Model-independent quantitative measurement of nanomechanical oscillator vibrations using electron-microscope linescans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Huan; Fenton, J. C.; Chiatti, O. [London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, 17–19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH (United Kingdom); Warburton, P. A. [London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, 17–19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH (United Kingdom); Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE (United Kingdom)

2013-07-15

Nanoscale mechanical resonators are highly sensitive devices and, therefore, for application as highly sensitive mass balances, they are potentially superior to micromachined cantilevers. The absolute measurement of nanoscale displacements of such resonators remains a challenge, however, since the optical signal reflected from a cantilever whose dimensions are sub-wavelength is at best very weak. We describe a technique for quantitative analysis and fitting of scanning-electron microscope (SEM) linescans across a cantilever resonator, involving deconvolution from the vibrating resonator profile using the stationary resonator profile. This enables determination of the absolute amplitude of nanomechanical cantilever oscillations even when the oscillation amplitude is much smaller than the cantilever width. This technique is independent of any model of secondary-electron emission from the resonator and is, therefore, applicable to resonators with arbitrary geometry and material inhomogeneity. We demonstrate the technique using focussed-ion-beam–deposited tungsten cantilevers of radius ∼60–170 nm inside a field-emission SEM, with excitation of the cantilever by a piezoelectric actuator allowing measurement of the full frequency response. Oscillation amplitudes approaching the size of the primary electron-beam can be resolved. We further show that the optimum electron-beam scan speed is determined by a compromise between deflection of the cantilever at low scan speeds and limited spatial resolution at high scan speeds. Our technique will be an important tool for use in precise characterization of nanomechanical resonator devices.

Background-independent measurement of θ13 in Double Chooz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Y.; Anjos, J.C. dos; Barriere, J.C.; Baussan, E.; Bekman, I.; Bergevin, M.; Bezerra, T.J.C.; Bezrukov, L.; Blucher, E.; Buck, C.; Busenitz, J.; Cabrera, A.; Caden, E.; Camilleri, L.; Carr, R.; Cerrada, M.; Chang, P.-J.; Chauveau, E.

2014-01-01

The oscillation results published by the Double Chooz Collaboration in 2011 and 2012 rely on background models substantiated by reactor-on data. In this analysis, we present a background-model-independent measurement of the mixing angle θ 13 by including 7.53 days of reactor-off data. A global fit of the observed antineutrino rates for different reactor power conditions is performed, yielding a measurement of both θ 13 and the total background rate. The results on the mixing angle are improved significantly by including the reactor-off data in the fit, as it provides a direct measurement of the total background rate. This reactor rate modulation analysis considers antineutrino candidates with neutron captures on both Gd and H, whose combination yields sin 2 (2θ 13 )=0.102±0.028(stat.)±0.033(syst.). The results presented in this study are fully consistent with the ones already published by Double Chooz, achieving a competitive precision. They provide, for the first time, a determination of θ 13 that does not depend on a background model

Measurement-Device-Independent Approach to Entanglement Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Shahandeh, Farid; Hall, Michael J. W.; Ralph, Timothy C.

2017-04-01

Within the context of semiquantum nonlocal games, the trust can be removed from the measurement devices in an entanglement-detection procedure. Here, we show that a similar approach can be taken to quantify the amount of entanglement. To be specific, first, we show that in this context, a small subset of semiquantum nonlocal games is necessary and sufficient for entanglement detection in the local operations and classical communication paradigm. Second, we prove that the maximum payoff for these games is a universal measure of entanglement which is convex and continuous. Third, we show that for the quantification of negative-partial-transpose entanglement, this subset can be further reduced down to a single arbitrary element. Importantly, our measure is measurement device independent by construction and operationally accessible. Finally, our approach straightforwardly extends to quantify the entanglement within any partitioning of multipartite quantum states.

Measurement device-independent quantum dialogue

Science.gov (United States)

Maitra, Arpita

2017-12-01

Very recently, the experimental demonstration of quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) with state-of-the-art atomic quantum memory has been reported (Zhang et al. in Phys Rev Lett 118:220501, 2017). Quantum dialogue (QD) falls under QSDC where the secrete messages are communicated simultaneously between two legitimate parties. The successful experimental demonstration of QSDC opens up the possibilities for practical implementation of QD protocols. Thus, it is necessary to analyze the practical security issues of QD protocols for future implementation. Since the very first proposal for QD by Nguyen (Phys Lett A 328:6-10, 2004), a large number of variants and extensions have been presented till date. However, all of those leak half of the secret bits to the adversary through classical communications of the measurement results. In this direction, motivated by the idea of Lo et al. (Phys Rev Lett 108:130503, 2012), we propose a measurement device-independent quantum dialogue scheme which is resistant to such information leakage as well as side-channel attacks. In the proposed protocol, Alice and Bob, two legitimate parties, are allowed to prepare the states only. The states are measured by an untrusted third party who may himself behave as an adversary. We show that our protocol is secure under this adversarial model. The current protocol does not require any quantum memory, and thus, it is inherently robust against memory attacks. Such robustness might not be guaranteed in the QSDC protocol with quantum memory (Zhang et al. 2017).

Comment on atomic independent-particle models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doda, D.D.; Gravey, R.H.; Green, A.E.S.

1975-01-01

The Hartree-Fock-Slater (HFS) independent-particle model in the form developed by Hermann and Skillman (HS) and the Green, Sellin, and Zachor (GSZ) analytic independent-particle model are being used for many types of applications of atomic theory to avoid cumbersome, albeit more rigorous, many-body calculations. The single-electron eigenvalues obtained with these models are examined and it is found that the GSZ model is capable of yielding energy eigenvalues for valence electrons which are substantially closer to experimental values than are the results of HS-HFS calculations. With the aid of an analytic representation of the equivalent HS-HFS screening function, the difficulty with this model is identified as a weakness of the potential in the neighborhood of the valence shell. Accurate representations of valence states are important in most atomic applications of the independent-particle model

Measurement-Device Independency Analysis of Continuous-Variable Quantum Digital Signature

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Tao Shang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available With the practical implementation of continuous-variable quantum cryptographic protocols, security problems resulting from measurement-device loopholes are being given increasing attention. At present, research on measurement-device independency analysis is limited in quantum key distribution protocols, while there exist different security problems for different protocols. Considering the importance of quantum digital signature in quantum cryptography, in this paper, we attempt to analyze the measurement-device independency of continuous-variable quantum digital signature, especially continuous-variable quantum homomorphic signature. Firstly, we calculate the upper bound of the error rate of a protocol. If it is negligible on condition that all measurement devices are untrusted, the protocol is deemed to be measurement-device-independent. Then, we simplify the calculation by using the characteristics of continuous variables and prove the measurement-device independency of the protocol according to the calculation result. In addition, the proposed analysis method can be extended to other quantum cryptographic protocols besides continuous-variable quantum homomorphic signature.

A new computational method of a moment-independent uncertainty importance measure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Qiao; Homma, Toshimitsu

2009-01-01

For a risk assessment model, the uncertainty in input parameters is propagated through the model and leads to the uncertainty in the model output. The study of how the uncertainty in the output of a model can be apportioned to the uncertainty in the model inputs is the job of sensitivity analysis. Saltelli [Sensitivity analysis for importance assessment. Risk Analysis 2002;22(3):579-90] pointed out that a good sensitivity indicator should be global, quantitative and model free. Borgonovo [A new uncertainty importance measure. Reliability Engineering and System Safety 2007;92(6):771-84] further extended these three requirements by adding the fourth feature, moment-independence, and proposed a new sensitivity measure, δ i . It evaluates the influence of the input uncertainty on the entire output distribution without reference to any specific moment of the model output. In this paper, a new computational method of δ i is proposed. It is conceptually simple and easier to implement. The feasibility of this new method is proved by applying it to two examples.

A diagrammatic construction of formal E-independent model hamiltonian

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kvasnicka, V.

1977-01-01

A diagrammatic construction of formal E-independent model interaction (i.e., without second-quantization formalism) is suggested. The construction starts from the quasi-degenerate Brillouin-Wigner perturbation theory, in the framework of which an E-dependent model Hamiltonian is simply constructed. Applying the ''E-removing'' procedure to this E-dependent model Hamiltonian, the E-independent formal model Hamiltonian either Hermitian or non-Hermitian can diagrammatically be easily derived. For the formal E-independent model Hamiltonian the separability theorem is proved, which can be profitably used for a rather ''formalistic ''construction of a many-body E-independent model Hamiltonian

Effect-independent measures of tissue responses to fractionated irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thames, H.D. Jr.

1984-01-01

Tissue repair factors measure the sparing that can be achieved from dose fractionation in the absence of proliferation. Four repair factors are analysed in these terms: Fsub(R),Fsub(rec), the ratio of linear-quadratic survival model parameters β/α and the half-time Tsub(1/2) for intracellular repair processes. Theoretically, Fsub(R) and Fsub(rec) are increasing functions of D 1 , and thus depend on level of effect. This is confirmed by analysis of skin reactions after multifractionated radiation. By contrast, β/α is effect-independent as a measure of repair capacity in skin, gut, and bone marrow, tissues for which it is reasonable to assume that survival of identifiable target cells is the primary determinant of the endpoint. For a functional endpoint not clearly connected with the depletion of a specific target-cell population (late fibrotic reactions in the kidney), there was an increase in β/α with increased levels of injury, but this was statistically insignificant. Tsub(1/2) is independent of fraction size in skin, gut, and spinal cord, and is longer (1.5 hours) in the late-reacting tissues (lung and spinal cord) than in those that react acutely (Tsub(1/2) less than 1 hour), with skin as the exception (Tsub(1/2) approx. 1.3 hours). (author)

Cosmological model-independent Gamma-ray bursts calibration and its cosmological constraint to dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Lixin

2012-01-01

As so far, the redshift of Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can extend to z ∼ 8 which makes it as a complementary probe of dark energy to supernova Ia (SN Ia). However, the calibration of GRBs is still a big challenge when they are used to constrain cosmological models. Though, the absolute magnitude of GRBs is still unknown, the slopes of GRBs correlations can be used as a useful constraint to dark energy in a completely cosmological model independent way. In this paper, we follow Wang's model-independent distance measurement method and calculate their values by using 109 GRBs events via the so-called Amati relation. Then, we use the obtained model-independent distances to constrain ΛCDM model as an example

Reference-Frame-Independent and Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution Using One Single Source

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qian; Zhu, Changhua; Ma, Shuquan; Wei, Kejin; Pei, Changxing

2018-04-01

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) is immune to all detector side-channel attacks. However, practical implementations of MDI-QKD, which require two-photon interferences from separated independent single-photon sources and a nontrivial reference alignment procedure, are still challenging with current technologies. Here, we propose a scheme that significantly reduces the experimental complexity of two-photon interferences and eliminates reference frame alignment by the combination of plug-and-play and reference frame independent MDI-QKD. Simulation results show that the secure communication distance can be up to 219 km in the finite-data case and the scheme has good potential for practical MDI-QKD systems.

Effect-independent measures of tissue response to fractionated radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thames, H.D.

1984-01-01

Tissue repair factors are measures of sparing from dose fractionation, in the absence of proliferation. A desirable feature of any repair factor is that it be independent of the level of injury induced in the tissue, since otherwise the comparison of tissues on the basis of the factor would not be meaningful. The repair factors F/sub R/ and F/sub rec/ are increasing functions of D/sub 1/, and depend on level of skin reaction after fractionated radiation. By contrast, β/α is effect-independent as a measure of repair capacity in skin, gut, and bone marrow. For late fibrotic reactions in the kidney, there was an increase in β/α with increased levels of injury that was statistically insignificant. The halftime, T/sub 1/2/, for intracellular repair processes in tissues is a measure of repair kinetics. Effect-independence is defend for T/sub 1/2/ as independence from size of dose per fraction. T/sub 1/2/ is independent of fraction size in skin, gut, and spinal cord, and is longer (1.5 hours) in the late-reacting tissues (lung and spinal cord) than in those that react acutely (less than 1 hour), with skin as the exception (1.3 hours). Therefore, early and late-responding normal tissues may be distinguished in terms of both repair capacity and repair kinetics: repair is slower in late-responding tissues, which are also more sensitive to changes in dose fractionation

Model-independent plot of dynamic PET data facilitates data interpretation and model selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Munk, Ole Lajord

2012-02-21

When testing new PET radiotracers or new applications of existing tracers, the blood-tissue exchange and the metabolism need to be examined. However, conventional plots of measured time-activity curves from dynamic PET do not reveal the inherent kinetic information. A novel model-independent volume-influx plot (vi-plot) was developed and validated. The new vi-plot shows the time course of the instantaneous distribution volume and the instantaneous influx rate. The vi-plot visualises physiological information that facilitates model selection and it reveals when a quasi-steady state is reached, which is a prerequisite for the use of the graphical analyses by Logan and Gjedde-Patlak. Both axes of the vi-plot have direct physiological interpretation, and the plot shows kinetic parameter in close agreement with estimates obtained by non-linear kinetic modelling. The vi-plot is equally useful for analyses of PET data based on a plasma input function or a reference region input function. The vi-plot is a model-independent and informative plot for data exploration that facilitates the selection of an appropriate method for data analysis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Model-independent determination of the triple Higgs coupling at e+e- colliders

Science.gov (United States)

Barklow, Tim; Fujii, Keisuke; Jung, Sunghoon; Peskin, Michael E.; Tian, Junping

2018-03-01

The observation of Higgs pair production at high-energy colliders can give evidence for the presence of a triple Higgs coupling. However, the actual determination of the value of this coupling is more difficult. In the context of general models for new physics, double Higgs production processes can receive contributions from many possible beyond-Standard-Model effects. This dependence must be understood if one is to make a definite statement about the deviation of the Higgs field potential from the Standard Model. In this paper, we study the extraction of the triple Higgs coupling from the process e+e-→Z h h . We show that, by combining the measurement of this process with other measurements available at a 500 GeV e+e- collider, it is possible to quote model-independent limits on the effective field theory parameter c6 that parametrizes modifications of the Higgs potential. We present precise error estimates based on the anticipated International Linear Collider physics program, studied with full simulation. Our analysis also gives new insight into the model-independent extraction of the Higgs boson coupling constants and total width from e+e- data.

Development Parenting Model to Increase the Independence of Children

Science.gov (United States)

Sunarty, Kustiah; Dirawan, Gufran Darma

2015-01-01

This study examines parenting and the child's independence model. The research problem is whether there is a relationship between parenting and the child's independence. The purpose of research is to determine: firstly, the type of parenting in an effort to increase the independence of the child; and the relationship between parenting models and…

Experimental Measurement-Device-Independent Entanglement Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Nawareg, Mohamed; Muhammad, Sadiq; Amselem, Elias; Bourennane, Mohamed

2015-02-01

Entanglement is one of the most puzzling features of quantum theory and of great importance for the new field of quantum information. The determination whether a given state is entangled or not is one of the most challenging open problems of the field. Here we report on the experimental demonstration of measurement-device-independent (MDI) entanglement detection using witness method for general two qubits photon polarization systems. In the MDI settings, there is no requirement to assume perfect implementations or neither to trust the measurement devices. This experimental demonstration can be generalized for the investigation of properties of quantum systems and for the realization of cryptography and communication protocols.

Measurement-device-independent quantum digital signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Puthoor, Ittoop Vergheese; Amiri, Ryan; Wallden, Petros; Curty, Marcos; Andersson, Erika

2016-08-01

Digital signatures play an important role in software distribution, modern communication, and financial transactions, where it is important to detect forgery and tampering. Signatures are a cryptographic technique for validating the authenticity and integrity of messages, software, or digital documents. The security of currently used classical schemes relies on computational assumptions. Quantum digital signatures (QDS), on the other hand, provide information-theoretic security based on the laws of quantum physics. Recent work on QDS Amiri et al., Phys. Rev. A 93, 032325 (2016);, 10.1103/PhysRevA.93.032325 Yin, Fu, and Zeng-Bing, Phys. Rev. A 93, 032316 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevA.93.032316 shows that such schemes do not require trusted quantum channels and are unconditionally secure against general coherent attacks. However, in practical QDS, just as in quantum key distribution (QKD), the detectors can be subjected to side-channel attacks, which can make the actual implementations insecure. Motivated by the idea of measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD), we present a measurement-device-independent QDS (MDI-QDS) scheme, which is secure against all detector side-channel attacks. Based on the rapid development of practical MDI-QKD, our MDI-QDS protocol could also be experimentally implemented, since it requires a similar experimental setup.

Development of an Upper Extremity Function Measurement Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Ickpyo; Simpson, Annie N; Li, Chih-Ying; Velozo, Craig A

This study demonstrated the development of a measurement model for gross upper-extremity function (GUE). The dependent variable was the Rasch calibration of the 27 ICF-GUE test items. The predictors were object weight, lifting distance from floor, carrying, and lifting. Multiple regression was used to investigate the contribution that each independent variable makes to the model with 203 outpatients. Object weight and lifting distance were the only statistically and clinically significant independent variables in the model, accounting for 83% of the variance (p model indicates that, with each one pound increase in object weight, item challenge increases by 0.16 (p measurement model for the ICF-GUE can be explained by object weight and distance lifted from the floor.

A quasi-independence model to estimate failure rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colombo, A.G.

1988-01-01

The use of a quasi-independence model to estimate failure rates is investigated. Gate valves of nuclear plants are considered, and two qualitative covariates are taken into account: plant location and reactor system. Independence between the two covariates and an exponential failure model are assumed. The failure rate of the components of a given system and plant is assumed to be a constant, but it may vary from one system to another and from one plant to another. This leads to the analysis of a contingency table. A particular feature of the model is the different operating time of the components in the various cells which can also be equal to zero. The concept of independence of the covariates is then replaced by that of quasi-independence. The latter definition, however, is used in a broader sense than usual. Suitable statistical tests are discussed and a numerical example illustrates the use of the method. (author)

Techniques for studies of unbinned model independent CP violation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bedford, Nicholas; Weisser, Constantin; Parkes, Chris; Gersabeck, Marco; Brodzicka, Jolanta; Chen, Shanzhen [University of Manchester (United Kingdom)

2016-07-01

Charge-Parity (CP) violation is a known part of the Standard Model and has been observed and measured in both the B and K meson systems. The observed levels, however, are insufficient to explain the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe, and so other sources need to be found. One area of current investigation is the D meson system, where predicted levels of CP violation are much lower than in the B and K meson systems. This means that more sensitive methods are required when searching for CP violation in this system. Several unbinned model independent methods have been proposed for this purpose, all of which need to be optimised and their sensitivities compared.

Measurement of form-factor independent observables in the decay $B^{0} \\to K^{*0} \\mu^+ \\mu^-$

CERN Document Server

Aaij, R; Adinolfi, M; Adrover, C; Affolder, A; Ajaltouni, Z; Albrecht, J; Alessio, F; Alexander, M; Ali, S; Alkhazov, G; Alvarez Cartelle, P; Alves Jr, A A; Amato, S; Amerio, S; Amhis, Y; Anderlini, L; Anderson, J; Andreassen, R; Andrews, J E; Appleby, R B; Aquines Gutierrez, O; Archilli, F; Artamonov, A; Artuso, M; Aslanides, E; Auriemma, G; Baalouch, M; Bachmann, S; Back, J J; Baesso, C; Balagura, V; Baldini, W; Barlow, R J; Barschel, C; Barsuk, S; Barter, W; Bauer, Th; Bay, A; Beddow, J; Bedeschi, F; Bediaga, I; Belogurov, S; Belous, K; Belyaev, I; Ben-Haim, E; Bencivenni, G; Benson, S; Benton, J; Berezhnoy, A; Bernet, R; Bettler, M -O; van Beuzekom, M; Bien, A; Bifani, S; Bird, T; Bizzeti, A; Bjørnstad, P M; Blake, T; Blanc, F; Blouw, J; Blusk, S; Bocci, V; Bondar, A; Bondar, N; Bonivento, W; Borghi, S; Borgia, A; Bowcock, T J V; Bowen, E; Bozzi, C; Brambach, T; van den Brand, J; Bressieux, J; Brett, D; Britsch, M; Britton, T; Brook, N H; Brown, H; Burducea, I; Bursche, A; Busetto, G; Buytaert, J; Cadeddu, S; Callot, O; Calvi, M; Calvo Gomez, M; Camboni, A; Campana, P; Campora Perez, D; Carbone, A; Carboni, G; Cardinale, R; Cardini, A; Carranza-Mejia, H; Carson, L; Carvalho Akiba, K; Casse, G; Castillo Garcia, L; Cattaneo, M; Cauet, Ch; Cenci, R; Charles, M; Charpentier, Ph; Chen, P; Chiapolini, N; Chrzaszcz, M; Ciba, K; Cid Vidal, X; Ciezarek, G; Clarke, P E L; Clemencic, M; Cliff, H V; Closier, J; Coca, C; Coco, V; Cogan, J; Cogneras, E; Collins, P; Comerma-Montells, A; Contu, A; Cook, A; Coombes, M; Coquereau, S; Corti, G; Couturier, B; Cowan, G A; Craik, D C; Cunliffe, S; Currie, R; D'Ambrosio, C; David, P; David, P N Y; Davis, A; De Bonis, I; De Bruyn, K; De Capua, S; De Cian, M; De Miranda, J M; De Paula, L; De Silva, W; De Simone, P; Decamp, D; Deckenhoff, M; Del Buono, L; Déléage, N; Derkach, D; Deschamps, O; Dettori, F; Di Canto, A; Dijkstra, H; Dogaru, M; Donleavy, S; Dordei, F; Dosil Suárez, A; Dossett, D; Dovbnya, A; Dupertuis, F; Durante, P; Dzhelyadin, R; Dziurda, A; Dzyuba, A; Easo, S; Egede, U; Egorychev, V; Eidelman, S; van Eijk, D; Eisenhardt, S; Eitschberger, U; Ekelhof, R; Eklund, L; El Rifai, I; Elsasser, Ch; Falabella, A; Färber, C; Fardell, G; Farinelli, C; Farry, S; Ferguson, D; Fernandez Albor, V; Ferreira Rodrigues, F; Ferro-Luzzi, M; Filippov, S; Fiore, M; Fitzpatrick, C; Fontana, M; Fontanelli, F; Forty, R; Francisco, O; Frank, M; Frei, C; Frosini, M; Furcas, S; Furfaro, E; Gallas Torreira, A; Galli, D; Gandelman, M; Gandini, P; Gao, Y; Garofoli, J; Garosi, P; Garra Tico, J; Garrido, L; Gaspar, C; Gauld, R; Gersabeck, E; Gersabeck, M; Gershon, T; Ghez, Ph; Gibson, V; Giubega, L; Gligorov, V V; Göbel, C; Golubkov, D; Golutvin, A; Gomes, A; Gorbounov, P; Gordon, H; Gotti, C; Grabalosa Gándara, M; Graciani Diaz, R; Granado Cardoso, L A; Graugés, E; Graziani, G; Grecu, A; Greening, E; Gregson, S; Griffith, P; Grünberg, O; Gui, B; Gushchin, E; Guz, Yu; Gys, T; Hadjivasiliou, C; Haefeli, G; Haen, C; Haines, S C; Hall, S; Hamilton, B; Hampson, T; Hansmann-Menzemer, S; Harnew, N; Harnew, S T; Harrison, J; Hartmann, T; He, J; Head, T; Heijne, V; Hennessy, K; Henrard, P; Hernando Morata, J A; van Herwijnen, E; Hess, M; Hicheur, A; Hicks, E; Hill, D; Hoballah, M; Hombach, C; Hopchev, P; Hulsbergen, W; Hunt, P; Huse, T; Hussain, N; Hutchcroft, D; Hynds, D; Iakovenko, V; Idzik, M; Ilten, P; Jacobsson, R; Jaeger, A; Jans, E; Jaton, P; Jawahery, A; Jing, F; John, M; Johnson, D; Jones, C R; Joram, C; Jost, B; Kaballo, M; Kandybei, S; Kanso, W; Karacson, M; Karbach, T M; Kenyon, I R; Ketel, T; Keune, A; Khanji, B; Kochebina, O; Komarov, I; Koopman, R F; Koppenburg, P; Korolev, M; Kozlinskiy, A; Kravchuk, L; Kreplin, K; Kreps, M; Krocker, G; Krokovny, P; Kruse, F; Kucharczyk, M; Kudryavtsev, V; Kurek, K; Kvaratskheliya, T; La Thi, V N; Lacarrere, D; Lafferty, G; Lai, A; Lambert, D; Lambert, R W; Lanciotti, E; Lanfranchi, G; Langenbruch, C; Latham, T; Lazzeroni, C; Le Gac, R; van Leerdam, J; Lees, J -P; Lefèvre, R; Leflat, A; Lefrançois, J; Leo, S; Leroy, O; Lesiak, T; Leverington, B; Li, Y; Li Gioi, L; Liles, M; Lindner, R; Linn, C; Liu, B; Liu, G; Lohn, S; Longstaff, I; Lopes, J H; Lopez-March, N; Lu, H; Lucchesi, D; Luisier, J; Luo, H; Machefert, F; Machikhiliyan, I V; Maciuc, F; Maev, O; Malde, S; Manca, G; Mancinelli, G; Maratas, J; Marconi, U; Marino, P; Märki, R; Marks, J; Martellotti, G; Martens, A; Martín Sánchez, A; Martinelli, M; Martinez Santos, D; Martins Tostes, D; Martynov, A; Massafferri, A; Matev, R; Mathe, Z; Matteuzzi, C; Maurice, E; Mazurov, A; McCarthy, J; McNab, A; McNulty, R; McSkelly, B; Meadows, B; Meier, F; Meissner, M; Merk, M; Milanes, D A; Minard, M -N; Molina Rodriguez, J; Monteil, S; Moran, D; Morawski, P; Mordà, A; Morello, M J; Mountain, R; Mous, I; Muheim, F; Müller, K; Muresan, R; Muryn, B; Muster, B; Naik, P; Nakada, T; Nandakumar, R; Nasteva, I; Needham, M; Neubert, S; Neufeld, N; Nguyen, A D; Nguyen, T D; Nguyen-Mau, C; Nicol, M; Niess, V; Niet, R; Nikitin, N; Nikodem, T; Nomerotski, A; Novoselov, A; Oblakowska-Mucha, A; Obraztsov, V; Oggero, S; Ogilvy, S; Okhrimenko, O; Oldeman, R; Orlandea, M; Otalora Goicochea, J M; Owen, P; Oyanguren, A; Pal, B K; Palano, A; Palczewski, T; Palutan, M; Panman, J; Papanestis, A; Pappagallo, M; Parkes, C; Parkinson, C J; Passaleva, G; Patel, G D; Patel, M; Patrick, G N; Patrignani, C; Pavel-Nicorescu, C; Pazos Alvarez, A; Pellegrino, A; Penso, G; Pepe Altarelli, M; Perazzini, S; Perez Trigo, E; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, A; Perret, P; Perrin-Terrin, M; Pescatore, L; Pesen, E; Petridis, K; Petrolini, A; Phan, A; Picatoste Olloqui, E; Pietrzyk, B; Pilař, T; Pinci, D; Playfer, S; Plo Casasus, M; Polci, F; Polok, G; Poluektov, A; Polycarpo, E; Popov, A; Popov, D; Popovici, B; Potterat, C; Powell, A; Prisciandaro, J; Pritchard, A; Prouve, C; Pugatch, V; Puig Navarro, A; Punzi, G; Qian, W; Rademacker, J H; Rakotomiaramanana, B; Rangel, M S; Raniuk, I; Rauschmayr, N; Raven, G; Redford, S; Reid, M M; dos Reis, A C; Ricciardi, S; Richards, A; Rinnert, K; Rives Molina, V; Roa Romero, D A; Robbe, P; Roberts, D A; Rodrigues, E; Rodriguez Perez, P; Roiser, S; Romanovsky, V; Romero Vidal, A; Rouvinet, J; Ruf, T; Ruffini, F; Ruiz, H; Ruiz Valls, P; Sabatino, G; Saborido Silva, J J; Sagidova, N; Sail, P; Saitta, B; Salustino Guimaraes, V; Sanmartin Sedes, B; Sannino, M; Santacesaria, R; Santamarina Rios, C; Santovetti, E; Sapunov, M; Sarti, A; Satriano, C; Satta, A; Savrie, M; Savrina, D; Schaack, P; Schiller, M; Schindler, H; Schlupp, M; Schmelling, M; Schmidt, B; Schneider, O; Schopper, A; Schune, M -H; Schwemmer, R; Sciascia, B; Sciubba, A; Seco, M; Semennikov, A; Senderowska, K; Sepp, I; Serra, N; Serrano, J; Seyfert, P; Shapkin, M; Shapoval, I; Shatalov, P; Shcheglov, Y; Shears, T; Shekhtman, L; Shevchenko, O; Shevchenko, V; Shires, A; Silva Coutinho, R; Sirendi, M; Skwarnicki, T; Smith, N A; Smith, E; Smith, J; Smith, M; Sokoloff, M D; Soler, F J P; Soomro, F; Souza, D; Souza De Paula, B; Spaan, B; Sparkes, A; Spradlin, P; Stagni, F; Stahl, S; Steinkamp, O; Stevenson, S; Stoica, S; Stone, S; Storaci, B; Straticiuc, M; Straumann, U; Subbiah, V K; Sun, L; Swientek, S; Syropoulos, V; Szczekowski, M; Szczypka, P; Szumlak, T; T'Jampens, S; Teklishyn, M; Teodorescu, E; Teubert, F; Thomas, C; Thomas, E; van Tilburg, J; Tisserand, V; Tobin, M; Tolk, S; Tonelli, D; Topp-Joergensen, S; Torr, N; Tournefier, E; Tourneur, S; Tran, M T; Tresch, M; Tsaregorodtsev, A; Tsopelas, P; Tuning, N; Ubeda Garcia, M; Ukleja, A; Urner, D; Ustyuzhanin, A; Uwer, U; Vagnoni, V; Valenti, G; Vallier, A; Van Dijk, M; Vazquez Gomez, R; Vazquez Regueiro, P; Vázquez Sierra, C; Vecchi, S; Velthuis, J J; Veltri, M; Veneziano, G; Vesterinen, M; Viaud, B; Vieira, D; Vilasis-Cardona, X; Vollhardt, A; Volyanskyy, D; Voong, D; Vorobyev, A; Vorobyev, V; Voß, C; Voss, H; Waldi, R; Wallace, C; Wallace, R; Wandernoth, S; Wang, J; Ward, D R; Watson, N K; Webber, A D; Websdale, D; Whitehead, M; Wicht, J; Wiechczynski, J; Wiedner, D; Wiggers, L; Wilkinson, G; Williams, M P; Williams, M; Wilson, F F; Wimberley, J; Wishahi, J; Wislicki, W; Witek, M; Wotton, S A; Wright, S; Wu, S; Wyllie, K; Xie, Y; Xing, Z; Yang, Z; Young, R; Yuan, X; Yushchenko, O; Zangoli, M; Zavertyaev, M; Zhang, F; Zhang, L; Zhang, W C; Zhang, Y; Zhelezov, A; Zhokhov, A; Zhong, L; Zvyagin, A

2013-01-01

We present a measurement of form-factor independent angular observables in the decay $B^0\\to K^{*}(892)^{0}\\mu^+ \\mu^-$. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb$^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb experiment in $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7TeV. Four observables are measured in six bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared, $q^2$, in the range 0.1 < $q^2$ < 19.0 GeV$^{2}/c^{4}$. Agreement with Standard Model predictions is found for 23 of the 24 measurements. A local discrepancy, corresponding to 3.7 Gaussian standard deviations, is observed in one $q^2$ bin for one of the observables. Considering the 24 measurements as independent, the probability to observe such a discrepancy, or larger, in one is 0.5%.

Independent evaluation of the SNODAS snow depth product using regional-scale lidar-derived measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Hedrick, A.; Marshall, H.-P.; Winstral, A.; Elder, K.; Yueh, S.; Cline, D.

2015-01-01

Repeated light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys are quickly becoming the de facto method for measuring spatial variability of montane snowpacks at high resolution. This study examines the potential of a 750 km2 lidar-derived data set of snow depths, collected during the 2007 northern Colorado Cold Lands Processes Experiment (CLPX-2), as a validation source for an operational hydrologic snow model. The SNOw Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) model framework, operated by the US National Weather Service, combines a physically based energy-and-mass-balance snow model with satellite, airborne and automated ground-based observations to provide daily estimates of snowpack properties at nominally 1 km resolution over the conterminous United States. Independent validation data are scarce due to the assimilating nature of SNODAS, compelling the need for an independent validation data set with substantial geographic coverage. Within 12 distinctive 500 × 500 m study areas located throughout the survey swath, ground crews performed approximately 600 manual snow depth measurements during each of the CLPX-2 lidar acquisitions. This supplied a data set for constraining the uncertainty of upscaled lidar estimates of snow depth at the 1 km SNODAS resolution, resulting in a root-mean-square difference of 13 cm. Upscaled lidar snow depths were then compared to the SNODAS estimates over the entire study area for the dates of the lidar flights. The remotely sensed snow depths provided a more spatially continuous comparison data set and agreed more closely to the model estimates than that of the in situ measurements alone. Finally, the results revealed three distinct areas where the differences between lidar observations and SNODAS estimates were most drastic, providing insight into the causal influences of natural processes on model uncertainty.

An interactive algorithm for identifying multiattribute measurable value functions based on finite-order independence of structural difference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, Hiroyuki; Hikita, Shiro

1985-01-01

In this paper, we develop an interactive algorithm for identifying multiattribute measurable value functions based on the concept of finite-order independence of structural difference. This concept includes Dyer and Sarin's weak difference independence as special cases. The algorithm developed is composed of four major parts: 1) formulation of the problem 2) assessment of normalized conditional value functions and structural difference functions 3) assessment of corner values 4) assessment of the order of independence of structural difference and selection of the model. A hypothetical numerical example of a trade-off analysis for siting a nuclear power plant is included. (author)

Relating masses and mixing angles. A model-independent model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hollik, Wolfgang Gregor [DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Saldana-Salazar, Ulises Jesus [CINVESTAV (Mexico)

2016-07-01

In general, mixing angles and fermion masses are seen to be independent parameters of the Standard Model. However, exploiting the observed hierarchy in the masses, it is viable to construct the mixing matrices for both quarks and leptons in terms of the corresponding mass ratios only. A closer view on the symmetry properties leads to potential realizations of that approach in extensions of the Standard Model. We discuss the application in the context of flavored multi-Higgs models.

Slifers revisited: a method for determining yields independent of radiochemical measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rambo, J.T.

1976-01-01

It would be very desirable if an independent method other than radiochemical measurement were available to determine the yields of low-yield events in the alluviums and tuffs of areas 2, 9, and 10 at the Nevada Test Site. The successful application of slifers to the measurement of yields from high-yield events suggests that under some conditions they may also be usable with low-yield events. This view is supported by the evidence discussed here, which is based on direct experience with slifer yield measurements for low-yield events in porous media. Suggested methods for improving slifer yield determinations and a method for determining yields independent of radiochemical measurements are offered

How Many Separable Sources? Model Selection In Independent Components Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Roger P.; Hansen, Lars Kai; Strother, Stephen

2015-01-01

Unlike mixtures consisting solely of non-Gaussian sources, mixtures including two or more Gaussian components cannot be separated using standard independent components analysis methods that are based on higher order statistics and independent observations. The mixed Independent Components Analysis/Principal Components Analysis (mixed ICA/PCA) model described here accommodates one or more Gaussian components in the independent components analysis model and uses principal components analysis to characterize contributions from this inseparable Gaussian subspace. Information theory can then be used to select from among potential model categories with differing numbers of Gaussian components. Based on simulation studies, the assumptions and approximations underlying the Akaike Information Criterion do not hold in this setting, even with a very large number of observations. Cross-validation is a suitable, though computationally intensive alternative for model selection. Application of the algorithm is illustrated using Fisher's iris data set and Howells' craniometric data set. Mixed ICA/PCA is of potential interest in any field of scientific investigation where the authenticity of blindly separated non-Gaussian sources might otherwise be questionable. Failure of the Akaike Information Criterion in model selection also has relevance in traditional independent components analysis where all sources are assumed non-Gaussian. PMID:25811988

A model technology transfer program for independent operators: Kansas Technology Transfer Model (KTTM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schoeling, L.G.

1993-09-01

This report describes the development and testing of the Kansas Technology Transfer Model (KTTM) which is to be utilized as a regional model for the development of other technology transfer programs for independent operators throughout oil-producing regions in the US. It describes the linkage of the regional model with a proposed national technology transfer plan, an evaluation technique for improving and assessing the model, and the methodology which makes it adaptable on a regional basis. The report also describes management concepts helpful in managing a technology transfer program. The original Tertiary Oil Recovery Project (TORP) activities, upon which the KTTM is based, were developed and tested for Kansas and have proved to be effective in assisting independent operators in utilizing technology. Through joint activities of TORP and the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS), the KTTM was developed and documented for application in other oil-producing regions. During the course of developing this model, twelve documents describing the implementation of the KTTM were developed as deliverables to DOE. These include: (1) a problem identification (PI) manual describing the format and results of six PI workshops conducted in different areas of Kansas, (2) three technology workshop participant manuals on advanced waterflooding, reservoir description, and personal computer applications, (3) three technology workshop instructor manuals which provides instructor material for all three workshops, (4) three technologies were documented as demonstration projects which included reservoir management, permeability modification, and utilization of a liquid-level acoustic measuring device, (5) a bibliography of all literature utilized in the documents, and (6) a document which describes the KTTM.

Precision cosmological measurements: Independent evidence for dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bothun, Greg; Hsu, Stephen D.H.; Murray, Brian

2008-01-01

Using recent precision measurements of cosmological parameters, we re-examine whether these observations alone, independent of type Ia supernova surveys, are sufficient to imply the existence of dark energy. We find that best measurements of the age of the Universe t 0 , the Hubble parameter H 0 and the matter fraction Ω m strongly favor an equation of state defined by (w<-1/3). This result is consistent with the existence of a repulsive, acceleration-causing component of energy if the Universe is nearly flat

Economic trends of tokamak power plants independent of physics scaling models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, R.L.; Steiner, D.

1978-01-01

This study examines the effects of plasma radius, field on axis, plasma impurity level, and aspect ratio on power level and unit capital cost, $/kW/sub e/, of tokamak power plants sized independent of plasma physics scaling models. It is noted that tokamaks sized in this manner are thermally unstable based on trapped particle scaling relationships. It is observed that there is an economic advantage for larger power level tokamaks achieved by physics independent sizing; however, the incentive for increased power levels is less than that for fission reactors. It is further observed that the economic advantage of these larger power level tokamaks is decreased when plasma thermal stability measures are incorporated, such as by increasing the plasma impurity concentration. This trend of economy with size obtained by physics independent sizing is opposite to that observed when the tokamak designs are constrained to obey the trapped particle and empirical scaling relationships

Independent Component Analysis in Multimedia Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Jan

2003-01-01

largely refers to text, images/video, audio and combinations of such data. We review a number of applications within single and combined media with the hope that this might provide inspiration for further research in this area. Finally, we provide a detailed presentation of our own recent work on modeling......Modeling of multimedia and multimodal data becomes increasingly important with the digitalization of the world. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of independent component analysis and blind sources separation methods for modeling and understanding of multimedia data, which...

Model-independent effects of Δ excitation in nucleon polarizabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pascalutsa, Vladimir; Phillips, Daniel R.

2003-01-01

Model-independent effects of Δ(1232) excitation on nucleon polarizabilities are computed in a Lorentz-invariant fashion. We find a large effect of relative order (M Δ -M)/M in some of the spin polarizabilities, with the backward spin polarizability receiving the largest contribution. Similar subleading effects are found to be important in the fourth-order spin-independent polarizabilities α Eν , α E2 , β Mν , and β M2 . Combining our results with those for the model-independent effects of pion loops we obtain predictions for spin and fourth-order polarizabilities which compare favorably with the results of a recent dispersion-relation analysis of data

Techniques to extract physical modes in model-independent analysis of rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, C.-X.

2004-01-01

A basic goal of Model-Independent Analysis is to extract the physical modes underlying the beam histories collected at a large number of beam position monitors so that beam dynamics and machine properties can be deduced independent of specific machine models. Here we discuss techniques to achieve this goal, especially the Principal Component Analysis and the Independent Component Analysis.

Independent evaluation of the SNODAS snow depth product using regional scale LiDAR-derived measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Hedrick, A.; Marshall, H.-P.; Winstral, A.; Elder, K.; Yueh, S.; Cline, D.

