada, Masahiro; Hamana, Takashi

    2011-01-01

    Using 1000 ray-tracing simulations for a Λ-dominated cold dark model in Sato et al., we study the covariance matrix of cosmic shear correlation functions, which is the standard statistics used in previous measurements. The shear correlation function of a particular separation angle is affected by Fourier modes over a wide range of multipoles, even beyond a survey area, which complicates the analysis of the covariance matrix. To overcome such obstacles we first construct Gaussian shear simulations from the 1000 realizations and then use the Gaussian simulations to disentangle the Gaussian covariance contribution to the covariance matrix we measured from the original simulations. We found that an analytical formula of Gaussian covariance overestimates the covariance amplitudes due to an effect of the finite survey area. Furthermore, the clean separation of the Gaussian covariance allows us to examine the non-Gaussian covariance contributions as a function of separation angles and source redshifts. For upcoming surveys with typical source redshifts of z s = 0.6 and 1.0, the non-Gaussian contribution to the diagonal covariance components at 1 arcmin scales is greater than the Gaussian contribution by a factor of 20 and 10, respectively. Predictions based on the halo model qualitatively well reproduce the simulation results, however show a sizable disagreement in the covariance amplitudes. By combining these simulation results we develop a fitting formula to the covariance matrix for a survey with arbitrary area coverage, taking into account effects of the finiteness of survey area on the Gaussian covariance.

  9. Covariation assessment for neutral and emotional verbal stimuli in paranoid delusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díez-Alegría, Cristina; Vázquez, Carmelo; Hernández-Lloreda, María J

    2008-11-01

    Selective processing of emotion-relevant information is considered a central feature in various types of psychopathology, yet the mechanisms underlying these biases are not well understood. One of the first steps in processing information is to gather data to judge the covariation or association of events. The aim of this study was to explore whether patients with persecutory delusions would show a covariation bias when processing stimuli related to social threat. We assessed estimations of covariation in-patients with current persecutory (CP) beliefs (N=40), patients with past persecutory (PP) beliefs (N=25), and a non-clinical control (NC) group (N=36). Covariation estimations were assessed under three different experimental conditions. The first two conditions focused on neutral behaviours (Condition 1) and psychological traits (Condition 2) for two distant cultural groups, while the third condition included self-relevant material by exposing the participant to either protective social (positive) or threatening social (negative) statements about the participant or a third person. Our results showed that all participants were precise in their covariation estimations. However, when judging covariation for self-relevant sentences related to social statements (Condition 3), all groups showed a significant tendency to associate positive social interaction (protection themed) sentences to the self. Yet, when using sentences related to social-threat, the CP group showed a bias consisting of overestimating the number of self-referent sentences. Our results showed that there was no specific covariation assessment bias related to paranoid beliefs. Both NCs and participants with persecutory beliefs showed a similar pattern of results when processing neutral or social threat-related sentences. The implications for understanding of the role of self-referent information processing biases in delusion formation are discussed.

  10. The generally covariant locality principle - a new paradigm for local quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brunetti, R.; Fredenhagen, K.; Verch, R.

    2002-05-01

    A new approach to the model-independent description of quantum field theories will be introduced in the present work. The main feature of this new approach is to incorporate in a local sense the principle of general covariance of general relativity, thus giving rise to the concept of a locally covariant quantum field theory. Such locally covariant quantum field theories will be described mathematically in terms of covariant functors between the categories, on one side, of globally hyperbolic spacetimes with isometric embeddings as morphisms and, on the other side, of *-algebras with unital injective *-endomorphisms as morphisms. Moreover, locally covariant quantum fields can be described in this framework as natural transformations between certain functors. The usual Haag-Kastler framework of nets of operator-algebras over a fixed spacetime background-manifold, together with covariant automorphic actions of the isometry-group of the background spacetime, can be re-gained from this new approach as a special case. Examples of this new approach are also outlined. In case that a locally covariant quantum field theory obeys the time-slice axiom, one can naturally associate to it certain automorphic actions, called ''relative Cauchy-evolutions'', which describe the dynamical reaction of the quantum field theory to a local change of spacetime background metrics. The functional derivative of a relative Cauchy-evolution with respect to the spacetime metric is found to be a divergence-free quantity which has, as will be demonstrated in an example, the significance of an energy-momentum tensor for the locally covariant quantum field theory. Furthermore, we discuss the functorial properties of state spaces of locally covariant quantum field theories that entail the validity of the principle of local definiteness. (orig.)

  11. Simultaneous Mean and Covariance Correction Filter for Orbit Estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaoxu; Pan, Quan; Ding, Zhengtao; Ma, Zhengya

    2018-05-05

    This paper proposes a novel filtering design, from a viewpoint of identification instead of the conventional nonlinear estimation schemes (NESs), to improve the performance of orbit state estimation for a space target. First, a nonlinear perturbation is viewed or modeled as an unknown input (UI) coupled with the orbit state, to avoid the intractable nonlinear perturbation integral (INPI) required by NESs. Then, a simultaneous mean and covariance correction filter (SMCCF), based on a two-stage expectation maximization (EM) framework, is proposed to simply and analytically fit or identify the first two moments (FTM) of the perturbation (viewed as UI), instead of directly computing such the INPI in NESs. Orbit estimation performance is greatly improved by utilizing the fit UI-FTM to simultaneously correct the state estimation and its covariance. Third, depending on whether enough information is mined, SMCCF should outperform existing NESs or the standard identification algorithms (which view the UI as a constant independent of the state and only utilize the identified UI-mean to correct the state estimation, regardless of its covariance), since it further incorporates the useful covariance information in addition to the mean of the UI. Finally, our simulations demonstrate the superior performance of SMCCF via an orbit estimation example.

  12. Structural covariance networks across the life span, from 6 to 94 years of age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth DuPre

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Structural covariance examines covariation of gray matter morphology between brain regions and across individuals. Despite significant interest in the influence of age on structural covariance patterns, no study to date has provided a complete life span perspective—bridging childhood with early, middle, and late adulthood—on the development of structural covariance networks. Here, we investigate the life span trajectories of structural covariance in six canonical neurocognitive networks: default, dorsal attention, frontoparietal control, somatomotor, ventral attention, and visual. By combining data from five open-access data sources, we examine the structural covariance trajectories of these networks from 6 to 94 years of age in a sample of 1,580 participants. Using partial least squares, we show that structural covariance patterns across the life span exhibit two significant, age-dependent trends. The first trend is a stable pattern whose integrity declines over the life span. The second trend is an inverted-U that differentiates young adulthood from other age groups. Hub regions, including posterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, appear particularly influential in the expression of this second age-dependent trend. Overall, our results suggest that structural covariance provides a reliable definition of neurocognitive networks across the life span and reveal both shared and network-specific trajectories. The importance of life span perspectives is increasingly apparent in understanding normative interactions of large-scale neurocognitive networks. Although recent work has made significant strides in understanding the functional and structural connectivity of these networks, there has been comparatively little attention to life span trajectories of structural covariance networks. In this study we examine patterns of structural covariance across the life span for six neurocognitive networks. Our results suggest that networks exhibit

  13. Single-Parent Families: The Role of Parent's and Child's Gender on Academic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sang Min; Kushner, Jason

    2008-01-01

    Using national survey data, the present study investigated whether adolescents living with parents of their same gender fare better on academic achievement than their peers living with opposite-gender parents. Multiple analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) procedures were employed to examine the effects of the children's gender in single-father and…

  14. Parent Involvement and Science Achievement: A Cross-Classified Multilevel Latent Growth Curve Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Ursula Y.; Hull, Darrell M.

    2014-01-01

    The authors examined science achievement growth at Grades 3, 5, and 8 and parent school involvement at the same time points using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999. Data were analyzed using cross-classified multilevel latent growth curve modeling with time invariant and varying covariates. School-based…

  15. Aerobic capacity and its relationship with parameters of health-related fitness in schoolchildren

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Rosa Guillamón

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between aerobic capacity and other parameters determining fitness in primary school. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study, 298 schoolchildren (139 males and 159 females aged 8-12. Body composition (weight and height and physical fitness (capacity, motor aerobic and musculoskeletal was assessed by ALPHA-Fitness battery. Aerobic capacity and body mass index (under/normal-weight and overweight/obesity were categorized using standard criteria. The variable motor / muscle overall capacity was calculated, and the maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max was indirectly estimated.  Results: The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA found that men have better values in the test 4x10m (p <0.001, longitudinal jump (p <0.001, Course-Navette (p <0.001 and in VO2max (p <0.001. The ANOVA test showed that schoolchildren with better aerobic capacity have lower weight and body mass index (p <0.001 for both, better performance in the test longitudinal jump (p <0.001 and better overall motor / muscle capacity, and increased VO2max (p <0.001 for both. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that schoolchildren with healthy cardiorespiratory fitness had better physical fitness and are more likely to have healthy anthropometric parameters.

  16. Modelling the Covariance Structure in Marginal Multivariate Count Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bonat, W. H.; Olivero, J.; Grande-Vega, M.

    2017-01-01

    The main goal of this article is to present a flexible statistical modelling framework to deal with multivariate count data along with longitudinal and repeated measures structures. The covariance structure for each response variable is defined in terms of a covariance link function combined...... be used to indicate whether there was statistical evidence of a decline in blue duikers and other species hunted during the study period. Determining whether observed drops in the number of animals hunted are indeed true is crucial to assess whether species depletion effects are taking place in exploited...... with a matrix linear predictor involving known matrices. In order to specify the joint covariance matrix for the multivariate response vector, the generalized Kronecker product is employed. We take into account the count nature of the data by means of the power dispersion function associated with the Poisson...

  17. Survival analysis with functional covariates for partial follow-up studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Hong-Bin; Wu, Tong Tong; Rapoport, Aaron P; Tan, Ming

    2016-12-01

    Predictive or prognostic analysis plays an increasingly important role in the era of personalized medicine to identify subsets of patients whom the treatment may benefit the most. Although various time-dependent covariate models are available, such models require that covariates be followed in the whole follow-up period. This article studies a new class of functional survival models where the covariates are only monitored in a time interval that is shorter than the whole follow-up period. This paper is motivated by the analysis of a longitudinal study on advanced myeloma patients who received stem cell transplants and T cell infusions after the transplants. The absolute lymphocyte cell counts were collected serially during hospitalization. Those patients are still followed up if they are alive after hospitalization, while their absolute lymphocyte cell counts cannot be measured after that. Another complication is that absolute lymphocyte cell counts are sparsely and irregularly measured. The conventional method using Cox model with time-varying covariates is not applicable because of the different lengths of observation periods. Analysis based on each single observation obviously underutilizes available information and, more seriously, may yield misleading results. This so-called partial follow-up study design represents increasingly common predictive modeling problem where we have serial multiple biomarkers up to a certain time point, which is shorter than the total length of follow-up. We therefore propose a solution to the partial follow-up design. The new method combines functional principal components analysis and survival analysis with selection of those functional covariates. It also has the advantage of handling sparse and irregularly measured longitudinal observations of covariates and measurement errors. Our analysis based on functional principal components reveals that it is the patterns of the trajectories of absolute lymphocyte cell counts, instead of

  18. Assessment of balance indicators for key fleet segments and review of national reports on Member States efforts to achieve balance between fleet capacity and fishing opportunities (STECF-13-28)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abella, Alvaro J.; Accadia, Paolo; Berkenhagen, Jörg

    The Expert Working Group meeting of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries EWG-13-16 on Review of national reports on Member States efforts to achieve balance between fleet capacity and fishing opportunities was from September 29 – October 4, 2013 in Edinburgh. The report...

  19. Natural Covariant Planck Scale Cutoffs and the Cosmic Microwave Background Spectrum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatwin-Davies, Aidan; Kempf, Achim; Martin, Robert T W

    2017-07-21

    We calculate the impact of quantum gravity-motivated ultraviolet cutoffs on inflationary predictions for the cosmic microwave background spectrum. We model the ultraviolet cutoffs fully covariantly to avoid possible artifacts of covariance breaking. Imposing these covariant cutoffs results in the production of small, characteristically k-dependent oscillations in the spectrum. The size of the effect scales linearly with the ratio of the Planck to Hubble lengths during inflation. Consequently, the relative size of the effect could be as large as one part in 10^{5}; i.e., eventual observability may not be ruled out.

  20. Covariant Theory of Gravitation in the Spacetime with Finsler Structure

    OpenAIRE

    Huang, Xin-Bing

    2007-01-01

    The theory of gravitation in the spacetime with Finsler structure is constructed. It is shown that the theory keeps general covariance. Such theory reduces to Einstein's general relativity when the Finsler structure is Riemannian. Therefore, this covariant theory of gravitation is an elegant realization of Einstein's thoughts on gravitation in the spacetime with Finsler structure.

  1. SG39 Deliverables. Comments on Covariance Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yokoyama, Kenji

    2015-01-01

    The covariance matrix of a scattered data set, x_i (i=1,n), must be symmetric and positive-definite. As one of WPEC/SG39 contributions to the SG40/CIELO project, several comments or recommendations on the covariance data are described here from the viewpoint of nuclear-data users. To make the comments concrete and useful for nuclear-data evaluators, the covariance data of the latest evaluated nuclear data library, JENDL-4.0 and ENDF/B-VII.1 are treated here as the representative materials. The surveyed nuclides are five isotopes that are most important for fast reactor application. The nuclides, reactions and energy regions dealt with are followings: Pu-239: fission (2.5∼10 keV) and capture (2.5∼10 keV), U-235: fission (500 eV∼10 keV) and capture (500 eV∼30 keV), U-238: fission (1∼10 MeV), capture (below 20 keV, 20∼150 keV), inelastic (above 100 keV) and elastic (above 20 keV), Fe-56: elastic (below 850 keV) and average scattering cosine (above 10 keV), and, Na-23: capture (600 eV∼600 keV), inelastic (above 1 MeV) and elastic (around 2 keV)

  2. Non-coherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion

    KAUST Repository

    Agrawal, Anurag

    2011-06-01

    We study the Rayleigh fading non-coherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion, where neither the sender nor the receivers have access to instantaneous channel state information (CSI) of any channel. We present two results. At high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), the secret-key capacity is bounded in SNR, regardless of the number of antennas at each terminal. Second, for a system with a single antenna at both the legitimate and the eavesdropper terminals and an arbitrary number of transmit antennas, the secret-key capacity-achieving input distribution is discrete, with a finite number of mass points. Numerically we observe that at low-SNR, the capacity achieving distribution has two mass points with one of them at the origin. © 2011 IEEE.

  3. Non-coherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion

    KAUST Repository

    Agrawal, Anurag; Rezki, Zouheir; Khisti, Ashish J.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2011-01-01

    We study the Rayleigh fading non-coherent capacity of secret-key agreement with public discussion, where neither the sender nor the receivers have access to instantaneous channel state information (CSI) of any channel. We present two results. At high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), the secret-key capacity is bounded in SNR, regardless of the number of antennas at each terminal. Second, for a system with a single antenna at both the legitimate and the eavesdropper terminals and an arbitrary number of transmit antennas, the secret-key capacity-achieving input distribution is discrete, with a finite number of mass points. Numerically we observe that at low-SNR, the capacity achieving distribution has two mass points with one of them at the origin. © 2011 IEEE.