2014-06-01

Repeated Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) surveys are quickly becoming the de facto method for measuring spatial variability of montane snowpacks at high resolution. This study examines the potential of a 750 km2 LiDAR-derived dataset of snow depths, collected during the 2007 northern Colorado Cold Lands Processes Experiment (CLPX-2), as a validation source for an operational hydrologic snow model. The SNOw Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) model framework, operated by the US National Weather Service, combines a physically-based energy-and-mass-balance snow model with satellite, airborne and automated ground-based observations to provide daily estimates of snowpack properties at nominally 1 km resolution over the coterminous United States. Independent validation data is scarce due to the assimilating nature of SNODAS, compelling the need for an independent validation dataset with substantial geographic coverage. Within twelve distinctive 500 m × 500 m study areas located throughout the survey swath, ground crews performed approximately 600 manual snow depth measurements during each of the CLPX-2 LiDAR acquisitions. This supplied a dataset for constraining the uncertainty of upscaled LiDAR estimates of snow depth at the 1 km SNODAS resolution, resulting in a root-mean-square difference of 13 cm. Upscaled LiDAR snow depths were then compared to the SNODAS-estimates over the entire study area for the dates of the LiDAR flights. The remotely-sensed snow depths provided a more spatially continuous comparison dataset and agreed more closely to the model estimates than that of the in situ measurements alone. Finally, the results revealed three distinct areas where the differences between LiDAR observations and SNODAS estimates were most drastic, suggesting natural processes specific to these regions as causal influences on model uncertainty.

Bayesian conditional-independence modeling of the AIDS epidemic in England and Wales

Science.gov (United States)

Gilks, Walter R.; De Angelis, Daniela; Day, Nicholas E.

We describe the use of conditional-independence modeling, Bayesian inference and Markov chain Monte Carlo, to model and project the HIV-AIDS epidemic in homosexual/bisexual males in England and Wales. Complexity in this analysis arises through selectively missing data, indirectly observed underlying processes, and measurement error. Our emphasis is on presentation and discussion of the concepts, not on the technicalities of this analysis, which can be found elsewhere [D. De Angelis, W.R. Gilks, N.E. Day, Bayesian projection of the the acquired immune deficiency syndrome epidemic (with discussion), Applied Statistics, in press].

Projective Item Response Model for Test-Independent Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Ip, Edward Hak-Sing; Chen, Shyh-Huei

2012-01-01

The problem of fitting unidimensional item-response models to potentially multidimensional data has been extensively studied. The focus of this article is on response data that contains a major dimension of interest but that may also contain minor nuisance dimensions. Because fitting a unidimensional model to multidimensional data results in…

Constrained independent component analysis approach to nonobtrusive pulse rate measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Tsouri, Gill R.; Kyal, Survi; Dianat, Sohail; Mestha, Lalit K.

2012-07-01

Nonobtrusive pulse rate measurement using a webcam is considered. We demonstrate how state-of-the-art algorithms based on independent component analysis suffer from a sorting problem which hinders their performance, and propose a novel algorithm based on constrained independent component analysis to improve performance. We present how the proposed algorithm extracts a photoplethysmography signal and resolves the sorting problem. In addition, we perform a comparative study between the proposed algorithm and state-of-the-art algorithms over 45 video streams using a finger probe oxymeter for reference measurements. The proposed algorithm provides improved accuracy: the root mean square error is decreased from 20.6 and 9.5 beats per minute (bpm) for existing algorithms to 3.5 bpm for the proposed algorithm. An error of 3.5 bpm is within the inaccuracy expected from the reference measurements. This implies that the proposed algorithm provided performance of equal accuracy to the finger probe oximeter.

A model-independent description of few-body system with strong interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simenog, I.V.

1985-01-01

In this contribution, the authors discuss the formulation of equations that provide model-independent description of systems of three and more nucleons irrespective of the details of the interaction, substantiate the approach, estimate the correction terms with respect to the force range, and give basic qualitative results obtained by means of the model-independent procedure. They consider three nucleons in the doublet state (spin S=I/2) taking into account only S-interaction. The elastic nd-scattering amplitude may be found from the model-independent equations that follow from the Faddeev equations in the short-range-force limit. They note that the solutions of several model-independent equations and basic results obtained with the use of this approach may serve both as a standard solution and starting point in the discussion of various conceptions concerning the details of nuclear interactions

State-independent error-disturbance trade-off for measurement operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, S.S.; Wu, Shengjun; Chau, H.F.

2016-01-01

In general, classical measurement statistics of a quantum measurement is disturbed by performing an additional incompatible quantum measurement beforehand. Using this observation, we introduce a state-independent definition of disturbance by relating it to the distinguishability problem between two classical statistical distributions – one resulting from a single quantum measurement and the other from a succession of two quantum measurements. Interestingly, we find an error-disturbance trade-off relation for any measurements in two-dimensional Hilbert space and for measurements with mutually unbiased bases in any finite-dimensional Hilbert space. This relation shows that error should be reduced to zero in order to minimize the sum of error and disturbance. We conjecture that a similar trade-off relation with a slightly relaxed definition of error can be generalized to any measurements in an arbitrary finite-dimensional Hilbert space.

Development, validity and reliability of the food allergy independent measure (FAIM)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Velde, J. L.; Flokstra-de Blok, B. M. J.; Vlieg-Boerstra, B. J.; Oude Elberink, J. N. G.; DunnGalvin, A.; Hourihane, J. O.'B.; Duiverman, E. J.; Dubois, A. E. J.

2010-01-01

The Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Child Form, -Teenager Form and -Adult Form (FAQLQ-CF, -TF and -AF) have recently been developed. To measure construct validity in the FAQLQs, a suitable independent measure was needed with which FAQLQ scores could be correlated. However, in food

Development, validity and reliability of the food allergy independent measure (FAIM)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Velde, J. L.; Flokstra-de Blok, B. M. J.; Vlieg - Boerstra, B. J.; Oude Elberink, J. N. G.; DunnGalvin, A.; Hourihane, J. O'B.; Duiverman, E. J.; Dubois, A. E. J.

Background: The Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Child Form, -Teenager Form and -Adult Form (FAQLQ-CF, -TF and -AF) have recently been developed. To measure construct validity in the FAQLQs, a suitable independent measure was needed with which FAQLQ scores could be correlated. However, in

Robust Measurement via A Fused Latent and Graphical Item Response Theory Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yunxiao; Li, Xiaoou; Liu, Jingchen; Ying, Zhiliang

2018-03-12

Item response theory (IRT) plays an important role in psychological and educational measurement. Unlike the classical testing theory, IRT models aggregate the item level information, yielding more accurate measurements. Most IRT models assume local independence, an assumption not likely to be satisfied in practice, especially when the number of items is large. Results in the literature and simulation studies in this paper reveal that misspecifying the local independence assumption may result in inaccurate measurements and differential item functioning. To provide more robust measurements, we propose an integrated approach by adding a graphical component to a multidimensional IRT model that can offset the effect of unknown local dependence. The new model contains a confirmatory latent variable component, which measures the targeted latent traits, and a graphical component, which captures the local dependence. An efficient proximal algorithm is proposed for the parameter estimation and structure learning of the local dependence. This approach can substantially improve the measurement, given no prior information on the local dependence structure. The model can be applied to measure both a unidimensional latent trait and multidimensional latent traits.

Model-independent particle accelerator tuning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Scheinker

2013-10-01

Full Text Available We present a new model-independent dynamic feedback technique, rotation rate tuning, for automatically and simultaneously tuning coupled components of uncertain, complex systems. The main advantages of the method are: (1 it has the ability to handle unknown, time-varying systems, (2 it gives known bounds on parameter update rates, (3 we give an analytic proof of its convergence and its stability, and (4 it has a simple digital implementation through a control system such as the experimental physics and industrial control system (EPICS. Because this technique is model independent it may be useful as a real-time, in-hardware, feedback-based optimization scheme for uncertain and time-varying systems. In particular, it is robust enough to handle uncertainty due to coupling, thermal cycling, misalignments, and manufacturing imperfections. As a result, it may be used as a fine-tuning supplement for existing accelerator tuning/control schemes. We present multiparticle simulation results demonstrating the scheme’s ability to simultaneously adaptively adjust the set points of 22 quadrupole magnets and two rf buncher cavities in the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE Linear Accelerator’s transport region, while the beam properties and rf phase shift are continuously varying. The tuning is based only on beam current readings, without knowledge of particle dynamics. We also present an outline of how to implement this general scheme in software for optimization, and in hardware for feedback-based control/tuning, for a wide range of systems.

Variance gradients and uncertainty budgets for nonlinear measurement functions with independent inputs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campanelli, Mark; Kacker, Raghu; Kessel, Rüdiger

2013-01-01

A novel variance-based measure for global sensitivity analysis, termed a variance gradient (VG), is presented for constructing uncertainty budgets under the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) framework for nonlinear measurement functions with independent inputs. The motivation behind VGs is the desire of metrologists to understand which inputs' variance reductions would most effectively reduce the variance of the measurand. VGs are particularly useful when the application of the first supplement to the GUM is indicated because of the inadequacy of measurement function linearization. However, VGs reduce to a commonly understood variance decomposition in the case of a linear(ized) measurement function with independent inputs for which the original GUM readily applies. The usefulness of VGs is illustrated by application to an example from the first supplement to the GUM, as well as to the benchmark Ishigami function. A comparison of VGs to other available sensitivity measures is made. (paper)

Model-independent confirmation of the $Z(4430)^-$ state

CERN Document Server

Aaij, Roel; Adinolfi, Marco; Affolder, Anthony; Ajaltouni, Ziad; Albrecht, Johannes; Alessio, Federico; Alexander, Michael; Ali, Suvayu; Alkhazov, Georgy; Alvarez Cartelle, Paula; Alves Jr, Antonio; Amato, Sandra; Amerio, Silvia; Amhis, Yasmine; An, Liupan; Anderlini, Lucio; Anderson, Jonathan; Andreassen, Rolf; Andreotti, Mirco; Andrews, Jason; Appleby, Robert; Aquines Gutierrez, Osvaldo; Archilli, Flavio; Artamonov, Alexander; Artuso, Marina; Aslanides, Elie; Auriemma, Giulio; Baalouch, Marouen; Bachmann, Sebastian; Back, John; Badalov, Alexey; Balagura, Vladislav; Baldini, Wander; Barlow, Roger; Barschel, Colin; Barsuk, Sergey; Barter, William; Batozskaya, Varvara; Bauer, Thomas; Bay, Aurelio; Beaucourt, Leo; Beddow, John; Bedeschi, Franco; Bediaga, Ignacio; Belogurov, Sergey; Belous, Konstantin; Belyaev, Ivan; Ben-Haim, Eli; Bencivenni, Giovanni; Benson, Sean; Benton, Jack; Berezhnoy, Alexander; Bernet, Roland; Bettler, Marc-Olivier; van Beuzekom, Martinus; Bien, Alexander; Bifani, Simone; Bird, Thomas; Bizzeti, Andrea; Bjørnstad, Pål Marius; Blake, Thomas; Blanc, Frédéric; Blouw, Johan; Blusk, Steven; Bocci, Valerio; Bondar, Alexander; Bondar, Nikolay; Bonivento, Walter; Borghi, Silvia; Borgia, Alessandra; Borsato, Martino; Bowcock, Themistocles; Bowen, Espen Eie; Bozzi, Concezio; Brambach, Tobias; van den Brand, Johannes; Bressieux, Joël; Brett, David; Britsch, Markward; Britton, Thomas; Brodzicka, Jolanta; Brook, Nicholas; Brown, Henry; Bursche, Albert; Busetto, Giovanni; Buytaert, Jan; Cadeddu, Sandro; Calabrese, Roberto; Calvi, Marta; Calvo Gomez, Miriam; Camboni, Alessandro; Campana, Pierluigi; Campora Perez, Daniel; Carbone, Angelo; Carboni, Giovanni; Cardinale, Roberta; Cardini, Alessandro; Carranza-Mejia, Hector; Carson, Laurence; Carvalho Akiba, Kazuyoshi; Casse, Gianluigi; Cassina, Lorenzo; Castillo Garcia, Lucia; Cattaneo, Marco; Cauet, Christophe; Cenci, Riccardo; Charles, Matthew; Charpentier, Philippe; Chen, Shanzhen; Cheung, Shu-Faye; Chiapolini, Nicola; Chrzaszcz, Marcin; Ciba, Krzystof; Cid Vidal, Xabier; Ciezarek, Gregory; Clarke, Peter; Clemencic, Marco; Cliff, Harry; Closier, Joel; Coco, Victor; Cogan, Julien; Cogneras, Eric; Collins, Paula; Comerma-Montells, Albert; Contu, Andrea; Cook, Andrew; Coombes, Matthew; Coquereau, Samuel; Corti, Gloria; Corvo, Marco; Counts, Ian; Couturier, Benjamin; Cowan, Greig; Craik, Daniel Charles; Cruz Torres, Melissa Maria; Cunliffe, Samuel; Currie, Robert; D'Ambrosio, Carmelo; Dalseno, Jeremy; David, Pascal; David, Pieter; Davis, Adam; De Bruyn, Kristof; De Capua, Stefano; De Cian, Michel; De Miranda, Jussara; De Paula, Leandro; De Silva, Weeraddana; De Simone, Patrizia; Decamp, Daniel; Deckenhoff, Mirko; Del Buono, Luigi; Déléage, Nicolas; Derkach, Denis; Deschamps, Olivier; Dettori, Francesco; Di Canto, Angelo; Dijkstra, Hans; Donleavy, Stephanie; Dordei, Francesca; Dorigo, Mirco; Dosil Suárez, Alvaro; Dossett, David; Dovbnya, Anatoliy; Dujany, Giulio; Dupertuis, Frederic; Durante, Paolo; Dzhelyadin, Rustem; Dziurda, Agnieszka; Dzyuba, Alexey; Easo, Sajan; Egede, Ulrik; Egorychev, Victor; Eidelman, Semen; Eisenhardt, Stephan; Eitschberger, Ulrich; Ekelhof, Robert; Eklund, Lars; El Rifai, Ibrahim; Elsasser, Christian; Ely, Scott; Esen, Sevda; Evans, Timothy; Falabella, Antonio; Färber, Christian; Farinelli, Chiara; Farley, Nathanael; Farry, Stephen; Ferguson, Dianne; Fernandez Albor, Victor; Ferreira Rodrigues, Fernando; Ferro-Luzzi, Massimiliano; Filippov, Sergey; Fiore, Marco; Fiorini, Massimiliano; Firlej, Miroslaw; Fitzpatrick, Conor; Fiutowski, Tomasz; Fontana, Marianna; Fontanelli, Flavio; Forty, Roger; Francisco, Oscar; Frank, Markus; Frei, Christoph; Frosini, Maddalena; Fu, Jinlin; Furfaro, Emiliano; Gallas Torreira, Abraham; Galli, Domenico; Gallorini, Stefano; Gambetta, Silvia; Gandelman, Miriam; Gandini, Paolo; Gao, Yuanning; Garofoli, Justin; Garra Tico, Jordi; Garrido, Lluis; Gaspar, Clara; Gauld, Rhorry; Gavardi, Laura; Gersabeck, Evelina; Gersabeck, Marco; Gershon, Timothy; Ghez, Philippe; Gianelle, Alessio; Giani', Sebastiana; Gibson, Valerie; Giubega, Lavinia-Helena; Gligorov, Vladimir; Göbel, Carla; Golubkov, Dmitry; Golutvin, Andrey; Gomes, Alvaro; Gordon, Hamish; Gotti, Claudio; Grabalosa Gándara, Marc; Graciani Diaz, Ricardo; Granado Cardoso, Luis Alberto; Graugés, Eugeni; Graziani, Giacomo; Grecu, Alexandru; Greening, Edward; Gregson, Sam; Griffith, Peter; Grillo, Lucia; Grünberg, Oliver; Gui, Bin; Gushchin, Evgeny; Guz, Yury; Gys, Thierry; Hadjivasiliou, Christos; Haefeli, Guido; Haen, Christophe; Haines, Susan; Hall, Samuel; Hamilton, Brian; Hampson, Thomas; Han, Xiaoxue; Hansmann-Menzemer, Stephanie; Harnew, Neville; Harnew, Samuel; Harrison, Jonathan; Hartmann, Thomas; He, Jibo; Head, Timothy; Heijne, Veerle; Hennessy, Karol; Henrard, Pierre; Henry, Louis; Hernando Morata, Jose Angel; van Herwijnen, Eric; Heß, Miriam; Hicheur, Adlène; Hill, Donal; Hoballah, Mostafa; Hombach, Christoph; Hulsbergen, Wouter; Hunt, Philip; Hussain, Nazim; Hutchcroft, David; Hynds, Daniel; Idzik, Marek; Ilten, Philip; Jacobsson, Richard; Jaeger, Andreas; Jalocha, Pawel; Jans, Eddy; Jaton, Pierre; Jawahery, Abolhassan; Jezabek, Marek; Jing, Fanfan; John, Malcolm; Johnson, Daniel; Jones, Christopher; Joram, Christian; Jost, Beat; Jurik, Nathan; Kaballo, Michael; Kandybei, Sergii; Kanso, Walaa; Karacson, Matthias; Karbach, Moritz; Kelsey, Matthew; Kenyon, Ian; Ketel, Tjeerd; Khanji, Basem; Khurewathanakul, Chitsanu; Klaver, Suzanne; Kochebina, Olga; Kolpin, Michael; Komarov, Ilya; Koopman, Rose; Koppenburg, Patrick; Korolev, Mikhail; Kozlinskiy, Alexandr; Kravchuk, Leonid; Kreplin, Katharina; Kreps, Michal; Krocker, Georg; Krokovny, Pavel; Kruse, Florian; Kucharczyk, Marcin; Kudryavtsev, Vasily; Kurek, Krzysztof; Kvaratskheliya, Tengiz; La Thi, Viet Nga; Lacarrere, Daniel; Lafferty, George; Lai, Adriano; Lambert, Dean; Lambert, Robert W; Lanciotti, Elisa; Lanfranchi, Gaia; Langenbruch, Christoph; Langhans, Benedikt; Latham, Thomas; Lazzeroni, Cristina; Le Gac, Renaud; van Leerdam, Jeroen; Lees, Jean-Pierre; Lefèvre, Regis; Leflat, Alexander; Lefrançois, Jacques; Leo, Sabato; Leroy, Olivier; Lesiak, Tadeusz; Leverington, Blake; Li, Yiming; Liles, Myfanwy; Lindner, Rolf; Linn, Christian; Lionetto, Federica; Liu, Bo; Liu, Guoming; Lohn, Stefan; Longstaff, Iain; Lopes, Jose; Lopez-March, Neus; Lowdon, Peter; Lu, Haiting; Lucchesi, Donatella; Luo, Haofei; Lupato, Anna; Luppi, Eleonora; Lupton, Oliver; Machefert, Frederic; Machikhiliyan, Irina V; Maciuc, Florin; Maev, Oleg; Malde, Sneha; Manca, Giulia; Mancinelli, Giampiero; Manzali, Matteo; Maratas, Jan; Marchand, Jean François; Marconi, Umberto; Marin Benito, Carla; Marino, Pietro; Märki, Raphael; Marks, Jörg; Martellotti, Giuseppe; Martens, Aurelien; Martín Sánchez, Alexandra; Martinelli, Maurizio; Martinez Santos, Diego; Martinez Vidal, Fernando; Martins Tostes, Danielle; Massafferri, André; Matev, Rosen; Mathe, Zoltan; Matteuzzi, Clara; Mazurov, Alexander; McCann, Michael; McCarthy, James; McNab, Andrew; McNulty, Ronan; McSkelly, Ben; Meadows, Brian; Meier, Frank; Meissner, Marco; Merk, Marcel; Milanes, Diego Alejandro; Minard, Marie-Noelle; Moggi, Niccolò; Molina Rodriguez, Josue; Monteil, Stephane; Moran, Dermot; Morandin, Mauro; Morawski, Piotr; Mordà, Alessandro; Morello, Michael Joseph; Moron, Jakub; Morris, Adam Benjamin; Mountain, Raymond; Muheim, Franz; Müller, Katharina; Muresan, Raluca; Mussini, Manuel; Muster, Bastien; Naik, Paras; Nakada, Tatsuya; Nandakumar, Raja; Nasteva, Irina; Needham, Matthew; Neri, Nicola; Neubert, Sebastian; Neufeld, Niko; Neuner, Max; Nguyen, Anh Duc; Nguyen, Thi-Dung; Nguyen-Mau, Chung; Nicol, Michelle; Niess, Valentin; Niet, Ramon; Nikitin, Nikolay; Nikodem, Thomas; Novoselov, Alexey; Oblakowska-Mucha, Agnieszka; Obraztsov, Vladimir; Oggero, Serena; Ogilvy, Stephen; Okhrimenko, Oleksandr; Oldeman, Rudolf; Onderwater, Gerco; Orlandea, Marius; Otalora Goicochea, Juan Martin; Owen, Patrick; Oyanguren, Maria Arantza; Pal, Bilas Kanti; Palano, Antimo; Palombo, Fernando; Palutan, Matteo; Panman, Jacob; Papanestis, Antonios; Pappagallo, Marco; Parkes, Christopher; Parkinson, Christopher John; Passaleva, Giovanni; Patel, Girish; Patel, Mitesh; Patrignani, Claudia; Pazos Alvarez, Antonio; Pearce, Alex; Pellegrino, Antonio; Pepe Altarelli, Monica; Perazzini, Stefano; Perez Trigo, Eliseo; Perret, Pascal; Perrin-Terrin, Mathieu; Pescatore, Luca; Pesen, Erhan; Petridis, Konstantin; Petrolini, Alessandro; Picatoste Olloqui, Eduardo; Pietrzyk, Boleslaw; Pilař, Tomas; Pinci, Davide; Pistone, Alessandro; Playfer, Stephen; Plo Casasus, Maximo; Polci, Francesco; Poluektov, Anton; Polycarpo, Erica; Popov, Alexander; Popov, Dmitry; Popovici, Bogdan; Potterat, Cédric; Powell, Andrew; Prisciandaro, Jessica; Pritchard, Adrian; Prouve, Claire; Pugatch, Valery; Puig Navarro, Albert; Punzi, Giovanni; Qian, Wenbin; Rachwal, Bartolomiej; Rademacker, Jonas; Rakotomiaramanana, Barinjaka; Rama, Matteo; Rangel, Murilo; Raniuk, Iurii; Rauschmayr, Nathalie; Raven, Gerhard; Reichert, Stefanie; Reid, Matthew; dos Reis, Alberto; Ricciardi, Stefania; Richards, Alexander; Rihl, Mariana; Rinnert, Kurt; Rives Molina, Vincente; Roa Romero, Diego; Robbe, Patrick; Rodrigues, Ana Barbara; Rodrigues, Eduardo; Rodriguez Perez, Pablo; Roiser, Stefan; Romanovsky, Vladimir; Romero Vidal, Antonio; Rotondo, Marcello; Rouvinet, Julien; Ruf, Thomas; Ruffini, Fabrizio; Ruiz, Hugo; Ruiz Valls, Pablo; Sabatino, Giovanni; Saborido Silva, Juan Jose; Sagidova, Naylya; Sail, Paul; Saitta, Biagio; Salustino Guimaraes, Valdir; Sanchez Mayordomo, Carlos; Sanmartin Sedes, Brais; Santacesaria, Roberta; Santamarina Rios, Cibran; Santovetti, Emanuele; Sapunov, Matvey; Sarti, Alessio; Satriano, Celestina; Satta, Alessia; Savrie, Mauro; Savrina, Darya; Schiller, Manuel; Schindler, Heinrich; Schlupp, Maximilian; Schmelling, Michael; Schmidt, Burkhard; Schneider, Olivier; Schopper, Andreas; Schune, Marie Helene; Schwemmer, Rainer; Sciascia, Barbara; Sciubba, Adalberto; Seco, Marcos; Semennikov, Alexander; Senderowska, Katarzyna; Sepp, Indrek; Serra, Nicola; Serrano, Justine; Sestini, Lorenzo; Seyfert, Paul; Shapkin, Mikhail; Shapoval, Illya; Shcheglov, Yury; Shears, Tara; Shekhtman, Lev; Shevchenko, Vladimir; Shires, Alexander; Silva Coutinho, Rafael; Simi, Gabriele; Sirendi, Marek; Skidmore, Nicola; Skwarnicki, Tomasz; Smith, Anthony; Smith, Edmund; Smith, Eluned; Smith, Jackson; Smith, Mark; Snoek, Hella; Sokoloff, Michael; Soler, Paul; Soomro, Fatima; Souza, Daniel; Souza De Paula, Bruno; Spaan, Bernhard; Sparkes, Ailsa; Spinella, Franco; Spradlin, Patrick; Stagni, Federico; Stahl, Sascha; Steinkamp, Olaf; Stenyakin, Oleg; Stevenson, Scott; Stoica, Sabin; Stone, Sheldon; Storaci, Barbara; Stracka, Simone; Straticiuc, Mihai; Straumann, Ulrich; Stroili, Roberto; Subbiah, Vijay Kartik; Sun, Liang; Sutcliffe, William; Swientek, Krzysztof; Swientek, Stefan; Syropoulos, Vasileios; Szczekowski, Marek; Szczypka, Paul; Szilard, Daniela; Szumlak, Tomasz; T'Jampens, Stephane; Teklishyn, Maksym; Tellarini, Giulia; Teubert, Frederic; Thomas, Christopher; Thomas, Eric; van Tilburg, Jeroen; Tisserand, Vincent; Tobin, Mark; Tolk, Siim; Tomassetti, Luca; Tonelli, Diego; Topp-Joergensen, Stig; Torr, Nicholas; Tournefier, Edwige; Tourneur, Stephane; Tran, Minh Tâm; Tresch, Marco; Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei; Tsopelas, Panagiotis; Tuning, Niels; Ubeda Garcia, Mario; Ukleja, Artur; Ustyuzhanin, Andrey; Uwer, Ulrich; Vagnoni, Vincenzo; Valenti, Giovanni; Vallier, Alexis; Vazquez Gomez, Ricardo; Vazquez Regueiro, Pablo; Vázquez Sierra, Carlos; Vecchi, Stefania; Velthuis, Jaap; Veltri, Michele; Veneziano, Giovanni; Vesterinen, Mika; Viaud, Benoit; Vieira, Daniel; Vieites Diaz, Maria; Vilasis-Cardona, Xavier; Vollhardt, Achim; Volyanskyy, Dmytro; Voong, David; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Vitaly; Voß, Christian; Voss, Helge; de Vries, Jacco; Waldi, Roland; Wallace, Charlotte; Wallace, Ronan; Walsh, John; Wandernoth, Sebastian; Wang, Jianchun; Ward, David; Watson, Nigel; Websdale, David; Whitehead, Mark; Wicht, Jean; Wiedner, Dirk; Wilkinson, Guy; Williams, Matthew; Williams, Mike; Wilson, Fergus; Wimberley, Jack; Wishahi, Julian; Wislicki, Wojciech; Witek, Mariusz; Wormser, Guy; Wotton, Stephen; Wright, Simon; Wu, Suzhi; Wyllie, Kenneth; Xie, Yuehong; Xing, Zhou; Xu, Zhirui; Yang, Zhenwei; Yuan, Xuhao; Yushchenko, Oleg; Zangoli, Maria; Zavertyaev, Mikhail; Zhang, Feng; Zhang, Liming; Zhang, Wen Chao; Zhang, Yanxi; Zhelezov, Alexey; Zhokhov, Anatoly; Zhong, Liang; Zvyagin, Alexander

2015-01-01

The decay $B^0\\to \\psi(2S) K^+\\pi^-$ is analyzed using $\\rm 3~fb^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected with the LHCb detector. A model-independent description of the $\\psi(2S) \\pi$ mass spectrum is obtained, using as input the $K\\pi$ mass spectrum and angular distribution derived directly from data, without requiring a theoretical description of resonance shapes or their interference. The hypothesis that the $\\psi(2S)\\pi$ mass spectrum can be described in terms of $K\\pi$ reflections alone is rejected with more than 8$\\sigma$ significance. This provides confirmation, in a model-independent way, of the need for an additional resonant component in the mass region of the $Z(4430)^-$ exotic state.

Model independent particle mass measurements in missing energy events at hadron colliders

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Myeonghun

2011-12-01

This dissertation describes several new kinematic methods to measure the masses of new particles in events with missing transverse energy at hadron colliders. Each method relies on the measurement of some feature (a peak or an endpoint) in the distribution of a suitable kinematic variable. The first method makes use of the "Gator" variable s min , whose peak provides a global and fully inclusive measure of the production scale of the new particles. In the early stage of the LHC, this variable can be used both as an estimator and a discriminator for new physics over the standard model backgrounds. The next method studies the invariant mass distributions of the visible decay products from a cascade decay chain and the shapes and endpoints of those distributions. Given a sufficient number of endpoint measurements, one could in principle attempt to invert and solve for the mass spectrum. However, the non-linear character of the relevant coupled quadratic equations often leads to multiple solutions. In addition, there is a combinatorial ambiguity related to the ordering of the decay products from the cascade decay chain. We propose a new set of invariant mass variables which are less sensitive to these problems. We demonstrate how the new particle mass spectrum can be extracted from the measurement of their kinematic endpoints. The remaining methods described in the dissertation are based on "transverse" invariant mass variables like the "Cambridge" transverse mass MT2, the "Sheffield" contrasverse mass MCT and their corresponding one-dimensional projections MT2⊥, M T2||, MCT⊥ , and MCT|| with respect to the upstream transverse momentum U⃗T . The main advantage of all those methods is that they can be applied to very short (single-stage) decay topologies, as well as to a subsystem of the observed event. The methods can also be generalized to the case of non-identical missing particles, as demonstrated in Chapter 7. A complete set of analytical results for the

Data-Model Relationship in Text-Independent Speaker Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stapert Robert

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Text-independent speaker recognition systems such as those based on Gaussian mixture models (GMMs do not include time sequence information (TSI within the model itself. The level of importance of TSI in speaker recognition is an interesting question and one addressed in this paper. Recent works has shown that the utilisation of higher-level information such as idiolect, pronunciation, and prosodics can be useful in reducing speaker recognition error rates. In accordance with these developments, the aim of this paper is to show that as more data becomes available, the basic GMM can be enhanced by utilising TSI, even in a text-independent mode. This paper presents experimental work incorporating TSI into the conventional GMM. The resulting system, known as the segmental mixture model (SMM, embeds dynamic time warping (DTW into a GMM framework. Results are presented on the 2000-speaker SpeechDat Welsh database which show improved speaker recognition performance with the SMM.

Automated statistical modeling of analytical measurement systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobson, J.J.

1992-01-01

The statistical modeling of analytical measurement systems at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) has been completely automated through computer software. The statistical modeling of analytical measurement systems is one part of a complete quality control program used by the Remote Analytical Laboratory (RAL) at the ICPP. The quality control program is an integration of automated data input, measurement system calibration, database management, and statistical process control. The quality control program and statistical modeling program meet the guidelines set forth by the American Society for Testing Materials and American National Standards Institute. A statistical model is a set of mathematical equations describing any systematic bias inherent in a measurement system and the precision of a measurement system. A statistical model is developed from data generated from the analysis of control standards. Control standards are samples which are made up at precise known levels by an independent laboratory and submitted to the RAL. The RAL analysts who process control standards do not know the values of those control standards. The object behind statistical modeling is to describe real process samples in terms of their bias and precision and, to verify that a measurement system is operating satisfactorily. The processing of control standards gives us this ability

Model-independent approach for dark matter phenomenology

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We have studied the phenomenology of dark matter at the ILC and cosmic positron experiments based on model-independent approach. We have found a strong correlation between dark matter signatures at the ILC and those in the indirect detection experiments of dark matter. Once the dark matter is discovered in the ...

Model-independent approach for dark matter phenomenology ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. We have studied the phenomenology of dark matter at the ILC and cosmic positron experiments based on model-independent approach. We have found a strong correlation between dark matter signatures at the ILC and those in the indirect detec- tion experiments of dark matter. Once the dark matter is discovered ...

How Many Separable Sources? Model Selection In Independent Components Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Woods, Roger P.; Hansen, Lars Kai; Strother, Stephen

2015-01-01

among potential model categories with differing numbers of Gaussian components. Based on simulation studies, the assumptions and approximations underlying the Akaike Information Criterion do not hold in this setting, even with a very large number of observations. Cross-validation is a suitable, though....../Principal Components Analysis (mixed ICA/PCA) model described here accommodates one or more Gaussian components in the independent components analysis model and uses principal components analysis to characterize contributions from this inseparable Gaussian subspace. Information theory can then be used to select from...... might otherwise be questionable. Failure of the Akaike Information Criterion in model selection also has relevance in traditional independent components analysis where all sources are assumed non-Gaussian....

Model independent foreground power spectrum estimation using WMAP 5-year data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, Tuhin; Souradeep, Tarun; Saha, Rajib; Jain, Pankaj

2009-01-01

In this paper, we propose and implement on WMAP 5 yr data a model independent approach of foreground power spectrum estimation for multifrequency observations of the CMB experiments. Recently, a model independent approach of CMB power spectrum estimation was proposed by Saha et al. 2006. This methodology demonstrates that the CMB power spectrum can be reliably estimated solely from WMAP data without assuming any template models for the foreground components. In the current paper, we extend this work to estimate the galactic foreground power spectrum using the WMAP 5 yr maps following a self-contained analysis. We apply the model independent method in harmonic basis to estimate the foreground power spectrum and frequency dependence of combined foregrounds. We also study the behavior of synchrotron spectral index variation over different regions of the sky. We use the full sky Haslam map as an external template to increase the degrees of freedom, while computing the synchrotron spectral index over the frequency range from 408 MHz to 94 GHz. We compare our results with those obtained from maximum entropy method foreground maps, which are formed in pixel space. We find that relative to our model independent estimates maximum entropy method maps overestimate the foreground power close to galactic plane and underestimates it at high latitudes.

Model-independent X-ray Mass Determinations for Clusters of Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Nulsen, Paul

2005-09-01

We propose to use high quality X-ray data from the Chandra archive to determine the mass distributions of about 60 clusters of galaxies over the largest possible range of radii. By avoiding unwarranted assumptions, model-independent methods make best use of high quality data. We will employ two model-independent methods. That used by Nulsen & Boehringer (1995) to determine the mass of the Virgo Cluster and a new method, that will be developed as part of the project. The new method will fit a general mass model directly to the X-ray spectra, making best possible use of the fitting errors to constrain mass profiles.

Model-independent analysis with BPM correlation matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, J.; Wang, C.X.; Yan, Y.T.; Bane, K.; Cai, Y.; Decker, F.; Minty, M.; Stupakov, G.; Zimmermann, F.

1998-06-01

The authors discuss techniques for Model-Independent Analysis (MIA) of a beamline using correlation matrices of physical variables and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) of a beamline BPM matrix. The beamline matrix is formed from BPM readings for a large number of pulses. The method has been applied to the Linear Accelerator of the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC)

Bilinear modeling of EMG signals to extract user-independent features for multiuser myoelectric interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsubara, Takamitsu; Morimoto, Jun

2013-08-01

In this study, we propose a multiuser myoelectric interface that can easily adapt to novel users. When a user performs different motions (e.g., grasping and pinching), different electromyography (EMG) signals are measured. When different users perform the same motion (e.g., grasping), different EMG signals are also measured. Therefore, designing a myoelectric interface that can be used by multiple users to perform multiple motions is difficult. To cope with this problem, we propose for EMG signals a bilinear model that is composed of two linear factors: 1) user dependent and 2) motion dependent. By decomposing the EMG signals into these two factors, the extracted motion-dependent factors can be used as user-independent features. We can construct a motion classifier on the extracted feature space to develop the multiuser interface. For novel users, the proposed adaptation method estimates the user-dependent factor through only a few interactions. The bilinear EMG model with the estimated user-dependent factor can extract the user-independent features from the novel user data. We applied our proposed method to a recognition task of five hand gestures for robotic hand control using four-channel EMG signals measured from subject forearms. Our method resulted in 73% accuracy, which was statistically significantly different from the accuracy of standard nonmultiuser interfaces, as the result of a two-sample t -test at a significance level of 1%.

Model Independent Analysis of Beam Centroid Dynamics in Accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Chun-xi

2003-01-01

Fundamental issues in Beam-Position-Monitor (BPM)-based beam dynamics observations are studied in this dissertation. The major topic is the Model-Independent Analysis (MIA) of beam centroid dynamics. Conventional beam dynamics analysis requires a certain machine model, which itself of ten needs to be refined by beam measurements. Instead of using any particular machine model, MIA relies on a statistical analysis of the vast amount of BPM data that often can be collected non-invasively during normal machine operation. There are two major parts in MIA. One is noise reduction and degrees-of-freedom analysis using a singular value decomposition of a BPM-data matrix, which constitutes a principal component analysis of BPM data. The other is a physical base decomposition of the BPM-data matrix based on the time structure of pulse-by-pulse beam and/or machine parameters. The combination of these two methods allows one to break the resolution limit set by individual BPMs and observe beam dynamics at more accurate levels. A physical base decomposition is particularly useful for understanding various beam dynamics issues. MIA improves observation and analysis of beam dynamics and thus leads to better understanding and control of beams in both linacs and rings. The statistical nature of MIA makes it potentially useful in other fields. Another important topic discussed in this dissertation is the measurement of a nonlinear Poincare section (one-turn) map in circular accelerators. The beam dynamics in a ring is intrinsically nonlinear. In fact, nonlinearities are a major factor that limits stability and influences the dynamics of halos. The Poincare section map plays a basic role in characterizing and analyzing such a periodic nonlinear system. Although many kinds of nonlinear beam dynamics experiments have been conducted, no direct measurement of a nonlinear map has been reported for a ring in normal operation mode. This dissertation analyzes various issues concerning map

Model Independent Analysis of Beam Centroid Dynamics in Accelerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Chun-xi

2003-04-21

Fundamental issues in Beam-Position-Monitor (BPM)-based beam dynamics observations are studied in this dissertation. The major topic is the Model-Independent Analysis (MIA) of beam centroid dynamics. Conventional beam dynamics analysis requires a certain machine model, which itself of ten needs to be refined by beam measurements. Instead of using any particular machine model, MIA relies on a statistical analysis of the vast amount of BPM data that often can be collected non-invasively during normal machine operation. There are two major parts in MIA. One is noise reduction and degrees-of-freedom analysis using a singular value decomposition of a BPM-data matrix, which constitutes a principal component analysis of BPM data. The other is a physical base decomposition of the BPM-data matrix based on the time structure of pulse-by-pulse beam and/or machine parameters. The combination of these two methods allows one to break the resolution limit set by individual BPMs and observe beam dynamics at more accurate levels. A physical base decomposition is particularly useful for understanding various beam dynamics issues. MIA improves observation and analysis of beam dynamics and thus leads to better understanding and control of beams in both linacs and rings. The statistical nature of MIA makes it potentially useful in other fields. Another important topic discussed in this dissertation is the measurement of a nonlinear Poincare section (one-turn) map in circular accelerators. The beam dynamics in a ring is intrinsically nonlinear. In fact, nonlinearities are a major factor that limits stability and influences the dynamics of halos. The Poincare section map plays a basic role in characterizing and analyzing such a periodic nonlinear system. Although many kinds of nonlinear beam dynamics experiments have been conducted, no direct measurement of a nonlinear map has been reported for a ring in normal operation mode. This dissertation analyzes various issues concerning map

Model-independent Constraints on Cosmic Curvature and Opacity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Guo-Jian; Li, Zheng-Xiang; Xia, Jun-Qing; Zhu, Zong-Hong [Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Wei, Jun-Jie, E-mail: gjwang@mail.bnu.edu.cn, E-mail: zxli918@bnu.edu.cn, E-mail: xiajq@bnu.edu.cn, E-mail: zhuzh@bnu.edu.cn, E-mail: jjwei@pmo.ac.cn [Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)

2017-09-20

In this paper, we propose to estimate the spatial curvature of the universe and the cosmic opacity in a model-independent way with expansion rate measurements, H ( z ), and type Ia supernova (SNe Ia). On the one hand, using a nonparametric smoothing method Gaussian process, we reconstruct a function H ( z ) from opacity-free expansion rate measurements. Then, we integrate the H ( z ) to obtain distance modulus μ {sub H}, which is dependent on the cosmic curvature. On the other hand, distances of SNe Ia can be determined by their photometric observations and thus are opacity-dependent. In our analysis, by confronting distance moduli μ {sub H} with those obtained from SNe Ia, we achieve estimations for both the spatial curvature and the cosmic opacity without any assumptions for the cosmological model. Here, it should be noted that light curve fitting parameters, accounting for the distance estimation of SNe Ia, are determined in a global fit together with the cosmic opacity and spatial curvature to get rid of the dependence of these parameters on cosmology. In addition, we also investigate whether the inclusion of different priors for the present expansion rate ( H {sub 0}: global estimation, 67.74 ± 0.46 km s{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1}, and local measurement, 73.24 ± 1.74 km s{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1}) exert influence on the reconstructed H ( z ) and the following estimations of the spatial curvature and cosmic opacity. Results show that, in general, a spatially flat and transparent universe is preferred by the observations. Moreover, it is suggested that priors for H {sub 0} matter a lot. Finally, we find that there is a strong degeneracy between the curvature and the opacity.

Distance-independent individual tree diameter-increment model for Thuya [Tetraclinis articulata (VAHL. MAST.] stands in Tunisia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Sghaier

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: The aim of the work was to develop an individual tree diameter-increment model for Thuya (Tetraclinis articulata in Tunisia.Area of study: The natural Tetraclinis articulata stands at Jbel Lattrech in north-eastern of Tunisia.Material and methods:  Data came from 200 trees located in 50 sample plots. The diameter at age t and the diameter increment for the last five years obtained from cores taken at breast height were measured for each tree. Four difference equations derived from the base functions of Richards, Lundqvist, Hossfeld IV and Weibull were tested using the age-independent formulations of the growth functions. Both numerical and graphical analyses were used to evaluate the performance of the candidate models.Main results: Based on the analysis, the age-independent difference equation derived from the base function Richards model was selected. Two of the three parameters (growth rate and shape parameter of the retained model were related to site quality, represented by a Growth Index, stand density and the basal area in larger trees divided by diameter of the subject tree expressing the inter-tree competition.Research highlights: The proposed model can be useful for predicting the diameter growth of Tetraclinis articulata in Tunisia when age is not available or for trees growing in uneven-aged stands.Keywords: Age-independent growth model; difference equations; Tetraclinis articulata; Tunisia.

A domain-independent descriptive design model and its application to structured reflection on design processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reymen, Isabelle; Hammer, D.K.; Kroes, P.A.; van Aken, Joan Ernst; van Aken, J.E.; Dorst, C.H.; Bax, M.F.T.; Basten, T

2006-01-01

Domain-independent models of the design process are an important means for facilitating interdisciplinary communication and for supporting multidisciplinary design. Many so-called domain-independent models are, however, not really domain independent. We state that to be domain independent, the

Two independent measurements of Debye lengths in doped nonpolar liquids.

Science.gov (United States)

Prieve, D C; Hoggard, J D; Fu, R; Sides, P J; Bethea, R

2008-02-19

Electric current measurements were performed between 2.5 cm x 7.5 cm parallel-plate electrodes separated by 1.2 mm of heptane doped with 0-15% w/w poly(isobutylene succinimide) (PIBS) having a molecular weight of about 1700. The rapid (microsecond) initial charging of the capacitor can be used to infer the dielectric constant of the solution. The much slower decay of current arising from the polarization of electrodes depends on the differential capacitance of the diffuse clouds of charge carriers accumulating next to each electrode and on the ohmic resistance of the fluid. Using the Gouy-Chapman model for the differential capacitance, Debye lengths of 80-600 nm were deduced that decrease with increasing concentration of PIBS. Values of the Debye lengths were confirmed by performing independent measurements of double-layer repulsion between a 6 microm polystyrene (PS) latex sphere and a PS-coated glass plate using total internal reflection microscopy in the same solutions. The charge carriers appear to be inverted PIBS micelles having apparent Stokes diameters of 20-40 nm. Dynamic light scattering reveals a broad distribution of sizes having an intensity-averaged diameter of 15 nm. This smaller size might arise (1) from overestimating the electrophoretic mobility of micelles by treating them as point charges or (2) because charged micelles are larger on average than uncharged micelles. When Faradaic reactions and zeta potentials on the electrodes can be neglected, such current versus time experiments yield values for the Debye length and ionic strength with less effort than force measurements. To obtain the concentration of charge carriers from measurements of conductivity, the mobility of the charge carriers must be known.

Colour-independent partition functions in coloured vertex models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foda, O., E-mail: omar.foda@unimelb.edu.au [Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 (Australia); Wheeler, M., E-mail: mwheeler@lpthe.jussieu.fr [Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Hautes Energies, CNRS UMR 7589 (France); Université Pierre et Marie Curie – Paris 6, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris cedex 05 (France)

2013-06-11

We study lattice configurations related to S{sub n}, the scalar product of an off-shell state and an on-shell state in rational A{sub n} integrable vertex models, n∈{1,2}. The lattice lines are colourless and oriented. The state variables are n conserved colours that flow along the line orientations, but do not necessarily cover every bond in the lattice. Choosing boundary conditions such that the positions where the colours flow into the lattice are fixed, and where they flow out are summed over, we show that the partition functions of these configurations, with these boundary conditions, are n-independent. Our results extend to trigonometric A{sub n} models, and to all n. This n-independence explains, in vertex-model terms, results from recent studies of S{sub 2} (Caetano and Vieira, 2012, [1], Wheeler, (arXiv:1204.2089), [2]). Namely, 1.S{sub 2}, which depends on two sets of Bethe roots, {b_1} and {b_2}, and cannot (as far as we know) be expressed in single determinant form, degenerates in the limit {b_1}→∞, and/or {b_2}→∞, into a product of determinants, 2. Each of the latter determinants is an A{sub 1} vertex-model partition function.

Colour-independent partition functions in coloured vertex models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foda, O.; Wheeler, M.

2013-01-01

We study lattice configurations related to S n , the scalar product of an off-shell state and an on-shell state in rational A n integrable vertex models, n∈{1,2}. The lattice lines are colourless and oriented. The state variables are n conserved colours that flow along the line orientations, but do not necessarily cover every bond in the lattice. Choosing boundary conditions such that the positions where the colours flow into the lattice are fixed, and where they flow out are summed over, we show that the partition functions of these configurations, with these boundary conditions, are n-independent. Our results extend to trigonometric A n models, and to all n. This n-independence explains, in vertex-model terms, results from recent studies of S 2 (Caetano and Vieira, 2012, [1], Wheeler, (arXiv:1204.2089), [2]). Namely, 1.S 2 , which depends on two sets of Bethe roots, {b 1 } and {b 2 }, and cannot (as far as we know) be expressed in single determinant form, degenerates in the limit {b 1 }→∞, and/or {b 2 }→∞, into a product of determinants, 2. Each of the latter determinants is an A 1 vertex-model partition function

Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Cryptography

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Zhiyuan

Quantum key distribution (QKD) enables two legitimate parties to share a secret key even in the presence of an eavesdropper. The unconditional security of QKD is based on the fundamental laws of quantum physics. Original security proofs of QKD are based on a few assumptions, e.g., perfect single photon sources and perfect single-photon detectors. However, practical implementations of QKD systems do not fully comply with such assumptions due to technical limitations. The gap between theory and implementations leads to security loopholes in most QKD systems, and several attacks have been launched on sophisticated QKD systems. Particularly, the detectors have been found to be the most vulnerable part of QKD. Much effort has been put to build side-channel-free QKD systems. Solutions such as security patches and device-independent QKD have been proposed. However, the former are normally ad-hoc, and cannot close unidentified loopholes. The latter, while having the advantages of removing all assumptions on devices, is impractical to implement today. Measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD) turns out to be a promising solution to the security problem of QKD. In MDI-QKD, all security loopholes, including those yet-to-be discovered, have been removed from the detectors, the most critical part in QKD. In this thesis, we investigate issues related to the practical implementation and security of MDI-QKD. We first present a demonstration of polarization-encoding MDI-QKD. Taking finite key effect into account, we achieve a secret key rate of 0.005 bit per second (bps) over 10 km spooled telecom fiber, and a 1600-bit key is distributed. This work, together with other demonstrations, shows the practicality of MDI-QKD. Next we investigate a critical assumption of MDI-QKD: perfect state preparation. We apply the loss-tolerant QKD protocol and adapt it to MDI-QKD to quantify information leakage due to imperfect state preparation. We then present an experimental demonstration of

A study of quality measures for protein threading models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rychlewski Leszek

2001-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Prediction of protein structures is one of the fundamental challenges in biology today. To fully understand how well different prediction methods perform, it is necessary to use measures that evaluate their performance. Every two years, starting in 1994, the CASP (Critical Assessment of protein Structure Prediction process has been organized to evaluate the ability of different predictors to blindly predict the structure of proteins. To capture different features of the models, several measures have been developed during the CASP processes. However, these measures have not been examined in detail before. In an attempt to develop fully automatic measures that can be used in CASP, as well as in other type of benchmarking experiments, we have compared twenty-one measures. These measures include the measures used in CASP3 and CASP2 as well as have measures introduced later. We have studied their ability to distinguish between the better and worse models submitted to CASP3 and the correlation between them. Results Using a small set of 1340 models for 23 different targets we show that most methods correlate with each other. Most pairs of measures show a correlation coefficient of about 0.5. The correlation is slightly higher for measures of similar types. We found that a significant problem when developing automatic measures is how to deal with proteins of different length. Also the comparisons between different measures is complicated as many measures are dependent on the size of the target. We show that the manual assessment can be reproduced to about 70% using automatic measures. Alignment independent measures, detects slightly more of the models with the correct fold, while alignment dependent measures agree better when selecting the best models for each target. Finally we show that using automatic measures would, to a large extent, reproduce the assessors ranking of the predictors at CASP3. Conclusions We show that given a

Impact of AMS-02 Measurements on Reducing GCR Model Uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Slaba, T. C.; O'Neill, P. M.; Golge, S.; Norbury, J. W.

2015-01-01

For vehicle design, shield optimization, mission planning, and astronaut risk assessment, the exposure from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) poses a significant and complex problem both in low Earth orbit and in deep space. To address this problem, various computational tools have been developed to quantify the exposure and risk in a wide range of scenarios. Generally, the tool used to describe the ambient GCR environment provides the input into subsequent computational tools and is therefore a critical component of end-to-end procedures. Over the past few years, several researchers have independently and very carefully compared some of the widely used GCR models to more rigorously characterize model differences and quantify uncertainties. All of the GCR models studied rely heavily on calibrating to available near-Earth measurements of GCR particle energy spectra, typically over restricted energy regions and short time periods. In this work, we first review recent sensitivity studies quantifying the ions and energies in the ambient GCR environment of greatest importance to exposure quantities behind shielding. Currently available measurements used to calibrate and validate GCR models are also summarized within this context. It is shown that the AMS-II measurements will fill a critically important gap in the measurement database. The emergence of AMS-II measurements also provides a unique opportunity to validate existing models against measurements that were not used to calibrate free parameters in the empirical descriptions. Discussion is given regarding rigorous approaches to implement the independent validation efforts, followed by recalibration of empirical parameters.

Electromagnetic polarisabilities of the proton in an independent particle potential model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barik, N.; Panda, A.R.

1996-01-01

We consider the electric and magnetic polarisabilities of the proton including the valence quark as well as pion dressing effects in an independent quark model with an effective scalar-vector harmonic potential which renders the solvability of relativistic Dirac equations for confined quarks, and has in fact acted as an alternative to the cloudy bag model (CBM). This model which has been applied successfully to a variety of hadronic problems is also observed here to yield the electromagnetic polarisabilities of the proton satisfactorily without any free parameters. The electric and magnetic polarisabilities, including valence quark core and pion cloud effects, obtained here as anti α P =14.074.10 -4 fm 3 and anti β P =3.155.10 -4 fm 3 , are well within the uncertainties of their experimental measurements of (10.9±2.2±1.4).10 -4 fm 3 and (3.3±2.2±1.4).10 -4 fm 3 , respectively and are also in agreement with other model estimations. (orig.)

Electromagnetic polarisabilities of the proton in an independent particle potential model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barik, N [Utkal Univ., Bhubaneswer (India). P.G. Dept. of Phys.; Dash, B K [Utkal Univ., Bhubaneswer (India). P.G. Dept. of Phys.; Das, P [Department of Physics, Kendrapara College, Kendrapara-754211 (India); Panda, A R [Department of Physics, Kendrapara College, Kendrapara-754211 (India)

1996-08-19

We consider the electric and magnetic polarisabilities of the proton including the valence quark as well as pion dressing effects in an independent quark model with an effective scalar-vector harmonic potential which renders the solvability of relativistic Dirac equations for confined quarks, and has in fact acted as an alternative to the cloudy bag model (CBM). This model which has been applied successfully to a variety of hadronic problems is also observed here to yield the electromagnetic polarisabilities of the proton satisfactorily without any free parameters. The electric and magnetic polarisabilities, including valence quark core and pion cloud effects, obtained here as anti {alpha}{sub P}=14.074.10{sup -4} fm{sup 3} and anti {beta}{sub P}=3.155.10{sup -4} fm{sup 3}, are well within the uncertainties of their experimental measurements of (10.9{+-}2.2{+-}1.4).10{sup -4} fm{sup 3} and (3.3{+-}2.2{+-}1.4).10{sup -4} fm{sup 3}, respectively and are also in agreement with other model estimations. (orig.).

An independent verification and validation of the Future Theater Level Model conceptual model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartley, D.S. III; Kruse, K.L.; Martellaro, A.J.; Packard, S.L.; Thomas, B. Jr.; Turley, V.K.

1994-08-01

This report describes the methodology and results of independent verification and validation performed on a combat model in its design stage. The combat model is the Future Theater Level Model (FTLM), under development by The Joint Staff/J-8. J-8 has undertaken its development to provide an analysis tool that addresses the uncertainties of combat more directly than previous models and yields more rapid study results. The methodology adopted for this verification and validation consisted of document analyses. Included were detailed examination of the FTLM design documents (at all stages of development), the FTLM Mission Needs Statement, and selected documentation for other theater level combat models. These documents were compared to assess the FTLM as to its design stage, its purpose as an analytical combat model, and its capabilities as specified in the Mission Needs Statement. The conceptual design passed those tests. The recommendations included specific modifications as well as a recommendation for continued development. The methodology is significant because independent verification and validation have not been previously reported as being performed on a combat model in its design stage. The results are significant because The Joint Staff/J-8 will be using the recommendations from this study in determining whether to proceed with develop of the model.

Measurement and Prediction of Time-independent and Time-dependent Rheological Behavior of Waxy Crude Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yavar Karimi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Wax deposition phenomenon changes the rheological behavior of waxy crude oil completely. In the current work, the rheological time-dependent and time-independent behaviors of waxy crude oil samples are studied and flow curve and compliance function are measured for the oil samples with various wax contents at different temperatures. A decrease in temperature and an increase in wax content lead to an increase in the viscosity and yield stress but a significant drop in compliance function. A modified Burger model is developed to predict the behavior of the compliance function and a modified Casson model is used to predict the flow curve of the waxy crude oil samples within a vast range of wax contents and temperatures. The proposed Burger and Casson models match with experimental results with R2 of 99.7% and 97.33% respectively.

SMATASY. A Program for the model independent description of the Z resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirsch, S.; Riemann, T.

1994-07-01

SMATASY is an interface for the ZF I T T ER package and may be used for the model independent description of the Z resonance at LEP 1 and SLC. It allows the determination of the Z mass and width and its resonance shape parameters r and j for cross-sections and their asymmetries. The r describes the peak height and j the interference of the Z resonance with photon exchange in each scattering channel and for σ T , σ FB , σ lr , σ pol etc. separately. Alternatively, the helicity amplitudes for a given scattering channel may be determined. We compare our formalism with other model independent approaches. The model independent treatment of QED corrections in SMATASY is applicable also far away from the Z peak. (orig.)

Compositional models and conditional independence in evidence theory

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jiroušek, Radim; Vejnarová, Jiřina

2011-01-01

Roč. 52, č. 3 (2011), s. 316-334 ISSN 0888-613X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Evidence theory * Conditional independence * multidimensional models Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.948, year: 2011 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/MTR/jirousek-0370515.pdf

Constraining new physics with collider measurements of Standard Model signatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butterworth, Jonathan M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London,Gower St., London, WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Grellscheid, David [IPPP, Department of Physics, Durham University,Durham, DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Krämer, Michael; Sarrazin, Björn [Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology, RWTH Aachen University,Sommerfeldstr. 16, 52056 Aachen (Germany); Yallup, David [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London,Gower St., London, WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)

2017-03-14

A new method providing general consistency constraints for Beyond-the-Standard-Model (BSM) theories, using measurements at particle colliders, is presented. The method, ‘Constraints On New Theories Using Rivet’, CONTUR, exploits the fact that particle-level differential measurements made in fiducial regions of phase-space have a high degree of model-independence. These measurements can therefore be compared to BSM physics implemented in Monte Carlo generators in a very generic way, allowing a wider array of final states to be considered than is typically the case. The CONTUR approach should be seen as complementary to the discovery potential of direct searches, being designed to eliminate inconsistent BSM proposals in a context where many (but perhaps not all) measurements are consistent with the Standard Model. We demonstrate, using a competitive simplified dark matter model, the power of this approach. The CONTUR method is highly scaleable to other models and future measurements.

Density-independent algorithm for sensing moisture content of sawdust based on reflection measurements

Science.gov (United States)

A density-independent algorithm for moisture content determination in sawdust, based on a one-port reflection measurement technique is proposed for the first time. Performance of this algorithm is demonstrated through measurement of the dielectric properties of sawdust with an open-ended haft-mode s...

Experimental evaluation of a polycrystal deformation modeling scheme using neutron diffraction measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Bjørn; Lorentzen, Torben

1997-01-01

The uniaxial behavior of aluminum polycrystals is simulated using a rate-independent incremental self-consistent elastic-plastic polycrystal deformation model, and the results are evaluated by neutron diffraction measurements. The elastic strains deduced from the model show good agreement...

Linear least squares compartmental-model-independent parameter identification in PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thie, J.A.; Smith, G.T.; Hubner, K.F.

1997-01-01

A simplified approach involving linear-regression straight-line parameter fitting of dynamic scan data is developed for both specific and nonspecific models. Where compartmental-model topologies apply, the measured activity may be expressed in terms of: its integrals, plasma activity and plasma integrals -- all in a linear expression with macroparameters as coefficients. Multiple linear regression, as in spreadsheet software, determines parameters for best data fits. Positron emission tomography (PET)-acquired gray-matter images in a dynamic scan are analyzed: both by this method and by traditional iterative nonlinear least squares. Both patient and simulated data were used. Regression and traditional methods are in expected agreement. Monte-Carlo simulations evaluate parameter standard deviations, due to data noise, and much smaller noise-induced biases. Unique straight-line graphical displays permit visualizing data influences on various macroparameters as changes in slopes. Advantages of regression fitting are: simplicity, speed, ease of implementation in spreadsheet software, avoiding risks of convergence failures or false solutions in iterative least squares, and providing various visualizations of the uptake process by straight line graphical displays. Multiparameter model-independent analyses on lesser understood systems is also made possible

A model technology transfer program for independent operators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schoeling, L.G.

1996-08-01

In August 1992, the Energy Research Center (ERC) at the University of Kansas was awarded a contract by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a technology transfer regional model. This report describes the development and testing of the Kansas Technology Transfer Model (KTTM) which is to be utilized as a regional model for the development of other technology transfer programs for independent operators throughout oil-producing regions in the US. It describes the linkage of the regional model with a proposed national technology transfer plan, an evaluation technique for improving and assessing the model, and the methodology which makes it adaptable on a regional basis. The report also describes management concepts helpful in managing a technology transfer program.

Model-independent Exoplanet Transit Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Aronson, Erik; Piskunov, Nikolai

2018-05-01

We propose a new data analysis method for obtaining transmission spectra of exoplanet atmospheres and brightness variation across the stellar disk from transit observations. The new method is capable of recovering exoplanet atmosphere absorption spectra and stellar specific intensities without relying on theoretical models of stars and planets. We simultaneously fit both stellar specific intensity and planetary radius directly to transit light curves. This allows stellar models to be removed from the data analysis. Furthermore, we use a data quality weighted filtering technique to achieve an optimal trade-off between spectral resolution and reconstruction fidelity homogenizing the signal-to-noise ratio across the wavelength range. Such an approach is more efficient than conventional data binning onto a low-resolution wavelength grid. We demonstrate that our analysis is capable of reproducing results achieved by using an explicit quadratic limb-darkening equation and that the filtering technique helps eliminate spurious spectral features in regions with strong telluric absorption. The method is applied to the VLT FORS2 observations of the exoplanets GJ 1214 b and WASP-49 b, and our results are in agreement with previous studies. Comparisons between obtained stellar specific intensity and numerical models indicates that the method is capable of accurately reconstructing the specific intensity. The proposed method enables more robust characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres by separating derivation of planetary transmission and stellar specific intensity spectra (that is model-independent) from chemical and physical interpretation.

A comparative study of independent particle model based ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We find that among these three independent particle model based methods, the ss-VSCF method provides most accurate results in the thermal averages followed by t-SCF and the v-VSCF is the least accurate. However, the ss-VSCF is found to be computationally very expensive for the large molecules. The t-SCF gives ...

De novo determination of internuclear vector orientations from residual dipolar couplings measured in three independent alignment media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruan Ke; Briggman, Kathryn B.; Tolman, Joel R.

2008-01-01

The straightforward interpretation of solution state residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) in terms of internuclear vector orientations generally requires prior knowledge of the alignment tensor, which in turn is normally estimated using a structural model. We have developed a protocol which allows the requirement for prior structural knowledge to be dispensed with as long as RDC measurements can be made in three independent alignment media. This approach, called Rigid Structure from Dipolar Couplings (RSDC), allows vector orientations and alignment tensors to be determined de novo from just three independent sets of RDCs. It is shown that complications arising from the existence of multiple solutions can be overcome by careful consideration of alignment tensor magnitudes in addition to the agreement between measured and calculated RDCs. Extensive simulations as well applications to the proteins ubiquitin and Staphylococcal protein GB1 demonstrate that this method can provide robust determinations of alignment tensors and amide N-H bond orientations often with better than 10 o accuracy, even in the presence of modest levels of internal dynamics

A Standardized Generalized Dimensionality Discrepancy Measure and a Standardized Model-Based Covariance for Dimensionality Assessment for Multidimensional Models

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Roy; Xu, Yuning; Yel, Nedim; Svetina, Dubravka

2015-01-01

The standardized generalized dimensionality discrepancy measure and the standardized model-based covariance are introduced as tools to critique dimensionality assumptions in multidimensional item response models. These tools are grounded in a covariance theory perspective and associated connections between dimensionality and local independence.…

A model for rate-dependent but time-independent material behavior in cyclic plasticity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dafalias, Y.F.; Ramey, M.R.; Sheikh, I.

1977-01-01

It is the purpose of this paper to present a model for rate-dependent but time independent material behavior under cyclic loading in the plastic range. What is referred to as time independent behavior here, is the absence of creep and relaxation phenomena from the behavior of the model. The notion of plastic internal variables (piv) is introduced, as properly invariant scalars or second order tensors, whose constitutive relations are rate-type equations not necessarily homogeneous of oder one in the rates, as it would be required for independent plasticity. The concept of a yield surface in the strain space and a loading function in terms of the total strain rate is introduced, where the sign of the loading function defines zero or non-zero value of the rate of piv. Thus rate dependence is achieved without time dependent behavior (no creep or relaxation). In addition, discrete memory parameters associated with the most recent event of unloading-reloading in different directions enter the constitutive relations for the piv. A particular form of the constitutive relations is assumed, where the rate of piv is a linear combination of the strain rate components, with coefficients depending on the second invariant of the strain rate tensor, which can be viewed as a scalar measure of the rate of deformation in the multiaxial case and a direct generalization of the uniaxial strain rate. This leads to a particularly simple form of the constitutive relations resembling the ones for rate independent plasticity. The uniaxial counterpart would be a relation between the plastic strain rate (as one of the piv) and the total strain rate through a plastic modulus which depends on the strain rate, the piv, and the discrete memory parameters

Multi-spectrometer calibration transfer based on independent component analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yan; Xu, Hao; Xia, Zhenzhen; Gong, Zhiyong

2018-02-26

Calibration transfer is indispensable for practical applications of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy due to the need for precise and consistent measurements across different spectrometers. In this work, a method for multi-spectrometer calibration transfer is described based on independent component analysis (ICA). A spectral matrix is first obtained by aligning the spectra measured on different spectrometers. Then, by using independent component analysis, the aligned spectral matrix is decomposed into the mixing matrix and the independent components of different spectrometers. These differing measurements between spectrometers can then be standardized by correcting the coefficients within the independent components. Two NIR datasets of corn and edible oil samples measured with three and four spectrometers, respectively, were used to test the reliability of this method. The results of both datasets reveal that spectra measurements across different spectrometers can be transferred simultaneously and that the partial least squares (PLS) models built with the measurements on one spectrometer can predict that the spectra can be transferred correctly on another.

Measuring energy security. Can the United States achieve oil independence?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greene, David L.

2010-01-01

Stochastic simulation of the direct economic costs of oil dependence in an uncertain future is proposed as a useful metric of oil dependence. The market failure from which these costs arise is imperfect competition in the world oil market, chiefly as a consequence of the use of market power by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel. Oil dependence costs can be substantial. It is estimated that oil dependence costs to the US economy in 2008 will exceed $500 billion. Other costs, such as military expenditures or foreign policy constraints are deemed to be largely derivative of the actual or potential economic costs of oil dependence. The use of quantifiable economic costs as a security metric leads to a measurable definition of oil independence, or oil security, which can be used to test the ability of specific policies to achieve oil independence in an uncertain future. (author)

The independent molecular interaction sites model. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naumann, K.H.; Lippert, E.

1981-01-01

A new reference system for the treatment of molecular fluids within the framework of thermodynamic perturbation theory is presented. The basic ingredient of our approach is a potential transformation which allows us to view molecular liquids and gases as mixtures of formally independent molecular interaction sites (IMIS model). Some relations between out method and the RAM theory are discussed. (orig.)

Measures of Physical and Mental Independence Among HIV-Positive Individuals: Impact of Substance Use Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Bianca; Qin, Zijian; Byrd, Desiree A; Yu, Fang; Morgello, Susan; Gelman, Benjamin B; Moore, David J; Grant, Igor; Singer, Elyse J; Fox, Howard S; Baccaglini, Lorena

2017-10-01

With the transition of HIV infection from an acute to a chronic disease after the introduction of antiretroviral medications, there has been an increased focus on long-term neurocognitive and other functional outcomes of HIV patients. Thus, we assessed factors, particularly history of a substance use disorder, associated with time to loss of measures of physical or mental independence among HIV-positive individuals. Data were obtained from the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to estimate the time since HIV diagnosis to loss of independence, and to identify associated risk factors. HIV-positive participants who self-identified as physically (n = 698) or mentally (n = 616) independent on selected activities of daily living at baseline were eligible for analyses. A history of substance use disorder was associated with a higher hazard of loss of both physical and mental independence [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.71, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.07-2.78; adjusted HR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.11-2.52, respectively]. After adjusting for substance use disorder and other covariates, older age at diagnosis and female gender were associated with higher hazards of loss of both physical and mental independence, non-white participants had higher hazards of loss of physical independence, whereas participants with an abnormal neurocognitive diagnosis and fewer years of education had higher hazards of loss of mental independence. In summary, history of substance use disorder was associated with loss of measures of both physical and mental independence. The nature of this link and the means to prevent such loss of independence need further investigation.

Final model independent result of DAMA/LIBRA-phase1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernabei, R.; D' Angelo, S.; Di Marco, A. [Universita di Roma ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Dipartimento di Fisica, Rome (Italy); INFN, sez. Roma ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Rome (Italy); Belli, P. [INFN, sez. Roma ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Rome (Italy); Cappella, F.; D' Angelo, A.; Prosperi, D. [Universita di Roma ' ' La Sapienza' ' , Dipartimento di Fisica, Rome (Italy); INFN, sez. Roma, Rome (Italy); Caracciolo, V.; Castellano, S.; Cerulli, R. [INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Assergi (Italy); Dai, C.J.; He, H.L.; Kuang, H.H.; Ma, X.H.; Sheng, X.D.; Wang, R.G. [Chinese Academy, IHEP, Beijing (China); Incicchitti, A. [INFN, sez. Roma, Rome (Italy); Montecchia, F. [INFN, sez. Roma ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Rome (Italy); Universita di Roma ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ingegneria Informatica, Rome (Italy); Ye, Z.P. [Chinese Academy, IHEP, Beijing (China); University of Jing Gangshan, Jiangxi (China)

2013-12-15

The results obtained with the total exposure of 1.04 ton x yr collected by DAMA/LIBRA-phase1 deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the I.N.F.N. during 7 annual cycles (i.e. adding a further 0.17 ton x yr exposure) are presented. The DAMA/LIBRA-phase1 data give evidence for the presence of Dark Matter (DM) particles in the galactic halo, on the basis of the exploited model independent DM annual modulation signature by using highly radio-pure NaI(Tl) target, at 7.5{sigma} C.L. Including also the first generation DAMA/NaI experiment (cumulative exposure 1.33 ton x yr, corresponding to 14 annual cycles), the C.L. is 9.3{sigma} and the modulation amplitude of the single-hit events in the (2-6) keV energy interval is: (0.0112{+-}0.0012) cpd/kg/keV; the measured phase is (144{+-}7) days and the measured period is (0.998{+-}0.002) yr, values well in agreement with those expected for DM particles. No systematic or side reaction able to mimic the exploited DM signature has been found or suggested by anyone over more than a decade. (orig.)

Model-independent determination of the WIMP mass from direct dark matter detection data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drees, Manuel; Shan, Chung-Lin

2008-01-01

Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are one of the leading candidates for dark matter. We develop a model-independent method for determining the mass m χ of the WIMP by using data (i.e. measured recoil energies) of direct detection experiments. Our method is independent of the as yet unknown WIMP density near the Earth, of the form of the WIMP velocity distribution, as well as of the WIMP–nucleus cross section. However, it requires positive signals from at least two detectors with different target nuclei. In a background-free environment, m χ ∼50 GeV could in principle be determined with an error of ∼35% with only 2 × 50 events; in practice, upper and lower limits on the recoil energy of signal events, imposed to reduce backgrounds, can increase the error. The method also loses precision if m χ significantly exceeds the mass of the heaviest target nucleus used

One-sided measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Wen-Fei; Zhen, Yi-Zheng; Zheng, Yu-Lin; Li, Li; Chen, Zeng-Bing; Liu, Nai-Le; Chen, Kai

2018-01-01

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol was proposed to remove all the detector side channel attacks, while its security relies on the trusted encoding systems. Here we propose a one-sided MDI-QKD (1SMDI-QKD) protocol, which enjoys detection loophole-free advantage, and at the same time weakens the state preparation assumption in MDI-QKD. The 1SMDI-QKD can be regarded as a modified MDI-QKD, in which Bob's encoding system is trusted, while Alice's is uncharacterized. For the practical implementation, we also provide a scheme by utilizing coherent light source with an analytical two decoy state estimation method. Simulation with realistic experimental parameters shows that the protocol has a promising performance, and thus can be applied to practical QKD applications.

Modelling Central Bank Independence and Inflation: Deus Ex Machina?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dumiter Florin

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Central bank independence represents the core element of assessing the complex relationship between government and central bank, having at background the fundamental issue of a free monetary policy decision-making process from the hands of the political circle. However, central bank independence is a multilevel concept within some social, economic and behavioral implications both for the central banks and for the society at whole. Central bank independence is needed in order to establish an autonomous central bank with a high degree of freedom in choosing its’ instruments, objectives, techniques and tactics. Moreover, a high degree of transparency for the public disclosure and monitoring of central bank operation and transaction is needed for the social barometer of the central bank. Consequently the central bank must have a high degree of accountability and responsibility vis - á - vis of the most democratic institution, i.e. Parliament. In this article it is presented a comprehensive study regarding the complex relationship between central bank independence and inflation by modeling these two monetary policy panacea, in order to make a fine tuning regarding the causal relationship established in a heterodox manner.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF WHEELSET OSCILLATIONS WITH INDEPENDENT WHEEL ROTATION IN THE HORIZONTAL PLANE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. V. Myamlin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The work is devoted to the study of horizontal oscillation and the assessment of the motion stability of a single wheelset with independent wheel rotation, and to the comparison of stability indicators of the typical wheelset and the wheelset with independent wheel rotation. This is connected with the necessity to increase traffic speed of rolling stock, improve road safety and comfort of passengers. Methodology. To achieve this purpose we used the methods of mathematical simulation of railway rolling stock dynamics, as well as the linear algebra methods to assess the stability of solutions of the linear homogeneous differential equations. Findings. To solve the set task the design model of a single wheelset with independent wheel rotation was created. The wheelset is not a single solid body; each of the wheelset axles has a surplus degree of freedom. Thus, we obtained the system with 4 degrees of freedom. The design model allowed to obtain the system of linear homogeneous differential equations describing the oscillations of the represented wheelset in a horizontal plane on a straight track section. On the basis of the computer modeling were calculated the eigenvalues of the differential equation system coefficients and the asymptotic stability analysis of the wheelset motion with independent wheel rotation. The increment and the frequency of fluctuations were compared with similar indicators for the standard wheelset. The authors also discussed non-oscillatory forms of the wheelset motion and the issues of wheelset self-centering on the track. Originality. The result of the work is the mathematical model of the sinuous movement of a single wheelset, in two-dimensional formulation, with independent wheel rotation and the estimate of the dynamic indices during its motion on a straight track section without any irregularities. There were also proposed the ways to ensure the self-centering on the track of the wheelset with independent

Two Higgs Doublet Model and Model Independent Interpretation of Neutral Higgs Boson Searches

CERN Document Server

Abbiendi, G.; Ainsley, C.; Akesson, P.F.; Alexander, G.; Allison, John; Anderson, K.J.; Arcelli, S.; Asai, S.; Ashby, S.F.; Axen, D.; Azuelos, G.; Bailey, I.; Ball, A.H.; Barberio, E.; Barlow, Roger J.; Baumann, S.; Behnke, T.; Bell, Kenneth Watson; Bella, G.; Bellerive, A.; Benelli, G.; Bentvelsen, S.; Bethke, S.; Biebel, O.; Bloodworth, I.J.; Boeriu, O.; Bock, P.; Bohme, J.; Bonacorsi, D.; Boutemeur, M.; Braibant, S.; Bright-Thomas, P.; Brigliadori, L.; Brown, Robert M.; Burckhart, H.J.; Cammin, J.; Capiluppi, P.; Carnegie, R.K.; Carter, A.A.; Carter, J.R.; Chang, C.Y.; Charlton, David G.; Clarke, P.E.L.; Clay, E.; Cohen, I.; Cooke, O.C.; Couchman, J.; Couyoumtzelis, C.; Coxe, R.L.; Csilling, A.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; Dallavalle, G.Marco; Dallison, S.; de Roeck, A.; de Wolf, E.; Dervan, P.; Desch, K.; Dienes, B.; Dixit, M.S.; Donkers, M.; Dubbert, J.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Duerdoth, I.P.; Estabrooks, P.G.; Etzion, E.; Fabbri, F.; Fanti, M.; Feld, L.; Ferrari, P.; Fiedler, F.; Fleck, I.; Ford, M.; Frey, A.; Furtjes, A.; Futyan, D.I.; Gagnon, P.; Gary, J.W.; Gaycken, G.; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Giacomelli, G.; Giacomelli, P.; Glenzinski, D.; Goldberg, J.; Grandi, C.; Graham, K.; Gross, E.; Grunhaus, J.; Gruwe, M.; Gunther, P.O.; Hajdu, C.; Hanson, G.G.; Hansroul, M.; Hapke, M.; Harder, K.; Harel, A.; Harin-Dirac, M.; Hauke, A.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C.M.; Hawkings, R.; Hemingway, R.J.; Hensel, C.; Herten, G.; Heuer, R.D.; Hill, J.C.; Hocker, James Andrew; Hoffman, Kara Dion; Homer, R.J.; Honma, A.K.; Horvath, D.; Hossain, K.R.; Howard, R.; Huntemeyer, P.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Ishii, K.; Jacob, F.R.; Jawahery, A.; Jeremie, H.; Jones, C.R.; Jovanovic, P.; Junk, T.R.; Kanaya, N.; Kanzaki, J.; Karapetian, G.; Karlen, D.; Kartvelishvili, V.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Keeler, R.K.; Kellogg, R.G.; Kennedy, B.W.; Kim, D.H.; Klein, K.; Klier, A.; Kluth, S.; Kobayashi, T.; Kobel, M.; Kokott, T.P.; Komamiya, S.; Kowalewski, Robert V.; Kress, T.; Krieger, P.; von Krogh, J.; Kuhl, T.; Kupper, M.; Kyberd, P.; Lafferty, G.D.; Landsman, H.; Lanske, D.; Lawson, I.; Layter, J.G.; Leins, A.; Lellouch, D.; Letts, J.; Levinson, L.; Liebisch, R.; Lillich, J.; List, B.; Littlewood, C.; Lloyd, A.W.; Lloyd, S.L.; Loebinger, F.K.; Long, G.D.; Losty, M.J.; Lu, J.; Ludwig, J.; Macchiolo, A.; Macpherson, A.; Mader, W.; Marcellini, S.; Marchant, T.E.; Martin, A.J.; Martin, J.P.; Martinez, G.; Mashimo, T.; Mattig, Peter; McDonald, W.John; McKenna, J.; McMahon, T.J.; McPherson, R.A.; Meijers, F.; Mendez-Lorenzo, P.; Menges, W.; Merritt, F.S.; Mes, H.; Michelini, A.; Mihara, S.; Mikenberg, G.; Miller, D.J.; Mohr, W.; Montanari, A.; Mori, T.; Nagai, K.; Nakamura, I.; Neal, H.A.; Nisius, R.; O'Neale, S.W.; Oakham, F.G.; Odorici, F.; Ogren, H.O.; Oh, A.; Okpara, A.; Oreglia, M.J.; Orito, S.; Pasztor, G.; Pater, J.R.; Patrick, G.N.; Patt, J.; Pfeifenschneider, P.; Pilcher, J.E.; Pinfold, J.; Plane, David E.; Poli, B.; Polok, J.; Pooth, O.; Przybycien, M.; Quadt, A.; Rembser, C.; Renkel, P.; Rick, H.; Rodning, N.; Roney, J.M.; Rosati, S.; Roscoe, K.; Rossi, A.M.; Rozen, Y.; Runge, K.; Runolfsson, O.; Rust, D.R.; Sachs, K.; Saeki, T.; Sahr, O.; Sarkisyan, E.K.G.; Sbarra, C.; Schaile, A.D.; Schaile, O.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; Schroder, Matthias; Schumacher, M.; Schwick, C.; Scott, W.G.; Seuster, R.; Shears, T.G.; Shen, B.C.; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C.H.; Sherwood, P.; Siroli, G.P.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A.M.; Snow, G.A.; Sobie, R.; Soldner-Rembold, S.; Spagnolo, S.; Sproston, M.; Stahl, A.; Stephens, K.; Stoll, K.; Strom, David M.; Strohmer, R.; Stumpf, L.; Surrow, B.; Talbot, S.D.; Tarem, S.; Taylor, R.J.; Teuscher, R.; Thiergen, M.; Thomas, J.; Thomson, M.A.; Torrence, E.; Towers, S.; Toya, D.; Trefzger, T.; Trigger, I.; Trocsanyi, Z.; Tsur, E.; Turner-Watson, M.F.; Ueda, I.; Vachon, B.; Vannerem, P.; Verzocchi, M.; Voss, H.; Vossebeld, J.; Waller, D.; Ward, C.P.; Ward, D.R.; Watkins, P.M.; Watson, A.T.; Watson, N.K.; Wells, P.S.; Wengler, T.; Wermes, N.; Wetterling, D.; White, J.S.; Wilson, G.W.; Wilson, J.A.; Wyatt, T.R.; Yamashita, S.; Zacek, V.; Zer-Zion, D.

2001-01-01

Searches for the neutral Higgs bosons h0 and A0, are used to obtain limits on the Type II Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM(II)) with no CP-violation in the Higgs sector and no additional particles besides the five Higgs bosons. The analysis combines approximately 170 pb-1 of data collected with the OPAL detector at sqrt{s} ~ 189 GeV with previous runs at sqrt{s} ~ mZ and sqrt{s} ~ 183 GeV. The searches are sensitive to the h0, A0 -> qq, gg, tau+tau- and h0 -> A0A0 decay modes of the Higgs bosons. For the first time, the 2HDM(II) parameter space is explored in a detailed scan, and new flavour independent analyses are applied to examine regions in which the neutral Higgs bosons decay predominantly into light quarks or gluons. Model-independent limits are also given.

Estimators for longitudinal latent exposure models: examining measurement model assumptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Brisa N; Kim, Sehee; Sammel, Mary D

2017-06-15

Latent variable (LV) models are increasingly being used in environmental epidemiology as a way to summarize multiple environmental exposures and thus minimize statistical concerns that arise in multiple regression. LV models may be especially useful when multivariate exposures are collected repeatedly over time. LV models can accommodate a variety of assumptions but, at the same time, present the user with many choices for model specification particularly in the case of exposure data collected repeatedly over time. For instance, the user could assume conditional independence of observed exposure biomarkers given the latent exposure and, in the case of longitudinal latent exposure variables, time invariance of the measurement model. Choosing which assumptions to relax is not always straightforward. We were motivated by a study of prenatal lead exposure and mental development, where assumptions of the measurement model for the time-changing longitudinal exposure have appreciable impact on (maximum-likelihood) inferences about the health effects of lead exposure. Although we were not particularly interested in characterizing the change of the LV itself, imposing a longitudinal LV structure on the repeated multivariate exposure measures could result in high efficiency gains for the exposure-disease association. We examine the biases of maximum likelihood estimators when assumptions about the measurement model for the longitudinal latent exposure variable are violated. We adapt existing instrumental variable estimators to the case of longitudinal exposures and propose them as an alternative to estimate the health effects of a time-changing latent predictor. We show that instrumental variable estimators remain unbiased for a wide range of data generating models and have advantages in terms of mean squared error. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with virtual photon subtraction

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yijia; Zhang, Yichen; Xu, Bingjie; Yu, Song; Guo, Hong

2018-04-01

The method of improving the performance of continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocols by postselection has been recently proposed and verified. In continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (CV-MDI QKD) protocols, the measurement results are obtained from untrusted third party Charlie. There is still not an effective method of improving CV-MDI QKD by the postselection with untrusted measurement. We propose a method to improve the performance of coherent-state CV-MDI QKD protocol by virtual photon subtraction via non-Gaussian postselection. The non-Gaussian postselection of transmitted data is equivalent to an ideal photon subtraction on the two-mode squeezed vacuum state, which is favorable to enhance the performance of CV-MDI QKD. In CV-MDI QKD protocol with non-Gaussian postselection, two users select their own data independently. We demonstrate that the optimal performance of the renovated CV-MDI QKD protocol is obtained with the transmitted data only selected by Alice. By setting appropriate parameters of the virtual photon subtraction, the secret key rate and tolerable excess noise are both improved at long transmission distance. The method provides an effective optimization scheme for the application of CV-MDI QKD protocols.