  4. Improving chemical species tomography of turbulent flows using covariance estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grauer, Samuel J; Hadwin, Paul J; Daun, Kyle J

    2017-05-01

    Chemical species tomography (CST) experiments can be divided into limited-data and full-rank cases. Both require solving ill-posed inverse problems, and thus the measurement data must be supplemented with prior information to carry out reconstructions. The Bayesian framework formalizes the role of additive information, expressed as the mean and covariance of a joint-normal prior probability density function. We present techniques for estimating the spatial covariance of a flow under limited-data and full-rank conditions. Our results show that incorporating a covariance estimate into CST reconstruction via a Bayesian prior increases the accuracy of instantaneous estimates. Improvements are especially dramatic in real-time limited-data CST, which is directly applicable to many industrially relevant experiments.

  5. Covariant constraints for generic massive gravity and analysis of its characteristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deser, S.; Sandora, M.; Waldron, A.

    2014-01-01

    We perform a covariant constraint analysis of massive gravity valid for its entire parameter space, demonstrating that the model generically propagates 5 degrees of freedom; this is also verified by a new and streamlined Hamiltonian description. The constraint's covariant expression permits...

  6. Research projects and capacity building | Breen | Water SA

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... by capacity building in the context of research projects. Based on this interpretation, reasonable and unreasonable expectations with respect to the extent to which capacity building can be achieved within a given project duration are discussed. A model is suggested, which would improve understanding and delivery and ...

  7. The evolution of phenotypic integration: How directional selection reshapes covariation in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penna, Anna; Melo, Diogo; Bernardi, Sandra; Oyarzabal, Maria Inés; Marroig, Gabriel

    2017-10-01

    Variation is the basis for evolution, and understanding how variation can evolve is a central question in biology. In complex phenotypes, covariation plays an even more important role, as genetic associations between traits can bias and alter evolutionary change. Covariation can be shaped by complex interactions between loci, and this genetic architecture can also change during evolution. In this article, we analyzed mouse lines experimentally selected for changes in size to address the question of how multivariate covariation changes under directional selection, as well as to identify the consequences of these changes to evolution. Selected lines showed a clear restructuring of covariation in their cranium and, instead of depleting their size variation, these lines increased their magnitude of integration and the proportion of variation associated with the direction of selection. This result is compatible with recent theoretical works on the evolution of covariation that take the complexities of genetic architecture into account. This result also contradicts the traditional view of the effects of selection on available covariation and suggests a much more complex view of how populations respond to selection. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  8. On the bilinear covariants associated to mass dimension one spinors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, J.M.H. da; Villalobos, C.H.C.; Rogerio, R.J.B. [DFQ, UNESP, Guaratingueta, SP (Brazil); Scatena, E. [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina-CEE, Blumenau, SC (Brazil)

    2016-10-15

    In this paper we approach the issue of Clifford algebra basis deformation, allowing for bilinear covariants associated to Elko spinors which satisfy the Fierz-Pauli-Kofink identities. We present a complete analysis of covariance, taking into account the involved dual structure associated to Elko spinors. Moreover, the possible generalizations to the recently presented new dual structure are performed. (orig.)

  9. The Covariance Adjustment Approaches for Combining Incomparable Cox Regressions Caused by Unbalanced Covariates Adjustment: A Multivariate Meta-Analysis Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tania Dehesh

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Univariate meta-analysis (UM procedure, as a technique that provides a single overall result, has become increasingly popular. Neglecting the existence of other concomitant covariates in the models leads to loss of treatment efficiency. Our aim was proposing four new approximation approaches for the covariance matrix of the coefficients, which is not readily available for the multivariate generalized least square (MGLS method as a multivariate meta-analysis approach. Methods. We evaluated the efficiency of four new approaches including zero correlation (ZC, common correlation (CC, estimated correlation (EC, and multivariate multilevel correlation (MMC on the estimation bias, mean square error (MSE, and 95% probability coverage of the confidence interval (CI in the synthesis of Cox proportional hazard models coefficients in a simulation study. Result. Comparing the results of the simulation study on the MSE, bias, and CI of the estimated coefficients indicated that MMC approach was the most accurate procedure compared to EC, CC, and ZC procedures. The precision ranking of the four approaches according to all above settings was MMC ≥ EC ≥ CC ≥ ZC. Conclusion. This study highlights advantages of MGLS meta-analysis on UM approach. The results suggested the use of MMC procedure to overcome the lack of information for having a complete covariance matrix of the coefficients.

  10. The Covariance Adjustment Approaches for Combining Incomparable Cox Regressions Caused by Unbalanced Covariates Adjustment: A Multivariate Meta-Analysis Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dehesh, Tania; Zare, Najaf; Ayatollahi, Seyyed Mohammad Taghi

    2015-01-01

    Univariate meta-analysis (UM) procedure, as a technique that provides a single overall result, has become increasingly popular. Neglecting the existence of other concomitant covariates in the models leads to loss of treatment efficiency. Our aim was proposing four new approximation approaches for the covariance matrix of the coefficients, which is not readily available for the multivariate generalized least square (MGLS) method as a multivariate meta-analysis approach. We evaluated the efficiency of four new approaches including zero correlation (ZC), common correlation (CC), estimated correlation (EC), and multivariate multilevel correlation (MMC) on the estimation bias, mean square error (MSE), and 95% probability coverage of the confidence interval (CI) in the synthesis of Cox proportional hazard models coefficients in a simulation study. Comparing the results of the simulation study on the MSE, bias, and CI of the estimated coefficients indicated that MMC approach was the most accurate procedure compared to EC, CC, and ZC procedures. The precision ranking of the four approaches according to all above settings was MMC ≥ EC ≥ CC ≥ ZC. This study highlights advantages of MGLS meta-analysis on UM approach. The results suggested the use of MMC procedure to overcome the lack of information for having a complete covariance matrix of the coefficients.

  11. Laser Covariance Vibrometry for Unsymmetrical Mode Detection

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kobold, Michael C

    2006-01-01

    Simulated cross - spectral covariance (CSC) from optical return from simulated surface vibration indicates CW phase modulation may be an appropriate phenomenology for adequate classification of vehicles by structural mode...

  12. Training Classifiers under Covariate Shift by Constructing the Maximum Consistent Distribution Subset

    OpenAIRE

    Yu, Xu; Yu, Miao; Xu, Li-xun; Yang, Jing; Xie, Zhi-qiang

    2015-01-01

    The assumption that the training and testing samples are drawn from the same distribution is violated under covariate shift setting, and most algorithms for the covariate shift setting try to first estimate distributions and then reweight samples based on the distributions estimated. Due to the difficulty of estimating a correct distribution, previous methods can not get good classification performance. In this paper, we firstly present two types of covariate shift problems. Rather than estim...

  13. The covariance matrix of neutron spectra used in the REAL 84 exercise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matzke, M.

    1986-08-01

    Covariance matrices of continuous functions are discussed. It is pointed out that the number of non-vanishing eigenvalues corresponds to the number of random variables (parameters) involved in the construction of the continuous functions. The covariance matrices used in the REAL 84 international intercomparison of unfolding methods of neutron spectra are investigated. It is shown that a small rank of these covariance matrices leads to a restriction of the possible solution spectra. (orig.) [de

  14. Structural covariance networks across the life span, from 6 to 94 years of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DuPre, Elizabeth; Spreng, R Nathan

    2017-10-01

    Structural covariance examines covariation of gray matter morphology between brain regions and across individuals. Despite significant interest in the influence of age on structural covariance patterns, no study to date has provided a complete life span perspective-bridging childhood with early, middle, and late adulthood-on the development of structural covariance networks. Here, we investigate the life span trajectories of structural covariance in six canonical neurocognitive networks: default, dorsal attention, frontoparietal control, somatomotor, ventral attention, and visual. By combining data from five open-access data sources, we examine the structural covariance trajectories of these networks from 6 to 94 years of age in a sample of 1,580 participants. Using partial least squares, we show that structural covariance patterns across the life span exhibit two significant, age-dependent trends. The first trend is a stable pattern whose integrity declines over the life span. The second trend is an inverted-U that differentiates young adulthood from other age groups. Hub regions, including posterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, appear particularly influential in the expression of this second age-dependent trend. Overall, our results suggest that structural covariance provides a reliable definition of neurocognitive networks across the life span and reveal both shared and network-specific trajectories.

  15. Criteria of the validation of experimental and evaluated covariance data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badikov, S.

    2008-01-01

    The criteria of the validation of experimental and evaluated covariance data are reviewed. In particular: a) the criterion of the positive definiteness for covariance matrices, b) the relationship between the 'integral' experimental and estimated uncertainties, c) the validity of the statistical invariants, d) the restrictions imposed to correlations between experimental errors, are described. Applying these criteria in nuclear data evaluation was considered and 4 particular points have been examined. First preserving positive definiteness of covariance matrices in case of arbitrary transformation of a random vector was considered, properties of the covariance matrices in operations widely used in neutron and reactor physics (splitting and collapsing energy groups, averaging the physical values over energy groups, estimation parameters on the basis of measurements by means of generalized least squares method) were studied. Secondly, an algorithm for comparison of experimental and estimated 'integral' uncertainties was developed, square root of determinant of a covariance matrix is recommended for use in nuclear data evaluation as a measure of 'integral' uncertainty for vectors of experimental and estimated values. Thirdly, a set of statistical invariants-values which are preserved in statistical processing was presented. And fourthly, the inequality that signals a correlation between experimental errors that leads to unphysical values is given. An application is given concerning the cross-section of the (n,t) reaction on Li 6 with a neutron incident energy comprised between 1 and 100 keV

  16. Altered structural covariance of the striatum in functional dyspepsia patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, P; Zeng, F; Yang, F; Wang, J; Liu, X; Wang, Q; Zhou, G; Zhang, D; Zhu, M; Zhao, R; Wang, A; Gong, Q; Liang, F

    2014-08-01

    Functional dyspepsia (FD) is thought to be involved in dysregulation within the brain-gut axis. Recently, altered striatum activation has been reported in patients with FD. However, the gray matter (GM) volumes in the striatum and structural covariance patterns of this area are rarely explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the GM volumes and structural covariance patterns of the striatum between FD patients and healthy controls (HCs). T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained from 44 FD patients and 39 HCs. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was adopted to examine the GM volumes in the two groups. The caudate- or putamen-related regions identified from VBM analysis were then used as seeds to map the whole brain voxel-wise structural covariance patterns. Finally, a correlation analysis was used to investigate the effects of FD symptoms on the striatum. The results showed increased GM volumes in the bilateral putamen and right caudate. Compared with the structural covariance patterns of the HCs, the FD-related differences were mainly located in the amygdala, hippocampus/parahippocampus (HIPP/paraHIPP), thalamus, lingual gyrus, and cerebellum. And significant positive correlations were found between the volumes in the striatum and the FD duration in the patients. These findings provided preliminary evidence for GM changes in the striatum and different structural covariance patterns in patients with FD. The current results might expand our understanding of the pathophysiology of FD. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Multilevel covariance regression with correlated random effects in the mean and variance structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintero, Adrian; Lesaffre, Emmanuel

    2017-09-01

    Multivariate regression methods generally assume a constant covariance matrix for the observations. In case a heteroscedastic model is needed, the parametric and nonparametric covariance regression approaches can be restrictive in the literature. We propose a multilevel regression model for the mean and covariance structure, including random intercepts in both components and allowing for correlation between them. The implied conditional covariance function can be different across clusters as a result of the random effect in the variance structure. In addition, allowing for correlation between the random intercepts in the mean and covariance makes the model convenient for skewedly distributed responses. Furthermore, it permits us to analyse directly the relation between the mean response level and the variability in each cluster. Parameter estimation is carried out via Gibbs sampling. We compare the performance of our model to other covariance modelling approaches in a simulation study. Finally, the proposed model is applied to the RN4CAST dataset to identify the variables that impact burnout of nurses in Belgium. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Asymptotic analysis of the role of spatial sampling for covariance parameter estimation of Gaussian processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bachoc, Francois

    2014-01-01

    Covariance parameter estimation of Gaussian processes is analyzed in an asymptotic framework. The spatial sampling is a randomly perturbed regular grid and its deviation from the perfect regular grid is controlled by a single scalar regularity parameter. Consistency and asymptotic normality are proved for the Maximum Likelihood and Cross Validation estimators of the covariance parameters. The asymptotic covariance matrices of the covariance parameter estimators are deterministic functions of the regularity parameter. By means of an exhaustive study of the asymptotic covariance matrices, it is shown that the estimation is improved when the regular grid is strongly perturbed. Hence, an asymptotic confirmation is given to the commonly admitted fact that using groups of observation points with small spacing is beneficial to covariance function estimation. Finally, the prediction error, using a consistent estimator of the covariance parameters, is analyzed in detail. (authors)

  19. Retrodictive determinism. [covariant and transformational behavior of tensor fields in hydrodynamics and thermodynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiehn, R. M.

    1976-01-01

    With respect to irreversible, non-homeomorphic maps, contravariant and covariant tensor fields have distinctly natural covariance and transformational behavior. For thermodynamic processes which are non-adiabatic, the fact that the process cannot be represented by a homeomorphic map emphasizes the logical arrow of time, an idea which encompasses a principle of retrodictive determinism for covariant tensor fields.

  20. Fission yield covariance generation and uncertainty propagation through fission pulse decay heat calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fiorito, L.; Diez, C.J.; Cabellos, O.; Stankovskiy, A.; Van den Eynde, G.; Labeau, P.E.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Fission yield data and uncertainty comparison between major nuclear data libraries. • Fission yield covariance generation through Bayesian technique. • Study of the effect of fission yield correlations on decay heat calculations. • Covariance information contribute to reduce fission pulse decay heat uncertainty. - Abstract: Fission product yields are fundamental parameters in burnup/activation calculations and the impact of their uncertainties was widely studied in the past. Evaluations of these uncertainties were released, still without covariance data. Therefore, the nuclear community expressed the need of full fission yield covariance matrices to be able to produce inventory calculation results that take into account the complete uncertainty data. State-of-the-art fission yield data and methodologies for fission yield covariance generation were researched in this work. Covariance matrices were generated and compared to the original data stored in the library. Then, we focused on the effect of fission yield covariance information on fission pulse decay heat results for thermal fission of 235 U. Calculations were carried out using different libraries and codes (ACAB and ALEPH-2) after introducing the new covariance values. Results were compared with those obtained with the uncertainty data currently provided by the libraries. The uncertainty quantification was performed first with Monte Carlo sampling and then compared with linear perturbation. Indeed, correlations between fission yields strongly affect the uncertainty of decay heat. Eventually, a sensitivity analysis of fission product yields to fission pulse decay heat was performed in order to provide a full set of the most sensitive nuclides for such a calculation

  1. Covariant gauges for constrained systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gogilidze, S.A.; Khvedelidze, A.M.; Pervushin, V.N.

    1995-01-01

    The method of constructing of extended phase space for singular theories which permits the consideration of covariant gauges without the introducing of a ghost fields, is proposed. The extension of the phase space is carried out by the identification of the initial theory with an equivalent theory with higher derivatives and applying to it the Ostrogradsky method of Hamiltonian description. 7 refs

  2. Blind Source Separation Based on Covariance Ratio and Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The computation amount in blind source separation based on bioinspired intelligence optimization is high. In order to solve this problem, we propose an effective blind source separation algorithm based on the artificial bee colony algorithm. In the proposed algorithm, the covariance ratio of the signals is utilized as the objective function and the artificial bee colony algorithm is used to solve it. The source signal component which is separated out, is then wiped off from mixtures using the deflation method. All the source signals can be recovered successfully by repeating the separation process. Simulation experiments demonstrate that significant improvement of the computation amount and the quality of signal separation is achieved by the proposed algorithm when compared to previous algorithms.