Device independent quantum key distribution secure against coherent attacks with memoryless measurement devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKague, Matthew

2009-01-01

Device independent quantum key distribution (QKD) aims to provide a higher degree of security than traditional QKD schemes by reducing the number of assumptions that need to be made about the physical devices used. The previous proof of security by Pironio et al (2009 New J. Phys. 11 045021) applies only to collective attacks where the state is identical and independent and the measurement devices operate identically for each trial in the protocol. We extend this result to a more general class of attacks where the state is arbitrary and the measurement devices have no memory. We accomplish this by a reduction of arbitrary adversary strategies to qubit strategies and a proof of security for qubit strategies based on the previous proof by Pironio et al and techniques adapted from Renner.

True-and-error models violate independence and yet they are testable

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael H. Birnbaum

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Birnbaum (2011 criticized tests of transitivity that are based entirely on binary choice proportions. When assumptions of independence and stationarity (iid of choice responses are violated, choice proportions could lead to wrong conclusions. Birnbaum (2012a proposed two statistics (correlation and variance of preference reversals to test iid, using random permutations to simulate p-values. Cha, Choi, Guo, Regenwetter, and Zwilling (2013 defended methods based on marginal proportions but conceded that such methods wrongly diagnose hypothetical examples of Birnbaum (2012a. However, they also claimed that ``true and error'' models also satisfy independence and also fail in such cases unless they become untestable. This article presents correct true-and-error models; it shows how these models violate iid, how they might correctly identify cases that would be misdiagnosed by marginal proportions, and how they can be tested and rejected. This note also refutes other arguments of Cha et al. (2013, including contentions that other tests failed to violate iid ``with flying colors'', that violations of iid ``do not replicate'', that type I errors are not appropriately estimated by the permutation method, and that independence assumptions are not critical to interpretation of marginal choice proportions.

Time-independent models of asset returns revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Gillemot, L.; Töyli, J.; Kertesz, J.; Kaski, K.

2000-07-01

In this study we investigate various well-known time-independent models of asset returns being simple normal distribution, Student t-distribution, Lévy, truncated Lévy, general stable distribution, mixed diffusion jump, and compound normal distribution. For this we use Standard and Poor's 500 index data of the New York Stock Exchange, Helsinki Stock Exchange index data describing a small volatile market, and artificial data. The results indicate that all models, excluding the simple normal distribution, are, at least, quite reasonable descriptions of the data. Furthermore, the use of differences instead of logarithmic returns tends to make the data looking visually more Lévy-type distributed than it is. This phenomenon is especially evident in the artificial data that has been generated by an inflated random walk process.

Precise Void Fraction Measurement in Two-phase Flows Independent of the Flow Regime Using Gamma-ray Attenuation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Nazemi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Void fraction is an important parameter in the oil industry. This quantity is necessary for volume rate measurement in multiphase flows. In this study, the void fraction percentage was estimated precisely, independent of the flow regime in gas–liquid two-phase flows by using γ-ray attenuation and a multilayer perceptron neural network. In all previous studies that implemented a multibeam γ-ray attenuation technique to determine void fraction independent of the flow regime in two-phase flows, three or more detectors were used while in this study just two NaI detectors were used. Using fewer detectors is of advantage in industrial nuclear gauges because of reduced expense and improved simplicity. In this work, an artificial neural network is also implemented to predict the void fraction percentage independent of the flow regime. To do this, a multilayer perceptron neural network is used for developing the artificial neural network model in MATLAB. The required data for training and testing the network in three different regimes (annular, stratified, and bubbly were obtained using an experimental setup. Using the technique developed in this work, void fraction percentages were predicted with mean relative error of <1.4%.

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with correlated source-light-intensity errors

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Cong; Yu, Zong-Wen; Wang, Xiang-Bin

2018-04-01

We present an analysis for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with correlated source-light-intensity errors. Numerical results show that the results here can greatly improve the key rate especially with large intensity fluctuations and channel attenuation compared with prior results if the intensity fluctuations of different sources are correlated.

Measures and limits of models of fixation selection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niklas Wilming

Full Text Available Models of fixation selection are a central tool in the quest to understand how the human mind selects relevant information. Using this tool in the evaluation of competing claims often requires comparing different models' relative performance in predicting eye movements. However, studies use a wide variety of performance measures with markedly different properties, which makes a comparison difficult. We make three main contributions to this line of research: First we argue for a set of desirable properties, review commonly used measures, and conclude that no single measure unites all desirable properties. However the area under the ROC curve (a classification measure and the KL-divergence (a distance measure of probability distributions combine many desirable properties and allow a meaningful comparison of critical model performance. We give an analytical proof of the linearity of the ROC measure with respect to averaging over subjects and demonstrate an appropriate correction of entropy-based measures like KL-divergence for small sample sizes in the context of eye-tracking data. Second, we provide a lower bound and an upper bound of these measures, based on image-independent properties of fixation data and between subject consistency respectively. Based on these bounds it is possible to give a reference frame to judge the predictive power of a model of fixation selection. We provide open-source python code to compute the reference frame. Third, we show that the upper, between subject consistency bound holds only for models that predict averages of subject populations. Departing from this we show that incorporating subject-specific viewing behavior can generate predictions which surpass that upper bound. Taken together, these findings lay out the required information that allow a well-founded judgment of the quality of any model of fixation selection and should therefore be reported when a new model is introduced.

Distributed Large Independent Sets in One Round On Bounded-independence Graphs

OpenAIRE

Halldorsson , Magnus M.; Konrad , Christian

2015-01-01

International audience; We present a randomized one-round, single-bit messages, distributed algorithm for the maximum independent set problem in polynomially bounded-independence graphs with poly-logarithmic approximation factor. Bounded-independence graphs capture various models of wireless networks such as the unit disc graphs model and the quasi unit disc graphs model. For instance, on unit disc graphs, our achieved approximation ratio is O((log(n)/log(log(n)))^2).A starting point of our w...

Inter-arch digital model vs. manual cast measurements: Accuracy and reliability.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiviahde, Heikki; Bukovac, Lea; Jussila, Päivi; Pesonen, Paula; Sipilä, Kirsi; Raustia, Aune; Pirttiniemi, Pertti

2017-06-28

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of inter-arch measurements using digital dental models and conventional dental casts. Thirty sets of dental casts with permanent dentition were examined. Manual measurements were done with a digital caliper directly on the dental casts, and digital measurements were made on 3D models by two independent examiners. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), a paired sample t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate intra- and inter-examiner error and to determine the accuracy and reliability of the measurements. The ICC values were generally good for manual and excellent for digital measurements. The Bland-Altman plots of all the measurements showed good agreement between the manual and digital methods and excellent inter-examiner agreement using the digital method. Inter-arch occlusal measurements on digital models are accurate and reliable and are superior to manual measurements.

Model- and calibration-independent test of cosmic acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seikel, Marina; Schwarz, Dominik J.

2009-01-01

We present a calibration-independent test of the accelerated expansion of the universe using supernova type Ia data. The test is also model-independent in the sense that no assumptions about the content of the universe or about the parameterization of the deceleration parameter are made and that it does not assume any dynamical equations of motion. Yet, the test assumes the universe and the distribution of supernovae to be statistically homogeneous and isotropic. A significant reduction of systematic effects, as compared to our previous, calibration-dependent test, is achieved. Accelerated expansion is detected at significant level (4.3σ in the 2007 Gold sample, 7.2σ in the 2008 Union sample) if the universe is spatially flat. This result depends, however, crucially on supernovae with a redshift smaller than 0.1, for which the assumption of statistical isotropy and homogeneity is less well established

Value of the distant future: Model-independent results

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Yuri A.

2017-01-01

This paper shows that the model-independent account of correlations in an interest rate process or a log-consumption growth process leads to declining long-term tails of discount curves. Under the assumption of an exponentially decaying memory in fluctuations of risk-free real interest rates, I derive the analytical expression for an apt value of the long run discount factor and provide a detailed comparison of the obtained result with the outcome of the benchmark risk-free interest rate models. Utilizing the standard consumption-based model with an isoelastic power utility of the representative economic agent, I derive the non-Markovian generalization of the Ramsey discounting formula. Obtained analytical results allowing simple calibration, may augment the rigorous cost-benefit and regulatory impact analysis of long-term environmental and infrastructure projects.

Rate-independent dissipation in phase-field modelling of displacive transformations

Science.gov (United States)

Tůma, K.; Stupkiewicz, S.; Petryk, H.

2018-05-01

In this paper, rate-independent dissipation is introduced into the phase-field framework for modelling of displacive transformations, such as martensitic phase transformation and twinning. The finite-strain phase-field model developed recently by the present authors is here extended beyond the limitations of purely viscous dissipation. The variational formulation, in which the evolution problem is formulated as a constrained minimization problem for a global rate-potential, is enhanced by including a mixed-type dissipation potential that combines viscous and rate-independent contributions. Effective computational treatment of the resulting incremental problem of non-smooth optimization is developed by employing the augmented Lagrangian method. It is demonstrated that a single Lagrange multiplier field suffices to handle the dissipation potential vertex and simultaneously to enforce physical constraints on the order parameter. In this way, the initially non-smooth problem of evolution is converted into a smooth stationarity problem. The model is implemented in a finite-element code and applied to solve two- and three-dimensional boundary value problems representative for shape memory alloys.

A Capacity-Restraint Transit Assignment Model When a Predetermination Method Indicates the Invalidity of Time Independence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haoyang Ding

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The statistical independence of time of every two adjacent bus links plays a crucial role in deciding the feasibility of using many mathematical models to analyze urban transit networks. Traditional research generally ignores the time independence that acts as the ground of their models. Assumption is usually made that time independence of every two adjacent links is sound. This is, however, actually groundless and probably causes problematic conclusions reached by corresponding models. Many transit assignment models such as multinomial probit-based models lose their effects when the time independence is not valid. In this paper, a simple method to predetermine the time independence is proposed. Based on the predetermination method, a modified capacity-restraint transit assignment method aimed at engineering practice is put forward and tested through a small contrived network and a case study in Nanjing city, China, respectively. It is found that the slope of regression equation between the mean and standard deviation of normal distribution acts as the indicator of time independence at the same time. Besides, our modified assignment method performs better than the traditional one with more reasonable results while keeping the property of simplicity well.

Pure study and experimental application of laser measurement for students in independent colleges

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wanyi; Liu, Zhe

2017-08-01

The cultivation of independent college students is the development of applied talents and the strength of students' innovative ability. This requires teachers to make better use of the resources of the school, to develop students' ability with greatest possible and to encourage students to learn independently and personality development. We can carry out multi-discipline curriculum design practice after the study of related disciplines in order to make students have a more in-depth understanding and learning of the professional courses. In this paper, we will research on curriculum design based on the combination of Laser Measurement Technology and Digital Image Processing.

Radiative decay of mesons in an independent-quark potential model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barik, N.; Dash, P.C.; Panda, A.R.

1992-01-01

We investigate in a potential model of independent quarks the M1 transitions among the low-lying vector (V) and pseudoscalar (P) mesons. We perform a ''static'' calculation of the partial decay widths of twelve possible M1 transitions such as V→Pγ and P→Vγ within the traditional picture of photon emission by a confined quark and/or antiquark. The model accounts well for the observed decay widths

Online Statistical Modeling (Regression Analysis) for Independent Responses

Science.gov (United States)

Made Tirta, I.; Anggraeni, Dian; Pandutama, Martinus

2017-06-01

Regression analysis (statistical analmodelling) are among statistical methods which are frequently needed in analyzing quantitative data, especially to model relationship between response and explanatory variables. Nowadays, statistical models have been developed into various directions to model various type and complex relationship of data. Rich varieties of advanced and recent statistical modelling are mostly available on open source software (one of them is R). However, these advanced statistical modelling, are not very friendly to novice R users, since they are based on programming script or command line interface. Our research aims to developed web interface (based on R and shiny), so that most recent and advanced statistical modelling are readily available, accessible and applicable on web. We have previously made interface in the form of e-tutorial for several modern and advanced statistical modelling on R especially for independent responses (including linear models/LM, generalized linier models/GLM, generalized additive model/GAM and generalized additive model for location scale and shape/GAMLSS). In this research we unified them in the form of data analysis, including model using Computer Intensive Statistics (Bootstrap and Markov Chain Monte Carlo/ MCMC). All are readily accessible on our online Virtual Statistics Laboratory. The web (interface) make the statistical modeling becomes easier to apply and easier to compare them in order to find the most appropriate model for the data.

Roll and pitch independently tuned interconnected suspension: modelling and dynamic analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Guangzhong; Zhang, Nong; Roser, Holger M.

2015-12-01

In this paper, a roll and pitch independently tuned hydraulically interconnected passive suspension is presented. Due to decoupling of vibration modes and the improved lateral and longitudinal stability, the stiffness of individual suspension spring can be reduced for improving ride comfort and road grip. A generalised 14 degree-of-freedom nonlinear vehicle model with anti-roll bars is established to investigate the vehicle ride and handling dynamic responses. The nonlinear fluidic model of the hydraulically interconnected suspension is developed and integrated with the full vehicle model to investigate the anti-roll and anti-pitch characteristics. Time domain analysis of the vehicle model with the proposed suspension is conducted under different road excitations and steering/braking manoeuvres. The dynamic responses are compared with conventional suspensions to demonstrate the potential of enhanced ride and handling performance. The results illustrate the model-decoupling property of the hydraulically interconnected system. The anti-roll and anti-pitch performance could be tuned independently by the interconnected systems. With the improved anti-roll and anti-pitch characteristics, the bounce stiffness and ride damping can be optimised for better ride comfort and tyre grip.

A factor analysis of Functional Independence and Functional Assessment Measure scores among focal and diffuse brain injury patients: The importance of bi-factor models.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunn, Sarah; Burgess, Gerald H; Maltby, John

2018-04-28

To explore the factor structure of the UK Functional Independence Measure and Functional Assessment Measure (FIM+FAM) among focal and diffuse acquired brain injury patients. Criterion standard. An NHS acute acquired brain injury inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Referred sample of 447 adults (835 cases after exclusions) admitted for inpatient treatment following an acquired brain injury significant enough to justify intensive inpatient neurorehabilitation. Not applicable. Functional Independence Measure and Functional Assessment Measure. Exploratory Factor Analysis suggested a two-factor structure to FIM+FAM scores, among both focal-proximate and diffuse-proximate acquired brain injury aetiologies. Confirmatory Factor Analysis suggested a three-factor bi-factor structure presented the best fit of the FIM+FAM score data across both aetiologies. However, across both analyses, a convergence was found towards a general factor, demonstrated by high correlations between factors in the Exploratory Factor Analysis, and by a general factor explaining the majority of the variance in scores on Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Our findings suggested that although factors describing specific functional domains can be derived from FIM+FAM item scores, there is a convergence towards a single factor describing overall functioning. This single factor informs the specific group factors (e.g. motor, psychosocial and communication function) following brain injury. Further research into the comparative value of the general and group factors as evaluative/prognostic measures is indicated. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Model-Independent Analysis of the Neutron-Proton Final-State Interaction Region in the $\\pi\\pi \\to pn\\pi^+$ Reaction

CERN Document Server

Uzikov, Yu N

2001-01-01

Experimental data on the \\pi\\pi\\to pn\\pi^+ reaction measured in an exclusive two-arm experiment at 800 MeV show a narrow peak arising from the strong proton-neutron final-state interaction. It was claimed, within the framework of a certain model, that this peak contained up to a 25 % spin-singlet final-state contribution. By comparing the data with those of \\pi\\pi\\to d\\pi^+ in a largely model-independent way, it is here demonstrated that at all the angles measured the whole of the peak could be explained as being due to spin-triplet final states, with the spin-singlet being at most a few percent. Good qualitative agreement with the measured proton analysing power is also found within this approach.

Model-Independent Calculation of Radiative Neutron Capture on Lithium-7

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rupak, Gautam; Higa, Renato

2011-01-01

The radiative neutron capture on lithium-7 is calculated model independently using a low-energy halo effective field theory. The cross section is expressed in terms of scattering parameters directly related to the S-matrix elements. It depends on the poorly known p-wave effective range parameter

Method for independent strain and temperature measurement in polymeric tensile test specimen using embedded FBG sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pereira, Gilmar Ferreira; McGugan, Malcolm; Mikkelsen, Lars Pilgaard

2016-01-01

to calculate independently the strain and temperature are presented in the article, together with a measurement resolution study. This multi-parameter measurement method was applied to an epoxy tensile specimen, tested in a unidirectional tensile test machine with a temperature controlled cabinet. A full......A novel method to obtain independent strain and temperature measurements using embedded Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) in polymeric tensile test specimens is presented in this paper. The FBG strain and temperature cross-sensitivity was decoupled using two single mode FBG sensors, which were embedded...... of temperature, from 40 C to -10 C. The consistency of the expected theoretical results with the calibration procedure and the experimental validation shows that this proposed method is applicable to measure accurate strain and temperature in polymers during static or fatigue tensile testing. Two different...

Beta measurements and modeling the Tevatron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelfand, N.M.

1993-06-01

The Tevatron collider is now able with two low-β (β*=0.25--0.5m) interaction regions denoted as B0 and D0. This lattice allows independent operation of the interaction regions which required that the previous collider lattice, used in 1988--89, had to be modified. In order to see how well the lattice conforms to the design, measurements of the β function have been carried out at 15 locations in the new Tevatron collider lattice. Agreement can be obtained between the measurements and a computer model for the Tevatron, based on the design, only if the strengths of the gradients in the quadrupoles in the low-β triplet are allowed to differ from their design values. It is also observed that the lattice is very sensitive to the precise values of the gradients in these magnets

Model-independent and fast determination of optical functions in storage rings via multiturn and closed-orbit data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard Riemann

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Multiturn (or turn-by-turn data acquisition has proven to be a new source of direct measurements for Twiss parameters in storage rings. On the other hand, closed-orbit measurements are a long-known tool for analyzing closed-orbit perturbations with conventional beam position monitor (BPM systems and are necessarily available at every storage ring. This paper aims at combining the advantages of multiturn measurements and closed-orbit data. We show that only two multiturn BPMs and four correctors in one localized drift space in the storage ring (diagnostic drift are sufficient for model-independent and absolute measuring of β and φ functions at all BPMs, including the conventional ones, instead of requiring all BPMs being equipped with multiturn electronics.

Model-independent and fast determination of optical functions in storage rings via multiturn and closed-orbit data

Science.gov (United States)

Riemann, Bernard; Grete, Patrick; Weis, Thomas

2011-06-01

Multiturn (or turn-by-turn) data acquisition has proven to be a new source of direct measurements for Twiss parameters in storage rings. On the other hand, closed-orbit measurements are a long-known tool for analyzing closed-orbit perturbations with conventional beam position monitor (BPM) systems and are necessarily available at every storage ring. This paper aims at combining the advantages of multiturn measurements and closed-orbit data. We show that only two multiturn BPMs and four correctors in one localized drift space in the storage ring (diagnostic drift) are sufficient for model-independent and absolute measuring of β and φ functions at all BPMs, including the conventional ones, instead of requiring all BPMs being equipped with multiturn electronics.

Revealing strong bias in common measures of galaxy properties using new inclination-independent structures

Science.gov (United States)

Devour, Brian M.; Bell, Eric F.

2017-06-01

Accurate measurement of galaxy structures is a prerequisite for quantitative investigation of galaxy properties or evolution. Yet, the impact of galaxy inclination and dust on commonly used metrics of galaxy structure is poorly quantified. We use infrared data sets to select inclination-independent samples of disc and flattened elliptical galaxies. These samples show strong variation in Sérsic index, concentration and half-light radii with inclination. We develop novel inclination-independent galaxy structures by collapsing the light distribution in the near-infrared on to the major axis, yielding inclination-independent 'linear' measures of size and concentration. With these new metrics we select a sample of Milky Way analogue galaxies with similar stellar masses, star formation rates, sizes and concentrations. Optical luminosities, light distributions and spectral properties are all found to vary strongly with inclination: When inclining to edge-on, r-band luminosities dim by >1 magnitude, sizes decrease by a factor of 2, 'dust-corrected' estimates of star formation rate drop threefold, metallicities decrease by 0.1 dex and edge-on galaxies are half as likely to be classified as star forming. These systematic effects should be accounted for in analyses of galaxy properties.

Independent verification of tank volume measurements by pressure-volume authentication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suda, S.C.; Keisch, B.

1992-01-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory has developed a portable pressure-volume authenticator** as a standard and means of checking the functionality and quality of bubbler-probe volumetric devices. The pressure-volume authenticator (PVA) consists of an automated electromanometer system that is controlled by a laptop computer, and a transportable volumetric artifact. A portable pressure gage is connected, via a scanivalve, to the operator's bubbler-probe system and independently measures all bubbler probes. The transportable volumetric artifact is a one-meter high vessel equipped with bubble-probes, computer controlled air-purge rotameters, and platinum resistance (RTD) thermometer. High quality measurements are obtained by use of a fast sampling technique and sophisticated software developed under this program. The computer software performs the following functions: (a) instrument control, (b) data acquisition, (c) on-line graphical and numerical display of measurement data, and (d) detailed data analysis. The device also may provide hands-on training for inspectors and plant operators in high quality volumetric data collection and analysis. A field demonstration of the automated electromanometer system was conducted on the PETRA input accountancy tank, JRC-Ispra in November 1991

Empowerment of Mustaḥiq Zakat Model Towards Business Independency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamzah Hamzah

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Zakat has not been utilized intensively for the empowerment of mustaḥiq (zakat beneficiaries in the form of productive economic business. The objective of the research was to analyze the level of mustaḥiqs’ business independency; to analyze dominant factors that influenced mustaḥiqs’ business independency, and to formulate an appropriate strategy to develop the mustaḥiqs’ business independency. The research has been carried out on 254 mustaḥiqs in Bogor Regency (66 mustaḥiqs engaged in vegetable production at Cibungbulang District, 85 mustaḥiqs in skewer business at Tenjolaya District, and 103 mustaḥiqs in shoe business at Taman Sari District. A census sampling, data collection through a questionnaire, an in-depth interview and observation were carried out in 2013. Data were analyzed descriptively and statistically, using structural equation model (SEM. The results of the research showed that: (1 the strategy of mustaḥiq empowerment could be carried out through strengthening the intrinsic motivation, training technical aspects, assisting business capital and assistance. Empowerment can be conducted synergically by the government (arrangement, service, and counseling, private sectors/State Owned Business (BUMN, higher education and community.

Testing the Standard Model by precision measurement of the weak charges of quarks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ross Young; Roger Carlini; Anthony Thomas; Julie Roche

2007-05-01

In a global analysis of the latest parity-violating electron scattering measurements on nuclear targets, we demonstrate a significant improvement in the experimental knowledge of the weak neutral-current lepton-quark interactions at low-energy. The precision of this new result, combined with earlier atomic parity-violation measurements, limits the magnitude of possible contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model - setting a model-independent, lower-bound on the scale of new physics at ~1 TeV.

Model independent Z' constraints at future e+e- colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leike, A.

1993-11-01

Model independent constraints on the mass of extra neutral gauge bosons and their couplings to charged leptons are given for LEP II and a 500 GeV e + e - collider. Analytical exclusion limits are derived in the Born approximation. The Z' limits obtained with radiative corrections are always worse than those calculated at the Born level. Polarized beams are only useful for degrees of polarization essentially larger than 50%. Known discovery limits on extra Z bosons predicted by popular Z' models are reproduced as special cases. The Z' constraints are compared to those predicted by four fermion contact interactions. (orig.)

Quantification of the Impact of Photon Distinguishability on Measurement-Device- Independent Quantum Key Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garrett K. Simon

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution (MDI-QKD is a two-photon protocol devised to eliminate eavesdropping attacks that interrogate or control the detector in realized quantum key distribution systems. In MDI-QKD, the measurements are carried out by an untrusted third party, and the measurement results are announced openly. Knowledge or control of the measurement results gives the third party no information about the secret key. Error-free implementation of the MDI-QKD protocol requires the crypto-communicating parties, Alice and Bob, to independently prepare and transmit single photons that are physically indistinguishable, with the possible exception of their polarization states. In this paper, we apply the formalism of quantum optics and Monte Carlo simulations to quantify the impact of small errors in wavelength, bandwidth, polarization and timing between Alice’s photons and Bob’s photons on the MDI-QKD quantum bit error rate (QBER. Using published single-photon source characteristics from two-photon interference experiments as a test case, our simulations predict that the finite tolerances of these sources contribute ( 4.04 ± 20 / N sifted % to the QBER in an MDI-QKD implementation generating an N sifted -bit sifted key.

A model-independent "General Search" for new physics with the ATLAS detector at LHC

CERN Document Server

Bianchi, Riccardo Maria

2014-06-02

The LHC particle collider accelerates bunches of colliding protons at an energy never reached before, and a completely new landscape of new physics has been opened. In this scenario the number of possible physics processes and signatures becomes virtually infinite, making the setup of dedicated analyses impossible. Moreover it is important being able to reveal new physics signals even in regions of the phase-space where it is less lucky to be found, or where suitable theoretical models are missing. In this Thesis a new model-independent “General Search” for the ATLAS experiment has been conceived. In fact, at the time this project started, no model-independent search was set for ATLAS. In the end the new analysis has been run over the first data at 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment, and the results presented. The data have shown a very good agreement with the Standard Model expectation, and no evidence of new physics has been observed. But the strategy and methodology of the new model-independent Ge...

Memory-assisted measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Panayi, Christiana; Razavi, Mohsen; Ma, Xiongfeng; Lütkenhaus, Norbert

2014-04-01

A protocol with the potential of beating the existing distance records for conventional quantum key distribution (QKD) systems is proposed. It borrows ideas from quantum repeaters by using memories in the middle of the link, and that of measurement-device-independent QKD, which only requires optical source equipment at the user's end. For certain memories with short access times, our scheme allows a higher repetition rate than that of quantum repeaters with single-mode memories, thereby requiring lower coherence times. By accounting for various sources of nonideality, such as memory decoherence, dark counts, misalignment errors, and background noise, as well as timing issues with memories, we develop a mathematical framework within which we can compare QKD systems with and without memories. In particular, we show that with the state-of-the-art technology for quantum memories, it is potentially possible to devise memory-assisted QKD systems that, at certain distances of practical interest, outperform current QKD implementations.

Memory-assisted measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panayi, Christiana; Razavi, Mohsen; Ma, Xiongfeng; Lütkenhaus, Norbert

2014-01-01

A protocol with the potential of beating the existing distance records for conventional quantum key distribution (QKD) systems is proposed. It borrows ideas from quantum repeaters by using memories in the middle of the link, and that of measurement-device-independent QKD, which only requires optical source equipment at the user's end. For certain memories with short access times, our scheme allows a higher repetition rate than that of quantum repeaters with single-mode memories, thereby requiring lower coherence times. By accounting for various sources of nonideality, such as memory decoherence, dark counts, misalignment errors, and background noise, as well as timing issues with memories, we develop a mathematical framework within which we can compare QKD systems with and without memories. In particular, we show that with the state-of-the-art technology for quantum memories, it is potentially possible to devise memory-assisted QKD systems that, at certain distances of practical interest, outperform current QKD implementations. (paper)

Comparative measurements of independent yields of 239Pu fission fragments induced by thermal and resonance neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gundorin, N.A.; Kopach, Y.N.; Telezhnikov, S.A.

1994-01-01

The independent yields of 239 Pu fission fragments by means of gamma-spectroscopy method were measured for light and heavy groups on the IBR-30 reactor in Dubna. Comparative analysis of experimental data for fission induced by thermal and resonance neutrons was performed. The possibilities to increase the measurement's precision consist of the employment of a HPGe detector with high efficiency and its open-quotes activeclose quotes shielding in the gamma spectrometer, as well as a high speed electronics system. In this way the number of identified fragments will be increased and independent yields will be measured to a precision of 1-3%. Measurements at the source with shorter neutron pulse duration to increase neutron energy resolution will be possible after the reconstruction of a modern neutron source in Dubna in accordance with the IREN project

MUSiC - Model-independent search for deviations from Standard Model predictions in CMS

Science.gov (United States)

Pieta, Holger

2010-02-01

We present an approach for a model independent search in CMS. Systematically scanning the data for deviations from the standard model Monte Carlo expectations, such an analysis can help to understand the detector and tune event generators. By minimizing the theoretical bias the analysis is furthermore sensitive to a wide range of models for new physics, including the uncounted number of models not-yet-thought-of. After sorting the events into classes defined by their particle content (leptons, photons, jets and missing transverse energy), a minimally prejudiced scan is performed on a number of distributions. Advanced statistical methods are used to determine the significance of the deviating regions, rigorously taking systematic uncertainties into account. A number of benchmark scenarios, including common models of new physics and possible detector effects, have been used to gauge the power of such a method. )

Occam factors and model independent Bayesian learning of continuous distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemenman, Ilya; Bialek, William

2002-01-01

Learning of a smooth but nonparametric probability density can be regularized using methods of quantum field theory. We implement a field theoretic prior numerically, test its efficacy, and show that the data and the phase space factors arising from the integration over the model space determine the free parameter of the theory ('smoothness scale') self-consistently. This persists even for distributions that are atypical in the prior and is a step towards a model independent theory for learning continuous distributions. Finally, we point out that a wrong parametrization of a model family may sometimes be advantageous for small data sets

Validation of elk resource selection models with spatially independent data

Science.gov (United States)

Priscilla K. Coe; Bruce K. Johnson; Michael J. Wisdom; John G. Cook; Marty Vavra; Ryan M. Nielson

2011-01-01

Knowledge of how landscape features affect wildlife resource use is essential for informed management. Resource selection functions often are used to make and validate predictions about landscape use; however, resource selection functions are rarely validated with data from landscapes independent of those from which the models were built. This problem has severely...

Model-independent test of the FLRW metric, the flatness of the Universe, and non-local estimation of H {sub 0} r {sub d}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

L' Huillier, Benjamin; Shafieloo, Arman, E-mail: benjamin@kasi.re.kr, E-mail: shafieloo@kasi.re.kr [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Yuseong-gu, 776 Daedeok daero, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-01-01

Using measurements of H ( z ) and d {sub A}( z ) from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) DR12 and luminosity distances from the Joint Lightcurve Analysis (JLA) compilation of supernovae (SN), we measure H {sub 0} {sub r} {sub d} without any model assumption. Our measurement of H {sub 0} r {sub d} = (10033.20{sup +333.10}{sub −371.81} (SN) ± 128.19 (BAO)) km s{sup −1} is consistent with Planck constrains for the flat ΛCDM model. We also report that higher expansion history rates h ( z ) (among the possibilities) as well as lower-bound values of H {sub 0} r {sub d} result in better internal consistency among the independent data ( H ( z ) r {sub d} and d {sub A}( z )/ r {sub d} from BAO at z =0.32 and z =0.57 and d {sub L} from JLA) we used in this work. This can be interpreted as an interesting and independent support of Planck cosmology without using any cosmic microwave background data. We then combine these observables to test the Friedmann-Lemaȋtre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric and the flatness of the Universe in a model-independent way at two redshifts, namely 0.32 and 0.57, by introducing a new diagnostic for flat-FLRW, Θ( z ), which only depends on observables of BAO and SN data. Our results are consistent with a flat-FLRW Universe within 2σ.

A model perception on the independence of PhD students in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Amy Stambach

A model perception on the independence of PhD students in promoting the ... At school of postgraduate studies, all academic documents related to PhD ..... Workshop series sponsored by the counseling center at the University of Illinois in ...

Circumscribing late dark matter decays model-independently

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yueksel, Hasan; Kistler, Matthew D.

2008-01-01

A number of theories, spanning a wide range of mass scales, predict dark matter candidates that have lifetimes much longer than the age of the Universe, yet may produce a significant flux of gamma rays in their decays today. We constrain such late-decaying dark matter scenarios model-independently by utilizing gamma-ray line emission limits from the Galactic Center region obtained with the SPI spectrometer on INTEGRAL, and the determination of the isotropic diffuse photon background by SPI, COMPTEL, and EGRET observations. We show that no more than ∼5% of the unexplained MeV background can be produced by late dark matter decays either in the Galactic halo or cosmological sources.

Constitutive equations for the Doi-Edwards model without independent alignment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hassager, Ole; Hansen, Rasmus

2010-01-01

We present two representations of the Doi-Edwards model without Independent Alignment explicitly expressed in terms of the Finger strain tensor, its inverse and its invariants. The two representations provide explicit expressions for the stress prior to and after Rouse relaxation of chain stretch......, respectively. The maximum deviations from the exact representations in simple shear, biaxial extension and uniaxial extension are of order 2%. Based on these two representations, we propose a framework for Doi-Edwards models including chain stretch in the memory integral form....

Central Bank independence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasile DEDU

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present the key aspects regarding central bank’s independence. Most economists consider that the factor which positively influences the efficiency of monetary policy measures is the high independence of the central bank. We determined that the National Bank of Romania (NBR has a high degree of independence. NBR has both goal and instrument independence. We also consider that the hike of NBR’s independence played an important role in the significant disinflation process, as headline inflation dropped inside the targeted band of 3% ± 1 percentage point recently.

Model-independent search for new physics at D0 experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naimuddin, Md.

2012-01-01

Finding the evidence of new physics beyond the Standard Model is one of the primary goals of RunII of the Tevatron. Many dedicated searches for new physics are ongoing at the Tevatron but in order to broaden the scope and maximize the chances of finding the new physics, we also search in a model-independent way. The results of such searches for indications of new physics at the electroweak scale are presented using data collected using the D0 detector from pp-bar-interactions at √s = 1.96 TeV. (author)

The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ): validation of a content-independent measure of repetitive negative thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehring, Thomas; Zetsche, Ulrike; Weidacker, Kathrin; Wahl, Karina; Schönfeld, Sabine; Ehlers, Anke

2011-06-01

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) has been found to be involved in the maintenance of several types of emotional problems and has therefore been suggested to be a transdiagnostic process. However, existing measures of RNT typically focus on a particular disorder-specific content. In this article, the preliminary validation of a content-independent self-report questionnaire of RNT is presented. The 15-item Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire was evaluated in two studies (total N = 1832), comprising non-clinical as well as clinical participants. Results of confirmatory factor analyses across samples supported a second-order model with one higher-order factor representing RNT in general and three lower-order factors representing (1) the core characteristics of RNT (repetitiveness, intrusiveness, difficulties with disengagement), (2) perceived unproductiveness of RNT and (3) RNT capturing mental capacity. High internal consistencies and high re-test reliability were found for the total scale and all three subscales. The validity of the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire was supported by substantial correlations with existing measures of RNT and associations with symptom levels and clinical diagnoses of depression and anxiety. Results suggest the usefulness of the new measure for research into RNT as a transdiagnostic process. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Calculating tracer currents through narrow ion channels: Beyond the independent particle model.

Science.gov (United States)

Coalson, Rob D; Jasnow, David

2018-06-01

Discrete state models of single-file ion permeation through a narrow ion channel pore are employed to analyze the ratio of forward to backward tracer current. Conditions under which the well-known Ussing formula for this ratio hold are explored in systems where ions do not move independently through the channel. Building detailed balance into the rate constants for the model in such a way that under equilibrium conditions (equal rate of forward vs. backward permeation events) the Nernst Equation is satisfied, it is found that in a model where only one ion can occupy the channel at a time, the Ussing formula is always obeyed for any number of binding sites, reservoir concentrations of the ions and electric potential difference across the membrane which the ion channel spans, independent of the internal details of the permeation pathway. However, numerical analysis demonstrates that when multiple ions can occupy the channel at once, the nonequilibrium forward/backward tracer flux ratio deviates from the prediction of the Ussing model. Assuming an appropriate effective potential experienced by ions in the channel, we provide explicit formulae for the rate constants in these models. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

On model-independent analyses of elastic hadron scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avila, R.F.; Campos, S.D.; Menon, M.J.; Montanha, J.

2007-01-01

By means of an almost model-independent parametrization for the elastic hadron-hadron amplitude, as a function of the energy and the momentum transfer, we obtain good descriptions of the physical quantities that characterize elastic proton-proton and antiproton-proton scattering (total cross section, r parameter and differential cross section). The parametrization is inferred on empirical grounds and selected according to high energy theorems and limits from axiomatic quantum field theory. Based on the predictive character of the approach we present predictions for the above physical quantities at the Brookhaven RHIC, Fermilab Tevatron and CERN LHC energies. (author)

Logical independence and quantum randomness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paterek, T; Kofler, J; Aspelmeyer, M; Zeilinger, A; Brukner, C; Prevedel, R; Klimek, P

2010-01-01

We propose a link between logical independence and quantum physics. We demonstrate that quantum systems in the eigenstates of Pauli group operators are capable of encoding mathematical axioms and show that Pauli group quantum measurements are capable of revealing whether or not a given proposition is logically dependent on the axiomatic system. Whenever a mathematical proposition is logically independent of the axioms encoded in the measured state, the measurement associated with the proposition gives random outcomes. This allows for an experimental test of logical independence. Conversely, it also allows for an explanation of the probabilities of random outcomes observed in Pauli group measurements from logical independence without invoking quantum theory. The axiomatic systems we study can be completed and are therefore not subject to Goedel's incompleteness theorem.

A tool for efficient, model-independent management optimization under uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

White, Jeremy; Fienen, Michael N.; Barlow, Paul M.; Welter, Dave E.

2018-01-01

To fill a need for risk-based environmental management optimization, we have developed PESTPP-OPT, a model-independent tool for resource management optimization under uncertainty. PESTPP-OPT solves a sequential linear programming (SLP) problem and also implements (optional) efficient, “on-the-fly” (without user intervention) first-order, second-moment (FOSM) uncertainty techniques to estimate model-derived constraint uncertainty. Combined with a user-specified risk value, the constraint uncertainty estimates are used to form chance-constraints for the SLP solution process, so that any optimal solution includes contributions from model input and observation uncertainty. In this way, a “single answer” that includes uncertainty is yielded from the modeling analysis. PESTPP-OPT uses the familiar PEST/PEST++ model interface protocols, which makes it widely applicable to many modeling analyses. The use of PESTPP-OPT is demonstrated with a synthetic, integrated surface-water/groundwater model. The function and implications of chance constraints for this synthetic model are discussed.

Model-independent constraints on dark matter annihilation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies

OpenAIRE

Boddy, Kimberly K.; Kumar, Jason; Marfatia, Danny; Sandick, Pearl

2018-01-01

We present a general, model-independent formalism for determining bounds on the production of photons in dwarf spheroidal galaxies via dark matter annihilation, applicable to any set of assumptions about dark matter particle physics or astrophysics. As an illustration, we analyze gamma-ray data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope to constrain a variety of nonstandard dark matter models, several of which have not previously been studied in the context of dwarf galaxy searches.

A model for rate-dependent but time-independent material behavior in cyclic plasticity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dafalias, Y.F.; Ramey, M.R.; Sheikh, I.

1977-01-01

This paper presents a model for rate-dependent but time independent material behavior under cyclic loading in the plastic range. What is referred to as time independent behavior here, is the absence of creep and relaxation phenomena from the behavior of the model. The notion of plastic internal variables (piv) is introduced, as properly invariant scalars or second order tensors, whose constitutive relations are rate-type equations not necessarily homogeneous of order one in the rates, as it would be required for independent plasticity. The concept of a yield surface in the strain space and a loading function in terms of the total strain rate is introduced, where the sign of the loading function defines zero or non-zero value of the rate of piv. Thus rate dependence is achieved without time dependent behaviour (no creep or relaxation). In addition, discrete memory parameters associated with the most recent event of unloading-reloading in different directions enter the constitutive relations for the piv. (Auth.)

Firms’ Board Independence and Corporate Social Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Ortas

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the influence of organizations’ board independence on corporate social performance (CSP using a meta-analytic approach. A sample of 87 published papers is used to identify a set of underlying moderating effects in that relationship. Specifically, differences in the system of corporate governance, CSP measurement models and market conditions have been considered as moderating variables. The results show that the independence of a company’s board positively influences CSP. This is because companies with more independent directors in their boards are more likely to commit to stakeholder engagement, environmental preservation and community well-being. Interestingly, the results also show that the positive connection between board independence and CSP is stronger in civil law countries and when CSP is measured by self-reporting data. Finally, the strength of the influence of the independence of a firm’s board on CSP varies significantly in different market conditions. The paper concludes by presenting the main implications for academics, practitioners and policy makers.

Logical independence and quantum randomness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paterek, T; Kofler, J; Aspelmeyer, M; Zeilinger, A; Brukner, C [Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Boltzmanngasse 3, A-1090 Vienna (Austria); Prevedel, R; Klimek, P [Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna (Austria)], E-mail: tomasz.paterek@univie.ac.at

2010-01-15

We propose a link between logical independence and quantum physics. We demonstrate that quantum systems in the eigenstates of Pauli group operators are capable of encoding mathematical axioms and show that Pauli group quantum measurements are capable of revealing whether or not a given proposition is logically dependent on the axiomatic system. Whenever a mathematical proposition is logically independent of the axioms encoded in the measured state, the measurement associated with the proposition gives random outcomes. This allows for an experimental test of logical independence. Conversely, it also allows for an explanation of the probabilities of random outcomes observed in Pauli group measurements from logical independence without invoking quantum theory. The axiomatic systems we study can be completed and are therefore not subject to Goedel's incompleteness theorem.

Study on Emission Measurement of Vehicle on Road Based on Binomial Logit Model

OpenAIRE

Aly, Sumarni Hamid; Selintung, Mary; Ramli, Muhammad Isran; Sumi, Tomonori

2011-01-01

This research attempts to evaluate emission measurement of on road vehicle. In this regard, the research develops failure probability model of vehicle emission test for passenger car which utilize binomial logit model. The model focuses on failure of CO and HC emission test for gasoline cars category and Opacity emission test for diesel-fuel cars category as dependent variables, while vehicle age, engine size, brand and type of the cars as independent variables. In order to imp...

A torque-measuring micromotor provides operator independent measurements marking four different density areas in maxillae.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Stefano, Danilo Alessio; Arosio, Paolo; Piattelli, Adriano; Perrotti, Vittoria; Iezzi, Giovanna

2015-02-01

Bone density at implant placement site is a key factor to obtain the primary stability of the fixture, which, in turn, is a prognostic factor for osseointegration and long-term success of an implant supported rehabilitation. Recently, an implant motor with a bone density measurement probe has been introduced. The aim of the present study was to test the objectiveness of the bone densities registered by the implant motor regardless of the operator performing them. A total of 3704 bone density measurements, performed by means of the implant motor, were registered by 39 operators at different implant sites during routine activity. Bone density measurements were grouped according to their distribution across the jaws. Specifically, four different areas were distinguished: a pre-antral (between teeth from first right maxillary premolar to first left maxillary premolar) and a sub-antral (more distally) zone in the maxilla, and an interforaminal (between and including teeth from first left mandibular premolar to first right mandibular premolar) and a retroforaminal (more distally) zone in the lower one. A statistical comparison was performed to check the inter-operators variability of the collected data. The device produced consistent and operator-independent bone density values at each tooth position, showing a reliable bone-density measurement. The implant motor demonstrated to be a helpful tool to properly plan implant placement and loading irrespective of the operator using it.

A new interpretation and validation of variance based importance measures for models with correlated inputs

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Wenrui; Lu, Zhenzhou; Li, Luyi

2013-05-01

In order to explore the contributions by correlated input variables to the variance of the output, a novel interpretation framework of importance measure indices is proposed for a model with correlated inputs, which includes the indices of the total correlated contribution and the total uncorrelated contribution. The proposed indices accurately describe the connotations of the contributions by the correlated input to the variance of output, and they can be viewed as the complement and correction of the interpretation about the contributions by the correlated inputs presented in "Estimation of global sensitivity indices for models with dependent variables, Computer Physics Communications, 183 (2012) 937-946". Both of them contain the independent contribution by an individual input. Taking the general form of quadratic polynomial as an illustration, the total correlated contribution and the independent contribution by an individual input are derived analytically, from which the components and their origins of both contributions of correlated input can be clarified without any ambiguity. In the special case that no square term is included in the quadratic polynomial model, the total correlated contribution by the input can be further decomposed into the variance contribution related to the correlation of the input with other inputs and the independent contribution by the input itself, and the total uncorrelated contribution can be further decomposed into the independent part by interaction between the input and others and the independent part by the input itself. Numerical examples are employed and their results demonstrate that the derived analytical expressions of the variance-based importance measure are correct, and the clarification of the correlated input contribution to model output by the analytical derivation is very important for expanding the theory and solutions of uncorrelated input to those of the correlated one.

Teamwork skills, shared mental models, and performance in simulated trauma teams: an independent group design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Westli Heidi

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Non-technical skills are seen as an important contributor to reducing adverse events and improving medical management in healthcare teams. Previous research on the effectiveness of teams has suggested that shared mental models facilitate coordination and team performance. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether demonstrated teamwork skills and behaviour indicating shared mental models would be associated with observed improved medical management in trauma team simulations. Methods Revised versions of the 'Anesthetists' Non-Technical Skills Behavioural marker system' and 'Anti-Air Teamwork Observation Measure' were field tested in moment-to-moment observation of 27 trauma team simulations in Norwegian hospitals. Independent subject matter experts rated medical management in the teams. An independent group design was used to explore differences in teamwork skills between higher-performing and lower-performing teams. Results Specific teamwork skills and behavioural markers were associated with indicators of good team performance. Higher and lower-performing teams differed in information exchange, supporting behaviour and communication, with higher performing teams showing more effective information exchange and communication, and less supporting behaviours. Behavioural markers of shared mental models predicted effective medical management better than teamwork skills. Conclusions The present study replicates and extends previous research by providing new empirical evidence of the significance of specific teamwork skills and a shared mental model for the effective medical management of trauma teams. In addition, the study underlines the generic nature of teamwork skills by demonstrating their transferability from different clinical simulations like the anaesthesia environment to trauma care, as well as the potential usefulness of behavioural frequency analysis in future research on non-technical skills.

On multichannel film dosimetry with channel-independent perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Méndez, I.; Peterlin, P.; Hudej, R.; Strojnik, A.; Casar, B.

2014-01-01

Purpose: Different multichannel methods for film dosimetry have been proposed in the literature. Two of them are the weighted mean method and the method put forth byMicke et al. [“Multichannel film dosimetry with nonuniformity correction,” Med. Phys. 38, 2523–2534 (2011)] and Mayer et al. [“Enhanced dosimetry procedures and assessment for EBT2 radiochromic film,” Med. Phys. 39, 2147–2155 (2012)]. The purpose of this work was to compare their results and to develop a generalized channel-independent perturbations framework in which both methods enter as special cases. Methods: Four models of channel-independent perturbations were compared: weighted mean, Micke–Mayer method, uniform distribution, and truncated normal distribution. A closed-form formula to calculate film doses and the associated type B uncertainty for all four models was deduced. To evaluate the models, film dose distributions were compared with planned and measured dose distributions. At the same time, several elements of the dosimetry process were compared: film type EBT2 versus EBT3, different waiting-time windows, reflection mode versus transmission mode scanning, and planned versus measured dose distribution for film calibration and for γ-index analysis. The methods and the models described in this study are publicly accessible through IRISEU. Alpha 1.1 ( http://www.iriseu.com ). IRISEU. is a cloud computing web application for calibration and dosimetry of radiochromic films. Results: The truncated normal distribution model provided the best agreement between film and reference doses, both for calibration and γ-index verification, and proved itself superior to both the weighted mean model, which neglects correlations between the channels, and the Micke–Mayer model, whose accuracy depends on the properties of the sensitometric curves. With respect to the selection of dosimetry protocol, no significant differences were found between transmission and reflection mode scanning

On multichannel film dosimetry with channel-independent perturbations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Méndez, I., E-mail: nmendez@onko-i.si; Peterlin, P.; Hudej, R.; Strojnik, A.; Casar, B. [Department of Medical Physics, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloška cesta 2, Ljubljana 1000 (Slovenia)

2014-01-15

Purpose: Different multichannel methods for film dosimetry have been proposed in the literature. Two of them are the weighted mean method and the method put forth byMicke et al. [“Multichannel film dosimetry with nonuniformity correction,” Med. Phys. 38, 2523–2534 (2011)] and Mayer et al. [“Enhanced dosimetry procedures and assessment for EBT2 radiochromic film,” Med. Phys. 39, 2147–2155 (2012)]. The purpose of this work was to compare their results and to develop a generalized channel-independent perturbations framework in which both methods enter as special cases. Methods: Four models of channel-independent perturbations were compared: weighted mean, Micke–Mayer method, uniform distribution, and truncated normal distribution. A closed-form formula to calculate film doses and the associated type B uncertainty for all four models was deduced. To evaluate the models, film dose distributions were compared with planned and measured dose distributions. At the same time, several elements of the dosimetry process were compared: film type EBT2 versus EBT3, different waiting-time windows, reflection mode versus transmission mode scanning, and planned versus measured dose distribution for film calibration and for γ-index analysis. The methods and the models described in this study are publicly accessible through IRISEU. Alpha 1.1 ( http://www.iriseu.com ). IRISEU. is a cloud computing web application for calibration and dosimetry of radiochromic films. Results: The truncated normal distribution model provided the best agreement between film and reference doses, both for calibration and γ-index verification, and proved itself superior to both the weighted mean model, which neglects correlations between the channels, and the Micke–Mayer model, whose accuracy depends on the properties of the sensitometric curves. With respect to the selection of dosimetry protocol, no significant differences were found between transmission and reflection mode scanning

Model-independent study of light cone current commutators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gautam, S.R.; Dicus, D.A.

1974-01-01

An attempt is made to extract information on the nature of light cone current commutators (L. C. C.) in a model independent manner. Using simple assumptions on the validity of the DGS representation for the structure functions of deep inelastic scattering and using the Bjorken--Johnston--Low theorem it is shown that in principle the L. C. C. may be constructed knowing the experimental electron--proton scattering data. On the other hand the scaling behavior of the structure functions is utilized to study the consistency of a vanishing value for various L. C. C. under mild assumptions on the behavior of the DGS spectral moments. (U.S.)

Luminosity-Independent Measurement of the Proton-Proton Total Cross Section at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV

CERN Document Server

Antchev, G; Atanassov, I; Avati, V; Baechler, J.; Berardi, V; Berretti, M; Bossini, E; Bozzo, M; Bottigli, U; Brucken, E; Buzzo, A; Cafagna, F S; Calicchio, M; Catanesi, M G; Covault, C; Csanad, M; Csorgo, T; Deile, M; Doubek, M; Eggert, K; Eremin, V; Ferretti, R; Ferro, F; Fiergolski, A; Garcia, F; Giani, S; Greco, V; Grzanka, L; Heino, J; Hilden, T; Intonti, R A; Kavspar, J; Kopal, J; Kundrat, V; Kurvinen, K; Lami, S; Latino, G; Lauhakangas, R; Leszko, T; Lippmaa, E; Lokajivcek, M; Lo Vetere, M; Lucas-Rodriguez, F; Macri, M.; Maki, T; Mercadante, A; Minafra, N; Minutoli, S; Nemes, F; Niewiadomski, H; Oliveri, E; Oljemark, F; Orava, R; Oriunno, M; Osterberg, K; Palazzi, P; Prochazka, J; Quinto, M; Radermacher, E; Radicioni, E; Ravotti, F; Robutti, E; Ropelewski, L; Ruggiero, G; Saarikko, H; Santroni, A; Scribano, A; Smajek, J; Snoeys, W; Sziklai, J; Taylor, C; Turini, N; Vacek, V; Vitek, M; Welti, J; Whitmore, J; Wyszkowski, P

2013-01-01

TOTEM has measured the proton-proton total cross-section at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV using a luminosity independent method. In LHC fills with dedicated beam optics, the Roman Pots have been inserted very close to the beam allowing the detection of 90% of the nuclear elastic scattering events. Simultaneously the inelastic scattering rate has been measured by the T1 and T2 Telescopes. By applying the optical theorem, the total proton-proton cross-section of (101.7 $\\pm$ 2.9)mb is determined, well in agreement with the extrapolation from lower energies. This method allows also to derive the luminosity-independent elastic and inelastic cross-sections: $\\sigma_{el}$ = (27.1 $\\pm$ 1.4)mb; $\\sigma_{inel}$ = (74.7 $\\pm$ 1.7)mb.

Enhancing the performance of the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with heralded pair-coherent sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Feng; Zhang, Chun-Hui; Liu, Ai-Ping [Institute of Signal Processing Transmission, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210003 (China); Key Lab of Broadband Wireless Communication and Sensor Network Technology, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210003 (China); Wang, Qin, E-mail: qinw@njupt.edu.cn [Institute of Signal Processing Transmission, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210003 (China); Key Lab of Broadband Wireless Communication and Sensor Network Technology, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210003 (China); Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China)

2016-04-01

In this paper, we propose to implement the heralded pair-coherent source into the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution. By comparing its performance with other existing schemes, we demonstrate that our new scheme can overcome many shortcomings existing in current schemes, and show excellent behavior in the quantum key distribution. Moreover, even when taking the statistical fluctuation into account, we can still obtain quite high key generation rate at very long transmission distance by using our new scheme. - Highlights: • Implement the heralded pair-coherent source into the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution. • Overcome many shortcomings existing in current schemes and show excellent behavior. • Obtain quite high key generation rate even when taking statistical fluctuation into account.

Content Validity and Inter-Rater Reliability of the Halliwick-Concept-Based Instrument "Swimming with Independent Measure"

Science.gov (United States)

Srsen, Katja Groleger; Vidmar, Gaj; Pikl, Masa; Vrecar, Irena; Burja, Cirila; Krusec, Klavdija

2012-01-01

The Halliwick concept is widely used in different settings to promote joyful movement in water and swimming. To assess the swimming skills and progression of an individual swimmer, a valid and reliable measure should be used. The Halliwick-concept-based Swimming with Independent Measure (SWIM) was introduced for this purpose. We aimed to determine…

A Model of Trusted Measurement Model

OpenAIRE

Ma Zhili; Wang Zhihao; Dai Liang; Zhu Xiaoqin

2017-01-01

A model of Trusted Measurement supporting behavior measurement based on trusted connection architecture (TCA) with three entities and three levels is proposed, and a frame to illustrate the model is given. The model synthesizes three trusted measurement dimensions including trusted identity, trusted status and trusted behavior, satisfies the essential requirements of trusted measurement, and unified the TCA with three entities and three levels.

Text-Independent Speaker Identification Using the Histogram Transform Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Zhanyu; Yu, Hong; Tan, Zheng-Hua

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a novel probabilistic method for the task of text-independent speaker identification (SI). In order to capture the dynamic information during SI, we design a super-MFCCs features by cascading three neighboring Mel-frequency Cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) frames together....... These super-MFCC vectors are utilized for probabilistic model training such that the speaker’s characteristics can be sufficiently captured. The probability density function (PDF) of the aforementioned super-MFCCs features is estimated by the recently proposed histogram transform (HT) method. To recedes...

On the derivation of approximations to cellular automata models and the assumption of independence.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, K J; Green, J E F; Bean, N G; Binder, B J; Ross, J V

2014-07-01

Cellular automata are discrete agent-based models, generally used in cell-based applications. There is much interest in obtaining continuum models that describe the mean behaviour of the agents in these models. Previously, continuum models have been derived for agents undergoing motility and proliferation processes, however, these models only hold under restricted conditions. In order to narrow down the reason for these restrictions, we explore three possible sources of error in deriving the model. These sources are the choice of limiting arguments, the use of a discrete-time model as opposed to a continuous-time model and the assumption of independence between the state of sites. We present a rigorous analysis in order to gain a greater understanding of the significance of these three issues. By finding a limiting regime that accurately approximates the conservation equation for the cellular automata, we are able to conclude that the inaccuracy between our approximation and the cellular automata is completely based on the assumption of independence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A conceptual model of independence and dependence for adults with chronic physical illness and disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Gignac, M A; Cott, C

1998-09-01

This paper presents a conceptual model of physical independence and dependence as it relates to adult onset, chronic physical illness and disability. Physical independence and dependence are presented as two separate, continuous, and multiply determined constructs, and illustrations are provided of situations where people can be independent, dependent, not independent, or experience imposed dependence. The paper also discusses potential determinants of physical independence and dependence, including different domains of disability, the role of subjective perceptions, demographics, the physical and social/political environments, personal resources, attitudes and coping resources, illness and efficacy appraisals, and the nature of the assistive relationship. The paper extends work on physical independence and dependence by synthesizing the findings from previous studies and incorporating the findings from other relevant areas of research into the area. It also expands on the concepts of physical independence and dependence, as well as their determinants, and relates independence and dependence to other outcomes of interest such as service delivery.

Measurement-device-independent quantum communication with an untrusted source

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Feihu

2015-07-01

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) can provide enhanced security compared to traditional QKD, and it constitutes an important framework for a quantum network with an untrusted network server. Still, a key assumption in MDI-QKD is that the sources are trusted. We propose here a MDI quantum network with a single untrusted source. We have derived a complete proof of the unconditional security of MDI-QKD with an untrusted source. Using simulations, we have considered various real-life imperfections in its implementation, and the simulation results show that MDI-QKD with an untrusted source provides a key generation rate that is close to the rate of initial MDI-QKD in the asymptotic setting. Our work proves the feasibility of the realization of a quantum network. The network users need only low-cost modulation devices, and they can share both an expensive detector and a complicated laser provided by an untrusted network server.

Identification and estimation of nonlinear models using two samples with nonclassical measurement errors

KAUST Repository

Carroll, Raymond J.

2010-05-01

This paper considers identification and estimation of a general nonlinear Errors-in-Variables (EIV) model using two samples. Both samples consist of a dependent variable, some error-free covariates, and an error-prone covariate, for which the measurement error has unknown distribution and could be arbitrarily correlated with the latent true values; and neither sample contains an accurate measurement of the corresponding true variable. We assume that the regression model of interest - the conditional distribution of the dependent variable given the latent true covariate and the error-free covariates - is the same in both samples, but the distributions of the latent true covariates vary with observed error-free discrete covariates. We first show that the general latent nonlinear model is nonparametrically identified using the two samples when both could have nonclassical errors, without either instrumental variables or independence between the two samples. When the two samples are independent and the nonlinear regression model is parameterized, we propose sieve Quasi Maximum Likelihood Estimation (Q-MLE) for the parameter of interest, and establish its root-n consistency and asymptotic normality under possible misspecification, and its semiparametric efficiency under correct specification, with easily estimated standard errors. A Monte Carlo simulation and a data application are presented to show the power of the approach.

Multi-party Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution Based on Cluster States

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chuanqi; Zhu, Changhua; Ma, Shuquan; Pei, Changxing

2018-03-01

We propose a novel multi-party measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol based on cluster states. A four-photon analyzer which can distinguish all the 16 cluster states serves as the measurement device for four-party MDI-QKD. Any two out of four participants can build secure keys after the analyzers obtains successful outputs and the two participants perform post-processing. We derive a security analysis for the protocol, and analyze the key rates under different values of polarization misalignment. The results show that four-party MDI-QKD is feasible over 280 km in the optical fiber channel when the key rate is about 10- 6 with the polarization misalignment parameter 0.015. Moreover, our work takes an important step toward a quantum communication network.

Process-independent radiative-correction formula for single-tag and double-tag measurements of γγ reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ong, S.; Kessler, P.

1988-01-01

A simple and process-independent formula is given for radiative corrections in single-tag and double-tag measurements of γγ reactions. Its conditions of validity are that (i) in the γγ process itself all particles produced are detected and (ii) final-state particles, including the tagged electron(s), are measured with a good resolution in energy and momentum

Modeling and measurement of the ALS U5 undulator end magnetic structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphries, D.; Halbach, K.; Hoyer, E.; Kincaid, B.; Marks, S.; Schlueter, R.

1993-05-01

The end structures for the ALS U5.0 undulators utilize a system of dual permanent magnet rotors intended to establish gap independent field performance. They may also be used for tuning of the first and second magnetic field integrals of these devices. The behavior of these structures has been studied by means of a two dimensional modeling with the POISSON Group of computer codes. A parametric study of the magnetic field distribution and first and second integrals of the fields has been conducted. In parallel, magnetic measurements of the final completed structures have been performed using an automated Hall probe measurement system. Results of the modeling and measurements are compared. Implications for tuning of the ends of the devices within the context of the electron beam parameters of the ALS are discussed

Antimicrobial combinations: Bliss independence and Loewe additivity derived from mechanistic multi-hit models

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Guozhi; Hozé, Nathanaël; Rolff, Jens

2016-01-01

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and antibiotics reduce the net growth rate of bacterial populations they target. It is relevant to understand if effects of multiple antimicrobials are synergistic or antagonistic, in particular for AMP responses, because naturally occurring responses involve multiple AMPs. There are several competing proposals describing how multiple types of antimicrobials add up when applied in combination, such as Loewe additivity or Bliss independence. These additivity terms are defined ad hoc from abstract principles explaining the supposed interaction between the antimicrobials. Here, we link these ad hoc combination terms to a mathematical model that represents the dynamics of antimicrobial molecules hitting targets on bacterial cells. In this multi-hit model, bacteria are killed when a certain number of targets are hit by antimicrobials. Using this bottom-up approach reveals that Bliss independence should be the model of choice if no interaction between antimicrobial molecules is expected. Loewe additivity, on the other hand, describes scenarios in which antimicrobials affect the same components of the cell, i.e. are not acting independently. While our approach idealizes the dynamics of antimicrobials, it provides a conceptual underpinning of the additivity terms. The choice of the additivity term is essential to determine synergy or antagonism of antimicrobials. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides’. PMID:27160596

Antimicrobial combinations: Bliss independence and Loewe additivity derived from mechanistic multi-hit models.

Science.gov (United States)

Baeder, Desiree Y; Yu, Guozhi; Hozé, Nathanaël; Rolff, Jens; Regoes, Roland R

2016-05-26

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and antibiotics reduce the net growth rate of bacterial populations they target. It is relevant to understand if effects of multiple antimicrobials are synergistic or antagonistic, in particular for AMP responses, because naturally occurring responses involve multiple AMPs. There are several competing proposals describing how multiple types of antimicrobials add up when applied in combination, such as Loewe additivity or Bliss independence. These additivity terms are defined ad hoc from abstract principles explaining the supposed interaction between the antimicrobials. Here, we link these ad hoc combination terms to a mathematical model that represents the dynamics of antimicrobial molecules hitting targets on bacterial cells. In this multi-hit model, bacteria are killed when a certain number of targets are hit by antimicrobials. Using this bottom-up approach reveals that Bliss independence should be the model of choice if no interaction between antimicrobial molecules is expected. Loewe additivity, on the other hand, describes scenarios in which antimicrobials affect the same components of the cell, i.e. are not acting independently. While our approach idealizes the dynamics of antimicrobials, it provides a conceptual underpinning of the additivity terms. The choice of the additivity term is essential to determine synergy or antagonism of antimicrobials.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Modeling and Measurement of Stress and Strain Evolution in Cu Interconnects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besser, Paul R.; Zhai, Charlie Jun

2004-01-01

The damascene fabrication method and the introduction of low-K dielectrics present a host of reliability challenges to Cu interconnects and fundamentally change the mechanical stress state of Cu lines used as interconnects for integrated circuits. In order to capture the effect of individual process steps on the stress evolution in the BEoL (Back End of Line), a process-oriented finite element modeling (FEM) approach was developed. In this model, the complete stress history at any step of BEoL can be simulated as a dual damascene Cu structure is fabricated. The model was calibrated with both wafer-curvature blanket film measurements and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) measurement of metal line stress. The Cu line stress evolution was simulated during the process of multi-step processing for dual damascene Cu/TEOS and Cu/low-k structures. The in-plane stress of Cu lines is nearly independent of subsequent processes, while the out-of-plane stress increases considerably with the subsequent process steps. The modeling results will be compared with recent XRD measurements and extended generically to illustrate the relative influence of the dielectric (ILD) modulus (E) and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) on strain/stress in the Cu lines. It will be shown that the stress magnitude and state (hydrostatic, deviatoric) depend on ILD properties. The stress along the line length (longitudinal) is substrate-dominated, while the transverse and normal stresses vary with both CTE and modulus of the dielectric. The hydrostatic stress is primarily determined by ILD modulus and is nearly independent of the ILD CTE, while the Von Mises stress depends on both CTE and E of the ILD. The stress of the Cu line tends to be more deviatoric with spin-on low K ILDs, and more hydrostatic with oxide encapsulation

NEIGHBOURHOOD POVERTY, PERCEIVED DISCRIMINATION AND CENTRAL ADIPOSITY IN THE USA: INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATIONS IN A REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwarteng, Jamila L; Schulz, Amy J; Mentz, Graciela B; Israel, Barbara A; Shanks, Trina R; Perkins, Denise White

2016-11-01

This study examines the independent effects of neighbourhood context (i.e. neighbourhood poverty) and exposure to perceived discrimination in shaping risk of obesity over time. Weighted three-level hierarchical linear regression models for a continuous outcome were used to assess the independent effects of neighbourhood poverty and perceived discrimination on obesity over time in a sample of 157 non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White and Hispanic adults in Detroit, USA, in 2002/2003 and 2007/2008. Independent associations were found between neighbourhood poverty and perceived discrimination with central adiposity over time. Residents of neighbourhoods with high concentrations of poverty were more likely to show increases in central adiposity compared with those in neighbourhoods with lower concentrations of poverty. In models adjusted for BMI, neighbourhood poverty at baseline was associated with a greater change in central adiposity among participants who lived in neighbourhoods in the second (B=3.79, p=0.025) and third (B=3.73, p=0.024) poverty quartiles, compared with those in the lowest poverty neighbourhoods. The results from models that included both neighbourhood poverty and perceived discrimination showed that both were associated with increased risk of increased central adiposity over time. Residents of neighbourhoods in the second (B=9.58, ppoverty were more likely to show greater increases in central adiposity over time, compared with those in the lowest poverty quartile, with mean discrimination at baseline independently and positively associated with increases in central adiposity over time (B=2.36, p=0.020). The results suggest that neighbourhood poverty and perceived discrimination are independently associated with a heightened risk of increase in central adiposity over time. Efforts to address persistent disparities in central adiposity in the USA should include strategies to reduce high concentrations of neighbourhood poverty as well as

Blind Separation of Acoustic Signals Combining SIMO-Model-Based Independent Component Analysis and Binary Masking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiekata Takashi

2006-01-01

Full Text Available A new two-stage blind source separation (BSS method for convolutive mixtures of speech is proposed, in which a single-input multiple-output (SIMO-model-based independent component analysis (ICA and a new SIMO-model-based binary masking are combined. SIMO-model-based ICA enables us to separate the mixed signals, not into monaural source signals but into SIMO-model-based signals from independent sources in their original form at the microphones. Thus, the separated signals of SIMO-model-based ICA can maintain the spatial qualities of each sound source. Owing to this attractive property, our novel SIMO-model-based binary masking can be applied to efficiently remove the residual interference components after SIMO-model-based ICA. The experimental results reveal that the separation performance can be considerably improved by the proposed method compared with that achieved by conventional BSS methods. In addition, the real-time implementation of the proposed BSS is illustrated.

Angle-independent measure of motion for image-based gating in 3D coronary angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehmann, Glen C.; Holdsworth, David W.; Drangova, Maria

2006-01-01

The role of three-dimensional (3D) image guidance for interventional procedures and minimally invasive surgeries is increasing for the treatment of vascular disease. Currently, most interventional procedures are guided by two-dimensional x-ray angiography, but computed rotational angiography has the potential to provide 3D geometric information about the coronary arteries. The creation of 3D angiographic images of the coronary arteries requires synchronization of data acquisition with respect to the cardiac cycle, in order to minimize motion artifacts. This can be achieved by inferring the extent of motion from a patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. However, a direct measurement of motion (from the 2D angiograms) has the potential to improve the 3D angiographic images by ensuring that only projections acquired during periods of minimal motion are included in the reconstruction. This paper presents an image-based metric for measuring the extent of motion in 2D x-ray angiographic images. Adaptive histogram equalization was applied to projection images to increase the sharpness of coronary arteries and the superior-inferior component of the weighted centroid (SIC) was measured. The SIC constitutes an image-based metric that can be used to track vessel motion, independent of apparent motion induced by the rotational acquisition. To evaluate the technique, six consecutive patients scheduled for routine coronary angiography procedures were studied. We compared the end of the SIC rest period (ρ) to R-waves (R) detected in the patient's ECG and found a mean difference of 14±80 ms. Two simultaneous angular positions were acquired and ρ was detected for each position. There was no statistically significant difference (P=0.79) between ρ in the two simultaneously acquired angular positions. Thus we have shown the SIC to be independent of view angle, which is critical for rotational angiography. A preliminary image-based gating strategy that employed the SIC was

Radiative corrections for semileptonic decays of hyperons: the 'model independent' part

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, K.; Szegoe, K.; Margaritis, T.

1984-04-01

The 'model independent' part of the order α radiative correction due to virtual photon exchanges and inner bremsstrahlung is studied for semileptonic decays of hyperons. Numerical results of high accuracy are given for the relative correction to the branching ratio, the electron energy spectrum and the (Esub(e),Esub(f)) Dalitz distribution in the case of four different decays. (author)

A Comparison of Mangrove Canopy Height Using Multiple Independent Measurements from Land, Air, and Space

Science.gov (United States)

Lagomasino, David; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Lee, SeungKuk; Feliciano, Emanuelle; Trettin, Carl; Simard, Marc

2016-01-01

Canopy height is one of the strongest predictors of biomass and carbon in forested ecosystems. Additionally, mangrove ecosystems represent one of the most concentrated carbon reservoirs that are rapidly degrading as a result of deforestation, development, and hydrologic manipulation. Therefore, the accuracy of Canopy Height Models (CHM) over mangrove forest can provide crucial information for monitoring and verification protocols. We compared four CHMs derived from independent remotely sensed imagery and identified potential errors and bias between measurement types. CHMs were derived from three spaceborne datasets; Very-High Resolution (VHR) stereophotogrammetry, TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement (DEM), and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (TanDEM-X), and lidar data which was acquired from an airborne platform. Each dataset exhibited different error characteristics that were related to spatial resolution, sensitivities of the sensors, and reference frames. Canopies over 10 meters were accurately predicted by all CHMs while the distributions of canopy height were best predicted by the VHR CHM. Depending on the guidelines and strategies needed for monitoring and verification activities, coarse resolution CHMs could be used to track canopy height at regional and global scales with finer resolution imagery used to validate and monitor critical areas undergoing rapid changes.

Using complete measurement statistics for optimal device-independent randomness evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieto-Silleras, O; Pironio, S; Silman, J

2014-01-01

The majority of recent works investigating the link between non-locality and randomness, e.g. in the context of device-independent cryptography, do so with respect to some specific Bell inequality, usually the CHSH inequality. However, the joint probabilities characterizing the measurement outcomes of a Bell test are richer than just the degree of violation of a single Bell inequality. In this work we show how to take this extra information into account in a systematic manner in order to optimally evaluate the randomness that can be certified from non-local correlations. We further show that taking into account the complete set of outcome probabilities is equivalent to optimizing over all possible Bell inequalities, thereby allowing us to determine the optimal Bell inequality for certifying the maximal amount of randomness from a given set of non-local correlations. (paper)

A model independent determination of the B{yields}X{sub s}{gamma} decay rate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernlochner, Florian U. [Victoria Univ., BC (Canada); Lacker, Heiko [Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (Germany); Ligeti, Zoltan [California Univ., Berkeley, CA (United States). Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Stewart, Iain W. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States). Center for Theoretical Physics; Tackmann, Frank J.; Tackmann, Kerstin [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2013-03-15

The goal of the SIMBA collaboration is to provide a global fit to the available measurements of inclusive B{yields}X{sub s}{gamma} and B{yields}X{sub u}l{nu} decays. By performing a global fit one is able to simultaneously determine the relevant normalizations, i.e. the total B{yields}X{sub s}{gamma} rate and the CKM-matrix element vertical stroke Vub vertical stroke, together with the required hadronic parameters, most importantly the b-quark mass and the b-quark distribution function in the B-meson, called the shape function. In this talk, the current status on the model-independent determination of the shape function and vertical stroke C{sub 7}{sup incl}V{sub tb}V{sub ts}{sup *} vertical stroke, which parametrizes the total B{yields}X{sub s}{gamma} rate, from a global fit to the available B{yields}X{sub s}{gamma} measurements from Babar and Belle is presented. In particular, the theoretical uncertainties originating from variations of the different factorization scales are evaluated.

Objectively measured sedentary time may predict insulin resistance independent of moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Helmerhorst, Hendrik J. F.; Wijndaele, Katrien; Brage, Søren; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Ekelund, Ulf

2009-01-01

To examine the prospective association between objectively measured time spent sedentary and insulin resistance and whether this association is independent of moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and other relevant confounders. This was a population-based study (Medical Research

Model Independent Search For New Physics At The Tevatron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choudalakis, Georgios [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

2008-04-01

The Standard Model of elementary particles can not be the final theory. There are theoretical reasons to expect the appearance of new physics, possibly at the energy scale of few TeV. Several possible theories of new physics have been proposed, each with unknown probability to be confirmed. Instead of arbitrarily choosing to examine one of those theories, this thesis is about searching for any sign of new physics in a model-independent way. This search is performed at the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). The Standard Model prediction is implemented in all final states simultaneously, and an array of statistical probes is employed to search for significant discrepancies between data and prediction. The probes are sensitive to overall population discrepancies, shape disagreements in distributions of kinematic quantities of final particles, excesses of events of large total transverse momentum, and local excesses of data expected from resonances due to new massive particles. The result of this search, first in 1 fb^-1 and then in 2 fb^-1, is null, namely no considerable evidence of new physics was found.

Functional Independence Measure Penderita Cedera Servikal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Zafrullah Arifin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Cervical spine injury is one of the most common spinal cord injuries in trauma patients. From 100,000 spinal cord injury cases reported in the United States of America (2008, 2/3 involved cervical spine injury. American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA Impairment Score is used as an initial assessment but further prognostic outcome of these patients is often not paid enough attention. The objective of this study was to find the value of functional independence measure (FIM cervical spine injury patients with conservative management and correlation with age, sex, type of trauma, onset of trauma, cervical bone abnormalities, type of spinal lesion and ASIA Impairment Score. A prospective cohort study was performed to all patients with cervical spine injury which fullfil the inclusion criteria treated in Neurosurgery Department of Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung. The subjects were classified based on age, sex, single/multiple trauma, acute/chronic, cervical bone abnormalities, complete/incomplete lesion, ASIA impairment score and initial complication. The patients were performed to FIM examination in Outpatient clinic of Neurosurgery. T-test and chi-square test with p<0.05 were done to analyze the data. There were 17 cervical spine injury patients treated in Neurosurgery Department of Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung during April 2009–April 2010. The average FIM value of cervical spine injury in those patients was 4+1.63 by cohort prospective study. There were no correlation between FIM value with age (p=0.064, sex (p=0.144, type of trauma (p=0.959, onset of trauma (p=0.220 and cervical bone abnormalities (p=0.869. We found a significant correlation between FIM value with type of cervical spine lesion (p=0.037 and ASIA Impairment Score (p<0.001 in cervical spine patients. In conclusion, type of cervical spine lesion and ASIA impairment score have significant correlation with FIM value of patients in 3 months after cervical injury.

Comparison of the sensitivity to change of the Functional Independence Measure with the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills within different rehabilitation populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Choo, Silvana X; Stratford, Paul; Richardson, Julie; Bosch, Jackie; Pettit, Susan M; Ansley, Barbara J; Harris, Jocelyn E

2017-09-10

To determine whether there was a difference in the sensitivity to change of the subscales of the Functional Independence Measure and the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills within three different post-acute inpatient rehabilitation populations. We conducted retrospective chart review of patients consecutively admitted to inpatient rehabilitation units, with both admission and discharge Functional Independence Measure and Assessment of Motor and Process Skills scores. A total of 276 participants were included and categorized into diagnostic groups (orthopedic, oncology, and geriatric). Within group, sensitivity to change was evaluated for the subscales of each measure by calculating the difference in standardized response means (SRM) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The Functional Independence Measure motor subscale was more sensitive to change than the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills in the orthopedic and geriatric groups (SRM difference  = 1.53 [95% CI 0.93, 2.3] and 0.65 [95% CI 0.3, 1.02], respectively) but not in the oncology group (SRM difference  = 0.42 [95% CI -0.2, 1.04]). For the cognitive subscales, the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills was more sensitive to change than the Functional Independence Measure in all three groups (SRM difference  = 0.38 [95% CI 004, 0.74], 0.65 [95% CI 0.45, 0.90], and 1.15 [95% CI 0.77, 1.69] for orthopedic, geriatric, and oncology, respectively). The Functional Independence Measure is a mandated measure for all rehabilitation units in Canada. As the cognitive subscale of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills is more sensitive to change than the Functional Independence Measure, we recommend also administering the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills to better detect changes in the cognitive aspect of function. Implications for rehabilitation When deciding between the Functional Independence Measure or the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, it is important to consider whether patients

Renormalizability and model-independent description of Z' signals at low energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulov, A.V.; Skalozub, V.V.

2000-01-01

The model-independent search for signals of heavy Z' gauge bosons in low-energy four-fermion processes is analyzed. It is shown that the renormalizability of the underlying theory containing Z', formulated as a scattering in the field of heavy virtual states, can be implemented in specific relations between different processes. Considering the two-Higgs-doublet model as the low-energy basis theory, the two types of Z' interactions with light particles are found to be compatible with the renormalizability. They are called the Abelian and the ''chiral'' couplings. Observables giving the possibility to uniquely detect Z' in both cases are introduced. (orig.)

Accounting for measurement error in human life history trade-offs using structural equation modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Helle, Samuli

2018-03-01

Revealing causal effects from correlative data is very challenging and a contemporary problem in human life history research owing to the lack of experimental approach. Problems with causal inference arising from measurement error in independent variables, whether related either to inaccurate measurement technique or validity of measurements, seem not well-known in this field. The aim of this study is to show how structural equation modeling (SEM) with latent variables can be applied to account for measurement error in independent variables when the researcher has recorded several indicators of a hypothesized latent construct. As a simple example of this approach, measurement error in lifetime allocation of resources to reproduction in Finnish preindustrial women is modelled in the context of the survival cost of reproduction. In humans, lifetime energetic resources allocated in reproduction are almost impossible to quantify with precision and, thus, typically used measures of lifetime reproductive effort (e.g., lifetime reproductive success and parity) are likely to be plagued by measurement error. These results are contrasted with those obtained from a traditional regression approach where the single best proxy of lifetime reproductive effort available in the data is used for inference. As expected, the inability to account for measurement error in women's lifetime reproductive effort resulted in the underestimation of its underlying effect size on post-reproductive survival. This article emphasizes the advantages that the SEM framework can provide in handling measurement error via multiple-indicator latent variables in human life history studies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Technical Note: Assessing predictive capacity and conditional independence of landslide predisposing factors for shallow landslide susceptibility models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Pereira

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to identify the landslide predisposing factors' combination using a bivariate statistical model that best predicts landslide susceptibility. The best model is one that has simultaneously good performance in terms of suitability and predictive power and has been developed using variables that are conditionally independent. The study area is the Santa Marta de Penaguião council (70 km² located in the Northern Portugal.

In order to identify the best combination of landslide predisposing factors, all possible combinations using up to seven predisposing factors were performed, which resulted in 120 predictions that were assessed with a landside inventory containing 767 shallow translational slides. The best landslide susceptibility model was selected according to the model degree of fitness and on the basis of a conditional independence criterion. The best model was developed with only three landslide predisposing factors (slope angle, inverse wetness index, and land use and was compared with a model developed using all seven landslide predisposing factors.

Results showed that it is possible to produce a reliable landslide susceptibility model using fewer landslide predisposing factors, which contributes towards higher conditional independence.

DockQ: A Quality Measure for Protein-Protein Docking Models

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, Sankar

2016-01-01

The state-of-the-art to assess the structural quality of docking models is currently based on three related yet independent quality measures: Fnat, LRMS, and iRMS as proposed and standardized by CAPRI. These quality measures quantify different aspects of the quality of a particular docking model and need to be viewed together to reveal the true quality, e.g. a model with relatively poor LRMS (>10Å) might still qualify as 'acceptable' with a descent Fnat (>0.50) and iRMS (iRMS to a single score in the range [0, 1] that can be used to assess the quality of protein docking models. By using DockQ on CAPRI models it is possible to almost completely reproduce the original CAPRI classification into Incorrect, Acceptable, Medium and High quality. An average PPV of 94% at 90% Recall demonstrating that there is no need to apply predefined ad-hoc cutoffs to classify docking models. Since DockQ recapitulates the CAPRI classification almost perfectly, it can be viewed as a higher resolution version of the CAPRI classification, making it possible to estimate model quality in a more quantitative way using Z-scores or sum of top ranked models, which has been so valuable for the CASP community. The possibility to directly correlate a quality measure to a scoring function has been crucial for the development of scoring functions for protein structure prediction, and DockQ should be useful in a similar development in the protein docking field. DockQ is available at http://github.com/bjornwallner/DockQ/ PMID:27560519

Clinical Complexity in Medicine: A Measurement Model of Task and Patient Complexity.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, R; Weir, C; Del Fiol, G

2016-01-01

Complexity in medicine needs to be reduced to simple components in a way that is comprehensible to researchers and clinicians. Few studies in the current literature propose a measurement model that addresses both task and patient complexity in medicine. The objective of this paper is to develop an integrated approach to understand and measure clinical complexity by incorporating both task and patient complexity components focusing on the infectious disease domain. The measurement model was adapted and modified for the healthcare domain. Three clinical infectious disease teams were observed, audio-recorded and transcribed. Each team included an infectious diseases expert, one infectious diseases fellow, one physician assistant and one pharmacy resident fellow. The transcripts were parsed and the authors independently coded complexity attributes. This baseline measurement model of clinical complexity was modified in an initial set of coding processes and further validated in a consensus-based iterative process that included several meetings and email discussions by three clinical experts from diverse backgrounds from the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Utah. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using Cohen's kappa. The proposed clinical complexity model consists of two separate components. The first is a clinical task complexity model with 13 clinical complexity-contributing factors and 7 dimensions. The second is the patient complexity model with 11 complexity-contributing factors and 5 dimensions. The measurement model for complexity encompassing both task and patient complexity will be a valuable resource for future researchers and industry to measure and understand complexity in healthcare.