  3. Covariant field theory of closed superstrings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siopsis, G.

    1989-01-01

    The authors construct covariant field theories of both type-II and heterotic strings. Toroidal compactification is also considered. The interaction vertices are based on Witten's vertex representing three strings interacting at the mid-point. For closed strings, the authors thus obtain a bilocal interaction

  4. On covariance structure in noisy, big data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paffenroth, Randy C.; Nong, Ryan; Du Toit, Philip C.

    2013-09-01

    Herein we describe theory and algorithms for detecting covariance structures in large, noisy data sets. Our work uses ideas from matrix completion and robust principal component analysis to detect the presence of low-rank covariance matrices, even when the data is noisy, distorted by large corruptions, and only partially observed. In fact, the ability to handle partial observations combined with ideas from randomized algorithms for matrix decomposition enables us to produce asymptotically fast algorithms. Herein we will provide numerical demonstrations of the methods and their convergence properties. While such methods have applicability to many problems, including mathematical finance, crime analysis, and other large-scale sensor fusion problems, our inspiration arises from applying these methods in the context of cyber network intrusion detection.

  5. Regularization with higher covariant derivatives, anomalies and the Adler-Bardeen theorem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Day, M.

    1983-01-01

    Complications arising in the renormalization of a theory regulated by the method of higher covariant derivatives supplemented with a modified Pauli-Villars regularization are discussed. The proof of the Adler-Bardeen theorem using the method of higher covariant derivatives has to be modified. (orig.)

  6. QED on curved background and on manifolds with boundaries: Unitarity versus covariance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vassilevich, D.V.

    1994-11-01

    Some recent results show that the covariant path integral and the integral over physical degrees of freedom give contradicting results on curved background and on manifolds with boundaries. This looks like a conflict between unitarity and covariance. We argue that this effect is due to the use of non-covariant measure on the space of physical degrees of freedom. Starting with the reduced phase space path integral and using covariant measure throughout computations we recover standard path integral in the Lorentz gauge and the Moss and Poletti BRST-invariant boundary conditions. We also demonstrate by direct calculations that in the approach based on Gaussian path integral on the space of physical degrees of freedom some basic symmetries are broken. (author). 39 refs

  7. ℋ-matrix techniques for approximating large covariance matrices and estimating its parameters

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander; Genton, Marc G.; Sun, Ying; Keyes, David E.

    2016-01-01

    In this work the task is to use the available measurements to estimate unknown hyper-parameters (variance, smoothness parameter and covariance length) of the covariance function. We do it by maximizing the joint log-likelihood function. This is a non-convex and non-linear problem. To overcome cubic complexity in linear algebra, we approximate the discretised covariance function in the hierarchical (ℋ-) matrix format. The ℋ-matrix format has a log-linear computational cost and storage O(knlogn), where rank k is a small integer. On each iteration step of the optimization procedure the covariance matrix itself, its determinant and its Cholesky decomposition are recomputed within ℋ-matrix format. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  8. ℋ-matrix techniques for approximating large covariance matrices and estimating its parameters

    KAUST Repository

    Litvinenko, Alexander

    2016-10-25

    In this work the task is to use the available measurements to estimate unknown hyper-parameters (variance, smoothness parameter and covariance length) of the covariance function. We do it by maximizing the joint log-likelihood function. This is a non-convex and non-linear problem. To overcome cubic complexity in linear algebra, we approximate the discretised covariance function in the hierarchical (ℋ-) matrix format. The ℋ-matrix format has a log-linear computational cost and storage O(knlogn), where rank k is a small integer. On each iteration step of the optimization procedure the covariance matrix itself, its determinant and its Cholesky decomposition are recomputed within ℋ-matrix format. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  9. The causes of variation in the presence of genetic covariance between sexual traits and preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler-Finn, Kasey D; Rodríguez, Rafael L

    2016-05-01

    Mating traits and mate preferences often show patterns of tight correspondence across populations and species. These patterns of apparent coevolution may result from a genetic association between traits and preferences (i.e. trait-preference genetic covariance). We review the literature on trait-preference covariance to determine its prevalence and potential biological relevance. Of the 43 studies we identified, a surprising 63% detected covariance. We test multiple hypotheses for factors that may influence the likelihood of detecting this covariance. The main predictor was the presence of genetic variation in mate preferences, which is one of the three main conditions required for the establishment of covariance. In fact, 89% of the nine studies where heritability of preference was high detected covariance. Variables pertaining to the experimental methods and type of traits involved in different studies did not greatly influence the detection of trait-preference covariance. Trait-preference genetic covariance appears to be widespread and therefore represents an important and currently underappreciated factor in the coevolution of traits and preferences. © 2015 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

  10. Cosmological tests of a scale covariant theory of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Owen, J.R.

    1979-01-01

    The Friedmann models with #betta# = 0 are subjected to several optical and radio tests within the standard and scale covariant theories of gravitation. Within standard cosmology, both interferometric and scintillation data are interpreted in terms of selection effects and evolution. Within the context of scale covariant cosmology are derived: (1) the full solution to Einstein's gravitational equations in atomic units for a matter dominated universe, (2) the study of the magnitude vs. redshift relation for elliptical galaxies, (3) the derivation of the evolutionary parameter used in (2), (4) the isophotal angular diameter vs. redshift relation, (5) the metric angular diameter vs. redshift relation, (6) the N(m) vs. magnitude relation for QSO's and their m vs z relation, and finally (7) the integrated and differential expressions for the number count vs. radio flux test. The results, both in graphical and tabular form, are presented for four gauges (i.e. parametrized relations between atomic and gravitational units). No contradiction between the new theory and the data is found with any of the tests studied. For some gauges, which are suggested by a recent analysis of the time variation of the Moon's period which is discussed in the text in terms of the new theory, the effect of the deceleration parameter on cosmological predictions is enhanced over standard cosmology and it is possible to say that the data are more easily reconciled with an open universe. Within the same gauge, the main features of both the N(m) vs. m and m-z test are accounted for by the same simple evolutionary parametrization whereas different evolutionary rates were indicated by interpretation within standard cosmology. The same consistency, lacking in standard cosmology on this level of analysis, is achieved for the integrated and differential number count - radio flux tests within the same gauge

  11. Error Covariance Estimation of Mesoscale Data Assimilation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Xu, Qin

    2005-01-01

    The goal of this project is to explore and develop new methods of error covariance estimation that will provide necessary statistical descriptions of prediction and observation errors for mesoscale data assimilation...

  12. Achieving Health SDG 3 in Africa through NGO Capacity Building - Insights from the Gates Foundation Investment in Partnership in Advocacy for Child and Family Health (PACFaH) Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Judith-Ann

    2016-09-01

    As global impact investors gear up to support roll out of the Sustainable Development Goals in the developing world, African CSOs are urged to ensure that governments shift health funding sources away from aid and loans to innovative domestic funding sources which prioritize health. To do so, African CSOs require support to build their capacity for policy and budget advocacy. Governments and development partners have failed to invest in long term capacity building projects for indigenous NGOs and instead support INGOs to push the health advocacy agenda forward. In Nigeria, the Gates foundation has risen to the challenge of building capacity of indigenous NGOs for social accountability in child and family health. The 3 year pilot project - Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health Project (PACFaH) mainstreams capacity building as an effective implementation strategy for 8 indigenous NGOs to deliver on - policy; budgetary; legislative; and administrative advocacy in four issue areas: 1) family planning; 2) nutrition; 3) routine immunization; and 4) reduction of under-5 deaths from diarrhea and pneumonia. This paper documents the achievements of the eight advocacy NGOs in PACFaH, at midterm and notes that while there have been challenges, working through capacity building as an implementation strategy has enabled the local groups in the delivery of evidence based advocacy.

  13. Bayesian estimation of covariance matrices: Application to market risk management at EDF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jandrzejewski-Bouriga, M.

    2012-01-01

    In this thesis, we develop new methods of regularized covariance matrix estimation, under the Bayesian setting. The regularization methodology employed is first related to shrinkage. We investigate a new Bayesian modeling of covariance matrix, based on hierarchical inverse-Wishart distribution, and then derive different estimators under standard loss functions. Comparisons between shrunk and empirical estimators are performed in terms of frequentist performance under different losses. It allows us to highlight the critical importance of the definition of cost function and show the persistent effect of the shrinkage-type prior on inference. In a second time, we consider the problem of covariance matrix estimation in Gaussian graphical models. If the issue is well treated for the decomposable case, it is not the case if you also consider non-decomposable graphs. We then describe a Bayesian and operational methodology to carry out the estimation of covariance matrix of Gaussian graphical models, decomposable or not. This procedure is based on a new and objective method of graphical-model selection, combined with a constrained and regularized estimation of the covariance matrix of the model chosen. The procedures studied effectively manage missing data. These estimation techniques were applied to calculate the covariance matrices involved in the market risk management for portfolios of EDF (Electricity of France), in particular for problems of calculating Value-at-Risk or in Asset Liability Management. (author)

  14. Capacity of Intelligent Underlay and Overlay Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ling, Yim; Elling, Jan; Nielsen, Thomas Toftegaard

    1996-01-01

    traffic. The formulas of the model have been implemented with the use of MatLab. To verify the model, measurement methods have been developed to collect the teletraffic information in a real-live GSM network. The measured data indicates that the teletraffic model describes the capacity with high accuracy...... and therefore can be used to dimension the network. The model shows that the increase of capacity for a GSM network with 34 frequencies is about 30%. Further capacity enhancement can be achieved by intelligent frequency planning method which is currently being developed...

  15. EQUIVALENT MODELS IN COVARIANCE STRUCTURE-ANALYSIS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    LUIJBEN, TCW

    1991-01-01

    Defining equivalent models as those that reproduce the same set of covariance matrices, necessary and sufficient conditions are stated for the local equivalence of two expanded identified models M1 and M2 when fitting the more restricted model M0. Assuming several regularity conditions, the rank

  16. Exact Covariance Thresholding into Connected Components for Large-Scale Graphical Lasso.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazumder, Rahul; Hastie, Trevor

    2012-03-01

    We consider the sparse inverse covariance regularization problem or graphical lasso with regularization parameter λ. Suppose the sample covariance graph formed by thresholding the entries of the sample covariance matrix at λ is decomposed into connected components. We show that the vertex-partition induced by the connected components of the thresholded sample covariance graph (at λ) is exactly equal to that induced by the connected components of the estimated concentration graph, obtained by solving the graphical lasso problem for the same λ. This characterizes a very interesting property of a path of graphical lasso solutions. Furthermore, this simple rule, when used as a wrapper around existing algorithms for the graphical lasso, leads to enormous performance gains. For a range of values of λ, our proposal splits a large graphical lasso problem into smaller tractable problems, making it possible to solve an otherwise infeasible large-scale problem. We illustrate the graceful scalability of our proposal via synthetic and real-life microarray examples.

  17. Achieving the projected capacity of the Stanyantsi mine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dragiev, D

    1979-07-01

    Equipment includes 2 Skoda excavators, one Skoda E-25 power shovel, KraZ dump trucks, graders and S-100 bulldozers. The annual production of 700,000 tons is consumed by the Maritsa-Iztok 2 power plant. To increase production and eventually achieve the originally projected output of 1,400,000 tons annually it is necessary to procure an ESh-10/70 power shovel for surface work, employ all available excavating equipment in surface mining and complete an estimate of all needed mining equipment. The new exploitation plan calls for a reorganization of surface levels, realignment of surface drainage, arrangements for employment of two conveyor belts, construction of a service base for the ESh-10/70 power shovel, training of operators and maintenance crews for the ESh-10/70 power shovel, installation of new electric lines and substations and resurfacing access roads with gravel.

  18. Evaluation of Approaches to Deal with Low-Frequency Nuisance Covariates in Population Pharmacokinetic Analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagishetty, Chakradhar V; Duffull, Stephen B

    2015-11-01

    Clinical studies include occurrences of rare variables, like genotypes, which due to their frequency and strength render their effects difficult to estimate from a dataset. Variables that influence the estimated value of a model-based parameter are termed covariates. It is often difficult to determine if such an effect is significant, since type I error can be inflated when the covariate is rare. Their presence may have either an insubstantial effect on the parameters of interest, hence are ignorable, or conversely they may be influential and therefore non-ignorable. In the case that these covariate effects cannot be estimated due to power and are non-ignorable, then these are considered nuisance, in that they have to be considered but due to type 1 error are of limited interest. This study assesses methods of handling nuisance covariate effects. The specific objectives include (1) calibrating the frequency of a covariate that is associated with type 1 error inflation, (2) calibrating its strength that renders it non-ignorable and (3) evaluating methods for handling these non-ignorable covariates in a nonlinear mixed effects model setting. Type 1 error was determined for the Wald test. Methods considered for handling the nuisance covariate effects were case deletion, Box-Cox transformation and inclusion of a specific fixed effects parameter. Non-ignorable nuisance covariates were found to be effectively handled through addition of a fixed effect parameter.

  19. A Generalized Autocovariance Least-Squares Method for Covariance Estimation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Åkesson, Bernt Magnus; Jørgensen, John Bagterp; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

    2007-01-01

    A generalization of the autocovariance least- squares method for estimating noise covariances is presented. The method can estimate mutually correlated system and sensor noise and can be used with both the predicting and the filtering form of the Kalman filter.......A generalization of the autocovariance least- squares method for estimating noise covariances is presented. The method can estimate mutually correlated system and sensor noise and can be used with both the predicting and the filtering form of the Kalman filter....

  20. Special education and later academic achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrhardt, Jennifer; Huntington, Noelle; Molino, Janine; Barbaresi, William

    2013-02-01

    To determine whether grade at entry to special education is associated with improved reading achievement in children with reading disorders (RD) and whether the effect of grade at entry to special education differs by socioeconomic status (SES). The authors conducted a secondary data analysis using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a nationally representative cohort of children followed longitudinally from kindergarten through eighth grade (1998-2007). Using data from the fifth grade wave of ECLS-K, the authors identified children with RD (n = 290). The outcome of interest was change in score on the reading achievement test, which was developed by ECLS-K staff, between first and fifth grade. Using multiple linear regression, the authors modeled outcome as a function of a child's grade at entry to special education, controlling for several covariates. Early entry to special education (by first grade vs second or third grade) was associated with larger gains in reading achievement between first and fifth grade (p special education by first grade versus second grade gained 4.5 more points on the reading achievement test (p special education by first grade versus third grade gained 1.7 more points on the reading achievement test (p special education between children from families of low and higher SES. For children with RD, early entry to special education is associated with improved reading achievement during elementary school.

  1. Data-based perfect-deficit approach to understanding climate extremes and forest carbon assimilation capacity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, Suhua; Yi, Chuixiang; Hendrey, George; Eaton, Timothy; Rustic, Gerald; Wang, Shaoqiang; Liu, Heping; Krakauer, Nir Y; Wang, Weiguo; Desai, Ankur R; Montagnani, Leonardo; Tha Paw U, Kyaw; Falk, Matthias; Black, Andrew; Bernhofer, Christian; Grünwald, Thomas; Laurila, Tuomas; Cescatti, Alessandro; Moors, Eddy

    2014-01-01

    Several lines of evidence suggest that the warming climate plays a vital role in driving certain types of extreme weather. The impact of warming and of extreme weather on forest carbon assimilation capacity is poorly known. Filling this knowledge gap is critical towards understanding the amount of carbon that forests can hold. Here, we used a perfect-deficit approach to identify forest canopy photosynthetic capacity (CPC) deficits and analyze how they correlate to climate extremes, based on observational data measured by the eddy covariance method at 27 forest sites over 146 site-years. We found that droughts severely affect the carbon assimilation capacities of evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF) and deciduous broadleaf forest. The carbon assimilation capacities of Mediterranean forests were highly sensitive to climate extremes, while marine forest climates tended to be insensitive to climate extremes. Our estimates suggest an average global reduction of forest CPC due to unfavorable climate extremes of 6.3 Pg C (∼5.2% of global gross primary production) per growing season over 2001–2010, with EBFs contributing 52% of the total reduction

  2. Processing covariance data for the resonance region - International Evaluation Co-operation, V. 20

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunn, M.; Leal, L.C.; Wiarda, D.; Jacqmin, R.; Kodeli, I.; ); Chiba, G.; Shibata, K.; Ishikawa, M.; Oh, S.; Nikolaev, M.; Kahler, A.C. Jr.; Kawano, T.; Arcilla, R.