Self-referenced continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yijun; Wang, Xudong; Li, Jiawei; Huang, Duan; Zhang, Ling; Guo, Ying

2018-05-01

We propose a scheme to remove the demand of transmitting a high-brightness local oscillator (LO) in continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (CV-MDI QKD) protocol, which we call as the self-referenced (SR) CV-MDI QKD. We show that our scheme is immune to the side-channel attacks, such as the calibration attacks, the wavelength attacks and the LO fluctuation attacks, which are all exploiting the security loopholes introduced by transmitting the LO. Besides, the proposed scheme waives the necessity of complex multiplexer and demultiplexer, which can greatly simplify the QKD processes and improve the transmission efficiency. The numerical simulations under collective attacks show that all the improvements brought about by our scheme are only at the expense of slight transmission distance shortening. This scheme shows an available method to mend the security loopholes incurred by transmitting LO in CV-MDI QKD.

A Model Independent General Search for new physics in ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Amoroso, S; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

We present results of a model-independent general search for new phenomena in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The data set corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 20.3~\\ifb. Event topologies involving isolated electrons, photons and muons, as well as jets, including those identified as originating from \\textit{b}-quarks (\\textit{b}-jets) and missing transverse momentum are investigated. The events are subdivided according to their final states into exclusive event classes. For the 697 classes with a Standard Model expectation greater than 0.1 events, a search algorithm tests the compatibility of data against the Monte Carlo simulated background in three kinematic variables sensitive to new physics effects. No significant deviation is found in data. The number and size of the observed deviations follow the Standard Model expectation obtained from simulated pseudo-experiments.

A Model Independent General Search for new physics in ATLAS

Science.gov (United States)

Amoroso, S.; ATLAS Collaboration

2016-04-01

We present results of a model-independent general search for new phenomena in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The data set corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb-1. Event topologies involving isolated electrons, photons and muons, as well as jets, including those identified as originating from b-quarks (b-jets) and missing transverse momentum are investigated. The events are subdivided according to their final states into exclusive event classes. For the 697 classes with a Standard Model expectation greater than 0.1 events, a search algorithm tests the compatibility of data against the Monte Carlo simulated background in three kinematic variables sensitive to new physics effects. No significant deviation is found in data. The number and size of the observed deviations follow the Standard Model expectation obtained from simulated pseudo-experiments.

Continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with photon subtraction

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Hong-Xin; Huang, Peng; Bai, Dong-Yun; Wang, Shi-Yu; Bao, Wan-Su; Zeng, Gui-Hua

2018-04-01

It has been found that non-Gaussian operations can be applied to increase and distill entanglement between Gaussian entangled states. We show the successful use of the non-Gaussian operation, in particular, photon subtraction operation, on the continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (CV-MDI-QKD) protocol. The proposed method can be implemented based on existing technologies. Security analysis shows that the photon subtraction operation can remarkably increase the maximal transmission distance of the CV-MDI-QKD protocol, which precisely make up for the shortcoming of the original CV-MDI-QKD protocol, and one-photon subtraction operation has the best performance. Moreover, the proposed protocol provides a feasible method for the experimental implementation of the CV-MDI-QKD protocol.

Procedure for independently estimating blanks and uncertainties for measured values of 90Sr and 137Cs concentrations in the Atlantic Ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kupferman, S.L.; Livingston, H.D.

1979-01-01

A procedure has been developed for independently estimating blanks and measurement uncertainties for measured values of 90 Sr and 137 CS concentrations in the Atlantic Ocean. The procedure depends on delineation of a region in the Atlantic Ocean which has never contained measurable quantities of these fission products. Such a region is defined. A simple model, with supporting data, is used to show that reported 137 Cs inventories in deep ocean sediments could have accumulated without ever raising concentrations of 137 Cs in this tracer-free volume above minimum detectable limits. Several examples are presented to show that the use of the procedure results in a substantial improvement in the quality of 90 Sr and 137 Cs data. The method is applicable to any laboratory that has determined 9 πSr and 137 Cs concentrations in samples collected from within the tracer-free volume. 10 refs

Calibration and Propagation of Uncertainty for Independence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holland, Troy Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Kress, Joel David [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Bhat, Kabekode Ghanasham [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-06-30

This document reports on progress and methods for the calibration and uncertainty quantification of the Independence model developed at UT Austin. The Independence model is an advanced thermodynamic and process model framework for piperazine solutions as a high-performance CO₂ capture solvent. Progress is presented in the framework of the CCSI standard basic data model inference framework. Recent work has largely focused on the thermodynamic submodels of Independence.

A model-independent approach to mixing in prompt $D^{0} \\rightarrow K_S^0 \\pi^+ \\pi^-$ decays at LHCb

CERN Document Server

Torr, Nicholas; Charles, Matthew

This thesis presents a measurement of the charm mixing parameters $x_D$ and $y_D$ in prompt $D^{0} \\rightarrow K_S^0 \\pi^+ \\pi^-$ decays using 1 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the LHCb experiment during 2011. \\par Mixing in charm is predicted to be small within the Standard Model, but there are significant uncertainties associated with calculating the long range contributions to the decay. Recent measurements made by LHCb and others have confirmed that mixing in charm exists at a rate of less than 1 %. With LHCb due to collect more data and Belle II being commissioned, the reduction of systematic uncertainties will become increasingly important. The $D^{0} \\rightarrow K_S^0 \\pi^+ \\pi^-$ decay provides sensitivity to both the magnitude and relative sign between the mixing parameters. It is also one of the few channels that can measure $x_D$ directly. It is therefore crucial to study this mode in detail as more data becomes available. The work presented in this thesis utilises a model-independent description of...

Independent oscillator model of a heat bath: exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, G.W.; Lewis, J.T.; O'Connell, R.F.

1988-01-01

The problem of a quantum oscillator coupled to an independent-oscillator model of a heat bath is discussed. The transformation to normal coordinates is explicitly constructed using the method of Ullersma. With this transformation an alternative derivation of an exact formula for the oscillator free energy is constructed. The various contributions to the oscillator energy are calculated, with the aim of further understanding this formula. Finally, the limitations of linear coupling models, such as that used by Ullersma, are discussed in the form of some critical remarks

A stochastic cloud model for cloud and ozone retrievals from UV measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Efremenko, Dmitry S.; Schüssler, Olena; Doicu, Adrian; Loyola, Diego

2016-01-01

The new generation of satellite instruments provides measurements in and around the Oxygen A-band on a global basis and with a relatively high spatial resolution. These data are commonly used for the determination of cloud properties. A stochastic model and radiative transfer model, previously developed by the authors, is used as the forward model component in retrievals of cloud parameters and ozone total and partial columns. The cloud retrieval algorithm combines local and global optimization routines, and yields a retrieval accuracy of about 1% and a fast computational time. Retrieved parameters are the cloud optical thickness and the cloud-top height. It was found that the use of the independent pixel approximation instead of the stochastic cloud model leads to large errors in the retrieved cloud parameters, as well as, in the retrieved ozone height resolved partial columns. The latter can be reduced by using the stochastic cloud model to compute the optimal value of the regularization parameter in the framework of Tikhonov regularization. - Highlights: • A stochastic radiative transfer model for retrieving clouds/ozone is designed. • Errors of independent pixel approximation (IPA) for O3 total column are small. • The error of IPA for ozone profile retrieval may become large. • The use of stochastic model reduces the error of ozone profile retrieval.

Unified Balance Scale: an activity-based, bed to community, and aetiology-independent measure of balance calibrated with Rasch analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

La Porta, Fabio; Franceschini, Marco; Caselli, Serena; Cavallini, Paola; Susassi, Sonia; Tennant, Alan

2011-04-01

To build a new activity-based, "bed to community", aetiology-independent measure of balance within the neurological rehabilitation setting by merging some existing scales. Balance scales were selected using a conceptual framework and subsequently administered to a convenience sample of adult patients with balance problems due to different neurological aetiologies. Data were then processed using classical psychometric analyses and Rasch analysis in order to construct a new balance measurement tool. The Berg Balance Scale, the Tinetti Scales and the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale were selected and administered to a sample of patients, giving 302 observations. Classical psychometric analyses (item and scale analysis; confirmatory factor analysis) were undertaken on the pooled 40-item set with confirmation of unidimensionality. The subsequent Rasch analysis allowed the identification of a 27-item set satisfying the Rasch Model's requirements for fundamental measurement, with further confirmation of unidimensionality by post-hoc confirmatory factor analysis. The new scale (Unified Balance Scale) holds proven measurement properties and may be a candidate tool for "bed to community" balance measurement for patients with balance problems within the neuro-rehabilitation setting. Future studies are warranted to explore further its external validity and other clinical properties, as well as to improve its usability.

Sustained State-Independent Quantum Contextual Correlations from a Single Ion

Science.gov (United States)

Leupold, F. M.; Malinowski, M.; Zhang, C.; Negnevitsky, V.; Alonso, J.; Home, J. P.; Cabello, A.

2018-05-01

We use a single trapped-ion qutrit to demonstrate the quantum-state-independent violation of noncontextuality inequalities using a sequence of randomly chosen quantum nondemolition projective measurements. We concatenate 53 ×106 sequential measurements of 13 observables, and unambiguously violate an optimal noncontextual bound. We use the same data set to characterize imperfections including signaling and repeatability of the measurements. The experimental sequence was generated in real time with a quantum random number generator integrated into our control system to select the subsequent observable with a latency below 50 μ s , which can be used to constrain contextual hidden-variable models that might describe our results. The state-recycling experimental procedure is resilient to noise and independent of the qutrit state, substantiating the fact that the contextual nature of quantum physics is connected to measurements and not necessarily to designated states. The use of extended sequences of quantum nondemolition measurements finds applications in the fields of sensing and quantum information.

Measurement of the total proANP product in mammals by processing independent analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hunter, Ingrid; Rehfeld, Jens Frederik; Gøtze, Jens Peter

2011-01-01

(proANP) and its products irrespective of variable post-translational processing. The processing-independent assay (PIA) was developed raising mono-specific antibodies against the C-terminus of sequence 1-16 in proANP. The assay procedure included plasma extraction followed by tryptic cleavage, which...... releases the assay epitope from the N-terminal region. The PIA was tested in elderly patients with symptoms of heart failure (n=450), in pigs with acute myocardial infarction (n=21), and in normal dogs and dogs with heart failure (n=77). The epitope specificity permitted reliable measurement in man, dog...

Development of a flattening filter free multiple source model for use as an independent, Monte Carlo, dose calculation, quality assurance tool for clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Faught, Austin M; Davidson, Scott E; Popple, Richard; Kry, Stephen F; Etzel, Carol; Ibbott, Geoffrey S; Followill, David S

2017-09-01

The Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core-Houston (IROC-H) Quality Assurance Center (formerly the Radiological Physics Center) has reported varying levels of compliance from their anthropomorphic phantom auditing program. IROC-H studies have suggested that one source of disagreement between institution submitted calculated doses and measurement is the accuracy of the institution's treatment planning system dose calculations and heterogeneity corrections used. In order to audit this step of the radiation therapy treatment process, an independent dose calculation tool is needed. Monte Carlo multiple source models for Varian flattening filter free (FFF) 6 MV and FFF 10 MV therapeutic x-ray beams were commissioned based on central axis depth dose data from a 10 × 10 cm 2 field size and dose profiles for a 40 × 40 cm 2 field size. The models were validated against open-field measurements in a water tank for field sizes ranging from 3 × 3 cm 2 to 40 × 40 cm 2 . The models were then benchmarked against IROC-H's anthropomorphic head and neck phantom and lung phantom measurements. Validation results, assessed with a ±2%/2 mm gamma criterion, showed average agreement of 99.9% and 99.0% for central axis depth dose data for FFF 6 MV and FFF 10 MV models, respectively. Dose profile agreement using the same evaluation technique averaged 97.8% and 97.9% for the respective models. Phantom benchmarking comparisons were evaluated with a ±3%/2 mm gamma criterion, and agreement averaged 90.1% and 90.8% for the respective models. Multiple source models for Varian FFF 6 MV and FFF 10 MV beams have been developed, validated, and benchmarked for inclusion in an independent dose calculation quality assurance tool for use in clinical trial audits. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

DockQ: A Quality Measure for Protein-Protein Docking Models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sankar Basu

Full Text Available The state-of-the-art to assess the structural quality of docking models is currently based on three related yet independent quality measures: Fnat, LRMS, and iRMS as proposed and standardized by CAPRI. These quality measures quantify different aspects of the quality of a particular docking model and need to be viewed together to reveal the true quality, e.g. a model with relatively poor LRMS (>10Å might still qualify as 'acceptable' with a descent Fnat (>0.50 and iRMS (<3.0Å. This is also the reason why the so called CAPRI criteria for assessing the quality of docking models is defined by applying various ad-hoc cutoffs on these measures to classify a docking model into the four classes: Incorrect, Acceptable, Medium, or High quality. This classification has been useful in CAPRI, but since models are grouped in only four bins it is also rather limiting, making it difficult to rank models, correlate with scoring functions or use it as target function in machine learning algorithms. Here, we present DockQ, a continuous protein-protein docking model quality measure derived by combining Fnat, LRMS, and iRMS to a single score in the range [0, 1] that can be used to assess the quality of protein docking models. By using DockQ on CAPRI models it is possible to almost completely reproduce the original CAPRI classification into Incorrect, Acceptable, Medium and High quality. An average PPV of 94% at 90% Recall demonstrating that there is no need to apply predefined ad-hoc cutoffs to classify docking models. Since DockQ recapitulates the CAPRI classification almost perfectly, it can be viewed as a higher resolution version of the CAPRI classification, making it possible to estimate model quality in a more quantitative way using Z-scores or sum of top ranked models, which has been so valuable for the CASP community. The possibility to directly correlate a quality measure to a scoring function has been crucial for the development of scoring functions for

Analysis of a Farquhar-von Caemmerer-Berry leaf-level photosynthetic rate model for Populus tremuloides in the context of modeling and measurement limitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenz, Kathryn E.; Host, George E.; Roskoski, Kyle; Noormets, Asko; Sober, Anu; Karnosky, David F.

2010-01-01

The balance of mechanistic detail with mathematical simplicity contributes to the broad use of the Farquhar, von Caemmerer and Berry (FvCB) photosynthetic rate model. Here the FvCB model was coupled with a stomatal conductance model to form an [A,g s ] model, and parameterized for mature Populus tremuloides leaves under varying CO 2 and temperature levels. Data were selected to be within typical forest light, CO 2 and temperature ranges, reducing artifacts associated with data collected at extreme values. The error between model-predicted photosynthetic rate (A) and A data was measured in three ways and found to be up to three times greater for each of two independent data sets than for a base-line evaluation using parameterization data. The evaluation methods used here apply to comparisons of model validation results among data sets varying in number and distribution of data, as well as to performance comparisons of [A,g s ] models differing in internal-process components. - A photosynthetic rate model is parameterized for Populus tremuloides and evaluated based on its ability to predict dependent as well as independent data.

Bladder pressure measurements are an independent predictor of urinary tract infection in trauma patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Duane, Therèse M; Brown, Holly; Wolfe, Luke G; Malhotra, Ajai K; Aboutanos, Michel B; Ivatury, Rao R

2011-02-01

To determine the risk factors for urinary tract infections (UTIs) specific to trauma patients in order to assist in the development of infection control protocols. Data were collected prospectively from January 2003 until December 2005 by an epidemiology nurse and combined with registry data from our Level 1 trauma center. The trauma patients admitted to the Surgery and Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU)(n = 938) who did and did not have UTIs were compared for demographics, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and epidemiologic data, including use of Foley catheters and bladder pressure measurements (BPMs). An open system was used for the measurements in which the catheter was disconnected from the bag to instill 50 mL of saline into the bladder, and an 18-gauge needle was inserted into the catheter to measure the pressure. A total of 50 patients had no Foley catheter or UTIs. Among the 836 patients with catheters but no BPMs, there were 36 UTIs (4.31%), whereas the 52 patients with catheters and BPMs had 12 UTIs (23.08%)(p BPMs was an independent predictor of death (OR 2.475; CI 1.191-6.328). This is the first study that demonstrates a greater risk of UTI with BPM using the open technique independent of patient gender or degree of injury. Given these findings and a previous trial demonstrating no difference in UTI rates with a closed circuit for BPM, our institution has incorporated a closed circuit technique into its infection control protocol.

The Device-Independent Outlook On Quantum Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarani, V.

2012-01-01

This text is an introduction to an operational outlook on Bell inequalities, which has been very fruitful in the past few years. It has lead to the recognition that Bell tests have their own place in applied quantum technologies, because they quantify non-classicality in a device-independent way, that is, without any need to describe the degrees of freedom under study and the measurements that are performed. At the more fundamental level, the same device-independent outlook has allowed the falsification of several other alternative models that could hope to reproduce the observed statistics while keeping some classical features that quantum theory denies; and it has shed new light on the long-standing quest for deriving quantum theory from physical principles. (author)

Development of nonintrusive, scatter-independent techniques for measurement of liquid density inside dense sprays

Science.gov (United States)

Hartfield, Roy

1994-01-01

A nonintrusive optical technique for measuring the liquid density in sprays used to simulate LOX injector flows is under development. This manuscript is a report on work toward that development which is currently in progress. The technique is a scatter-independent, absorption-based approach which depends on the numerical inversion of a collection of absorption profiles. For the case in which visible radiation passes through liquid-gas interfaces so numerous in sprays, substantial reductions and alterations in the signal result from scattering even in the absence of absorption. To avoid these problems, X-Rays will be used as the absorbed radiation. The experimental process is simulated by integrating the absorption spectrum for a known distribution, adding instrument noise to this 'measurement', creating a projection from the 'measurement', filtering the projection, inverting the projection, and comparing the results with the original prescribed distribution.

Measurement of platelet aggregation, independently of patient platelet count

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinholt, P J; Frederiksen, H; Hvas, A-M

2017-01-01

with collagen-related peptide). Platelet aggregation had a negative predictive value of 100% for a bleeding tendency among patients. Conclusion The established platelet aggregation assay was applicable for thrombocytopenic patients, and improved the identification of bleeding risk.......Essentials •Platelet function may influence bleeding risk in thrombocytopenia, but useful tests are needed. •A flow cytometric platelet aggregation test independent of the patient platelet count was made. •Platelet aggregation was reduced in thrombocytopenic patients with hematological cancer....... •High platelet aggregation ruled out bleeding tendency in thrombocytopenic patients. Summary Background Methods for testing platelet aggregation in thrombocytopenia are lacking. Objective To establish a flow-cytometric test of in vitro platelet aggregation independently of the patient's platelet count...

A holistic measurement model of movement competency in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudd, J; Butson, M L; Barnett, L; Farrow, D; Berry, J; Borkoles, E; Polman, R

2016-01-01

Different countries have different methods for assessing movement competence in children; however, it is unclear whether the test batteries that are used measure the same aspects of movement competence. The aim of this paper was to (1) investigate whether the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2) and Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder (KTK) measure the same aspects of children's movement competence and (2) examine the factorial structure of the TGMD-2 and KTK in a sample of Australian children. A total of 158 children participated (M age = 9.5; SD = 2.2). First, confirmatory factor analysis examined the independent factorial structure of the KTK and TGMD-2. Second, it was investigated whether locomotor, object control and body coordination loaded on the latent variable Movement Competency. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an adequate fit for both the KTK and TGMD-2. An adequate fit was also achieved for the final model. In this model, locomotor (r = .86), object control (r = .71) and body coordination (r = .52) loaded on movement competence. Findings support our hypothesis that the TGMD-2 and KTK measure discrete aspects of movement competence. Future researchers and practitioners should consider using a wider range of test batteries to assess movement competence.

Independent isomer yield ratio of 90Rb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reeder, P.L.; Warner, R.A.; Ford, G.P.; Willmes, H.

1985-05-01

The independent isomer yield ratio for 90 Rb from thermal neutron fission of 235 U has been measured by use of a new technique involving a pulsed reactor and an on-line mass spectrometer facility. The apparent isomer yield ratio was measured for different ion collection time intervals and extrapolated to zero collection time to eliminate interference from 90 Kr decay. The observed isomer yield ratio of 8.7 +- 1.0 is one of the largest ratios measured for a low energy fission process. However, a statistical model analysis shows that the average angular momentum ( = 4.5) deduced from this isomer yield ratio is consistent with average angular momentum for other products from low energy fission. 7 refs

Modelling Energy Loss Mechanisms and a Determination of the Electron Energy Scale for the CDF Run II W Mass Measurement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riddick, Thomas [Univ. College London, Bloomsbury (United Kingdom)

2012-06-15

The calibration of the calorimeter energy scale is vital to measuring the mass of the W boson at CDF Run II. For the second measurement of the W boson mass at CDF Run II, two independent simulations were developed. This thesis presents a detailed description of the modification and validation of Bremsstrahlung and pair production modelling in one of these simulations, UCL Fast Simulation, comparing to both geant4 and real data where appropriate. The total systematic uncertainty on the measurement of the W boson mass in the W → ev_e channel from residual inaccuracies in Bremsstrahlung modelling is estimated as 6.2 ±3.2 MeV/c² and the total systematic uncertainty from residual inaccuracies in pair production modelling is estimated as 2.8± 2.7 MeV=c². Two independent methods are used to calibrate the calorimeter energy scale in UCL Fast Simulation; the results of these two methods are compared to produce a measurement of the Z boson mass as a cross-check on the accuracy of the simulation.

A Method of Calculating Functional Independence Measure at Discharge from Functional Independence Measure Effectiveness Predicted by Multiple Regression Analysis Has a High Degree of Predictive Accuracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tokunaga, Makoto; Watanabe, Susumu; Sonoda, Shigeru

2017-09-01

Multiple linear regression analysis is often used to predict the outcome of stroke rehabilitation. However, the predictive accuracy may not be satisfactory. The objective of this study was to elucidate the predictive accuracy of a method of calculating motor Functional Independence Measure (mFIM) at discharge from mFIM effectiveness predicted by multiple regression analysis. The subjects were 505 patients with stroke who were hospitalized in a convalescent rehabilitation hospital. The formula "mFIM at discharge = mFIM effectiveness × (91 points - mFIM at admission) + mFIM at admission" was used. By including the predicted mFIM effectiveness obtained through multiple regression analysis in this formula, we obtained the predicted mFIM at discharge (A). We also used multiple regression analysis to directly predict mFIM at discharge (B). The correlation between the predicted and the measured values of mFIM at discharge was compared between A and B. The correlation coefficients were .916 for A and .878 for B. Calculating mFIM at discharge from mFIM effectiveness predicted by multiple regression analysis had a higher degree of predictive accuracy of mFIM at discharge than that directly predicted. Copyright © 2017 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Origins and consequences of technology acquirement by independent-living seniors: towards an integrative model.

Science.gov (United States)

Peek, S T M; Luijkx, K G; Vrijhoef, H J M; Nieboer, M E; Aarts, S; van der Voort, C S; Rijnaard, M D; Wouters, E J M

2017-08-22

Living independently can be challenging for seniors. Technologies are expected to help older adults age in place, yet little empirical research is available on how seniors develop a need for technologies, how they acquire these technologies, and how these subsequently affect their lives. Aging is complex, dynamic and personal. But how does this translate to seniors' adoption and acceptance of technology? To better understand origins and consequences of technology acquirement by independent-living seniors, an explorative longitudinal qualitative field study was set up. Home visits were made to 33 community-dwelling seniors living in the Netherlands, on three occasions (2012-2014). Semi-structured interviews were conducted on the timeline of acquirements, and people and factors involved in acquirements. Additionally, participants were interviewed on experiences in using technologies since acquirement. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze interview transcripts, using a realist approach to better understand the contexts, mechanisms and outcomes of technology acquirements. Findings were accumulated in a new conceptual model: The Cycle of Technology Acquirement by Independent-Living Seniors (C-TAILS), which provides an integrative perspective on why and how technologies are acquired, and why these may or may not prove to be appropriate and effective, considering an independent-living senior's needs and circumstances at a given point in time. We found that externally driven and purely desire-driven acquirements led to a higher risk of suboptimal use and low levels of need satisfaction. Technology acquirement by independent-living seniors may be best characterized as a heterogeneous process with many different origins, pathways and consequences. Furthermore, technologies that are acquired in ways that are not congruent with seniors' personal needs and circumstances run a higher risk of proving to be ineffective or inappropriate. Yet, these needs and circumstances are

The Combined Effects of Measurement Error and Omitting Confounders in the Single-Mediator Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritz, Matthew S; Kenny, David A; MacKinnon, David P

2016-01-01

Mediation analysis requires a number of strong assumptions be met in order to make valid causal inferences. Failing to account for violations of these assumptions, such as not modeling measurement error or omitting a common cause of the effects in the model, can bias the parameter estimates of the mediated effect. When the independent variable is perfectly reliable, for example when participants are randomly assigned to levels of treatment, measurement error in the mediator tends to underestimate the mediated effect, while the omission of a confounding variable of the mediator-to-outcome relation tends to overestimate the mediated effect. Violations of these two assumptions often co-occur, however, in which case the mediated effect could be overestimated, underestimated, or even, in very rare circumstances, unbiased. To explore the combined effect of measurement error and omitted confounders in the same model, the effect of each violation on the single-mediator model is first examined individually. Then the combined effect of having measurement error and omitted confounders in the same model is discussed. Throughout, an empirical example is provided to illustrate the effect of violating these assumptions on the mediated effect.

The Combined Effects of Measurement Error and Omitting Confounders in the Single-Mediator Model

Science.gov (United States)

Fritz, Matthew S.; Kenny, David A.; MacKinnon, David P.

2016-01-01

Mediation analysis requires a number of strong assumptions be met in order to make valid causal inferences. Failing to account for violations of these assumptions, such as not modeling measurement error or omitting a common cause of the effects in the model, can bias the parameter estimates of the mediated effect. When the independent variable is perfectly reliable, for example when participants are randomly assigned to levels of treatment, measurement error in the mediator tends to underestimate the mediated effect, while the omission of a confounding variable of the mediator to outcome relation tends to overestimate the mediated effect. Violations of these two assumptions often co-occur, however, in which case the mediated effect could be overestimated, underestimated, or even, in very rare circumstances, unbiased. In order to explore the combined effect of measurement error and omitted confounders in the same model, the impact of each violation on the single-mediator model is first examined individually. Then the combined effect of having measurement error and omitted confounders in the same model is discussed. Throughout, an empirical example is provided to illustrate the effect of violating these assumptions on the mediated effect. PMID:27739903

A grid-independent EMMS/bubbling drag model for bubbling and turbulent fluidization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luo, Hao; Lu, Bona; Zhang, Jingyuan

2017-01-01

The EMMS/bubbling drag model takes the effects of meso-scale structures (i.e. bubbles) into modeling of drag coefficient and thus improves coarse-grid simulation of bubbling and turbulent fluidized beds. However, its dependence on grid size has not been fully investigated. In this article, we adopt...... a two-step scheme to extend the EMMS/bubbling model to the sub-grid level. Thus the heterogeneity index, HD, which accounts for the hydrodynamic disparity between homogeneous and heterogeneous fluidization, can be correlated as a function of both local voidage and slip velocity. Simulations over...... a periodic domain show the new drag model is less sensitive to grid size because of the additional dependence on local slip velocity. When applying the new drag model to simulations of realistic bubbling and turbulent fluidized beds, we find grid-independent results are easier to obtain for high...

Subjective fear, interference by threat, and fear associations independently predict fear-related behavior in children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klein, A.M.; Kleinherenbrink, A.V.; Simons, C.; de Gier, E.; Klein, S.; Allart, E.; Bögels, S.M.; Becker, E.S.; Rinck, M.

2012-01-01

Background and objectives: Several information-processing models highlight the independent roles of controlled and automatic processes in explaining fearful behavior. Therefore, we investigated whether direct measures of controlled processes and indirect measures of automatic processes predict

Published diagnostic models safely excluded colorectal cancer in an independent primary care validation study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elias, Sjoerd G; Kok, Liselotte; Witteman, Ben J M; Goedhard, Jelle G; Romberg-Camps, Mariëlle J L; Muris, Jean W M; de Wit, Niek J; Moons, Karel G M

OBJECTIVE: To validate published diagnostic models for their ability to safely reduce unnecessary endoscopy referrals in primary care patients suspected of significant colorectal disease. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Following a systematic literature search, we independently validated the identified

Uniqueness of Gibbs measure for Potts model with countable set of spin values

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganikhodjaev, N.N.; Rozikov, U.A.

2004-11-01

We consider a nearest-neighbor Potts model with countable spin values 0,1,..., and non zero external field, on a Cayley tree of order k (with k+1 neighbors). We study translation-invariant 'splitting' Gibbs measures. We reduce the problem to the description of the solutions of some infinite system of equations. For any k≥1 and any fixed probability measure ν with ν(i)>0 on the set of all non negative integer numbers Φ={0,1,...} we show that the set of translation-invariant splitting Gibbs measures contains at most one point, independently on parameters of the Potts model with countable set of spin values on Cayley tree. Also we give a full description of the class of measures ν on Φ such that wit respect to each element of this class our infinite system of equations has unique solution {a i =1,2,...}, where a is an element of (0,1). (author)

Cross-cultural validation of the Persian version of the Functional Independence Measure for patients with stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Naghdi, Soofia; Ansari, Noureddin Nakhostin; Raji, Parvin; Shamili, Aryan; Amini, Malek; Hasson, Scott

2016-01-01

To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) into the Persian language and to test the reliability and validity of the Persian FIM (PFIM) in patients with stroke. In this cross-sectional study carried out in an outpatient stroke rehabilitation center, 40 patients with stroke (mean age 60 years) were participated. A standard forward-backward translation method and expert panel validation was followed to develop the PFIM. Two experienced occupational therapists (OTs) assessed the patients independently in all items of the PFIM in a single session for inter-rater reliability. One of the OTs reassessed the patients after 1 week for intra-rater reliability. There were no floor or ceiling effects for the PFIM. Excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was noted for the PFIM total score, motor and cognitive subscales (ICC(agreement)0.88-0.98). According to the Bland-Altman agreement analysis, there was no systematic bias between raters and within raters. The internal consistency of the PFIM was with Cronbach's alpha from 0.70 to 0.96. The principal component analysis with varimax rotation indicated a three-factor structure: (1) self-care and mobility; (2) sphincter control and (3) cognitive that jointly accounted for 74.8% of the total variance. Construct validity was supported by a significant Pearson correlation between the PFIM and the Persian Barthel Index (r = 0.95; p Persian patients with stroke. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) is an outcome measure for disability based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The FIM was cross-culturally adapted and validated into Persian language. The Persian version of the FIM (PFIM) is reliable and valid for assessing functional status of patients with stroke. The PFIM can be used in Persian speaking countries to assess the limitations in activities of daily living of patients with stroke.

A cost-effective measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution system for quantum networks

Science.gov (United States)

Valivarthi, Raju; Zhou, Qiang; John, Caleb; Marsili, Francesco; Verma, Varun B.; Shaw, Matthew D.; Nam, Sae Woo; Oblak, Daniel; Tittel, Wolfgang

2017-12-01

We experimentally realize a measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) system. It is based on cost-effective and commercially available hardware such as distributed feedback lasers and field-programmable gate arrays that enable time-bin qubit preparation and time-tagging, and active feedback systems that allow for compensation of time-varying properties of photons after transmission through deployed fiber. We examine the performance of our system, and conclude that its design does not compromise performance. Our demonstration paves the way for MDI-QKD-based quantum networks in star-type topology that extend over more than 100 km distance.

Revisiting a model-independent dark energy reconstruction method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazkoz, Ruth; Salzano, Vincenzo; Sendra, Irene [Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Fisika Teorikoaren eta Zientziaren Historia Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Bilbao (Spain)

2012-09-15

In this work we offer new insights into the model-independent dark energy reconstruction method developed by Daly and Djorgovski (Astrophys. J. 597:9, 2003; Astrophys. J. 612:652, 2004; Astrophys. J. 677:1, 2008). Our results, using updated SNeIa and GRBs, allow to highlight some of the intrinsic weaknesses of the method. Conclusions on the main dark energy features as drawn from this method are intimately related to the features of the samples themselves, particularly for GRBs, which are poor performers in this context and cannot be used for cosmological purposes, that is, the state of the art does not allow to regard them on the same quality basis as SNeIa. We find there is a considerable sensitivity to some parameters (window width, overlap, selection criteria) affecting the results. Then, we try to establish what the current redshift range is for which one can make solid predictions on dark energy evolution. Finally, we strengthen the former view that this model is modest in the sense it provides only a picture of the global trend and has to be managed very carefully. But, on the other hand, we believe it offers an interesting complement to other approaches, given that it works on minimal assumptions. (orig.)

Measurement of functional independence level and falls-risk in individuals with undiagnosed phenylketonuria.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Mazur, Artur

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to determine the level of functional independence in adult patients with previously undiagnosed or untreated phenylketonuria (PKU). The study was conducted among 400 intellectually impaired adult residents of Social Welfare Homes in South-Eastern Poland born prior to the introduction of neonatal PKU screening programs. PKU was screened by filter paper test using tandem mass spectrometry methods, and confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of PKU organic acids in urine. Degree of functional independence included the assessment of activities of daily living (Barthel Index) and measures of balance and gait (Tinetti scale). Eleven individuals with previously untreated PKU were identified whereby eight presented with moderate disability and three with mild disability. Six had a high risk of falls and five had a moderate risk of falls. This study indicates that there is considerable number of undiagnosed PKU patients within the Polish population who require assessment and management in order to reduce the impact of the neurological and neuropsychiatric problems associated with the condition. Appropriate therapy for those with undiagnosed PKU should, in particular, address the risk of falls.