    2014-01-01

    A Working Party on International Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) was established under the sponsorship of the OECD/NEA Nuclear Science Committee (NSC) to promote the exchange of information on nuclear data evaluations, validation, and related topics. Its aim is also to provide a framework for co-operative activities between members of the major nuclear data evaluation projects. Requirements for experimental data resulting from this activity are compiled. The working party determines common criteria for evaluated nuclear data files with a view to assessing and improving the quality and completeness of evaluated data. The parties to the project are ENDF (United States), JEF/EFF (NEA Data Bank member countries), and JENDL (Japan). Cooperation with evaluation projects of non- OECD countries is organized through the Nuclear Data Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This report summarizes the work performed by WPEC Subgroup 28 (SG28) on issues pertinent to the methodology used to process covariance data in the resonance region. Specifically, SG28 has developed the requisite processing methods needed to process resonance parameter covariance data, generate cross-section covariance data files and demonstrate the use of covariance data in radiation transport analyses. The work performed by SG28 and documented in this report addresses the following tasks: - Produce resonance parameter covariance evaluation for 235 U; - Develop resonance parameter covariance processing methods in widely used processing systems (e.g., NJOY, AMPX, etc.); - Use the updated cross-section processing systems to generate covariance data files for use in radiation transport analyses. In addition, use sensitivity/uncertainty (S/U) analyses to demonstrate the propagation of the covariance data in specific radiation transport applications

  3. Development of web-based user interface for evaluated covariance data files

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Togashi, Tomoaki; Kato, Kiyoshi; Suzuki, Ryusuke; Otuka, Naohiko

    2010-01-01

    We develop a web-based interface which visualizes cross sections with their covariance compiled in the ENDF format in order to support evaluated covariance data users who do not have experience of NJOY calculation. A package of programs has been constructed without aid of any existing program libraries. (author)

  4. (13)C-(15)N correlation via unsymmetrical indirect covariance NMR: application to vinblastine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Gary E; Hilton, Bruce D; Blinov, Kirill A; Williams, Antony J

    2007-12-01

    Unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing methods allow the derivation of hyphenated 2D NMR data from the component 2D spectra, potentially circumventing the acquisition of the much lower sensitivity hyphenated 2D NMR experimental data. Calculation of HSQC-COSY and HSQC-NOESY spectra from GHSQC, COSY, and NOESY spectra, respectively, has been reported. The use of unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing has also been applied to the combination of (1)H- (13)C GHSQC and (1)H- (15)N long-range correlation data (GHMBC, IMPEACH, or CIGAR-HMBC). The application of unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing to spectra of vinblastine is now reported, specifically the algorithmic extraction of (13)C- (15)N correlations via the unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing of the combination of (1)H- (13)C GHSQC and long-range (1)H- (15)N GHMBC to produce the equivalent of a (13)C- (15)N HSQC-HMBC correlation spectrum. The elimination of artifact responses with aromatic solvent-induced shifts (ASIS) is shown in addition to a method of forecasting potential artifact responses through the indirect covariance processing of the GHSQC spectrum used in the unsymmetrical indirect covariance processing.

  5. An assessment of the effect on Olkiluoto repository capacity achievable with advanced fuel cycles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Juutilainen, P.; Viitanen, T. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT (Finland)

    2013-07-01

    Previously a few scenarios have been simulated for transition from thermal to fast reactor fleet in Finland in order to determine how much the transuranic inventory could be reduced with the partitioning and transmutation (P-T) technologies. Those calculations, performed with COSI6 code developed by CEA, are extended in the present study, in which the effect of P-T on the capacity of the planned final disposal repository at Olkiluoto (Finland) is evaluated by taking into account the created fission products and transuranic residuals from the reprocessing operations. The decay heat is assumed to be the most restrictive factor in defining the waste disposal packing density. The repository capacity evaluation of this study is based on the comparison of the decay heats produced by the deposited waste in various scenarios. The reference scenario of this article involves only Light Water Reactors (LWR) in an open fuel cycle. The capacity requirement of the geological repository is estimated in a few closed fuel cycle scenarios, all including actinide transmutation with Fast Reactors (FR). The comparison between the P-T scenarios and reference is based on the decay heat production of the deposited waste. The COSI6 code is used for simulations to provide the repository decay heat curves. Applying the closed fuel cycle would change the disposal concept and schedule, because of which it is not quite straightforward to assess the impact of P-T on the capacity. However, it can be concluded that recycling the transuranic nuclides probably decreases the required volume for the disposal, but thermal dimensioning analysis is needed for more specific conclusions.

  6. Covariant second-order perturbations in generalized two-field inflation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tzavara, Eleftheria; Tent, Bartjan van; Mizuno, Shuntaro

    2014-01-01

    We examine the covariant properties of generalized models of two-field inflation, with non-canonical kinetic terms and a possibly non-trivial field metric. We demonstrate that kinetic-term derivatives and covariant field derivatives do commute in a proper covariant framework, which was not realized before in the literature. We also define a set of generalized slow-roll parameters, using a unified notation. Within this framework, we study the most general class of models that allows for well-defined adiabatic and entropic sound speeds, which we identify as the models with parallel momentum and field velocity vectors. For these models we write the exact cubic action in terms of the adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations. We thus provide the tool to calculate the exact non-Gaussianity beyond slow-roll and at any scale for these generalized models. We illustrate our general results by considering their long-wavelength limit, as well as with the example of two-field DBI inflation

  7. Supersymmetric gauged scale covariance in ten and lower dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishino, Hitoshi; Rajpoot, Subhash

    2004-01-01

    We present globally supersymmetric models of gauged scale covariance in ten, six, and four dimensions. This is an application of a recent similar gauging in three dimensions for a massive self-dual vector multiplet. In ten dimensions, we couple a single vector multiplet to another vector multiplet, where the latter gauges the scale covariance of the former. Due to scale covariance, the system does not have a Lagrangian formulation, but has only a set of field equations, like Type IIB supergravity in ten dimensions. As by-products, we construct similar models in six dimensions with N=(2,0) supersymmetry, and four dimensions with N=1 supersymmetry. We finally get a similar model with N=4 supersymmetry in four dimensions with consistent interactions that have never been known before. We expect a series of descendant theories in dimensions lower than ten by dimensional reductions. This result also indicates that similar mechanisms will work for other vector and scalar multiplets in space-time lower than ten dimensions

  8. Fast and accurate estimation of the covariance between pairwise maximum likelihood distances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Gil

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Pairwise evolutionary distances are a model-based summary statistic for a set of molecular sequences. They represent the leaf-to-leaf path lengths of the underlying phylogenetic tree. Estimates of pairwise distances with overlapping paths covary because of shared mutation events. It is desirable to take these covariance structure into account to increase precision in any process that compares or combines distances. This paper introduces a fast estimator for the covariance of two pairwise maximum likelihood distances, estimated under general Markov models. The estimator is based on a conjecture (going back to Nei & Jin, 1989 which links the covariance to path lengths. It is proven here under a simple symmetric substitution model. A simulation shows that the estimator outperforms previously published ones in terms of the mean squared error.

  9. Fast and accurate estimation of the covariance between pairwise maximum likelihood distances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, Manuel

    2014-01-01

    Pairwise evolutionary distances are a model-based summary statistic for a set of molecular sequences. They represent the leaf-to-leaf path lengths of the underlying phylogenetic tree. Estimates of pairwise distances with overlapping paths covary because of shared mutation events. It is desirable to take these covariance structure into account to increase precision in any process that compares or combines distances. This paper introduces a fast estimator for the covariance of two pairwise maximum likelihood distances, estimated under general Markov models. The estimator is based on a conjecture (going back to Nei & Jin, 1989) which links the covariance to path lengths. It is proven here under a simple symmetric substitution model. A simulation shows that the estimator outperforms previously published ones in terms of the mean squared error.

  10. Solid-state NMR covariance of homonuclear correlation spectra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Bingwen; Amoureux, Jean-Paul; Trebosc, Julien; Deschamps, Michael; Tricot, Gregory

    2008-04-07

    Direct covariance NMR spectroscopy, which does not involve a Fourier transformation along the indirect dimension, is demonstrated to obtain homonuclear correlation two-dimensional (2D) spectra in the solid state. In contrast to the usual 2D Fourier transform (2D-FT) NMR, in a 2D covariance (2D-Cov) spectrum the spectral resolution in the indirect dimension is determined by the resolution along the detection dimension, thereby largely reducing the time-consuming indirect sampling requirement. The covariance method does not need any separate phase correction or apodization along the indirect dimension because it uses those applied in the detection dimension. We compare in detail the specifications obtained with 2D-FT and 2D-Cov, for narrow and broad resonances. The efficiency of the covariance data treatment is demonstrated in organic and inorganic samples that are both well crystallized and amorphous, for spin -1/2 nuclei with 13C, 29Si, and 31P through-space or through-bond homonuclear 2D correlation spectra. In all cases, the experimental time has been reduced by at least a factor of 10, without any loss of resolution and signal to noise ratio, with respect to what is necessary with the 2D-FT NMR. According to this method, we have been able to study the silicate network of glasses by 2D NMR within reasonable experimental time despite the very long relaxation time of the 29Si nucleus. The main limitation of the 2D-Cov data treatment is related to the introduction of autocorrelated peaks onto the diagonal, which does not represent any actual connectivity.

  11. White matter tract covariance patterns predict age-declining cognitive abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazes, Yunglin; Bowman, F DuBois; Razlighi, Qolamreza R; O'Shea, Deirdre; Stern, Yaakov; Habeck, Christian

    2016-01-15

    Previous studies investigating the relationship of white matter (WM) integrity to cognitive abilities and aging have either focused on a global measure or a few selected WM tracts. Ideally, contribution from all of the WM tracts should be evaluated at the same time. However, the high collinearity among WM tracts precludes systematic examination of WM tracts simultaneously without sacrificing statistical power due to stringent multiple-comparison corrections. Multivariate covariance techniques enable comprehensive simultaneous examination of all WM tracts without being penalized for high collinearity among observations. In this study, Scaled Subprofile Modeling (SSM) was applied to the mean integrity of 18 major WM tracts to extract covariance patterns that optimally predicted four cognitive abilities (perceptual speed, episodic memory, fluid reasoning, and vocabulary) in 346 participants across ages 20 to 79years old. Using expression of the covariance patterns, age-independent effects of white matter integrity on cognition and the indirect effect of WM integrity on age-related differences in cognition were tested separately, but inferences from the indirect analyses were cautiously made given that cross-sectional data set was used in the analysis. A separate covariance pattern was identified that significantly predicted each cognitive ability after controlling for age except for vocabulary, but the age by WM covariance pattern interaction was not significant for any of the three abilities. Furthermore, each of the patterns mediated the effect of age on the respective cognitive ability. A distinct set of WM tracts was most influential in each of the three patterns. The WM covariance pattern accounting for fluid reasoning showed the most number of influential WM tracts whereas the episodic memory pattern showed the least number. Specific patterns of WM tracts make significant contributions to the age-related differences in perceptual speed, episodic memory, and

  12. Working covariance model selection for generalized estimating equations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Vincent J; Wang, You-Gan

    2011-11-20

    We investigate methods for data-based selection of working covariance models in the analysis of correlated data with generalized estimating equations. We study two selection criteria: Gaussian pseudolikelihood and a geodesic distance based on discrepancy between model-sensitive and model-robust regression parameter covariance estimators. The Gaussian pseudolikelihood is found in simulation to be reasonably sensitive for several response distributions and noncanonical mean-variance relations for longitudinal data. Application is also made to a clinical dataset. Assessment of adequacy of both correlation and variance models for longitudinal data should be routine in applications, and we describe open-source software supporting this practice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. MATXTST, Basic Operations for Covariance Matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geraldo, Luiz P.; Smith, Donald

    1989-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: MATXTST and MATXTST1 perform the following operations for a covariance matrix: - test for singularity; - test for positive definiteness; - compute the inverse if the matrix is non-singular; - compute the determinant; - determine the number of positive, negative, and zero eigenvalues; - examine all possible 3 X 3 cross correlations within a sub-matrix corresponding to a leading principal minor which is non-positive definite. While the two programs utilize the same input, the calculational procedures employed are somewhat different and their functions are complementary. The available input options include: i) the full covariance matrix, ii) the basic variables plus the relative covariance matrix, or iii) uncertainties in the basic variables plus the correlation matrix. 2 - Method of solution: MATXTST employs LINPACK subroutines SPOFA and SPODI to test for positive definiteness and to perform further optional calculations. Subroutine SPOFA factors a symmetric matrix M using the Cholesky algorithm to determine the elements of a matrix R which satisfies the relation M=R'R, where R' is the transposed matrix of R. Each leading principal minor of M is tested until the first one is found which is not positive definite. MATXTST1 uses LINPACK subroutines SSICO, SSIFA, and SSIDI to estimate whether the matrix is near to singularity or not (SSICO), and to perform the matrix diagonalization process (SSIFA). The algorithm used in SSIFA is generalization of the Method of Lagrange Reduction. SSIDI is used to compute the determinant and inertia of the matrix. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Matrices of sizes up to 50 X 50 elements can be treated by present versions of the programs

  14. Using Fit Indexes to Select a Covariance Model for Longitudinal Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Siwei; Rovine, Michael J.; Molenaar, Peter C. M.

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the performance of fit indexes in selecting a covariance structure for longitudinal data. Data were simulated to follow a compound symmetry, first-order autoregressive, first-order moving average, or random-coefficients covariance structure. We examined the ability of the likelihood ratio test (LRT), root mean square error…

  15. Burnout, quality of life, motivation, and academic achievement among medical students: A person-oriented approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyndon, Mataroria P; Henning, Marcus A; Alyami, Hussain; Krishna, Sanjeev; Zeng, Irene; Yu, Tzu-Chieh; Hill, Andrew G

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this study was to identify burnout and quality of life profiles of medical students and determine their associations with academic motivation and achievement on progress tests using a person-oriented approach. Medical students (n = 670) in Year 3 to Year 5 at the University of Auckland were classified into three different profiles as derived from a two-step cluster analysis using World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF scores and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory scores. The profiles were used as independent variables to assess differences in academic motivation and achievement on progress tests using a multivariate analysis of co-variance and repeated measures analysis of co-variance methods. The response rate was 47%. Three clusters were obtained: Higher Burnout Lower Quality of Life (n = 62, 20%), Moderate Burnout Moderate Quality of Life (n = 131, 41%), and Lower Burnout Higher Quality of Life (n = 124, 39%). After controlling for gender and year level, Higher Burnout Lower Quality of Life students had significantly higher test anxiety (p motivation (p students are associated with differences in academic motivation and achievement over time.

  16. Undesirable effects of covariance matrix techniques for error analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seibert, D.