Measurement of form-factor-independent observables in the decay B0→K*0μ+μ-

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aaij, R.; Adeva, B.; Adinolfi, M.; Adrover, C.; Affolder, A.; Ajaltouni, Z.; Albrecht, J.; Alessio, F.; Alexander, M.; Ali, S.; Alkhazov, G.; Alvarez Cartelle, P.; Alves, A. A.; Amato, S.; Amerio, S.; Amhis, Y.; Anderlini, L.; Anderson, J.; Andreassen, P.R.; Andrews, J.E.; Appleby, R. B.; Aquines Gutierrez, O.; Archilli, F.; Artamonov, A.; Artuso, M.; Aslanides, E.; Auriemma, G.; Baalouch, M.; Bachmann, S.; Back, J. J.; Baesso, C.; Balagura, V.; Baldini, W.; Barlow, R. J.; Barschel, C.; Barsuk, S.; Barter, W.; Bauer, Th.; Bay, A.; Beddow, J.; Bedeschi, F.; Bediaga, I.; Belogurov, S.; Belous, K.; Belyaev, I.; Ben-Haim, E.; Bencivenni, G.; Benson, S.; Benton, J.; Berezhnoy, A.; Bernet, R.; Bettler, M-O.; Van Beuzekom, Martin; Bien, A.; Bifani, S.; Bird, T.D.; Bizzeti, A.; Bjørnstad, P. M.; Blake, T.; Blanc, F.; Blouw, J.; Blusk, S.; Bocci, V.; Bondar, A.; Bondar, N.; Bonivento, W.; Borghi, S.; Borgia, A.; Bowcock, T. J. V.; Bowen, E.; Bozzi, C.; Brambach, T.; Van Den Brand, J.; Bressieux, J.; Brett, D.; Britsch, M.; Britton, T.; Brook, N. H.; Brown, H.; Burducea, I.; Bursche, A.; Busetto, G.; Buytaert, J.; Cadeddu, S.; Callot, O.; Calvi, M.; Calvo Gomez, M.; Camboni, A.; Campana, P.; Campora Perez, D.; Carbone, A.; Carboni, G.; Cardinale, R.; Cardini, A.; Carranza-Mejia, H.; Carson, L.; Carvalho Akiba, K.; Casse, G.; Castillo Garcia, L.; Cattaneo, M.; Cauet, Ch; Cenci, R.; Charles, M.; Charpentier, Ph; Chen, P.; Chiapolini, N.; Chrzaszcz, M.; Ciba, K.; Cid Vidal, X.; Ciezarek, G.; Clarke, P. E. L.; Clemencic, M.; Cliff, H. V.; Closier, J.; Coca-Pelaz, A.; Coco, V.; Cogan, J.; Cogneras, E.; Collins, P.; Comerma-Montells, A.; Contu, A.; Cook, A.; Coombes, M.; Coquereau, S.; Corti, G.; Couturier, B.; Cowan, G. A.; Craik, D. C.; Cunliffe, S.; Currie, C.R.; D'Ambrosio, C.; David, P.; David, P. N Y; Davis, A.; De Bonis, I.; De Bruyn, K.; De Capua, S.; De Cian, M.; de Miranda, J. M.; Paula, L.E.; da-Silva, W.S.; De Simone, P.; Decamp, D.; Deckenhoff, M.; Del Buono, L.; Déléage, N.; Derkach, D.; Deschamps, O.; Dettori, F.; Di Canto, A.; Dijkstra, H.; Dogaru, M.; Donleavy, S.; Dordei, F.; Dosil Suárez, A.; Dossett, D.; Dovbnya, A.; Dupertuis, F.; Durante, P.; Dzhelyadin, R.; Dziurda, A.; Dzyuba, A.; Easo, S.; Egede, U.; Egorychev, V.; Eidelman, S.; Van Eijk, D.; Eisenhardt, S.; Eitschberger, U.; Ekelhof, R.; Eklund, L.; El Rifai, I.; Elsasser, Ch.; Falabella, A.; Färber, C.; Fardell, G.; Farinelli, C.; Farry, S.; Ferguson, D.; Fernandez Albor, V.; Ferreira Rodrigues, F.; Ferro-Luzzi, M.; Filippov, S.; Fiore, M.; Fitzpatrick, C.; Fontana, Mark; Fontanelli, F.; Forty, R.; De Aguiar Francisco, O.; Frank, M.; Frei, C.; Frosini, M.; Furcas, S.; Furfaro, E.; Gallas Torreira, A.; Galli, D.; Gandelman, M.; Gandini, P.; Gao, Y.; Garofoli, J.; Garosi, P.; Garra Tico, J.; Garrido, L.; Carvalho-Gaspar, M.; Gauld, Rhorry; Gersabeck, E.; Gersabeck, M.; Gershon, T. J.; Ghez, Ph; Gibson, V.; Giubega, L.; Gligorov, V. V.; Göbel, C.; Golubkov, D.; Golutvin, A.; Gomes, A.Q.; Gorbounov, P.; Head-Gordon, Teresa; Gotti, C.; Grabalosa Gándara, M.; Graciani Diaz, R.; Granado Cardoso, L. A.; Graugés, E.; Graziani, G.; Grecu, A.; Greening, E.; Gregson, S.; Griffith, P.; Grünberg, O.; Gui, B.; Gushchin, E.; Guz, Yu; Gys, T.; Hadjivasiliou, C.; Haefeli, G.; Haen, C.; Haines, S. C.; Hall, S.; Hamilton, B.; Hampson, T.; Hansmann-Menzemer, S.; Harnew, N.; Harnew, S. T.; Harrison, J.; Hartmann, T.; He, J.; Head, T.; Heijne, V.; Hennessy, K.; Henrard, P.; Hernando Morata, J. A.; van Herwijnen, E.; Hess, H.M.; Hicheur, A.; Hicks, G.E.; Hill, D.; Hoballah, M.; Hombach, C.; Hopchev, P.; Hulsbergen, W.; Hunt, P.; Huse, J.T.; Hussain, N.; Hutchcroft, D. E.; Hynds, D.; Iakovenko, V.; Idzik, M.; Ilten, P.; Jacobsson, R.; Jaeger, A.; Jans, E.; Jaton, P.; Jawahery, A.; Jing, F.; John, M.; Johnson, D.; Jones, C. R.; Joram, C.; Jost, B.; Kaballo, M.; Kandybei, S.; Kanso, W.; Karacson, M.; Karbach, T. M.; Kenyon, I. R.; Ketel, T.; Keune, A.; Khanji, B.; Kochebina, O.; Komarov, I.; Koopman, R. F.; Koppenburg, P.; Korolev, M.; Kozlinskiy, A.; Kravchuk, L.; Kreplin, K.; Kreps, M.; Krocker, G.; Krokovny, P.; Kruse, F.; Kucharczyk, M.; Kudryavtsev, V.; Kurek, K.; Kvaratskheliya, T.; La Thi, V. N.; Lacarrere, D.; Lafferty, G. D.; Lai, A.; Lambert, D.M.; Lambert, R. W.; Lanciotti, E.; Lanfranchi, G.; Langenbruch, C.; Latham, T. E.; Lazzeroni, C.; Le Gac, R.; Van Leerdam, J.; Lees, J. P.; Lefèvre, R.; Leflat, A.; Lefrançois, J.; Di Leo, S.; Leroy, O.; Lesiak, T.; Leverington, B.; Li, Y.; Li Gioi, L.; Liles, M.; Lindner, R.; Linn, S.C.; Liu, B.; Liu, G.; Lohn, S.; Longstaff, I.; Lopes, J. H.; Lopez-March, N.; Lu, H.; Lucchesi, D.; Luisier, J.; Luo, H.; Machefert, F.; Machikhiliyan, I. V.; Maciuc, F.; Maev, O.; Malde, S.; Manca, G.; Mancinelli, G.; Maratas, J.; Marconi, U.; Marino, P.; Märki, R.; Marks, J.; Martellotti, G.; Martens, A.; Martín Sánchez, A.; Martinelli-Boneschi, F.; Martinez-Santos, D.; Martins Tostes, D.; Martynov, A.; Massafferri, A.; Matev, R.; Mathe, Z.; Matteuzzi, C.; Maurice, E.; Mazurov, A.; McCarthy, J.; Mcnab, A.; McNulty, R.; McSkelly, B.; Meadows, B. T.; Meier, F.; Meissner, M.; Merk, M.; Milanes, D. A.; Minard, M. N.; Molina Rodriguez, J.; Monteil, S.; Moran-Zenteno, D.; Morawski, P.; Mordà, A.; Morello, M. J.; Mountain, R.; Mous, I.; Muheim, F.; Müller, Karl; Muresan, R.; Muryn, B.; Muster, B.; Naik, P.; Nakada, T.; Nandakumar, R.; Nasteva, I.; Needham, M.; Neubert, S.; Neufeld, N.; Nguyen, A. D.; Nguyen, T. D.; Nguyen-Mau, C.; Nicol, M.; Niess, V.; Niet, R.; Nikitin, N.; Nikodem, T.; Nomerotski, A.; Novoselov, A.; Oblakowska-Mucha, A.; Obraztsov, V.; Oggero, S.; Ogilvy, S.; Okhrimenko, O.; Oldeman, R.; Orlandea, M.; Otalora Goicochea, J. M.; Owen, R.P.; Oyanguren, A.; Pal, B. K.; Palano, A.; Palczewski, T.; Palutan, M.; Panman, J.; Papanestis, A.; Pappagallo, M.; Parkes, C.; Parkinson, C. J.; Passaleva, G.; Patel, G. D.; Patel, M.; Patrick, G. N.; Patrignani, C.; Pavel-Nicorescu, C.; Pazos Alvarez, A.; Pellegrino, A.; Penso, G.; Pepe Altarelli, M.; Perazzini, S.; Perez Trigo, E.; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, A.; Perret, P.; Perrin-Terrin, M.; Pescatore, L.; Pesen, E.; Petridis, K.; Petrolini, A.; Phan, A.; Picatoste Olloqui, E.; Pietrzyk, B.; Pilař, T.; Pinci, D.; Playfer, S.; Plo Casasus, M.; Polci, F.; Polok, G.; Poluektov, A.; Polycarpo, E.; Popov, A.; Popov, D.; Popovici, B.; Potterat, C.; Powell, A.; Prisciandaro, J.; Pritchard, C.A.; Prouve, C.; Pugatch, V.; Puig Navarro, A.; Punzi, G.; Qian, Y.W.; Rademacker, J. H.; Rakotomiaramanana, B.; Rangel, M. S.; Raniuk, I.; Rauschmayr, N.; Raven, G.; Redford, S.; Reid, M.; dos Reis, A. C.; Ricciardi, S.; Richards, Al.; Rinnert, K.; Rives Molina, V.; Roa Romero, D. A.; Robbe, P.; Roberts, D. A.; Rodrigues, L.E.T.; Rodriguez Perez, P.; Roiser, S.; Romanovsky, V.; Romero Vidal, A.; Rouvinet, J.; Ruf, T.; Ruffini, F.; Ruiz, van Hapere; Ruiz Valls, P.; Sabatino, G.; Saborido Silva, J. J.; Sagidova, N.; Sail, P.; Saitta, B.; Salustino Guimaraes, V.; Sanmartin Sedes, B.; Sannino, M.; Santacesaria, R.; Santamarina Rios, C.; Santovetti, E.; Sapunov, M.; Sarti, A.; Satriano, C.; Satta, A.; Savrie, M.; Savrina, D.; Schaack, P.; Schiller, M.; Schindler, R. H.; Schlupp, M.; Schmelling, M.; Schmidt, B.; Schneider, O.; Schopper, A.; Schune, M. H.; Schwemmer, R.; Sciascia, B.; Sciubba, A.; Seco, M.; Semennikov, A.; Senderowska, K.; Sepp, I.; Serra, N.; Serrano, J.; Seyfert, P.; Shapkin, M.; Shapoval, I.; Shatalov, P.; Shcheglov, Y.; Shears, T.; Shekhtman, L.; Shevchenko, O.; Shevchenko, V.; Shires, A.; Silva Coutinho, R.; Sirendi, M.; Skwarnicki, T.; Smith, N. A.; Smith, E.; Smith, J; Smith, M.; Sokoloff, M. D.; Soler, F. J. P.; Soomro, F.; de Souza, D.K.; Souza De Paula, B.; Spaan, B.; Sparkes, A.; Spradlin, P.; Stagni, F.; Stahl, S.; Steinkamp, O.; Stevenson-Moore, P.; Stoica, S.; Stone, S.; Storaci, B.; Straticiuc, M.; Straumann, U.; Subbiah, V. K.; Sun, L.; Swientek, S.; Syropoulos, V.; Szczekowski, M.; Szczypka, P.; Szumlak, T.; T'Jampens, S.; Teklishyn, M.; Teodorescu, E.; Teubert, F.; Thomas, C.; Thomas, E.; Van Tilburg, J.; Tisserand, V.; Tobin, M. N.; Tolk, S.; Tonelli, D.; Topp-Joergensen, S.; Torr, N.; Tournefier, E.; Tourneur, S.; Tran, N.T.M.T.; Tresch, M.; Tsaregorodtsev, A.; Tsopelas, P.; Tuning, N.; Ubeda Garcia, M.; Ukleja, A.; Urner, D.; Ustyuzhanin, A.; Uwer, U.; Vagnoni, V.; Valenti, G.; Vallier, A.; Van Dijk, M.; Vazquez Gomez, R.; Vazquez Regueiro, P.; Vázquez Sierra, C.; Vecchi, S.; Velthuis, M.J.; Veltri, M.; Veneziano, G.; Vesterinen, M.; Viaud, B.; Vieira, D.; Vilasis-Cardona, X.; Vollhardt, A.; Volyanskyy, D.; Voong, D.; Vorobyev, A.; Vorobyev, V.; Voß, C.; Voss, H.; Waldi, R.; Wallace, C.; Wallace, R.; Wandernoth, S.; Wang, J.; Ward, D. R.; Watson, N. K.; Webber, A. D.; Websdale, D.; Whitehead, M.; Wicht, J.; Wiechczynski, J.; Wiedner, D.; Wiggers, L.; Wilkinson, G.; Williams, M.P.; Williams, M.; Wilson, James F; Wimberley, J.; Wishahi, J.; Wislicki, W.; Witek, M.; Wotton, S. A.; Wright, S.J.; Wu, S.; Wyllie, K.; Xie, Y.; Xing, Z.; Yang, Z.; Young, D. R.; Yuan, X.; Yushchenko, O.; Zangoli, M.; Zavertyaev, M.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, W. C.; Zhang, Y.; Zhelezov, A.; Zhokhov, A.; Zhong, L.; Zvyagin, A.

2013-01-01

We present a measurement of form-factor-independent angular observables in the decay B0→K*(892) 0μ+μ-. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb-1, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. Four observables

Development of a model-independent evaluation of photon-deuteron reactions for the SAPHIR detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolf, A.

1993-01-01

The SAPHIR detector measures photon induced reactions with many particles in the final state. Thus a detailed investigation of those processes at photon energies between 0.4 and 3.3 GeV is possible. The interpretation of the distribution of the sample of events, which SAPHIR is able to reconstruct, has to be done after a correction of influences induced by the detector acceptance. In this work a model independent method of correcting and analysing the data is discussed. The implementation of the basic tools of this analysis is described and first tests with simulated and real events are performed. SAPHIR uses a time-of-flight system for the identification of particles. This work describes the structure of a program library, which supports an easy way of decoding the digitizations of this system (including calibration of the hardware) and obtaining the flight time for a particle in a event. The necessary step for calibrating the system are outlined, too. (orig.)

Electrode size and boundary condition independent measurement of the effective piezoelectric coefficient of thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Stewart

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The determination of the piezoelectric coefficient of thin films using interferometry is hindered by bending contributions. Using finite element analysis (FEA simulations, we show that the Lefki and Dormans approximations using either single or double-beam measurements cannot be used with finite top electrode sizes. We introduce a novel method for characterising piezoelectric thin films which uses a differential measurement over the discontinuity at the electrode edge as an internal reference, thereby eliminating bending contributions. This step height is shown to be electrode size and boundary condition independent. An analytical expression is derived which gives good agreement with FEA predictions of the step height.

Nonlinear Growth Models as Measurement Models: A Second-Order Growth Curve Model for Measuring Potential.

Science.gov (United States)

McNeish, Daniel; Dumas, Denis

2017-01-01

Recent methodological work has highlighted the promise of nonlinear growth models for addressing substantive questions in the behavioral sciences. In this article, we outline a second-order nonlinear growth model in order to measure a critical notion in development and education: potential. Here, potential is conceptualized as having three components-ability, capacity, and availability-where ability is the amount of skill a student is estimated to have at a given timepoint, capacity is the maximum amount of ability a student is predicted to be able to develop asymptotically, and availability is the difference between capacity and ability at any particular timepoint. We argue that single timepoint measures are typically insufficient for discerning information about potential, and we therefore describe a general framework that incorporates a growth model into the measurement model to capture these three components. Then, we provide an illustrative example using the public-use Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten data set using a Michaelis-Menten growth function (reparameterized from its common application in biochemistry) to demonstrate our proposed model as applied to measuring potential within an educational context. The advantage of this approach compared to currently utilized methods is discussed as are future directions and limitations.

Strongest model-independent bound on the lifetime of Dark Matter

CERN Document Server

Audren, Benjamin; Mangano, Gianpiero; Serpico, Pasquale Dario; Tram, Thomas

2014-01-01

Dark Matter is essential for structure formation in the late Universe so it must be stable on cosmological time scales. But how stable exactly? Only assuming decays into relativistic particles, we report an otherwise model independent bound on the lifetime of Dark Matter using current cosmological data. Since these decays affect only the low-$\\ell$ multipoles of the CMB, the Dark Matter lifetime is expected to correlate with the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ as well as curvature $\\Omega_k$. We consider two models, including $r$ and $r+\\Omega_k$ respectively, versus data from Planck, WMAP, WiggleZ and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, with or without the BICEP2 data (if interpreted in terms of primordial gravitational waves). This results in a lower bound on the lifetime of CDM given by 160Gyr (without BICEP2) or 200Gyr (with BICEP2) at 95% confidence level.

Some Convex Functions Based Measures of Independence and Their Application to Strange Attractor Reconstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuyuki Aihara

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The classical information-theoretic measures such as the entropy and the mutual information (MI are widely applicable to many areas in science and engineering. Csiszar generalized the entropy and the MI by using the convex functions. Recently, we proposed the grid occupancy (GO and the quasientropy (QE as measures of independence. The QE explicitly includes a convex function in its definition, while the expectation of GO is a subclass of QE. In this paper, we study the effect of different convex functions on GO, QE, and Csiszar’s generalized mutual information (GMI. A quality factor (QF is proposed to quantify the sharpness of their minima. Using the QF, it is shown that these measures can have sharper minima than the classical MI. Besides, a recursive algorithm for computing GMI, which is a generalization of Fraser and Swinney’s algorithm for computing MI, is proposed. Moreover, we apply GO, QE, and GMI to chaotic time series analysis. It is shown that these measures are good criteria for determining the optimum delay in strange attractor reconstruction.

Temperature independent refractive index measurement using a fiber Bragg grating on abrupt tapered tip

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, André D.; Silveira, Beatriz; Warren-Smith, Stephen C.; Becker, Martin; Rothhardt, Manfred; Frazão, Orlando

2018-05-01

A fiber Bragg grating was inscribed in an abrupt fiber taper using a femtosecond laser and phase-mask interferometer. The abrupt taper transition allows to excite a broad range of guided modes with different effective refractive indices that are reflected at different wavelengths according to Bragg's law. The multimode-Bragg reflection expands over 30 nm in the telecom-C-band. This corresponds to a mode-field overlap of up to 30% outside of the fiber, making the device suitable for evanescent field sensing. Refractive index and temperature measurements are performed for different reflection peaks. Temperature independent refractive index measurements are achieved by considering the difference between the wavelength shifts of two measured reflection peaks. A minimum refractive index sensitivity of 16 ± 1 nm/RIU was obtained in a low refractive index regime (1.3475-1.3720) with low influence of temperature (-0.32 ± 0.06 pm/°C). The cross sensitivity for this structure is 2.0 × 10-5 RIU/°C. The potential for simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature is also studied.

Number of independent parameters in the potentiometric titration of humic substances.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenoir, Thomas; Manceau, Alain

2010-03-16

With the advent of high-precision automatic titrators operating in pH stat mode, measuring the mass balance of protons in solid-solution mixtures against the pH of natural and synthetic polyelectrolytes is now routine. However, titration curves of complex molecules typically lack obvious inflection points, which complicates their analysis despite the high-precision measurements. The calculation of site densities and median proton affinity constants (pK) from such data can lead to considerable covariance between fit parameters. Knowing the number of independent parameters that can be freely varied during the least-squares minimization of a model fit to titration data is necessary to improve the model's applicability. This number was calculated for natural organic matter by applying principal component analysis (PCA) to a reference data set of 47 independent titration curves from fulvic and humic acids measured at I = 0.1 M. The complete data set was reconstructed statistically from pH 3.5 to 9.8 with only six parameters, compared to seven or eight generally adjusted with common semi-empirical speciation models for organic matter, and explains correlations that occur with the higher number of parameters. Existing proton-binding models are not necessarily overparametrized, but instead titration data lack the sensitivity needed to quantify the full set of binding properties of humic materials. Model-independent conditional pK values can be obtained directly from the derivative of titration data, and this approach is the most conservative. The apparent proton-binding constants of the 23 fulvic acids (FA) and 24 humic acids (HA) derived from a high-quality polynomial parametrization of the data set are pK(H,COOH)(FA) = 4.18 +/- 0.21, pK(H,Ph-OH)(FA) = 9.29 +/- 0.33, pK(H,COOH)(HA) = 4.49 +/- 0.18, and pK(H,Ph-OH)(HA) = 9.29 +/- 0.38. Their values at other ionic strengths are more reliably calculated with the empirical Davies equation than any existing model fit.

Invariant Set Theory: Violating Measurement Independence without Fine Tuning, Conspiracy, Constraints on Free Will or Retrocausality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim Palmer

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Invariant Set (IS theory is a locally causal ontic theory of physics based on the Cosmological Invariant Set postulate that the universe U can be considered a deterministic dynamical system evolving precisely on a (suitably constructed fractal dynamically invariant set in U's state space. IS theory violates the Bell inequalities by violating Measurement Independence. Despite this, IS theory is not fine tuned, is not conspiratorial, does not constrain experimenter free will and does not invoke retrocausality. The reasons behind these claims are discussed in this paper. These arise from properties not found in conventional ontic models: the invariant set has zero measure in its Euclidean embedding space, has Cantor Set structure homeomorphic to the p-adic integers (p>>0 and is non-computable. In particular, it is shown that the p-adic metric encapulates the physics of the Cosmological Invariant Set postulate, and provides the technical means to demonstrate no fine tuning or conspiracy. Quantum theory can be viewed as the singular limit of IS theory when when p is set equal to infinity. Since it is based around a top-down constraint from cosmology, IS theory suggests that gravitational and quantum physics will be unified by a gravitational theory of the quantum, rather than a quantum theory of gravity. Some implications arising from such a perspective are discussed.

Cell-associated HIV DNA measured early during infection has prognostic value independent of serum HIV RNA measured concomitantly

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katzenstein, Terese L; Oliveri, Roberto S; Benfield, Thomas

2002-01-01

Using data from the Danish AIDS Cohort of HIV-infected homosexual men established in the 1980s, the prognostic value of early HIV DNA loads was evaluated. In addition to DNA measurements, concomitant serum HIV RNA levels, CD4 cell counts and CCR5 genotypes were determined. The patients were divided...... into 3 groups, according to whether their cell-associated HIV DNA load was or = 2,500 DNA copies/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Clinical progression rates differed significantly between the groups (p value independent...... of serum HIV RNA (p value. Patients heterozygous for the CCR5 delta 32 allele had significantly lower HIV DNA loads than those homozygous for the normal allele (p

Development of the KINS Safety Culture Maturity Model for Self and Independent Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheen, C.; Choi, Y.S.

2016-01-01

Safety culture of an organization is cultivated and affected not only by societal and regulatory environment of the organization, but by its philosophies, policies, events and activities experienced in the process of accomplishing its mission. The safety culture would be continuously changed by the interactions between its members along with time as an organic entity. In order to perform a systematic self- or independent assessment of safety culture, a safety culture assessment model (SCAM) properly reflecting cultural characteristics should be necessary. In addition, a SCAM should be helpful not only to establish correct directions, goals, and strategies for safety culture development, but should anticipating obstacles against safety culture development in the implementation process derived from the assessment. In practical terms, a SCAM should be useful for deriving effective guidelines and implementing of corrective action programs for the evaluated organization. Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) performed a research project for six years to develop a SCAM satisfying the above prerequisites for self- and independent assessment. The KINS SCAM was developed based on the five stage safety culture maturity model proposed by Professor Patrick Hudson and was modified into four stages to reflect existing safety culture assessment experiences at Korean nuclear power plants. In order to define the change mechanism of safety culture for development and reversion, the change model proposed by Prochaska and DiClemente was introduced into KINS SCAM and developed into the Spiral Change Model.

Model independent bounds on magnetic moments of Majorana neutrinos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, Nicole F.; Gorchtein, Mikhail; Ramsey-Musolf, Michael J.; Vogel, Petr; Wang, Peng

2006-01-01

We analyze the implications of neutrino masses for the magnitude of neutrino magnetic moments. By considering electroweak radiative corrections to the neutrino mass, we derive model-independent naturalness upper bounds on neutrino magnetic moments, μ ν , generated by physics above the electroweak scale. For Dirac neutrinos, the bound is several orders of magnitude more stringent than present experimental limits. However, for Majorana neutrinos the magnetic moment contribution to the mass is Yukawa suppressed. The bounds we derive for magnetic moments of Majorana neutrinos are weaker than present experimental limits if μ ν is generated by new physics at ∼1 TeV, and surpass current experimental sensitivity only for new physics scales >10-100 TeV. The discovery of a neutrino magnetic moment near present limits would thus signify that neutrinos are Majorana particles

Mutual information, perceptual independence, and holistic face perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitousi, Daniel

2013-07-01

The concept of perceptual independence is ubiquitous in psychology. It addresses the question of whether two (or more) dimensions are perceived independently. Several authors have proposed perceptual independence (or its lack thereof) as a viable measure of holistic face perception (Loftus, Oberg, & Dillon, Psychological Review 111:835-863, 2004; Wenger & Ingvalson, Learning, Memory, and Cognition 28:872-892, 2002). According to this notion, the processing of facial features occurs in an interactive manner. Here, I examine this idea from the perspective of two theories of perceptual independence: the multivariate uncertainty analysis (MUA; Garner & Morton, Definitions, models, and experimental paradigms. Psychological Bulletin 72:233-259, 1969), and the general recognition theory (GRT; Ashby & Townsend, Psychological Review 93:154-179, 1986). The goals of the study were to (1) introduce the MUA, (2) examine various possible relations between MUA and GRT using numerical simulations, and (3) apply the MUA to two consensual markers of holistic face perception(-)recognition of facial features (Farah, Wilson, Drain, & Tanaka, Psychological Review 105:482-498, 1998) and the composite face effect (Young, Hellawell, & Hay, Perception 16:747-759, 1987). The results suggest that facial holism is generated by violations of several types of perceptual independence. They highlight the important theoretical role played by converging operations in the study of holistic face perception.

Influence maximization in social networks under an independent cascade-based model

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qiyao; Jin, Yuehui; Lin, Zhen; Cheng, Shiduan; Yang, Tan

2016-02-01

The rapid growth of online social networks is important for viral marketing. Influence maximization refers to the process of finding influential users who make the most of information or product adoption. An independent cascade-based model for influence maximization, called IMIC-OC, was proposed to calculate positive influence. We assumed that influential users spread positive opinions. At the beginning, users held positive or negative opinions as their initial opinions. When more users became involved in the discussions, users balanced their own opinions and those of their neighbors. The number of users who did not change positive opinions was used to determine positive influence. Corresponding influential users who had maximum positive influence were then obtained. Experiments were conducted on three real networks, namely, Facebook, HEP-PH and Epinions, to calculate maximum positive influence based on the IMIC-OC model and two other baseline methods. The proposed model resulted in larger positive influence, thus indicating better performance compared with the baseline methods.

Inflexibility and independence: Phase transitions in the majority-rule model.

Science.gov (United States)

Crokidakis, Nuno; de Oliveira, Paulo Murilo Castro

2015-12-01

In this work we study opinion formation in a population participating in a public debate with two distinct choices. We consider three distinct mechanisms of social interactions and individuals' behavior: conformity, nonconformity, and inflexibility. The conformity is ruled by the majority-rule dynamics, whereas the nonconformity is introduced in the population as an independent behavior, implying the failure of attempted group influence. Finally, the inflexible agents are introduced in the population with a given density. These individuals present a singular behavior, in a way that their stubbornness makes them reluctant to change their opinions. We consider these effects separately and all together, with the aim to analyze the critical behavior of the system. We perform numerical simulations in some lattice structures and for distinct population sizes. Our results suggest that the different formulations of the model undergo order-disorder phase transitions in the same universality class as the Ising model. Some of our results are complemented by analytical calculations.

Leptonic decay of light vector mesons in an independent quark model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barik, N.; Dash, P.C.; Panda, A.R.

1993-01-01

Leptonic decay widths of light vector mesons are calculated in a framework based on the independent quark model with a scalar-vector harmonic potential. Assuming a strong correlation to exist between the quark-antiquark momenta inside the meson, so as to make their total momentum identically zero in the center-of-mass frame of the meson, we extract the quark and antiquark momentum distribution amplitudes from the bound quark eigenmode. Using the model parameters determined from earlier studies, we arrive at the leptonic decay widths of (ρ,ω,φ) as (6.26 keV, 0.67 keV, 1.58 keV) which are in very good agreement with the respective experimental data (6.77±0.32 keV, 0.6±0.02 keV, 1.37±0.05 keV)

Quantifying the temperature-independent effect of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on global-mean precipitation in a multi-model ensemble

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferraro, Angus J; Griffiths, Hannah G

2016-01-01

The reduction in global-mean precipitation when stratospheric aerosol geoengineering is used to counterbalance global warming from increasing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations has been mainly attributed to the temperature-independent effect of CO 2 on atmospheric radiative cooling. We demonstrate here that stratospheric sulphate aerosol itself also acts to reduce global-mean precipitation independent of its effects on temperature. The temperature-independent effect of stratospheric aerosol geoenginering on global-mean precipitation is calculated by removing temperature-dependent effects from climate model simulations of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). When sulphate aerosol is injected into the stratosphere at a rate of 5 Tg SO 2 per year the aerosol reduces global-mean precipitation by approximately 0.2 %, though multiple ensemble members are required to separate this effect from internal variability. For comparison, the precipitation reduction from the temperature-independent effect of increasing CO 2 concentrations under the RCP4.5 scenario of the future is approximately 0.5 %. The temperature-independent effect of stratospheric sulphate aerosol arises from the aerosol’s effect on tropospheric radiative cooling. Radiative transfer calculations show this is mainly due to increasing downward emission of infrared radiation by the aerosol, but there is also a contribution from the stratospheric warming the aerosol causes. Our results suggest climate model simulations of solar dimming can capture the main features of the global-mean precipitation response to stratospheric aerosol geoengineering. (letter)

An Independent Psychometric Evaluation of the PROMS Measure of Music Perception Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunert, Richard; Willems, Roel M; Hagoort, Peter

2016-01-01

The Profile of Music Perception Skills (PROMS) is a recently developed measure of perceptual music skills which has been shown to have promising psychometric properties. In this paper we extend the evaluation of its brief version to three kinds of validity using an individual difference approach. The brief PROMS displays good discriminant validity with working memory, given that it does not correlate with backward digit span (r = .04). Moreover, it shows promising criterion validity (association with musical training (r = .45), musicianship status (r = .48), and self-rated musical talent (r = .51)). Finally, its convergent validity, i.e. relation to an unrelated measure of music perception skills, was assessed by correlating the brief PROMS to harmonic closure judgment accuracy. Two independent samples point to good convergent validity of the brief PROMS (r = .36; r = .40). The same association is still significant in one of the samples when including self-reported music skill in a partial correlation (rpartial = .30; rpartial = .17). Overall, the results show that the brief version of the PROMS displays a very good pattern of construct validity. Especially its tuning subtest stands out as a valuable part for music skill evaluations in Western samples. We conclude by briefly discussing the choice faced by music cognition researchers between different musical aptitude measures of which the brief PROMS is a well evaluated example.

Measurement and Prediction of Time-independent and Time-dependent Rheological Behavior of Waxy Crude Oil

OpenAIRE

Yavar Karimi; Ali Reza Solaimany Nazar

2017-01-01

Wax deposition phenomenon changes the rheological behavior of waxy crude oil completely. In the current work, the rheological time-dependent and time-independent behaviors of waxy crude oil samples are studied and flow curve and compliance function are measured for the oil samples with various wax contents at different temperatures. A decrease in temperature and an increase in wax content lead to an increase in the viscosity and yield stress but a significant drop in compliance function. A mo...

Model independent measurement of the leptonic kaon decay $K^{\\pm}\\to \\mu^{\\pm}\

CERN Document Server

Marchevski, Radoslav; Baldini, W; Balev, S; Batley, J R; Behler, M; Bifani, S; Biino, C; Bizzeti, A; Bloch-Devaux, B; Bocquet, G; Cabibbo, N; Calvetti, M; Cartiglia, N; Ceccucci, A; Cenci, P; Cerri, C; Cheshkov, C; ChèZe, J B; Clemencic, M; Collazuol, G; Costantini, F; Cotta Ramusino, A; Coward, D; Cundy, D; Dabrowski, A; Dalpiaz, P; Damiani, C; De Beer, M; Derré, J; Dibon, H; Dilella, L; Doble, N; Eppard, K; Falaleev, V; Fantechi, R; Fidecaro, M; Fiorini, L; Fiorini, M; Fonseca Martin, T; Frabetti, P L; Gatignon, L; Gersabeck, E; Gianoli, A; Giudici, S; Gonidec, A; Goudzovski, E; Goy Lopez, S; Holder, M; Hristov, P; Iacopini, E; Imbergamo, E; Jeitler, M; Kalmus, G; Kekelidze, V; Kleinknecht, K; Kozhuharov, V; Kubischta, W; Lamanna, G; Lazzeroni, C; Lenti, M; Litov, L; Madigozhin, D; Maier, A; Mannelli, I; Marchetto, F; Marel, G; Markytan, M; Marouelli, P; Martini, M; Masetti, L; Mazzucato, E; Michetti, A; Mikulec, I; Molokanova, N; Monnier, E; Moosbrugger, U; Morales Morales, C; Munday, D J; Nappi, A; Neuhofer, G; Norton, A; Patel, M; Pepe, M; Peters, A; Petrucci, F; Petrucci, M C; Peyaud, B; Piccini, M; Pierazzini, G; Polenkevich, I; Potrebenikov, Yu; Raggi, M; Renk, B; Rubin, P; Ruggiero, G; Savrié, M; Scarpa, M; Shieh, M; Slater, M W; Sozzi, M; Stoynev, S; Swallow, E; Szleper, M; Valdata-Nappi, M; Vallage, B; Velasco, M; Veltri, M; Venditti, S; Wache, M; Wahl, H; Walker, A; Wanke, R; Widhalm, L; Winhart, A; Winston, R; Wood, M D; Wotton, S A; Zinchenko, A; Ziolkowski , M

2016-01-01

A measurement of the branching ratio of the rare leptonic kaon decay K ± → μ ± ν μ e + e − is pre- sented using data collected by the NA48/2 experiment in 2003 and 2004. The measurement is performed in the region M ee > 140 MeV/c 2 . In this particular region low energy QCD contri- butions become important and can be calculated in the framework of Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT). From a total number of 1 . 56 × 10 11 recorded kaon decays, the branching ratio is mea- sured to be B ( K ± → μ ± ν μ e + e − | M ee > 140 MeV / c 2 ) = ( 7 . 8 ± 0 . 2 ) × 10 − 8

SU-F-T-494: A Multi-Institutional Study of Independent Dose Verification Using Golden Beam Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Itano, M; Yamazaki, T [Inagi Municipal Hospital, Inagi, Tokyo (Japan); Tachibana, R; Uchida, Y [National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba (Japan); Yamashita, M [Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, Kobe, Hyogo (Japan); Shimizu, H [Kitasato University Medical Center, Kitamoto, Saitama (Japan); Sugawara, Y; Kotabe, K [National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Shinjuku, Tokyo (Japan); Kamima, T [Cancer Institute Hospital Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Koto, Tokyo (Japan); Takahashi, R [Cancer Institute Hospital of Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Koto, Tokyo (Japan); Ishibashi, S [Sasebo City General Hospital, Sasebo, Nagasaki (Japan); Tachibana, H [National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba (Japan)

2016-06-15

Purpose: In general, beam data of individual linac is measured for independent dose verification software program and the verification is performed as a secondary check. In this study, independent dose verification using golden beam data was compared to that using individual linac’s beam data. Methods: Six institutions were participated and three different beam data were prepared. The one was individual measured data (Original Beam Data, OBD) .The others were generated by all measurements from same linac model (Model-GBD) and all linac models (All-GBD). The three different beam data were registered to the independent verification software program for each institute. Subsequently, patient’s plans in eight sites (brain, head and neck, lung, esophagus, breast, abdomen, pelvis and bone) were analyzed using the verification program to compare doses calculated using the three different beam data. Results: 1116 plans were collected from six institutes. Compared to using the OBD, the results shows the variation using the Model-GBD based calculation and the All-GBD was 0.0 ± 0.3% and 0.0 ± 0.6%, respectively. The maximum variations were 1.2% and 2.3%, respectively. The plans with the variation over 1% shows the reference points were located away from the central axis with/without physical wedge. Conclusion: The confidence limit (2SD) using the Model-GBD and the All-GBD was within 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively. Thus, the use of golden beam data may be feasible for independent verification. In addition to it, the verification using golden beam data provide quality assurance of planning from the view of audit. This research is partially supported by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development(AMED)

SU-F-T-494: A Multi-Institutional Study of Independent Dose Verification Using Golden Beam Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itano, M; Yamazaki, T; Tachibana, R; Uchida, Y; Yamashita, M; Shimizu, H; Sugawara, Y; Kotabe, K; Kamima, T; Takahashi, R; Ishibashi, S; Tachibana, H

2016-01-01

Purpose: In general, beam data of individual linac is measured for independent dose verification software program and the verification is performed as a secondary check. In this study, independent dose verification using golden beam data was compared to that using individual linac’s beam data. Methods: Six institutions were participated and three different beam data were prepared. The one was individual measured data (Original Beam Data, OBD) .The others were generated by all measurements from same linac model (Model-GBD) and all linac models (All-GBD). The three different beam data were registered to the independent verification software program for each institute. Subsequently, patient’s plans in eight sites (brain, head and neck, lung, esophagus, breast, abdomen, pelvis and bone) were analyzed using the verification program to compare doses calculated using the three different beam data. Results: 1116 plans were collected from six institutes. Compared to using the OBD, the results shows the variation using the Model-GBD based calculation and the All-GBD was 0.0 ± 0.3% and 0.0 ± 0.6%, respectively. The maximum variations were 1.2% and 2.3%, respectively. The plans with the variation over 1% shows the reference points were located away from the central axis with/without physical wedge. Conclusion: The confidence limit (2SD) using the Model-GBD and the All-GBD was within 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively. Thus, the use of golden beam data may be feasible for independent verification. In addition to it, the verification using golden beam data provide quality assurance of planning from the view of audit. This research is partially supported by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development(AMED)

A model-independent approach to the search for the sun neutrino oscillations from SNO data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beshtoev, Kh.M.

1996-01-01

A model-independent approach to analyse the existence of the Sun neutrino oscillations from SNO data is proposed. The used approximations for the calculations are offered as well as a scheme to determine the existence of the neutrino oscillations

Model-independent measurement of the CKM angle $\\gamma$ using $B^0 \\to D K^{\\ast 0}$ decays with $D \\to K_{S}^{0} \\pi^{+} \\pi^{-}$ and $K_{S}^{0} K^{+} K^{-}$