    1994-01-01

    Regression with χ 2 constructed from covariance matrices should not be used for some combinations of covariance matrices and fitting functions. Using the technique for unsuitable combinations can amplify systematic errors. This amplification is uncontrolled, and can produce arbitrarily inaccurate results that might not be ruled out by a χ 2 test. In addition, this technique can give incorrect (artificially small) errors for fit parameters. I give a test for this instability and a more robust (but computationally more intensive) method for fitting correlated data

  17. Structural covariance of brain region volumes is associated with both structural connectivity and transcriptomic similarity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yee, Yohan; Fernandes, Darren J; French, Leon; Ellegood, Jacob; Cahill, Lindsay S; Vousden, Dulcie A; Spencer Noakes, Leigh; Scholz, Jan; van Eede, Matthijs C; Nieman, Brian J; Sled, John G; Lerch, Jason P

    2018-05-18

    An organizational pattern seen in the brain, termed structural covariance, is the statistical association of pairs of brain regions in their anatomical properties. These associations, measured across a population as covariances or correlations usually in cortical thickness or volume, are thought to reflect genetic and environmental underpinnings. Here, we examine the biological basis of structural volume covariance in the mouse brain. We first examined large scale associations between brain region volumes using an atlas-based approach that parcellated the entire mouse brain into 318 regions over which correlations in volume were assessed, for volumes obtained from 153 mouse brain images via high-resolution MRI. We then used a seed-based approach and determined, for 108 different seed regions across the brain and using mouse gene expression and connectivity data from the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the variation in structural covariance data that could be explained by distance to seed, transcriptomic similarity to seed, and connectivity to seed. We found that overall, correlations in structure volumes hierarchically clustered into distinct anatomical systems, similar to findings from other studies and similar to other types of networks in the brain, including structural connectivity and transcriptomic similarity networks. Across seeds, this structural covariance was significantly explained by distance (17% of the variation, up to a maximum of 49% for structural covariance to the visceral area of the cortex), transcriptomic similarity (13% of the variation, up to maximum of 28% for structural covariance to the primary visual area) and connectivity (15% of the variation, up to a maximum of 36% for structural covariance to the intermediate reticular nucleus in the medulla) of covarying structures. Together, distance, connectivity, and transcriptomic similarity explained 37% of structural covariance, up to a maximum of 63% for structural covariance to the

  18. Drivers of leaf carbon exchange capacity across biomes at the continental scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Nicholas G; Dukes, Jeffrey S

    2018-04-29

    Realistic representations of plant carbon exchange processes are necessary to reliably simulate biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. These processes are known to vary over time and space, though the drivers of the underlying rates are still widely debated in the literature. Here, we measured leaf carbon exchange in >500 individuals of 98 species from the neotropics to high boreal biomes to determine the drivers of photosynthetic and dark respiration capacity. Covariate abiotic (long- and short-term climate) and biotic (plant type, plant size, ontogeny, water status) data were used to explore significant drivers of temperature-standardized leaf carbon exchange rates. Using model selection, we found the previous week's temperature and soil moisture at the time of measurement to be a better predictor of photosynthetic capacity than long-term climate, with the combination of high recent temperatures and low soil moisture tending to decrease photosynthetic capacity. Non-trees (annual and perennials) tended to have greater photosynthetic capacity than trees, and, within trees, adults tended to have greater photosynthetic capacity than juveniles, possibly as a result of differences in light availability. Dark respiration capacity was less responsive to the assessed drivers than photosynthetic capacity, with rates best predicted by multi-year average site temperature alone. Our results suggest that, across large spatial scales, photosynthetic capacity quickly adjusts to changing environmental conditions, namely light, temperature, and soil moisture. Respiratory capacity is more conservative and most responsive to longer-term conditions. Our results provide a framework for incorporating these processes into large-scale models and a dataset to benchmark such models. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  19. Multi-lane Roundabout Capacity Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ammar Šarić

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Although two-lane roundabouts theoretically exhibit excellent operating performance, in practice, safety problems arise because of inappropriate driving behavior. Turbo roundabouts, which are characterized by a much higher level of safety, are alternatives to classic two-lane roundabouts, but the capacity-related benefits derived from such roundabouts remain an open issue. Accordingly, this study uses an equilibrium traffic flow allocation approach to evaluate multi-lane roundabout capacity based on gap acceptance theory. Capacity levels are calculated and compared for different gap acceptance parameters, including local parameters, and different traffic flow scenarios. It is found that the capacity of minor approaches on turbo roundabouts is always higher than on two-lane roundabouts, but that the main approaches on two-lane roundabouts exhibit better performance in terms of fully equilibrium traffic allocation. This state, however, cannot be achieved for every demand scenario. The results depend strongly on traffic movements and gap acceptance parameters indicating the need for local calibration processes.

  20. Autism-Specific Covariation in Perceptual Performances: “g” or “p” Factor?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meilleur, Andrée-Anne S.; Berthiaume, Claude; Bertone, Armando; Mottron, Laurent

    2014-01-01

    Background Autistic perception is characterized by atypical and sometimes exceptional performance in several low- (e.g., discrimination) and mid-level (e.g., pattern matching) tasks in both visual and auditory domains. A factor that specifically affects perceptive abilities in autistic individuals should manifest as an autism-specific association between perceptual tasks. The first purpose of this study was to explore how perceptual performances are associated within or across processing levels and/or modalities. The second purpose was to determine if general intelligence, the major factor that accounts for covariation in task performances in non-autistic individuals, equally controls perceptual abilities in autistic individuals. Methods We asked 46 autistic individuals and 46 typically developing controls to perform four tasks measuring low- or mid-level visual or auditory processing. Intelligence was measured with the Wechsler's Intelligence Scale (FSIQ) and Raven Progressive Matrices (RPM). We conducted linear regression models to compare task performances between groups and patterns of covariation between tasks. The addition of either Wechsler's FSIQ or RPM in the regression models controlled for the effects of intelligence. Results In typically developing individuals, most perceptual tasks were associated with intelligence measured either by RPM or Wechsler FSIQ. The residual covariation between unimodal tasks, i.e. covariation not explained by intelligence, could be explained by a modality-specific factor. In the autistic group, residual covariation revealed the presence of a plurimodal factor specific to autism. Conclusions Autistic individuals show exceptional performance in some perceptual tasks. Here, we demonstrate the existence of specific, plurimodal covariation that does not dependent on general intelligence (or “g” factor). Instead, this residual covariation is accounted for by a common perceptual process (or “p” factor), which may drive

  1. Treatment selection in a randomized clinical trial via covariate-specific treatment effect curves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yunbei; Zhou, Xiao-Hua

    2017-02-01

    For time-to-event data in a randomized clinical trial, we proposed two new methods for selecting an optimal treatment for a patient based on the covariate-specific treatment effect curve, which is used to represent the clinical utility of a predictive biomarker. To select an optimal treatment for a patient with a specific biomarker value, we proposed pointwise confidence intervals for each covariate-specific treatment effect curve and the difference between covariate-specific treatment effect curves of two treatments. Furthermore, to select an optimal treatment for a future biomarker-defined subpopulation of patients, we proposed confidence bands for each covariate-specific treatment effect curve and the difference between each pair of covariate-specific treatment effect curve over a fixed interval of biomarker values. We constructed the confidence bands based on a resampling technique. We also conducted simulation studies to evaluate finite-sample properties of the proposed estimation methods. Finally, we illustrated the application of the proposed method in a real-world data set.

  2. Comparison of bias-corrected covariance estimators for MMRM analysis in longitudinal data with dropouts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosho, Masahiko; Hirakawa, Akihiro; Noma, Hisashi; Maruo, Kazushi; Sato, Yasunori

    2017-10-01

    In longitudinal clinical trials, some subjects will drop out before completing the trial, so their measurements towards the end of the trial are not obtained. Mixed-effects models for repeated measures (MMRM) analysis with "unstructured" (UN) covariance structure are increasingly common as a primary analysis for group comparisons in these trials. Furthermore, model-based covariance estimators have been routinely used for testing the group difference and estimating confidence intervals of the difference in the MMRM analysis using the UN covariance. However, using the MMRM analysis with the UN covariance could lead to convergence problems for numerical optimization, especially in trials with a small-sample size. Although the so-called sandwich covariance estimator is robust to misspecification of the covariance structure, its performance deteriorates in settings with small-sample size. We investigated the performance of the sandwich covariance estimator and covariance estimators adjusted for small-sample bias proposed by Kauermann and Carroll ( J Am Stat Assoc 2001; 96: 1387-1396) and Mancl and DeRouen ( Biometrics 2001; 57: 126-134) fitting simpler covariance structures through a simulation study. In terms of the type 1 error rate and coverage probability of confidence intervals, Mancl and DeRouen's covariance estimator with compound symmetry, first-order autoregressive (AR(1)), heterogeneous AR(1), and antedependence structures performed better than the original sandwich estimator and Kauermann and Carroll's estimator with these structures in the scenarios where the variance increased across visits. The performance based on Mancl and DeRouen's estimator with these structures was nearly equivalent to that based on the Kenward-Roger method for adjusting the standard errors and degrees of freedom with the UN structure. The model-based covariance estimator with the UN structure under unadjustment of the degrees of freedom, which is frequently used in applications

  3. Examination of various roles for covariance matrices in the development, evaluation, and application of nuclear data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, D.L.

    1988-01-01

    The last decade has been a period of rapid development in the implementation of covariance-matrix methodology in nuclear data research. This paper offers some perspective on the progress which has been made, on some of the unresolved problems, and on the potential yet to be realized. These discussions address a variety of issues related to the development of nuclear data. Topics examined are: the importance of designing and conducting experiments so that error information is conveniently generated; the procedures for identifying error sources and quantifying their magnitudes and correlations; the combination of errors; the importance of consistent and well-characterized measurement standards; the role of covariances in data parameterization (fitting); the estimation of covariances for values calculated from mathematical models; the identification of abnormalities in covariance matrices and the analysis of their consequences; the problems encountered in representing covariance information in evaluated files; the role of covariances in the weighting of diverse data sets; the comparison of various evaluations; the influence of primary-data covariance in the analysis of covariances for derived quantities (sensitivity); and the role of covariances in the merging of the diverse nuclear data information. 226 refs., 2 tabs

  4. A full scale approximation of covariance functions for large spatial data sets

    KAUST Repository

    Sang, Huiyan

    2011-10-10

    Gaussian process models have been widely used in spatial statistics but face tremendous computational challenges for very large data sets. The model fitting and spatial prediction of such models typically require O(n 3) operations for a data set of size n. Various approximations of the covariance functions have been introduced to reduce the computational cost. However, most existing approximations cannot simultaneously capture both the large- and the small-scale spatial dependence. A new approximation scheme is developed to provide a high quality approximation to the covariance function at both the large and the small spatial scales. The new approximation is the summation of two parts: a reduced rank covariance and a compactly supported covariance obtained by tapering the covariance of the residual of the reduced rank approximation. Whereas the former part mainly captures the large-scale spatial variation, the latter part captures the small-scale, local variation that is unexplained by the former part. By combining the reduced rank representation and sparse matrix techniques, our approach allows for efficient computation for maximum likelihood estimation, spatial prediction and Bayesian inference. We illustrate the new approach with simulated and real data sets. © 2011 Royal Statistical Society.

  5. A full scale approximation of covariance functions for large spatial data sets

    KAUST Repository

    Sang, Huiyan; Huang, Jianhua Z.

    2011-01-01

    Gaussian process models have been widely used in spatial statistics but face tremendous computational challenges for very large data sets. The model fitting and spatial prediction of such models typically require O(n 3) operations for a data set of size n. Various approximations of the covariance functions have been introduced to reduce the computational cost. However, most existing approximations cannot simultaneously capture both the large- and the small-scale spatial dependence. A new approximation scheme is developed to provide a high quality approximation to the covariance function at both the large and the small spatial scales. The new approximation is the summation of two parts: a reduced rank covariance and a compactly supported covariance obtained by tapering the covariance of the residual of the reduced rank approximation. Whereas the former part mainly captures the large-scale spatial variation, the latter part captures the small-scale, local variation that is unexplained by the former part. By combining the reduced rank representation and sparse matrix techniques, our approach allows for efficient computation for maximum likelihood estimation, spatial prediction and Bayesian inference. We illustrate the new approach with simulated and real data sets. © 2011 Royal Statistical Society.

  6. Robust Kernel (Cross-) Covariance Operators in Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space toward Kernel Methods

    OpenAIRE

    Alam, Md. Ashad; Fukumizu, Kenji; Wang, Yu-Ping

    2016-01-01

    To the best of our knowledge, there are no general well-founded robust methods for statistical unsupervised learning. Most of the unsupervised methods explicitly or implicitly depend on the kernel covariance operator (kernel CO) or kernel cross-covariance operator (kernel CCO). They are sensitive to contaminated data, even when using bounded positive definite kernels. First, we propose robust kernel covariance operator (robust kernel CO) and robust kernel crosscovariance operator (robust kern...

  7. Genetic effect of interleukin-1 beta (C-511T) polymorphism on the structural covariance network and white matter integrity in Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chi-Wei; Hsu, Shih-Wei; Tsai, Shih-Jen; Chen, Nai-Ching; Liu, Mu-En; Lee, Chen-Chang; Huang, Shu-Hua; Chang, Weng-Neng; Chang, Ya-Ting; Tsai, Wan-Chen; Chang, Chiung-Chih

    2017-01-18

    Inflammatory processes play a pivotal role in the degenerative process of Alzheimer's disease. In humans, a biallelic (C/T) polymorphism in the promoter region (position-511) (rs16944) of the interleukin-1 beta gene has been significantly associated with differences in the secretory capacity of interleukin-1 beta. In this study, we investigated whether this functional polymorphism mediates the brain networks in patients with Alzheimer's disease. We enrolled a total of 135 patients with Alzheimer's disease (65 males, 70 females), and investigated their gray matter structural covariance networks using 3D T1 magnetic resonance imaging and their white matter macro-structural integrities using fractional anisotropy. The patients were classified into two genotype groups: C-carriers (n = 108) and TT-carriers (n = 27), and the structural covariance networks were constructed using seed-based analysis focusing on the default mode network medial temporal or dorsal medial subsystem, salience network and executive control network. Neurobehavioral scores were used as the major outcome factors for clinical correlations. There were no differences between the two genotype groups in the cognitive test scores, seed, or peak cluster volumes and white matter fractional anisotropy. The covariance strength showing C-carriers > TT-carriers was the entorhinal-cingulum axis. There were two peak clusters (Brodmann 6 and 10) in the salience network and four peak clusters (superior prefrontal, precentral, fusiform, and temporal) in the executive control network that showed C-carriers covariance strength. The salience network and executive control network peak clusters in the TT group and the default mode network peak clusters in the C-carriers strongly predicted the cognitive test scores. Interleukin-1 beta C-511 T polymorphism modulates the structural covariance strength on the anterior brain network and entorhinal-interconnected network which were independent of the white

  8. Linear Regression with a Randomly Censored Covariate: Application to an Alzheimer's Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atem, Folefac D; Qian, Jing; Maye, Jacqueline E; Johnson, Keith A; Betensky, Rebecca A

    2017-01-01

    The association between maternal age of onset of dementia and amyloid deposition (measured by in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) imaging) in cognitively normal older offspring is of interest. In a regression model for amyloid, special methods are required due to the random right censoring of the covariate of maternal age of onset of dementia. Prior literature has proposed methods to address the problem of censoring due to assay limit of detection, but not random censoring. We propose imputation methods and a survival regression method that do not require parametric assumptions about the distribution of the censored covariate. Existing imputation methods address missing covariates, but not right censored covariates. In simulation studies, we compare these methods to the simple, but inefficient complete case analysis, and to thresholding approaches. We apply the methods to the Alzheimer's study.

  9. Condition-based inspection/replacement policies for non-monotone deteriorating systems with environmental covariates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao Xuejing [Universite de Technologie de Troyes, Institut Charles Delaunay and STMR UMR CNRS 6279, 12 rue Marie Curie, 10010 Troyes (France); School of mathematics and statistics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Fouladirad, Mitra, E-mail: mitra.fouladirad@utt.f [Universite de Technologie de Troyes, Institut Charles Delaunay and STMR UMR CNRS 6279, 12 rue Marie Curie, 10010 Troyes (France); Berenguer, Christophe [Universite de Technologie de Troyes, Institut Charles Delaunay and STMR UMR CNRS 6279, 12 rue Marie Curie, 10010 Troyes (France); Bordes, Laurent [Universite de Pau et des Pays de l' Adour, LMA UMR CNRS 5142, 64013 PAU Cedex (France)

    2010-08-15

    The aim of this paper is to discuss the problem of modelling and optimising condition-based maintenance policies for a deteriorating system in presence of covariates. The deterioration is modelled by a non-monotone stochastic process. The covariates process is assumed to be a time-homogenous Markov chain with finite state space. A model similar to the proportional hazards model is used to show the influence of covariates on the deterioration. In the framework of the system under consideration, an appropriate inspection/replacement policy which minimises the expected average maintenance cost is derived. The average cost under different conditions of covariates and different maintenance policies is analysed through simulation experiments to compare the policies performances.

  10. Condition-based inspection/replacement policies for non-monotone deteriorating systems with environmental covariates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Xuejing; Fouladirad, Mitra; Berenguer, Christophe; Bordes, Laurent

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to discuss the problem of modelling and optimising condition-based maintenance policies for a deteriorating system in presence of covariates. The deterioration is modelled by a non-monotone stochastic process. The covariates process is assumed to be a time-homogenous Markov chain with finite state space. A model similar to the proportional hazards model is used to show the influence of covariates on the deterioration. In the framework of the system under consideration, an appropriate inspection/replacement policy which minimises the expected average maintenance cost is derived. The average cost under different conditions of covariates and different maintenance policies is analysed through simulation experiments to compare the policies performances.

  11. Utilizing joint routing and capacity assignment algorithms to achieve inter- and intra-group delay fairness in multi-rate multicast wireless sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Frank Yeong-Sung; Hsiao, Chiu-Han; Lin, Leo Shih-Chang; Wen, Yean-Fu

    2013-03-14

    Recent advance in wireless sensor network (WSN) applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT) have attracted a lot of attention. Sensor nodes have to monitor and cooperatively pass their data, such as temperature, sound, pressure, etc. through the network under constrained physical or environmental conditions. The Quality of Service (QoS) is very sensitive to network delays. When resources are constrained and when the number of receivers increases rapidly, how the sensor network can provide good QoS (measured as end-to-end delay) becomes a very critical problem. In this paper; a solution to the wireless sensor network multicasting problem is proposed in which a mathematical model that provides services to accommodate delay fairness for each subscriber is constructed. Granting equal consideration to both network link capacity assignment and routing strategies for each multicast group guarantees the intra-group and inter-group delay fairness of end-to-end delay. Minimizing delay and achieving fairness is ultimately achieved through the Lagrangean Relaxation method and Subgradient Optimization Technique. Test results indicate that the new system runs with greater effectiveness and efficiency.

  12. A Proportional Hazards Regression Model for the Subdistribution with Covariates-adjusted Censoring Weight for Competing Risks Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    He, Peng; Eriksson, Frank; Scheike, Thomas H.

    2016-01-01

    function by fitting the Cox model for the censoring distribution and using the predictive probability for each individual. Our simulation study shows that the covariate-adjusted weight estimator is basically unbiased when the censoring time depends on the covariates, and the covariate-adjusted weight......With competing risks data, one often needs to assess the treatment and covariate effects on the cumulative incidence function. Fine and Gray proposed a proportional hazards regression model for the subdistribution of a competing risk with the assumption that the censoring distribution...... and the covariates are independent. Covariate-dependent censoring sometimes occurs in medical studies. In this paper, we study the proportional hazards regression model for the subdistribution of a competing risk with proper adjustments for covariate-dependent censoring. We consider a covariate-adjusted weight...

  13. MIMO-radar Waveform Covariance Matrices for High SINR and Low Side-lobe Levels

    KAUST Repository

    Ahmed, Sajid

    2012-12-29

    MIMO-radar has better parametric identifiability but compared to phased-array radar it shows loss in signal-to-noise ratio due to non-coherent processing. To exploit the benefits of both MIMO-radar and phased-array two transmit covariance matrices are found. Both of the covariance matrices yield gain in signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) compared to MIMO-radar and have lower side-lobe levels (SLL)\\'s compared to phased-array and MIMO-radar. Moreover, in contrast to recently introduced phased-MIMO scheme, where each antenna transmit different power, our proposed schemes allows same power transmission from each antenna. The SLL\\'s of the proposed first covariance matrix are higher than the phased-MIMO scheme while the SLL\\'s of the second proposed covariance matrix are lower than the phased-MIMO scheme. The first covariance matrix is generated using an auto-regressive process, which allow us to change the SINR and side lobe levels by changing the auto-regressive parameter, while to generate the second covariance matrix the values of sine function between 0 and $\\\\pi$ with the step size of $\\\\pi/n_T$ are used to form a positive-semidefinite Toeplitiz matrix, where $n_T$ is the number of transmit antennas. Simulation results validate our analytical results.

  14. Multi-level restricted maximum likelihood covariance estimation and kriging for large non-gridded spatial datasets

    KAUST Repository

    Castrillon, Julio

    2015-11-10

    We develop a multi-level restricted Gaussian maximum likelihood method for estimating the covariance function parameters and computing the best unbiased predictor. Our approach produces a new set of multi-level contrasts where the deterministic parameters of the model are filtered out thus enabling the estimation of the covariance parameters to be decoupled from the deterministic component. Moreover, the multi-level covariance matrix of the contrasts exhibit fast decay that is dependent on the smoothness of the covariance function. Due to the fast decay of the multi-level covariance matrix coefficients only a small set is computed with a level dependent criterion. We demonstrate our approach on problems of up to 512,000 observations with a Matérn covariance function and highly irregular placements of the observations. In addition, these problems are numerically unstable and hard to solve with traditional methods.

  15. Effect on Prediction when Modeling Covariates in Bayesian Nonparametric Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz-Marcelo, Alejandro; Rosner, Gary L; Müller, Peter; Stewart, Clinton F

    2013-04-01

    In biomedical research, it is often of interest to characterize biologic processes giving rise to observations and to make predictions of future observations. Bayesian nonparametric methods provide a means for carrying out Bayesian inference making as few assumptions about restrictive parametric models as possible. There are several proposals in the literature for extending Bayesian nonparametric models to include dependence on covariates. Limited attention, however, has been directed to the following two aspects. In this article, we examine the effect on fitting and predictive performance of incorporating covariates in a class of Bayesian nonparametric models by one of two primary ways: either in the weights or in the locations of a discrete random probability measure. We show that different strategies for incorporating continuous covariates in Bayesian nonparametric models can result in big differences when used for prediction, even though they lead to otherwise similar posterior inferences. When one needs the predictive density, as in optimal design, and this density is a mixture, it is better to make the weights depend on the covariates. We demonstrate these points via a simulated data example and in an application in which one wants to determine the optimal dose of an anticancer drug used in pediatric oncology.

  16. TRANSPOSABLE REGULARIZED COVARIANCE MODELS WITH AN APPLICATION TO MISSING DATA IMPUTATION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Genevera I; Tibshirani, Robert

    2010-06-01

    Missing data estimation is an important challenge with high-dimensional data arranged in the form of a matrix. Typically this data matrix is transposable , meaning that either the rows, columns or both can be treated as features. To model transposable data, we present a modification of the matrix-variate normal, the mean-restricted matrix-variate normal , in which the rows and columns each have a separate mean vector and covariance matrix. By placing additive penalties on the inverse covariance matrices of the rows and columns, these so called transposable regularized covariance models allow for maximum likelihood estimation of the mean and non-singular covariance matrices. Using these models, we formulate EM-type algorithms for missing data imputation in both the multivariate and transposable frameworks. We present theoretical results exploiting the structure of our transposable models that allow these models and imputation methods to be applied to high-dimensional data. Simulations and results on microarray data and the Netflix data show that these imputation techniques often outperform existing methods and offer a greater degree of flexibility.

  17. Early grey matter changes in structural covariance networks in Huntington's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coppen, Emma M; van der Grond, Jeroen; Hafkemeijer, Anne; Rombouts, Serge A R B; Roos, Raymund A C

    2016-01-01

    Progressive subcortical changes are known to occur in Huntington's disease (HD), a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder. Less is known about the occurrence and cohesion of whole brain grey matter changes in HD. We aimed to detect network integrity changes in grey matter structural covariance networks and examined relationships with clinical assessments. Structural magnetic resonance imaging data of premanifest HD ( n  = 30), HD patients (n = 30) and controls (n = 30) was used to identify ten structural covariance networks based on a novel technique using the co-variation of grey matter with independent component analysis in FSL. Group differences were studied controlling for age and gender. To explore whether our approach is effective in examining grey matter changes, regional voxel-based analysis was additionally performed. Premanifest HD and HD patients showed decreased network integrity in two networks compared to controls. One network included the caudate nucleus, precuneous and anterior cingulate cortex (in HD p  covariance might be a sensitive approach to reveal early grey matter changes, especially for premanifest HD.

  18. Simultaneous treatment of unspecified heteroskedastic model error distribution and mismeasured covariates for restricted moment models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Tanya P; Ma, Yanyuan

    2017-10-01

    We develop consistent and efficient estimation of parameters in general regression models with mismeasured covariates. We assume the model error and covariate distributions are unspecified, and the measurement error distribution is a general parametric distribution with unknown variance-covariance. We construct root- n consistent, asymptotically normal and locally efficient estimators using the semiparametric efficient score. We do not estimate any unknown distribution or model error heteroskedasticity. Instead, we form the estimator under possibly incorrect working distribution models for the model error, error-prone covariate, or both. Empirical results demonstrate robustness to different incorrect working models in homoscedastic and heteroskedastic models with error-prone covariates.

  19. Nonlinear realization of general covariance group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamamoto, Shinji

    1979-01-01

    The structure of the theory resulting from the nonlinear realization of general covariance group is analysed. We discuss the general form of free Lagrangian for Goldstone fields, and propose as a special choice one reasonable form which is shown to describe a gravitational theory with massless tensor graviton and massive vector tordion. (author)

  20. The oil industry experience. Technology cooperation and capacity building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    Technology cooperation is defined as a process of constructive interaction with local, national and international partners to select and apply appropriate technology systems to achieve environmentally sound forms of economic development. Capacity building is the process of constructive interaction between countries and the private sector designed to develop the capability and skills to achieve environmentally sound forms of economic development through the use of modern technologies and management systems, a competent workforce and appropriate laws and regulations. Twelve case histories are presented which demonstrate the efforts of the oil industry to work in partnership with governments, contractors, suppliers and communities in technology cooperation and capacity building to achieve the goals of Agenda 21 which emerged as an action plan from the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. (UK)

  1. Meta-analytical synthesis of regression coefficients under different categorization scheme of continuous covariates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoneoka, Daisuke; Henmi, Masayuki

    2017-11-30

    Recently, the number of clinical prediction models sharing the same regression task has increased in the medical literature. However, evidence synthesis methodologies that use the results of these regression models have not been sufficiently studied, particularly in meta-analysis settings where only regression coefficients are available. One of the difficulties lies in the differences between the categorization schemes of continuous covariates across different studies. In general, categorization methods using cutoff values are study specific across available models, even if they focus on the same covariates of interest. Differences in the categorization of covariates could lead to serious bias in the estimated regression coefficients and thus in subsequent syntheses. To tackle this issue, we developed synthesis methods for linear regression models with different categorization schemes of covariates. A 2-step approach to aggregate the regression coefficient estimates is proposed. The first step is to estimate the joint distribution of covariates by introducing a latent sampling distribution, which uses one set of individual participant data to estimate the marginal distribution of covariates with categorization. The second step is to use a nonlinear mixed-effects model with correction terms for the bias due to categorization to estimate the overall regression coefficients. Especially in terms of precision, numerical simulations show that our approach outperforms conventional methods, which only use studies with common covariates or ignore the differences between categorization schemes. The method developed in this study is also applied to a series of WHO epidemiologic studies on white blood cell counts. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. PUFF-III: A Code for Processing ENDF Uncertainty Data Into Multigroup Covariance Matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunn, M.E.

    2000-01-01

    PUFF-III is an extension of the previous PUFF-II code that was developed in the 1970s and early 1980s. The PUFF codes process the Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF) covariance data and generate multigroup covariance matrices on a user-specified energy grid structure. Unlike its predecessor, PUFF-III can process the new ENDF/B-VI data formats. In particular, PUFF-III has the capability to process the spontaneous fission covariances for fission neutron multiplicity. With regard to the covariance data in File 33 of the ENDF system, PUFF-III has the capability to process short-range variance formats, as well as the lumped reaction covariance data formats that were introduced in ENDF/B-V. In addition to the new ENDF formats, a new directory feature is now available that allows the user to obtain a detailed directory of the uncertainty information in the data files without visually inspecting the ENDF data. Following the correlation matrix calculation, PUFF-III also evaluates the eigenvalues of each correlation matrix and tests each matrix for positive definiteness. Additional new features are discussed in the manual. PUFF-III has been developed for implementation in the AMPX code system, and several modifications were incorporated to improve memory allocation tasks and input/output operations. Consequently, the resulting code has a structure that is similar to other modules in the AMPX code system. With the release of PUFF-III, a new and improved covariance processing code is available to process ENDF covariance formats through Version VI

  3. Integrated covariance estimation using high-frequency data in the presence of noise

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Voev, Valeri; Lunde, Asger

    2007-01-01

    We analyze the effects of nonsynchronicity and market microstructure noise on realized covariance type estimators. Hayashi and Yoshida (2005) propose a simple estimator that resolves the problem of nonsynchronicity and is unbiased and consistent for the integrated covariance in the absence of noise...

  4. Robustness studies in covariance structure modeling - An overview and a meta-analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogland, Jeffrey J.; Boomsma, A

    In covariance structure modeling, several estimation methods are available. The robustness of an estimator against specific violations of assumptions can be determined empirically by means of a Monte Carlo study. Many such studies in covariance structure analysis have been published, but the

  5. Estimation of Covariance Matrix on Bi-Response Longitudinal Data Analysis with Penalized Spline Regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islamiyati, A.; Fatmawati; Chamidah, N.

    2018-03-01

    The correlation assumption of the longitudinal data with bi-response occurs on the measurement between the subjects of observation and the response. It causes the auto-correlation of error, and this can be overcome by using a covariance matrix. In this article, we estimate the covariance matrix based on the penalized spline regression model. Penalized spline involves knot points and smoothing parameters simultaneously in controlling the smoothness of the curve. Based on our simulation study, the estimated regression model of the weighted penalized spline with covariance matrix gives a smaller error value compared to the error of the model without covariance matrix.

  6. Pursuing minimally disruptive medicine: disruption from illness and health care-related demands is correlated with patient capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boehmer, Kasey R; Shippee, Nathan D; Beebe, Timothy J; Montori, Victor M

    2016-06-01

    Chronic conditions burden patients with illness and treatments. We know little about the disruption of life by the work of dialysis in relation to the resources patients can mobilize, that is, their capacity, to deal with such demands. We sought to determine the disruption of life by dialysis and its relation to patient capacity to cope. We administered a survey to 137 patients on dialysis at an academic medical center. We captured disruption from illness and treatment, and physical, mental, personal, social, financial, and environmental aspects of patient capacity using validated scales. Covariates included number of prescriptions, hours spent on health care, existence of dependents, age, sex, and income level. On average, patients reported levels of capacity and disruption comparable to published levels. In multivariate regression models, limited physical, financial, and mental capacity were significantly associated with greater disruption. Patients in the top quartile of disruption had lower-than-expected physical, financial, and mental capacity. Our sample generally had capacity comparable to other populations and may be able to meet the demands imposed by treatment. Those with reduced physical, financial, and mental capacity reported higher disruption and represent a vulnerable group that may benefit from innovations in minimally disruptive medicine. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Structural Covariance of the Prefrontal-Amygdala Pathways Associated with Heart Rate Variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Luqing; Chen, Hong; Wu, Guo-Rong

    2018-01-01

    The neurovisceral integration model has shown a key role of the amygdala in neural circuits underlying heart rate variability (HRV) modulation, and suggested that reciprocal connections from amygdala to brain regions centered on the central autonomic network (CAN) are associated with HRV. To provide neuroanatomical evidence for these theoretical perspectives, the current study used covariance analysis of MRI-based gray matter volume (GMV) to map structural covariance network of the amygdala, and then determined whether the interregional structural correlations related to individual differences in HRV. The results showed that covariance patterns of the amygdala encompassed large portions of cortical (e.g., prefrontal, cingulate, and insula) and subcortical (e.g., striatum, hippocampus, and midbrain) regions, lending evidence from structural covariance analysis to the notion that the amygdala was a pivotal node in neural pathways for HRV modulation. Importantly, participants with higher resting HRV showed increased covariance of amygdala to dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (dmPFC/dACC) extending into adjacent medial motor regions [i.e., pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA)/SMA], demonstrating structural covariance of the prefrontal-amygdala pathways implicated in HRV, and also implying that resting HRV may reflect the function of neural circuits underlying cognitive regulation of emotion as well as facilitation of adaptive behaviors to emotion. Our results, thus, provide anatomical substrates for the neurovisceral integration model that resting HRV may index an integrative neural network which effectively organizes emotional, cognitive, physiological and behavioral responses in the service of goal-directed behavior and adaptability.

  8. The Big Fish-Little Pond Effect on Affective Factors Based on PISA 2012 Mathematics Achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dilara BAKAN KALAYCIOĞLU

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the 2012 PISA Turkey student questionnaire data is considered to determine the big fish-little pond effect. The mathematics self-efficacy, self-concept and anxiety affective factors are examined to explain the relation of each of them with the school type, gender, socioeconomic status, student’s mathematics achievement and school’s mathematics achievement covariates. A total number of 771 students from 88 high schools are in the sample. Factor analyses’ results support the construct validity of the Student Questionnaire’s mathematics self-efficacy, anxiety and self-concept items. Data set is analyzed with Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause Model and the patterns of association with covariates and affective factors were tested simultaneously. According to the results, Anatolian high school students have a higher mathematics self-efficacy and lower mathematics anxiety than do the general high school students. However, when the student mathematics achievement and school mathematics achievement variables were inserted to the model, school type was not associated with mathematics self-efficacy. Moreover, Anatolian high school student’s mathematics anxiety was higher than that of the general high school students. Student’s mathematics achievement was the most significant predictor of the mathematics self-efficacy, anxiety and self-concept factors. Finally, school’s mathematics achievement was a significant predictor of only mathematics self-concept. The identification of increase in school’s mathematics achievement yields a decrease in the student’s mathematics self-concept may be considered as the most important result of this study. These results provide evidence about the Anatolian high schools’ students experience big fish-little pond effect.

  9. Exploiting Data Sparsity In Covariance Matrix Computations on Heterogeneous Systems

    KAUST Repository

    Charara, Ali M.

    2018-05-24

    Covariance matrices are ubiquitous in computational sciences, typically describing the correlation of elements of large multivariate spatial data sets. For example, covari- ance matrices are employed in climate/weather modeling for the maximum likelihood estimation to improve prediction, as well as in computational ground-based astronomy to enhance the observed image quality by filtering out noise produced by the adap- tive optics instruments and atmospheric turbulence. The structure of these covariance matrices is dense, symmetric, positive-definite, and often data-sparse, therefore, hier- archically of low-rank. This thesis investigates the performance limit of dense matrix computations (e.g., Cholesky factorization) on covariance matrix problems as the number of unknowns grows, and in the context of the aforementioned applications. We employ recursive formulations of some of the basic linear algebra subroutines (BLAS) to accelerate the covariance matrix computation further, while reducing data traffic across the memory subsystems layers. However, dealing with large data sets (i.e., covariance matrices of billions in size) can rapidly become prohibitive in memory footprint and algorithmic complexity. Most importantly, this thesis investigates the tile low-rank data format (TLR), a new compressed data structure and layout, which is valuable in exploiting data sparsity by approximating the operator. The TLR com- pressed data structure allows approximating the original problem up to user-defined numerical accuracy. This comes at the expense of dealing with tasks with much lower arithmetic intensities than traditional dense computations. In fact, this thesis con- solidates the two trends of dense and data-sparse linear algebra for HPC. Not only does the thesis leverage recursive formulations for dense Cholesky-based matrix al- gorithms, but it also implements a novel TLR-Cholesky factorization using batched linear algebra operations to increase hardware occupancy and

  10. Effect of neural connectivity on autocovariance and cross covariance estimates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stecker Mark M

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Measurements of auto and cross covariance functions are frequently used to investigate neural systems. In interpreting this data, it is commonly assumed that the largest contribution to the recordings comes from sources near the electrode. However, the potential recorded at an electrode represents the superimposition of the potentials generated by large numbers of active neural structures. This creates situations under which the measured auto and cross covariance functions are dominated by the activity in structures far from the electrode and in which the distance dependence of the cross-covariance function differs significantly from that describing the activity in the actual neural structures. Methods Direct application of electrostatics to calculate the theoretical auto and cross covariance functions that would be recorded from electrodes immersed in a large volume filled with active neural structures with specific statistical properties. Results It is demonstrated that the potentials recorded from a monopolar electrode surrounded by dipole sources in a uniform medium are predominantly due to activity in neural structures far from the electrode when neuronal correlations drop more slowly than 1/r3 or when the size of the neural system is much smaller than a known correlation distance. Recordings from quadrupolar sources are strongly dependent on distant neurons when correlations drop more slowly than 1/r or the size of the system is much smaller than the correlation distance. Differences between bipolar and monopolar recordings are discussed. It is also demonstrated that the cross covariance of the recorded in two spatially separated electrodes declines as a power-law function of the distance between them even when the electrical activity from different neuronal structures is uncorrelated. Conclusion When extracellular electrophysiologic recordings are made from systems containing large numbers of neural structures, it is

  11. An alternative covariance estimator to investigate genetic heterogeneity in populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heslot, Nicolas; Jannink, Jean-Luc

    2015-11-26

    For genomic prediction and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using mixed models, covariance between individuals is estimated using molecular markers. Based on the properties of mixed models, using available molecular data for prediction is optimal if this covariance is known. Under this assumption, adding individuals to the analysis should never be detrimental. However, some empirical studies showed that increasing training population size decreased prediction accuracy. Recently, results from theoretical models indicated that even if marker density is high and the genetic architecture of traits is controlled by many loci with small additive effects, the covariance between individuals, which depends on relationships at causal loci, is not always well estimated by the whole-genome kinship. We propose an alternative covariance estimator named K-kernel, to account for potential genetic heterogeneity between populations that is characterized by a lack of genetic correlation, and to limit the information flow between a priori unknown populations in a trait-specific manner. This is similar to a multi-trait model and parameters are estimated by REML and, in extreme cases, it can allow for an independent genetic architecture between populations. As such, K-kernel is useful to study the problem of the design of training populations. K-kernel was compared to other covariance estimators or kernels to examine its fit to the data, cross-validated accuracy and suitability for GWAS on several datasets. It provides a significantly better fit to the data than the genomic best linear unbiased prediction model and, in some cases it performs better than other kernels such as the Gaussian kernel, as shown by an empirical null distribution. In GWAS simulations, alternative kernels control type I errors as well as or better than the classical whole-genome kinship and increase statistical power. No or small gains were observed in cross-validated prediction accuracy. This alternative

  12. Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant capacity increase options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larson, D.E.

    1996-04-01

    Studies are being conducted by the Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP) Project on ways to increase the waste processing capacity within the current Vitrification Building structural design. The Phase 1 study on remote systems concepts identification and extent of capacity increase was completed. The study concluded that the HWVP capacity could be increased to four times the current capacity with minor design adjustments to the fixed facility design, and the required design changes would not impact the current footprint of the vitrification building. A further increase in production capacity may be achievable but would require some technology development, verification testing, and a more systematic and extensive engineering evaluation. The primary changes included a single advance melter with a higher capacity, new evaporative feed tank, offgas quench collection tank, ejector venturi scrubbers, and additional inner canister closure station,a smear test station, a new close- coupled analytical facility, waste hold capacity of 400,000 gallon, the ability to concentrate out-of-plant HWVP feed to 90 g/L waste oxide concentration, and limited changes to the current base slab construction package

  13. Estimating surface fluxes using eddy covariance and numerical ogive optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sievers, J.; Papakyriakou, T.; Larsen, Søren Ejling

    2015-01-01

    Estimating representative surface fluxes using eddy covariance leads invariably to questions concerning inclusion or exclusion of low-frequency flux contributions. For studies where fluxes are linked to local physical parameters and up-scaled through numerical modelling efforts, low-frequency con......Estimating representative surface fluxes using eddy covariance leads invariably to questions concerning inclusion or exclusion of low-frequency flux contributions. For studies where fluxes are linked to local physical parameters and up-scaled through numerical modelling efforts, low...

  14. Soft covariant gauges on the lattice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henty, D.S.; Oliveira, O.; Parrinello, C.; Ryan, S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Scotland (UKQCD Collaboration)

    1996-12-01

    We present an exploratory study of a one-parameter family of covariant, nonperturbative lattice gauge-fixing conditions that can be implemented through a simple Monte Carlo algorithm. We demonstrate that at the numerical level the procedure is feasible, and as a first application we examine the gauge dependence of the gluon propagator. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

  15. Covariant derivatives of the Berezin transform

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Engliš, Miroslav; Otáhalová, R.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 363, č. 10 (2011), s. 5111-5129 ISSN 0002-9947 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100190802 Keywords : Berezin transform * Berezin symbol * covariant derivative Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.093, year: 2011 http://www.ams.org/journals/tran/2011-363-10/S0002-9947-2011-05111-1/home.html

  16. Homonuclear long-range correlation spectra from HMBC experiments by covariance processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoefberger, Wolfgang; Smrecki, Vilko; Vikić-Topić, Drazen; Müller, Norbert

    2007-07-01

    We present a new application of covariance nuclear magnetic resonance processing based on 1H--13C-HMBC experiments which provides an effective way for establishing indirect 1H--1H and 13C--13C nuclear spin connectivity at natural isotope abundance. The method, which identifies correlated spin networks in terms of covariance between one-dimensional traces from a single decoupled HMBC experiment, derives 13C--13C as well as 1H--1H spin connectivity maps from the two-dimensional frequency domain heteronuclear long-range correlation data matrix. The potential and limitations of this novel covariance NMR application are demonstrated on two compounds: eugenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside and an emodin-derivative. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Relativistic covariant wave equations and acausality in external fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pijlgroms, R.B.J.

    1980-01-01

    The author considers linear, finite dimensional, first order relativistic wave equations: (βsup(μ)ideltasub(μ)-β)PSI(x) = 0 with βsup(μ) and β constant matrices. Firstly , the question of the relativistic covariance conditions on these equations is considered. Then the theory of these equations with β non-singular is summarized. Theories with βsup(μ), β square matrices and β singular are also discussed. Non-square systems of covariant relativistic wave equations for arbitrary spin > 1 are then considered. Finally, the interaction with external fields and the acausality problem are discussed. (G.T.H.)

  18. Lorentz covariant tempered distributions in two-dimensional space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zinov'ev, Yu.M.

    1989-01-01

    The problem of describing Lorentz covariant distributions without any spectral condition has hitherto remained unsolved even for two-dimensional space-time. Attempts to solve this problem have already been made. Zharinov obtained an integral representation for the Laplace transform of Lorentz invariant distributions with support in the product of two-dimensional future light cones. However, this integral representation does not make it possible to obtain a complete description of the corresponding Lorentz invariant distributions. In this paper the author gives a complete description of Lorentz covariant distributions for two-dimensional space-time. No spectral conditions is assumed

  19. The covariance matrix of derived quantities and their combination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Z.; Perey, F.G.

    1992-06-01

    The covariance matrix of quantities derived from measured data via nonlinear relations are only approximate since they are functions of the measured data taken as estimates for the true values of the measured quantities. The evaluation of such derived quantities entails new estimates for the true values of the measured quantities and consequently implies a modification of the covariance matrix of the derived quantities that was used in the evaluation process. Failure to recognize such an implication can lead to inconsistencies between the results of different evaluation strategies. In this report we show that an iterative procedure can eliminate such inconsistencies

  20. Treating Sample Covariances for Use in Strongly Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Data Assimilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Polly J.; Lawless, Amos S.; Nichols, Nancy K.

    2018-01-01

    Strongly coupled data assimilation requires cross-domain forecast error covariances; information from ensembles can be used, but limited sampling means that ensemble derived error covariances are routinely rank deficient and/or ill-conditioned and marred by noise. Thus, they require modification before they can be incorporated into a standard assimilation framework. Here we compare methods for improving the rank and conditioning of multivariate sample error covariance matrices for coupled atmosphere-ocean data assimilation. The first method, reconditioning, alters the matrix eigenvalues directly; this preserves the correlation structures but does not remove sampling noise. We show that it is better to recondition the correlation matrix rather than the covariance matrix as this prevents small but dynamically important modes from being lost. The second method, model state-space localization via the Schur product, effectively removes sample noise but can dampen small cross-correlation signals. A combination that exploits the merits of each is found to offer an effective alternative.

  1. Accounting for covariate measurement error in a Cox model analysis of recurrence of depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, K; Mazumdar, S; Stone, R A; Dew, M A; Houck, P R; Reynolds, C F

    2001-01-01

    When a covariate measured with error is used as a predictor in a survival analysis using the Cox model, the parameter estimate is usually biased. In clinical research, covariates measured without error such as treatment procedure or sex are often used in conjunction with a covariate measured with error. In a randomized clinical trial of two types of treatments, we account for the measurement error in the covariate, log-transformed total rapid eye movement (REM) activity counts, in a Cox model analysis of the time to recurrence of major depression in an elderly population. Regression calibration and two variants of a likelihood-based approach are used to account for measurement error. The likelihood-based approach is extended to account for the correlation between replicate measures of the covariate. Using the replicate data decreases the standard error of the parameter estimate for log(total REM) counts while maintaining the bias reduction of the estimate. We conclude that covariate measurement error and the correlation between replicates can affect results in a Cox model analysis and should be accounted for. In the depression data, these methods render comparable results that have less bias than the results when measurement error is ignored.

  2. Effect of language of instruction on physics achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Kwok K.

    This study investigated the relationship between physics achievement and language of instruction in a situation where instruction was in the second language of both students and teachers. One hundred and seventy-six grade ten physics students (first language was Chinese) were selected from four classes of two secondary schools in Hong Kong. For three months (with four lessons per week), two classes of students learned the content material (light and sound) in Chinese and two classes learned the material in English. Group differences were controlled by using individual aptitude scores as covariates in the analysis. There were no differences in achievement, students' motivation, and effort spent in physics in that controlled teaching period. This was probably because the Anglo-Chinese group was sufficiently proficient in English so they did not encounter additional difficulty in learning physics when compared with the Chinese group.

  3. Free-Space Optical Communications: Capacity Bounds, Approximations, and a New Sphere-Packing Perspective

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas

    2016-02-03

    The capacity of the free-space optical channel is studied. A new recursive approach for bounding the capacity of the channel based on sphere-packing is proposed. This approach leads to new capacity upper bounds for a channel with a peak intensity constraint or an average intensity constraint. Under an average constraint only, the derived bound is tighter than an existing sphere-packing bound derived earlier by Farid and Hranilovic. The achievable rate of a truncated-Gaussian input distribution is also derived. It is shown that under both average and peak constraints, this achievable rate and the sphere-packing bounds are within a small gap at high SNR, leading to a simple high-SNR capacity approximation. Simple fitting functions that capture the best known achievable rate for the channel are provided. These functions can be of practical importance especially for the study of systems operating under atmospheric turbulence and misalignment conditions.

  4. Free-Space Optical Communications: Capacity Bounds, Approximations, and a New Sphere-Packing Perspective

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas; Morvan, Jean-Marie; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2016-01-01

    The capacity of the free-space optical channel is studied. A new recursive approach for bounding the capacity of the channel based on sphere-packing is proposed. This approach leads to new capacity upper bounds for a channel with a peak intensity constraint or an average intensity constraint. Under an average constraint only, the derived bound is tighter than an existing sphere-packing bound derived earlier by Farid and Hranilovic. The achievable rate of a truncated-Gaussian input distribution is also derived. It is shown that under both average and peak constraints, this achievable rate and the sphere-packing bounds are within a small gap at high SNR, leading to a simple high-SNR capacity approximation. Simple fitting functions that capture the best known achievable rate for the channel are provided. These functions can be of practical importance especially for the study of systems operating under atmospheric turbulence and misalignment conditions.

  5. On the Capacity Region of the Intensity-Modulation Direct-Detection Optical Broadcast Channel

    KAUST Repository

    Chaaban, Anas

    2015-08-11

    The capacity of the intensity-modulation direct-detection free-space optical broadcast channel (OBC) is investigated. The Gaussian model with input-independent Gaussian noise is used, with both average and peak intensity constraints. An outer bound on the capacity region is derived by adapting Bergmans\\' approach to the OBC. Inner bounds are derived by using superposition coding with either truncated-Gaussian distributions or discrete distributions. While the discrete input distribution achieves higher rates than the truncated-Gaussian distribution, the latter allows expressing the achievable rate region in a closed form. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), it is shown that the truncated-Gaussian distribution is nearly optimal. It achieves the symmetric-capacity within a constant gap (independent of SNR), which approaches half a bit as the number of users grows large. It also achieves the capacity region within a constant gap, which depends on the number of users. At low SNR, it is shown that on-off keying with time-division multiple-access (TDMA) is optimal, as it achieves any point on the boundary of the developed outer bound. This is interesting in practice since both OOK and TDMA have low complexity. At moderate SNR (typically [0,8] dB), a discrete distribution with a small alphabet size achieves a fairly good performance in terms of symmetric rate.

  6. Covariant holography of a tachyonic accelerating universe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rozas-Fernandez, Alberto [Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Instituto de Fisica Fundamental, Madrid (Spain); University of Portsmouth, Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, Portsmouth (United Kingdom)

    2014-08-15

    We apply the holographic principle to a flat dark energy dominated Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime filled with a tachyon scalar field with constant equation of state w = p/ρ, both for w > -1 and w < -1. By using a geometrical covariant procedure, which allows the construction of holographic hypersurfaces, we have obtained for each case the position of the preferred screen and have then compared these with those obtained by using the holographic dark energy model with the future event horizon as the infrared cutoff. In the phantom scenario, one of the two obtained holographic screens is placed on the big rip hypersurface, both for the covariant holographic formalism and the holographic phantom model. It is also analyzed whether the existence of these preferred screens allows a mathematically consistent formulation of fundamental theories based on the existence of an S-matrix at infinite distances. (orig.)

  7. Covariance, correlation matrix, and the multiscale community structure of networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Hua-Wei; Cheng, Xue-Qi; Fang, Bin-Xing

    2010-07-01

    Empirical studies show that real world networks often exhibit multiple scales of topological descriptions. However, it is still an open problem how to identify the intrinsic multiple scales of networks. In this paper, we consider detecting the multiscale community structure of network from the perspective of dimension reduction. According to this perspective, a covariance matrix of network is defined to uncover the multiscale community structure through the translation and rotation transformations. It is proved that the covariance matrix is the unbiased version of the well-known modularity matrix. We then point out that the translation and rotation transformations fail to deal with the heterogeneous network, which is very common in nature and society. To address this problem, a correlation matrix is proposed through introducing the rescaling transformation into the covariance matrix. Extensive tests on real world and artificial networks demonstrate that the correlation matrix significantly outperforms the covariance matrix, identically the modularity matrix, as regards identifying the multiscale community structure of network. This work provides a novel perspective to the identification of community structure and thus various dimension reduction methods might be used for the identification of community structure. Through introducing the correlation matrix, we further conclude that the rescaling transformation is crucial to identify the multiscale community structure of network, as well as the translation and rotation transformations.

  8. Robust entry guidance using linear covariance-based model predictive control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianjun Luo

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available For atmospheric entry vehicles, guidance design can be accomplished by solving an optimal issue using optimal control theories. However, traditional design methods generally focus on the nominal performance and do not include considerations of the robustness in the design process. This paper proposes a linear covariance-based model predictive control method for robust entry guidance design. Firstly, linear covariance analysis is employed to directly incorporate the robustness into the guidance design. The closed-loop covariance with the feedback updated control command is initially formulated to provide the expected errors of the nominal state variables in the presence of uncertainties. Then, the closed-loop covariance is innovatively used as a component of the cost function to guarantee the robustness to reduce its sensitivity to uncertainties. After that, the models predictive control is used to solve the optimal problem, and the control commands (bank angles are calculated. Finally, a series of simulations for different missions have been completed to demonstrate the high performance in precision and the robustness with respect to initial perturbations as well as uncertainties in the entry process. The 3σ confidence region results in the presence of uncertainties which show that the robustness of the guidance has been improved, and the errors of the state variables are decreased by approximately 35%.

  9. Generation of intensity covariations of the oxygen green and red lines in the nightglow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misawa, K.; Takeuchi, I.; Kato, Y.; Aoyama, I.

    1984-02-01

    The cause of intensity covariations of the oxygen green and red lines is studied. Intensity covariations are compared with the auroral-electrojet-activity index AE, the substorm Pi2, and the magnetogram. It is suggested that intensity covariations or double-intensity maxima of the red line occur in association with intense auroral substorms, and that they are the direct experimental evidences of Testud's theory (1973).

  10. Regeneration limit of classical Shannon capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorokina, M. A.; Turitsyn, S. K.

    2014-05-01

    Since Shannon derived the seminal formula for the capacity of the additive linear white Gaussian noise channel, it has commonly been interpreted as the ultimate limit of error-free information transmission rate. However, the capacity above the corresponding linear channel limit can be achieved when noise is suppressed using nonlinear elements; that is, the regenerative function not available in linear systems. Regeneration is a fundamental concept that extends from biology to optical communications. All-optical regeneration of coherent signal has attracted particular attention. Surprisingly, the quantitative impact of regeneration on the Shannon capacity has remained unstudied. Here we propose a new method of designing regenerative transmission systems with capacity that is higher than the corresponding linear channel, and illustrate it by proposing application of the Fourier transform for efficient regeneration of multilevel multidimensional signals. The regenerative Shannon limit—the upper bound of regeneration efficiency—is derived.

  11. A cautionary note on generalized linear models for covariance of unbalanced longitudinal data

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jianhua Z.; Chen, Min; Maadooliat, Mehdi; Pourahmadi, Mohsen

    2012-01-01

    Missing data in longitudinal studies can create enormous challenges in data analysis when coupled with the positive-definiteness constraint on a covariance matrix. For complete balanced data, the Cholesky decomposition of a covariance matrix makes

  12. Extreme eigenvalues of sample covariance and correlation matrices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heiny, Johannes

    This thesis is concerned with asymptotic properties of the eigenvalues of high-dimensional sample covariance and correlation matrices under an infinite fourth moment of the entries. In the first part, we study the joint distributional convergence of the largest eigenvalues of the sample covariance...... matrix of a p-dimensional heavy-tailed time series when p converges to infinity together with the sample size n. We generalize the growth rates of p existing in the literature. Assuming a regular variation condition with tail index ... eigenvalues are essentially determined by the extreme order statistics from an array of iid random variables. The asymptotic behavior of the extreme eigenvalues is then derived routinely from classical extreme value theory. The resulting approximations are strikingly simple considering the high dimension...

  13. Policy Capacity for Health Reform: Necessary but Insufficient: Comment on "Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Owen

    2015-09-04

    Forest and colleagues have persuasively made the case that policy capacity is a fundamental prerequisite to health reform. They offer a comprehensive life-cycle definition of policy capacity and stress that it involves much more than problem identification and option development. I would like to offer a Canadian perspective. If we define health reform as re-orienting the health system from acute care to prevention and chronic disease management the consensus is that Canada has been unsuccessful in achieving a major transformation of our 14 health systems (one for each province and territory plus the federal government). I argue that 3 additional things are essential to build health policy capacity in a healthcare federation such as Canada: (a) A means of "policy governance" that would promote an approach to cooperative federalism in the health arena; (b) The ability to overcome the "policy inertia" resulting from how Canadian Medicare was implemented and subsequently interpreted; and (c) The ability to entertain a long-range thinking and planning horizon. My assessment indicates that Canada falls short on each of these items, and the prospects for achieving them are not bright. However, hope springs eternal and it will be interesting to see if the July, 2015 report of the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation manages to galvanize national attention and stimulate concerted action. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

  14. Measuring evapotranspiration using an eddy covariance system over the Albany Thicket of the Eastern Cape, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwate, O.; Mantel, Sukhmani K.; Palmer, Anthony R.; Gibson, Lesley A.

    2016-10-01

    Determining water and carbon fluxes over a vegetated surface is important in a context of global environmental changes and the fluxes help in understanding ecosystem functioning. Pursuant to this, the study measured evapotranspiration (ET) using an eddy covariance (EC) system installed over an intact example of the Albany Thicket (AT) vegetation in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Environmental constraints to ET were also assessed by examining the response of ET to biotic and abiotic factors. The EC system comprised of an open path Infrared Gas Analyser and Sonic anemometer and an attendant weather station to measure bi-meteorological variables. Post processing of eddy covariance data was conducted using EddyPro software. Quality assessment of fluxes was also performed and rejected and missing data were filled using the method of mean diurnal variations (MDV). Much of the variation in ET was accounted for by the leaf area index (LAI, p water storage capacity of the vegetation and the possibility of vegetation accessing ground water. Most of the net radiation was consumed by sensible heat flux and this means that ET in the area is essentially water limited since abundant energy was available to drive turbulent transfers of energy. Understanding the environmental constraints to ET is crucial in predicting the ecosystem response to environmental forces such as climate change.

  15. The Developmental Influence of Primary Memory Capacity on Working Memory and Academic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Debbora; Jarrold, Christopher; Towse, John N.; Zarandi, Amy L.

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we investigate the development of primary memory capacity among children. Children between the ages of 5 and 8 completed 3 novel tasks (split span, interleaved lists, and a modified free-recall task) that measured primary memory by estimating the number of items in the focus of attention that could be spontaneously recalled in…

  16. Capacity analysis of spectrum sharing spatial multiplexing MIMO systems

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang

    2014-12-01

    This paper considers a spectrum sharing (SS) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system operating in a Rayleigh fading environment. First the capacity of a single-user SS spatial multiplexing system is investigated in two scenarios that assume different receivers. To explicitly show the capacity scaling law of SS MIMO systems, some approximate capacity expressions for the two scenarios are derived. Next, we extend our analysis to a multiple user system with zero-forcing receivers (ZF) under spatially-independent scheduling and analyze the sum-rate. Furthermore, we provide an asymptotic sum-rate analysis to investigate the effects of different parameters on the multiuser diversity gain. Our results show that the secondary system with a smaller number of transmit antennas Nt and a larger number of receive antennas Nr can achieve higher capacity at lower interference temperature Q, but at high Q the capacity follows the scaling law of the conventional MIMO systems. However, for a ZF SS spatial multiplexing system, the secondary system with small Nt and large Nr can achieve the highest capacity throughout the entire region of Q. For a ZF SS spatial multiplexing system with scheduling, the asymptotic sum-rate scales like Ntlog2(Q(KNtNp-1)/Nt), where Np denotes the number of antennas of the primary receiver and K represents the number of secondary transmitters.

  17. On superfield covariant quantization in general coordinates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gitman, D.M.; Moshin, P. Yu.; Tomazelli, J.L.

    2005-01-01

    We propose a natural extension of the BRST-antiBRST superfield covariant scheme in general coordinates. Thus, the coordinate dependence of the basic tensor fields and scalar density of the formalism is extended from the base supermanifold to the complete set of superfield variables. (orig.)

  18. On superfield covariant quantization in general coordinates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gitman, D.M. [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Fisica, Sao Paulo, S.P (Brazil); Moshin, P. Yu. [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Fisica, Sao Paulo, S.P (Brazil); Tomsk State Pedagogical University, Tomsk (Russian Federation); Tomazelli, J.L. [UNESP, Departamento de Fisica e Quimica, Campus de Guaratingueta (Brazil)

    2005-12-01

    We propose a natural extension of the BRST-antiBRST superfield covariant scheme in general coordinates. Thus, the coordinate dependence of the basic tensor fields and scalar density of the formalism is extended from the base supermanifold to the complete set of superfield variables. (orig.)

  19. Asymptotics for the minimum covariance determinant estimator

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Butler, R.W.; Davies, P.L.; Jhun, M.

    1993-01-01

    Consistency is shown for the minimum covariance determinant (MCD) estimators of multivariate location and scale and asymptotic normality is shown for the former. The proofs are made possible by showing a separating ellipsoid property for the MCD subset of observations. An analogous property is shown

  20. Coincidence and covariance data acquisition in photoelectron and -ion spectroscopy. II. Analysis and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikosch, Jochen; Patchkovskii, Serguei

    2013-10-01

    We use an analytical theory of noisy Poisson processes, developed in the preceding companion publication, to compare coincidence and covariance measurement approaches in photoelectron and -ion spectroscopy. For non-unit detection efficiencies, coincidence data acquisition (DAQ) suffers from false coincidences. The rate of false coincidences grows quadratically with the rate of elementary ionization events. To minimize false coincidences for rare event outcomes, very low event rates may hence be required. Coincidence measurements exhibit high tolerance to noise introduced by unstable experimental conditions. Covariance DAQ on the other hand is free of systematic errors as long as stable experimental conditions are maintained. In the presence of noise, all channels in a covariance measurement become correlated. Under favourable conditions, covariance DAQ may allow orders of magnitude reduction in measurement times. Finally, we use experimental data for strong-field ionization of 1,3-butadiene to illustrate how fluctuations in experimental conditions can contaminate a covariance measurement, and how such contamination can be detected.