CERN Document Server

Aaij, Roel; Adeva, Bernardo; Adinolfi, Marco; Ajaltouni, Ziad; Akar, Simon; Albrecht, Johannes; Alessio, Federico; Alexander, Michael; Ali, Suvayu; Alkhazov, Georgy; Alvarez Cartelle, Paula; Alves Jr, Antonio Augusto; Amato, Sandra; Amerio, Silvia; Amhis, Yasmine; An, Liupan; Anderlini, Lucio; Andreassi, Guido; Andreotti, Mirco; Andrews, Jason; Appleby, Robert; Aquines Gutierrez, Osvaldo; Archilli, Flavio; d'Argent, Philippe; Artamonov, Alexander; Artuso, Marina; Aslanides, Elie; Auriemma, Giulio; Baalouch, Marouen; Bachmann, Sebastian; Back, John; Badalov, Alexey; Baesso, Clarissa; Baker, Sophie; Baldini, Wander; Barlow, Roger; Barschel, Colin; Barsuk, Sergey; Barter, William; Batozskaya, Varvara; Battista, Vincenzo; Bay, Aurelio; Beaucourt, Leo; Beddow, John; Bedeschi, Franco; Bediaga, Ignacio; Bel, Lennaert; Bellee, Violaine; Belloli, Nicoletta; Belyaev, Ivan; Ben-Haim, Eli; Bencivenni, Giovanni; Benson, Sean; Benton, Jack; Berezhnoy, Alexander; Bernet, Roland; Bertolin, Alessandro; Betti, Federico; Bettler, Marc-Olivier; van Beuzekom, Martinus; Bifani, Simone; Billoir, Pierre; Bird, Thomas; Birnkraut, Alex; Bizzeti, Andrea; Blake, Thomas; Blanc, Frédéric; Blouw, Johan; Blusk, Steven; Bocci, Valerio; Bondar, Alexander; Bondar, Nikolay; Bonivento, Walter; Borgheresi, Alessio; Borghi, Silvia; Borisyak, Maxim; Borsato, Martino; Boubdir, Meriem; Bowcock, Themistocles; Bowen, Espen Eie; Bozzi, Concezio; Braun, Svende; Britsch, Markward; Britton, Thomas; Brodzicka, Jolanta; Buchanan, Emma; Burr, Christopher; Bursche, Albert; Buytaert, Jan; Cadeddu, Sandro; Calabrese, Roberto; Calvi, Marta; Calvo Gomez, Miriam; Campana, Pierluigi; Campora Perez, Daniel; Capriotti, Lorenzo; Carbone, Angelo; Carboni, Giovanni; Cardinale, Roberta; Cardini, Alessandro; Carniti, Paolo; Carson, Laurence; Carvalho Akiba, Kazuyoshi; Casse, Gianluigi; Cassina, Lorenzo; Castillo Garcia, Lucia; Cattaneo, Marco; Cauet, Christophe; Cavallero, Giovanni; Cenci, Riccardo; Charles, Matthew; Charpentier, Philippe; Chatzikonstantinidis, Georgios; Chefdeville, Maximilien; Chen, Shanzhen; Cheung, Shu-Faye; Chobanova, Veronika; Chrzaszcz, Marcin; Cid Vidal, Xabier; Ciezarek, Gregory; Clarke, Peter; Clemencic, Marco; Cliff, Harry; Closier, Joel; Coco, Victor; Cogan, Julien; Cogneras, Eric; Cogoni, Violetta; Cojocariu, Lucian; Collazuol, Gianmaria; Collins, Paula; Comerma-Montells, Albert; Contu, Andrea; Cook, Andrew; Coquereau, Samuel; Corti, Gloria; Corvo, Marco; Couturier, Benjamin; Cowan, Greig; Craik, Daniel Charles; Crocombe, Andrew; Cruz Torres, Melissa Maria; Cunliffe, Samuel; Currie, Robert; D'Ambrosio, Carmelo; Dall'Occo, Elena; Dalseno, Jeremy; David, Pieter; Davis, Adam; De Aguiar Francisco, Oscar; De Bruyn, Kristof; De Capua, Stefano; De Cian, Michel; De Miranda, Jussara; De Paula, Leandro; De Simone, Patrizia; Dean, Cameron Thomas; Decamp, Daniel; Deckenhoff, Mirko; Del Buono, Luigi; Déléage, Nicolas; Demmer, Moritz; Derkach, Denis; Deschamps, Olivier; Dettori, Francesco; Dey, Biplab; Di Canto, Angelo; Dijkstra, Hans; Dordei, Francesca; Dorigo, Mirco; Dosil Suárez, Alvaro; Dovbnya, Anatoliy; Dreimanis, Karlis; Dufour, Laurent; Dujany, Giulio; Dungs, Kevin; Durante, Paolo; Dzhelyadin, Rustem; Dziurda, Agnieszka; Dzyuba, Alexey; Easo, Sajan; Egede, Ulrik; Egorychev, Victor; Eidelman, Semen; Eisenhardt, Stephan; Eitschberger, Ulrich; Ekelhof, Robert; Eklund, Lars; El Rifai, Ibrahim; Elsasser, Christian; Ely, Scott; Esen, Sevda; Evans, Hannah Mary; Evans, Timothy; Falabella, Antonio; Färber, Christian; Farley, Nathanael; Farry, Stephen; Fay, Robert; Fazzini, Davide; Ferguson, Dianne; Fernandez Albor, Victor; Ferrari, Fabio; Ferreira Rodrigues, Fernando; Ferro-Luzzi, Massimiliano; Filippov, Sergey; Fiore, Marco; Fiorini, Massimiliano; Firlej, Miroslaw; Fitzpatrick, Conor; Fiutowski, Tomasz; Fleuret, Frederic; Fohl, Klaus; Fontana, Marianna; Fontanelli, Flavio; Forshaw, Dean Charles; Forty, Roger; Frank, Markus; Frei, Christoph; Frosini, Maddalena; Fu, Jinlin; Furfaro, Emiliano; Gallas Torreira, Abraham; Galli, Domenico; Gallorini, Stefano; Gambetta, Silvia; Gandelman, Miriam; Gandini, Paolo; Gao, Yuanning; García Pardiñas, Julián; Garra Tico, Jordi; Garrido, Lluis; Garsed, Philip John; Gascon, David; Gaspar, Clara; Gavardi, Laura; Gazzoni, Giulio; Gerick, David; Gersabeck, Evelina; Gersabeck, Marco; Gershon, Timothy; Ghez, Philippe; Gianì, Sebastiana; Gibson, Valerie; Girard, Olivier Göran; Giubega, Lavinia-Helena; Gligorov, V.V.; Göbel, Carla; Golubkov, Dmitry; Golutvin, Andrey; Gomes, Alvaro; Gotti, Claudio; Grabalosa Gándara, Marc; Graciani Diaz, Ricardo; Granado Cardoso, Luis Alberto; Graugés, Eugeni; Graverini, Elena; Graziani, Giacomo; Grecu, Alexandru; Griffith, Peter; Grillo, Lucia; Grünberg, Oliver; Gushchin, Evgeny; Guz, Yury; Gys, Thierry; Hadavizadeh, Thomas; Hadjivasiliou, Christos; Haefeli, Guido; Haen, Christophe; Haines, Susan; Hall, Samuel; Hamilton, Brian; Han, Xiaoxue; Hansmann-Menzemer, Stephanie; Harnew, Neville; Harnew, Samuel; Harrison, Jonathan; He, Jibo; Head, Timothy; Heister, Arno; Hennessy, Karol; Henrard, Pierre; Henry, Louis; Hernando Morata, Jose Angel; van Herwijnen, Eric; Heß, Miriam; Hicheur, Adlène; Hill, Donal; Hoballah, Mostafa; Hombach, Christoph; Hongming, Li; Hulsbergen, Wouter; Humair, Thibaud; Hushchyn, Mikhail; Hussain, Nazim; Hutchcroft, David; Idzik, Marek; Ilten, Philip; Jacobsson, Richard; Jaeger, Andreas; Jalocha, Pawel; Jans, Eddy; Jawahery, Abolhassan; John, Malcolm; Johnson, Daniel; Jones, Christopher; Joram, Christian; Jost, Beat; Jurik, Nathan; Kandybei, Sergii; Kanso, Walaa; Karacson, Matthias; Karbach, Moritz; Karodia, Sarah; Kecke, Matthieu; Kelsey, Matthew; Kenyon, Ian; Kenzie, Matthew; Ketel, Tjeerd; Khairullin, Egor; Khanji, Basem; Khurewathanakul, Chitsanu; Kirn, Thomas; Klaver, Suzanne; Klimaszewski, Konrad; Kolpin, Michael; Komarov, Ilya; Koopman, Rose; Koppenburg, Patrick; Kozeiha, Mohamad; Kravchuk, Leonid; Kreplin, Katharina; Kreps, Michal; Krokovny, Pavel; Kruse, Florian; Krzemien, Wojciech; Kucewicz, Wojciech; Kucharczyk, Marcin; Kudryavtsev, Vasily; Kuonen, Axel Kevin; Kurek, Krzysztof; Kvaratskheliya, Tengiz; Lacarrere, Daniel; Lafferty, George; Lai, Adriano; Lambert, Dean; Lanfranchi, Gaia; Langenbruch, Christoph; Langhans, Benedikt; Latham, Thomas; Lazzeroni, Cristina; Le Gac, Renaud; van Leerdam, Jeroen; Lees, Jean-Pierre; Lefèvre, Regis; Leflat, Alexander; Lefrançois, Jacques; Lemos Cid, Edgar; Leroy, Olivier; Lesiak, Tadeusz; Leverington, Blake; Li, Yiming; Likhomanenko, Tatiana; Lindner, Rolf; Linn, Christian; Lionetto, Federica; Liu, Bo; Liu, Xuesong; Loh, David; Longstaff, Iain; Lopes, Jose; Lucchesi, Donatella; Lucio Martinez, Miriam; Luo, Haofei; Lupato, Anna; Luppi, Eleonora; Lupton, Oliver; Lusardi, Nicola; Lusiani, Alberto; Lyu, Xiao-Rui; Machefert, Frederic; Maciuc, Florin; Maev, Oleg; Maguire, Kevin; Malde, Sneha; Malinin, Alexander; Manca, Giulia; Mancinelli, Giampiero; Manning, Peter Michael; Mapelli, Alessandro; Maratas, Jan; Marchand, Jean François; Marconi, Umberto; Marin Benito, Carla; Marino, Pietro; Marks, Jörg; Martellotti, Giuseppe; Martin, Morgan; Martinelli, Maurizio; Martinez Santos, Diego; Martinez Vidal, Fernando; Martins Tostes, Danielle; Massacrier, Laure Marie; Massafferri, André; Matev, Rosen; Mathad, Abhijit; Mathe, Zoltan; Matteuzzi, Clara; Mauri, Andrea; Maurin, Brice; Mazurov, Alexander; McCann, Michael; McCarthy, James; McNab, Andrew; McNulty, Ronan; Meadows, Brian; Meier, Frank; Meissner, Marco; Melnychuk, Dmytro; Merk, Marcel; Merli, Andrea; Michielin, Emanuele; Milanes, Diego Alejandro; Minard, Marie-Noelle; Mitzel, Dominik Stefan; Molina Rodriguez, Josue; Monroy, Ignacio Alberto; Monteil, Stephane; Morandin, Mauro; Morawski, Piotr; Mordà, Alessandro; Morello, Michael Joseph; Moron, Jakub; Morris, Adam Benjamin; Mountain, Raymond; Muheim, Franz; Müller, Dominik; Müller, Janine; Müller, Katharina; Müller, Vanessa; Mussini, Manuel; Muster, Bastien; Naik, Paras; Nakada, Tatsuya; Nandakumar, Raja; Nandi, Anita; Nasteva, Irina; Needham, Matthew; Neri, Nicola; Neubert, Sebastian; Neufeld, Niko; Neuner, Max; Nguyen, Anh Duc; Nguyen-Mau, Chung; Niess, Valentin; Nieswand, Simon; Niet, Ramon; Nikitin, Nikolay; Nikodem, Thomas; Novoselov, Alexey; O'Hanlon, Daniel Patrick; Oblakowska-Mucha, Agnieszka; Obraztsov, Vladimir; Ogilvy, Stephen; Okhrimenko, Oleksandr; Oldeman, Rudolf; Onderwater, Gerco; Osorio Rodrigues, Bruno; Otalora Goicochea, Juan Martin; Otto, Adam; Owen, Patrick; Oyanguren, Maria Aranzazu; Palano, Antimo; Palombo, Fernando; Palutan, Matteo; Panman, Jacob; Papanestis, Antonios; Pappagallo, Marco; Pappalardo, Luciano; Pappenheimer, Cheryl; Parker, William; Parkes, Christopher; Passaleva, Giovanni; Patel, Girish; Patel, Mitesh; Patrignani, Claudia; Pearce, Alex; Pellegrino, Antonio; Penso, Gianni; Pepe Altarelli, Monica; Perazzini, Stefano; Perret, Pascal; Pescatore, Luca; Petridis, Konstantinos; Petrolini, Alessandro; Petruzzo, Marco; Picatoste Olloqui, Eduardo; Pietrzyk, Boleslaw; Pikies, Malgorzata; Pinci, Davide; Pistone, Alessandro; Piucci, Alessio; Playfer, Stephen; Plo Casasus, Maximo; Poikela, Tuomas; Polci, Francesco; Poluektov, Anton; Polyakov, Ivan; Polycarpo, Erica; Popov, Alexander; Popov, Dmitry; Popovici, Bogdan; Potterat, Cédric; Price, Eugenia; Price, Joseph David; Prisciandaro, Jessica; Pritchard, Adrian; Prouve, Claire; Pugatch, Valery; Puig Navarro, Albert; Punzi, Giovanni; Qian, Wenbin; Quagliani, Renato; Rachwal, Bartolomiej; Rademacker, Jonas; Rama, Matteo; Ramos Pernas, Miguel; Rangel, Murilo; Raniuk, Iurii; Raven, Gerhard; Redi, Federico; Reichert, Stefanie; dos Reis, Alberto; Renaudin, Victor; Ricciardi, Stefania; Richards, Sophie; Rihl, Mariana; Rinnert, Kurt; Rives Molina, Vincente; Robbe, Patrick; Rodrigues, Ana Barbara; Rodrigues, Eduardo; Rodriguez Lopez, Jairo Alexis; Rodriguez Perez, Pablo; Rogozhnikov, Alexey; Roiser, Stefan; Romanovsky, Vladimir; Romero Vidal, Antonio; Ronayne, John William; Rotondo, Marcello; Ruf, Thomas; Ruiz Valls, Pablo; Saborido Silva, Juan Jose; Sagidova, Naylya; Saitta, Biagio; Salustino Guimaraes, Valdir; Sanchez Mayordomo, Carlos; Sanmartin Sedes, Brais; Santacesaria, Roberta; Santamarina Rios, Cibran; Santimaria, Marco; Santovetti, Emanuele; Sarti, Alessio; Satriano, Celestina; Satta, Alessia; Saunders, Daniel Martin; Savrina, Darya; Schael, Stefan; Schiller, Manuel; Schindler, Heinrich; Schlupp, Maximilian; Schmelling, Michael; Schmelzer, Timon; Schmidt, Burkhard; Schneider, Olivier; Schopper, Andreas; Schubiger, Maxime; Schune, Marie Helene; Schwemmer, Rainer; Sciascia, Barbara; Sciubba, Adalberto; Semennikov, Alexander; Sergi, Antonino; Serra, Nicola; Serrano, Justine; Sestini, Lorenzo; Seyfert, Paul; Shapkin, Mikhail; Shapoval, Illya; Shcheglov, Yury; Shears, Tara; Shekhtman, Lev; Shevchenko, Vladimir; Shires, Alexander; Siddi, Benedetto Gianluca; Silva Coutinho, Rafael; Silva de Oliveira, Luiz Gustavo; Simi, Gabriele; Sirendi, Marek; Skidmore, Nicola; Skwarnicki, Tomasz; Smith, Eluned; Smith, Iwan Thomas; Smith, Jackson; Smith, Mark; Snoek, Hella; Sokoloff, Michael; Soler, Paul; Soomro, Fatima; Souza, Daniel; Souza De Paula, Bruno; Spaan, Bernhard; Spradlin, Patrick; Sridharan, Srikanth; Stagni, Federico; Stahl, Marian; Stahl, Sascha; Stefkova, Slavomira; Steinkamp, Olaf; Stenyakin, Oleg; Stevenson, Scott; Stoica, Sabin; Stone, Sheldon; Storaci, Barbara; Stracka, Simone; Straticiuc, Mihai; Straumann, Ulrich; Sun, Liang; Sutcliffe, William; Swientek, Krzysztof; Swientek, Stefan; Syropoulos, Vasileios; Szczekowski, Marek; Szumlak, Tomasz; T'Jampens, Stephane; Tayduganov, Andrey; Tekampe, Tobias; Tellarini, Giulia; Teubert, Frederic; Thomas, Christopher; Thomas, Eric; van Tilburg, Jeroen; Tisserand, Vincent; Tobin, Mark; Tolk, Siim; Tomassetti, Luca; Tonelli, Diego; Topp-Joergensen, Stig; Tournefier, Edwige; Tourneur, Stephane; Trabelsi, Karim; Traill, Murdo; Tran, Minh Tâm; Tresch, Marco; Trisovic, Ana; Tsaregorodtsev, Andrei; Tsopelas, Panagiotis; Tuning, Niels; Ukleja, Artur; Ustyuzhanin, Andrey; Uwer, Ulrich; Vacca, Claudia; Vagnoni, Vincenzo; Valat, Sebastien; Valenti, Giovanni; Vallier, Alexis; Vazquez Gomez, Ricardo; Vazquez Regueiro, Pablo; Vázquez Sierra, Carlos; Vecchi, Stefania; van Veghel, Maarten; Velthuis, Jaap; Veltri, Michele; Veneziano, Giovanni; Vesterinen, Mika; Viaud, Benoit; Vieira, Daniel; Vieites Diaz, Maria; Vilasis-Cardona, Xavier; Volkov, Vladimir; Vollhardt, Achim; Voong, David; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Vitaly; Voß, Christian; de Vries, Jacco; Waldi, Roland; Wallace, Charlotte; Wallace, Ronan; Walsh, John; Wang, Jianchun; Ward, David; Watson, Nigel; Websdale, David; Weiden, Andreas; Whitehead, Mark; Wicht, Jean; Wilkinson, Guy; Wilkinson, Michael; Williams, Mark Richard James; Williams, Matthew; Williams, Mike; Williams, Timothy; Wilson, Fergus; Wimberley, Jack; Wishahi, Julian; Wislicki, Wojciech; Witek, Mariusz; Wormser, Guy; Wotton, Stephen; Wraight, Kenneth; Wright, Simon; Wyllie, Kenneth; Xie, Yuehong; Xu, Zhirui; Yang, Zhenwei; Yin, Hang; Yu, Jiesheng; Yuan, Xuhao; Yushchenko, Oleg; Zangoli, Maria; Zavertyaev, Mikhail; Zhang, Liming; Zhang, Yanxi; Zhelezov, Alexey; Zheng, Yangheng; Zhokhov, Anatoly; Zhong, Liang; Zhukov, Valery; Zucchelli, Stefano

2016-06-21

A binned Dalitz plot analysis of the decays $B^0 \\to D K^{\\ast 0}$, with $D \\to K_{S}^{0} \\pi^{+} \\pi^{-}$ and $D \\to K_{S}^{0} K^{+} K^{-}$, is performed to measure the observables $x_\\pm$ and $y_\\pm$, which are related to the CKM angle $\\gamma$ and the hadronic parameters of the decays. The $D$ decay strong phase variation over the Dalitz plot is taken from measurements performed at the CLEO-c experiment, making the analysis independent of the $D$ decay model. With a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $3.0\\,\\rm{fb}^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb experiment, the values of the $CP$ violation parameters are found to be $x_+ = 0.05 \\pm 0.35 \\pm 0.02$, $x_-=-0.31\\pm 0.20 \\pm 0.04$, $y_+=-0.81\\pm 0.28\\pm 0.06$ and $y_-=0.31\\pm 0.21 \\pm 0.05$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. These observables correspond to values $\\gamma$ = $(71 \\pm 20)^\\circ$, $r_{B^0} = 0.56\\pm 0.17$ and $\\delta_{B^0} = (204\\,^{+21}_{-20})^\\circ$. The parame...

Agent independent task planning

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, William S.

1990-01-01

Agent-Independent Planning is a technique that allows the construction of activity plans without regard to the agent that will perform them. Once generated, a plan is then validated and translated into instructions for a particular agent, whether a robot, crewmember, or software-based control system. Because Space Station Freedom (SSF) is planned for orbital operations for approximately thirty years, it will almost certainly experience numerous enhancements and upgrades, including upgrades in robotic manipulators. Agent-Independent Planning provides the capability to construct plans for SSF operations, independent of specific robotic systems, by combining techniques of object oriented modeling, nonlinear planning and temporal logic. Since a plan is validated using the physical and functional models of a particular agent, new robotic systems can be developed and integrated with existing operations in a robust manner. This technique also provides the capability to generate plans for crewmembers with varying skill levels, and later apply these same plans to more sophisticated robotic manipulators made available by evolutions in technology.

Metric-independent measures for supersymmetric extended object theories on curved backgrounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishino, Hitoshi; Rajpoot, Subhash

2014-01-01

For Green–Schwarz superstring σ-model on curved backgrounds, we introduce a non-metric measure Φ≡ϵ ij ϵ IJ (∂ i φ I )(∂ j φ J ) with two scalars φ I (I=1,2) used in ‘Two-Measure Theory’ (TMT). As in the flat-background case, the string tension T=(2πα ′ ) −1 emerges as an integration constant for the A i -field equation. This mechanism is further generalized to supermembrane theory, and to super-p-brane theory, both on general curved backgrounds. This shows the universal applications of dynamical measure of TMT to general supersymmetric extended objects on general curved backgrounds

Bd0-bar Bd0 mixing and the prediction of the top-quark mass in an independent particle potential model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barik, N.; Das, P.; Panda, A.R.; Roy, K.C.

1993-01-01

Considering B d 0 -bar B d 0 mixing in a potential model of independent quarks by taking the effective interaction Hamiltonian of the standard Salam-Weinberg-Glashow model and subsequently diagonalizing the corresponding mass matrix with respect to B d 0 and bar B d 0 states, we obtain an expression for the mass difference ΔM Bd 0 in terms of the t-quark mass m t . Using the recent observation of the mixing parameter x d =0.72±0.15 by the ARGUS Collaboration, we predict the lower bound on the top-quark mass as m t ≥149 GeV. Further, a consideration of experimental mass difference ΔM Bd 0 =(4.0±0.8)x10 -13 GeV also leads to m t =167 -17 +16 GeV which is in agreement with the recent experimental bound as well as other theoretical predictions. However, such a prediction of m t that utilizes the experimental value of the CKM matrix element |V td | may not appear convincing in view of the large uncertainties in the measurement of |V td | so far reported. Therefore using the range of m t values within its bounds predicted from other independent works, we make a reasonable estimation of |V td |

A thermodynamic model of an air-independent IDI diesel engine system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, M.; Reader, G.T.; Potter, I.J.; Gustafson, R.W.

1992-01-01

Synthetic atmosphere diesel (SAD) engines have been and are still being developed as air-independent power systems for use in naval and commercial underwater vehicles. Although the basic concept of such a system is relatively simple, its practical implementation is somewhat complicated and normally involves expensive and time consuming prototype development. If an analytical method existed which could be used to compare the overall performance of different configurations or highlight essential control aspects, system optimization could be attempted more readily and a close-to-optimum design produced prior to any subsequent practical development. Consequently, a thermodynamic simulation model has been formulated so that the performance and/or design of such systems can be investigated, and the effects of the various system variables can be identified. In this paper the development of the model and the associated experimental investigation is described

Independent motion control of a tower crane through wireless sensor and actuator networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Koumboulis, Fotis N; Kouvakas, Nikolaos D; Giannaris, George L; Vouyioukas, Demosthenes

2016-01-01

The problem of independent control of the performance variables of a tower crane through a wireless sensor and actuator network is investigated. The complete nonlinear mathematical model of the tower crane is developed. Based on appropriate data driven norms an accurate linear approximant of the system, including an upper bound of the communication delays, is derived. Using this linear approximant, a dynamic measurable output multi delay controller for independent control of the performance outputs of the system is proposed. The controller performs satisfactory despite the nonlinearities of the model and the communication delays of the wireless network. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic modeling and characteristics analysis of a modal-independent linear ultrasonic motor.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiang; Yao, Zhiyuan; Zhou, Shengli; Lv, Qibao; Liu, Zhen

2016-12-01

In this paper, an integrated model is developed to analyze the fundamental characteristics of a modal-independent linear ultrasonic motor with double piezoelectric vibrators. The energy method is used to model the dynamics of the two piezoelectric vibrators. The interface forces are coupled into the dynamic equations of the two vibrators and the moving platform, forming a whole machine model of the motor. The behavior of the force transmission of the motor is analyzed via the resulting model to understand the drive mechanism. In particular, the relative contact length is proposed to describe the intermittent contact characteristic between the stator and the mover, and its role in evaluating motor performance is discussed. The relations between the output speed and various inputs to the motor and the start-stop transients of the motor are analyzed by numerical simulations, which are validated by experiments. Furthermore, the dead-zone behavior is predicted and clarified analytically using the proposed model, which is also observed in experiments. These results are useful for designing servo control scheme for the motor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Finite-size analysis of continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xueying; Zhang, Yichen; Zhao, Yijia; Wang, Xiangyu; Yu, Song; Guo, Hong

2017-10-01

We study the impact of the finite-size effect on the continuous-variable measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (CV-MDI QKD) protocol, mainly considering the finite-size effect on the parameter estimation procedure. The central-limit theorem and maximum likelihood estimation theorem are used to estimate the parameters. We also analyze the relationship between the number of exchanged signals and the optimal modulation variance in the protocol. It is proved that when Charlie's position is close to Bob, the CV-MDI QKD protocol has the farthest transmission distance in the finite-size scenario. Finally, we discuss the impact of finite-size effects related to the practical detection in the CV-MDI QKD protocol. The overall results indicate that the finite-size effect has a great influence on the secret-key rate of the CV-MDI QKD protocol and should not be ignored.

Assessing Independent Variables Used in Econometric Modeling Forest Land Use or Land Cover Change: A Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

J Jeuck; F. Cubbage; R. Abt; R. Bardon; J. McCarter; J. Coulston; M. Renkow

2014-01-01

: We conducted a meta-analysis on 64 econometric models from 47 studies predicting forestland conversion to agriculture (F2A), forestland to development (F2D), forestland to non-forested (F2NF) and undeveloped (including forestland) to developed (U2D) land. Over 250 independent econometric variables were identified from 21 F2A models, 21 F2D models, 12 F2NF models, and...

'Relativistic' quark model for mesons with flavour-independent potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kroesen, G.

1987-01-01

On the base of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in instantaneous approximation a unified model for the mass spectrum of the mesons was designed. The 'relativistic' structure of the Bethe-Salpeter equation allows a natural inclusion of the spin dependences and an extension of the model to small quark masses. The model contains as essential property two potential contributions where one represents the one-gluon exchange while the other represents the confinement potential. The annihilation of qanti q into gluons was not regarded. The spectrum and the amplitudes of the Bethe-Salpeter equation were solved approximatively in numerical way for the lowest states. The free parameters of the model were determined by a fit of the spectrum to a wellknown part of the meson spectrum. The results yield even at small quark masses a quantitatively good picture for all meson families. The result shows that the spectra of the heavy and light mesons can be described by a flavor-independent potential which contains 5 free parameters. Both the internal spin dependent structure and the absolute position of the families can so correctly be described. Especially the position of the D, D s , and B states and the position of the uanti u, danti d states can be simultaneously described by a constant C in the long-range part of the potential. The constant C is thereby essentially determined by the splitting between the Υ family and the B family repectively Ψ and D family. The 3 S 1- 3 D 1 respectively the 3 P 2 - 3 F 2 configuration mixing was regarded. The results show that this mixing is negligibly small. (orig./HSI) [de

Detailed modeling of the statistical uncertainty of Thomson scattering measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morton, L A; Parke, E; Hartog, D J Den

2013-01-01

The uncertainty of electron density and temperature fluctuation measurements is determined by statistical uncertainty introduced by multiple noise sources. In order to quantify these uncertainties precisely, a simple but comprehensive model was made of the noise sources in the MST Thomson scattering system and of the resulting variance in the integrated scattered signals. The model agrees well with experimental and simulated results. The signal uncertainties are then used by our existing Bayesian analysis routine to find the most likely electron temperature and density, with confidence intervals. In the model, photonic noise from scattered light and plasma background light is multiplied by the noise enhancement factor (F) of the avalanche photodiode (APD). Electronic noise from the amplifier and digitizer is added. The amplifier response function shapes the signal and induces correlation in the noise. The data analysis routine fits a characteristic pulse to the digitized signals from the amplifier, giving the integrated scattered signals. A finite digitization rate loses information and can cause numerical integration error. We find a formula for the variance of the scattered signals in terms of the background and pulse amplitudes, and three calibration constants. The constants are measured easily under operating conditions, resulting in accurate estimation of the scattered signals' uncertainty. We measure F ≈ 3 for our APDs, in agreement with other measurements for similar APDs. This value is wavelength-independent, simplifying analysis. The correlated noise we observe is reproduced well using a Gaussian response function. Numerical integration error can be made negligible by using an interpolated characteristic pulse, allowing digitization rates as low as the detector bandwidth. The effect of background noise is also determined

Model-independent tracking of criticality signals in nuclear multifragmentation date

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frankland, J.D.; Chbihi, A.

2003-01-01

We study multifragment production in central heavy-ion collisions using model-independent universal fluctuations theory and a wide range of INDRA data for central collisions of symmetric systems of total mass A: 75 - 400 at bombarding energies from 25 to 100 MeV/nucleon. We find evidence for two different regimes at low and high incident energies, respectively, defined by the fluctuation scaling properties of the largest fragment in each event, Z(max), which plays the role of an order parameter. Data for a wide range of system masses and incident energies collapse on to an approximately universal scaling function in each regime. The form of the scaling functions is established, and their dependence on total system mass and bombarding energy is mapped out. (authors)

Reliability and Validity of the Floor Transfer Test as a Measure of Readiness for Independent Living Among Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Ardali, Gunay; Brody, Lori T; States, Rebecca A; Godwin, Ellen M

2017-10-20

The ability to get up from the floor after a fall is a basic skill required for functional independence. Consequently, the inability to safely get down and up from the floor or to perform a floor transfer (FT) may indicate decreased mobility and/or increased frailty. A reliable and valid test of FT ability is a critical part of the clinical decision-making process. The FT test is a simple, performance-based test that can be administered quickly and easily to determine a patient's ability to safely and successfully get down and up from the floor using any movement strategy and without time restriction. The primary purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the intrarater reliability and validity of the FT test as a practical alternative to several widely used yet time-consuming measures of physical disability, frailty, and functional mobility. A total of 61 community-dwelling older adults (65-96 years of age) participated in the study divided into 2 separate subsamples: 15 of them in the intrarater reliability part, while the other 46 in the concurrent validity one. In both subsamples, the participants were stratified on the basis of the self-reported levels of FT ability as independent, assisted, and dependent. Intrarater reliability was assessed in 2 separate occasions and scores were analyzed by intraclass correlation coefficient and κ statistics. Concurrent validity of the FT test was assessed against the self-reported FT ability questionnaire, Physical Functioning Scale, Phenotype of Physical Frailty, and the Short Physical Performance Battery. Known-groups validity was tested by determining whether the FT test distinguished between (1) community-dwelling older adults with physical disabilities versus those who without physical disabilities; and (2) community-dwelling older adults who were functionally dependent versus those who were independent. Participants were also categorized on the basis of FT test outcome as independent, assisted, or

Evaluation of soft segment modeling on a context independent phoneme classification system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Razzazi, F.; Sayadiyan, A.

2007-01-01

The geometric distribution of states duration is one of the main performance limiting assumptions of hidden Markov modeling of speech signals. Stochastic segment models, generally, and segmental HMM, specifically overcome this deficiency partly at the cost of more complexity in both training and recognition phases. In addition to this assumption, the gradual temporal changes of speech statistics has not been modeled in HMM. In this paper, a new duration modeling approach is presented. The main idea of the model is to consider the effect of adjacent segments on the probability density function estimation and evaluation of each acoustic segment. This idea not only makes the model robust against segmentation errors, but also it models gradual change from one segment to the next one with a minimum set of parameters. The proposed idea is analytically formulated and tested on a TIMIT based context independent phenomena classification system. During the test procedure, the phoneme classification of different phoneme classes was performed by applying various proposed recognition algorithms. The system was optimized and the results have been compared with a continuous density hidden Markov model (CDHMM) with similar computational complexity. The results show 8-10% improvement in phoneme recognition rate in comparison with standard continuous density hidden Markov model. This indicates improved compatibility of the proposed model with the speech nature. (author)

Model-independent partial wave analysis using a massively-parallel fitting framework

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, L.; Aoude, R.; dos Reis, A. C.; Sokoloff, M.

2017-10-01

The functionality of GooFit, a GPU-friendly framework for doing maximum-likelihood fits, has been extended to extract model-independent {\\mathscr{S}}-wave amplitudes in three-body decays such as D + → h + h + h -. A full amplitude analysis is done where the magnitudes and phases of the {\\mathscr{S}}-wave amplitudes are anchored at a finite number of m 2(h + h -) control points, and a cubic spline is used to interpolate between these points. The amplitudes for {\\mathscr{P}}-wave and {\\mathscr{D}}-wave intermediate states are modeled as spin-dependent Breit-Wigner resonances. GooFit uses the Thrust library, with a CUDA backend for NVIDIA GPUs and an OpenMP backend for threads with conventional CPUs. Performance on a variety of platforms is compared. Executing on systems with GPUs is typically a few hundred times faster than executing the same algorithm on a single CPU.

Social imagery, tobacco independence, and the truthsm campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, W Douglas; Price, Simani; Blahut, Steven; Hersey, James; Niederdeppe, Jeffrey; Ray, Sarah

2004-01-01

This study investigated relationships among exposure to the truthsm campaign, differences in social imagery about not smoking and related measures, and smoking behavior. We asked, "How does truthsm work? Through what psychological mechanisms does it affect smoking behavior?" We developed a framework to explain how receptivity to truthsm ads might influence youth cognitive states and subsequent effects on progression to established smoking. The main hypotheses were that social imagery about not smoking and related beliefs and attitudes about tobacco use mediate the relationship between truthsm exposure and smoking status. The study was based on data from the Legacy Media Tracking Survey (LMTS), waves I-III, which were conducted at three time points from 1999 through 2001. A nationally representative sample of 20,058 respondents aged 12-24 from the three time points was used in the analysis. We developed a structural equation model (SEM) based on constructs drawn from the LMTS. We investigated the model and tested our hypotheses about the psychological and behavioral effects of campaign exposure. We tested our constructs and model using a two-stage structural equation modeling approach. We first conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the measurement model. Our model achieved satisfactory fit, and we conducted the SEM to test our hypotheses. We found that social imagery and perceived tobacco independence mediate the relationship between truthsm exposure and smoking status. We found meaningful differences between paths for segmented samples based on age, gender, and race/ethnicity subgroups and over time. The truthsm campaign operates through individuals'sense of tobacco independence and social imagery about not smoking. This study indicates that the campaign's strategy has worked as predicted and represents an effective model for social marketing to change youth risk behaviors. Future studies should further investigate subgroup differences in campaign

Transfer matrix method for dynamics modeling and independent modal space vibration control design of linear hybrid multibody system

Science.gov (United States)

Rong, Bao; Rui, Xiaoting; Lu, Kun; Tao, Ling; Wang, Guoping; Ni, Xiaojun

2018-05-01

In this paper, an efficient method of dynamics modeling and vibration control design of a linear hybrid multibody system (MS) is studied based on the transfer matrix method. The natural vibration characteristics of a linear hybrid MS are solved by using low-order transfer equations. Then, by constructing the brand-new body dynamics equation, augmented operator and augmented eigenvector, the orthogonality of augmented eigenvector of a linear hybrid MS is satisfied, and its state space model expressed in each independent model space is obtained easily. According to this dynamics model, a robust independent modal space-fuzzy controller is designed for vibration control of a general MS, and the genetic optimization of some critical control parameters of fuzzy tuners is also presented. Two illustrative examples are performed, which results show that this method is computationally efficient and with perfect control performance.

A model-independent analysis of final-state interactions in {overline{B}}_{d/s}^0to J/ψ π π

Science.gov (United States)

Daub, J. T.; Hanhart, C.; Kubis, B.

2016-02-01

Exploiting B-meson decays for Standard Model tests and beyond requires a precise understanding of the strong final-state interactions that can be provided model-independently by means of dispersion theory. This formalism allows one to deduce the universal pion-pion final-state interactions from the accurately known ππ phase shifts and, in the scalar sector, a coupled-channel treatment with the kaon-antikaon system. In this work an analysis of the decays {overline{B}}_d^0to J/ψ {π}+{π}- and {overline{B}}_s^0to J/ψ {π}+{π}- is presented. We find very good agreement with the data up to 1.05 GeV in the ππ invariant mass, with a number of parameters reduced significantly compared to a phenomenological analysis. In addition, the phases of the amplitudes are correct by construction, a crucial feature for many CP violation measurements in heavy-meson decays.

Development of Boundary Condition Independent Reduced Order Thermal Models using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition

Science.gov (United States)

Raghupathy, Arun; Ghia, Karman; Ghia, Urmila

2008-11-01

Compact Thermal Models (CTM) to represent IC packages has been traditionally developed using the DELPHI-based (DEvelopment of Libraries of PHysical models for an Integrated design) methodology. The drawbacks of this method are presented, and an alternative method is proposed. A reduced-order model that provides the complete thermal information accurately with less computational resources can be effectively used in system level simulations. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), a statistical method, can be used to reduce the order of the degree of freedom or variables of the computations for such a problem. POD along with the Galerkin projection allows us to create reduced-order models that reproduce the characteristics of the system with a considerable reduction in computational resources while maintaining a high level of accuracy. The goal of this work is to show that this method can be applied to obtain a boundary condition independent reduced-order thermal model for complex components. The methodology is applied to the 1D transient heat equation.

Long-distance measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with coherent-state superpositions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, H-L; Cao, W-F; Fu, Y; Tang, Y-L; Liu, Y; Chen, T-Y; Chen, Z-B

2014-09-15

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) with decoy-state method is believed to be securely applied to defeat various hacking attacks in practical quantum key distribution systems. Recently, the coherent-state superpositions (CSS) have emerged as an alternative to single-photon qubits for quantum information processing and metrology. Here, in this Letter, CSS are exploited as the source in MDI-QKD. We present an analytical method that gives two tight formulas to estimate the lower bound of yield and the upper bound of bit error rate. We exploit the standard statistical analysis and Chernoff bound to perform the parameter estimation. Chernoff bound can provide good bounds in the long-distance MDI-QKD. Our results show that with CSS, both the security transmission distance and secure key rate are significantly improved compared with those of the weak coherent states in the finite-data case.

On Independence for Capacities with Law of Large Numbers

OpenAIRE

Huang, Weihuan

2017-01-01

This paper introduces new notions of Fubini independence and Exponential independence of random variables under capacities to fit Ellsberg's model, and finds out the relationships between Fubini independence, Exponential independence, MacCheroni and Marinacci's independence and Peng's independence. As an application, we give a weak law of large numbers for capacities under Exponential independence.

Inverse modeling of the Chernobyl source term using atmospheric concentration and deposition measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Hamburger, Thomas; Cozic, Anne; Balkanski, Yves; Stohl, Andreas

2017-07-01

This paper describes the results of an inverse modeling study for the determination of the source term of the radionuclides 134Cs, 137Cs and 131I released after the Chernobyl accident. The accident occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Former Soviet Union and released about 1019 Bq of radioactive materials that were transported as far away as the USA and Japan. Thereafter, several attempts to assess the magnitude of the emissions were made that were based on the knowledge of the core inventory and the levels of the spent fuel. More recently, when modeling tools were further developed, inverse modeling techniques were applied to the Chernobyl case for source term quantification. However, because radioactivity is a sensitive topic for the public and attracts a lot of attention, high-quality measurements, which are essential for inverse modeling, were not made available except for a few sparse activity concentration measurements far from the source and far from the main direction of the radioactive fallout. For the first time, we apply Bayesian inversion of the Chernobyl source term using not only activity concentrations but also deposition measurements from the most recent public data set. These observations refer to a data rescue attempt that started more than 10 years ago, with a final goal to provide available measurements to anyone interested. In regards to our inverse modeling results, emissions of 134Cs were estimated to be 80 PBq or 30-50 % higher than what was previously published. From the released amount of 134Cs, about 70 PBq were deposited all over Europe. Similar to 134Cs, emissions of 137Cs were estimated as 86 PBq, on the same order as previously reported results. Finally, 131I emissions of 1365 PBq were found, which are about 10 % less than the prior total releases. The inversion pushes the injection heights of the three radionuclides to higher altitudes (up to about 3 km) than previously assumed (≈ 2.2 km) in order to better match both concentration

Inverse modeling of the Chernobyl source term using atmospheric concentration and deposition measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Evangeliou

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the results of an inverse modeling study for the determination of the source term of the radionuclides 134Cs, 137Cs and 131I released after the Chernobyl accident. The accident occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Former Soviet Union and released about 1019 Bq of radioactive materials that were transported as far away as the USA and Japan. Thereafter, several attempts to assess the magnitude of the emissions were made that were based on the knowledge of the core inventory and the levels of the spent fuel. More recently, when modeling tools were further developed, inverse modeling techniques were applied to the Chernobyl case for source term quantification. However, because radioactivity is a sensitive topic for the public and attracts a lot of attention, high-quality measurements, which are essential for inverse modeling, were not made available except for a few sparse activity concentration measurements far from the source and far from the main direction of the radioactive fallout. For the first time, we apply Bayesian inversion of the Chernobyl source term using not only activity concentrations but also deposition measurements from the most recent public data set. These observations refer to a data rescue attempt that started more than 10 years ago, with a final goal to provide available measurements to anyone interested. In regards to our inverse modeling results, emissions of 134Cs were estimated to be 80 PBq or 30–50 % higher than what was previously published. From the released amount of 134Cs, about 70 PBq were deposited all over Europe. Similar to 134Cs, emissions of 137Cs were estimated as 86 PBq, on the same order as previously reported results. Finally, 131I emissions of 1365 PBq were found, which are about 10 % less than the prior total releases. The inversion pushes the injection heights of the three radionuclides to higher altitudes (up to about 3 km than previously assumed (≈ 2.2 km in order

A quasi-model-independent search for new high pT physics at DO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knuteson, Bruce O.

2000-01-01

We present a new quasi-model-independent strategy (''Sleuth'') for searching for physics beyond the standard model. We define final states to be studied, and construct a rule that identifies a set of relevant variables for any particular final state. A novel algorithm searches for regions of excess in those variables and quantifies the significance of any detected excess. This strategy is applied to search for new high p T physics in approximately 100 pb -1 of proton-anti-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV collected by the D0 experiment during 1992-1996 at the Fermilab Tevatron. We systematically analyze many exclusive final states, and demonstrate sensitivity to a variety of models predicting new phenomena at the electroweak scale. No evidence of new high p T physics is observed

Source independence and the EPR paradox

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mould, R.A.

1989-01-01

It is shown that the lines of action between the photon pairs resulting from a positronium decay are not necessarily in line with the original positronium atom. It is also shown why this 'source-independent' effect is not normally observed, although it is observable in principle. Moreover our initial concerns and some conclusions as they bear on the theory of measurement in quantum mechanics are discussed. Source-independence is shown to give a satisfactory response to a special form of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox involving pairs of position measurements. It also leads to a nonlocal relationship between position measurements that depends on the width of the position detectors

ISOL yield predictions from holdup-time measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spejewski, Eugene H.; Carter, H Kennon; Mervin, Brenden T.; Prettyman, Emily S.; Kronenberg, Andreas; Stracener, Daniel W

2008-01-01

A formalism based on a simple model is derived to predict ISOL yields for all isotopes of a given element based on a holdup-time measurement of a single isotope of that element. Model predictions, based on parameters obtained from holdup-time measurements, are compared to independently-measured experimental values

Commutator of the quark mass matrices in the standard electroweak model and a measure of maximal CP-violation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarlskog, C.

1985-06-01

The structure of the quark mass matrices in the Standard Electroweak Model is investigated. The commutator of the quark mass matrices is found to provide a conventional independent measure of CP-violation. The question of maximal CP-violation is discussed. The present experimental data indicate that CP is nowhere maximally violated. (author)

Are Independent Probes Truly Independent?

Science.gov (United States)

Camp, Gino; Pecher, Diane; Schmidt, Henk G.; Zeelenberg, Rene

2009-01-01

The independent cue technique has been developed to test traditional interference theories against inhibition theories of forgetting. In the present study, the authors tested the critical criterion for the independence of independent cues: Studied cues not presented during test (and unrelated to test cues) should not contribute to the retrieval…

The importance of local measurements for cosmology

CERN Document Server

Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul

2013-01-01

We explore how local, cosmology-independent measurements of the Hubble constant and the age of the Universe help to provide a powerful consistency check of the currently favored cosmological model (flat LambdaCDM) and model-independent constraints on cosmology. We use cosmic microwave background (CMB) data to define the model-dependent cosmological parameters, and add local measurements to assess consistency and determine whether extensions to the model are justified. At current precision, there is no significant tension between the locally measured Hubble constant and age of the Universe (with errors of 3% and 5% respectively) and the corresponding parameters derived from the CMB. However, if errors on the local measurements could be decreased by a factor of two, one could decisively conclude if there is tension or not. We also compare the local and CMB data assuming simple extensions of the flat, $\\Lambda$CDM model (including curvature, dark energy with a constant equation of state parameter not equal to -1...

[Development of the soft independent modelling of class analogies model to discrimination Vibrio parahemolyticus by Smartongue].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jianfeng; Zhao, Guangying; Dou, Wenchao

2011-04-01

To explore a new rapid detection method for detecting of Food pathogens. We used the Smartongue, to determine the composition informations of the liquid culture samples and combined with soft independent modelling of class analogies (SIMCA) to analyze their respective species, then set up a Smartongue -SIMCA model to discriminate the V. parahaemolyticus. The Smartongue has 6 working electrodes and three frequency segments, we can built 18 discrimination models in one detection. After comparing all the 18 discrimination models, the optimal working electrodes and frequency segments were selected out, they were: palladium electrode in 1 Hz frequency segment, tungsten electrode in 100 Hz and silver electrode in 100 Hz. Then 10 species of pathogenic Vibrio were discriminated by the 3 models. The V. damsela, V. metschnikovii, V. alginalyticus, V. cincinnatiensis, V. metschnikovii and V. cholerae O serogroup samples could be discriminated by the SIMCA model of V. parahaemolyticus with palladium electrode 1 Hz frequency segment; V. mimicus and V. vulnincus samples could be discriminated by the SIMCA model of V. parahaemolyticus with tungsten electrode 100 Hz frequency segment; V. carcariae and V. cholerae non-O serogroup samples could be discriminated with the SIMCA model of V. parahaemolyticus in silver electrode 100 Hz frequency segment. The accurate discrimination of ten species of Vibrio samples is 100%. The Smartongue combined with SIMCA can discriminate V. parahaemolyticus with other pathogenic Vibrio effectively. It has a promising future as a new rapid detection method for V. parahaemolyticus.

Associations between children’s independent mobility and physical activity

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Independent mobility describes the freedom of children to travel and play in public spaces without adult supervision. The potential benefits for children are significant such as social interactions with peers, spatial and traffic safety skills and increased physical activity. Yet, the health benefits of independent mobility, particularly on physical activity accumulation, are largely unexplored. This study aimed to investigate associations of children’s independent mobility with light, moderate-to-vigorous, and total physical activity accumulation. Methods In 2011 - 2012, 375 Australian children aged 8-13 years (62% girls) were recruited into a cross-sectional study. Children’s independent mobility (i.e. independent travel to school and non-school destinations, independent outdoor play) and socio-demographics were assessed through child and parent surveys. Physical activity intensity was measured objectively through an Actiheart monitor worn on four consecutive days. Associations between independent mobility and physical activity variables were analysed using generalized linear models, accounting for clustered sampling, Actiheart wear time, socio-demographics, and assessing interactions by sex. Results Independent travel (walking, cycling, public transport) to school and non-school destinations were not associated with light, moderate-to-vigorous and total physical activity. However, sub-analyses revealed a positive association between independent walking and cycling (excluding public transport) to school and total physical but only in boys (b = 36.03, p physical activity (b = 29.76, p physical activity. When assessing differences by sex, the observed significant associations of independent outdoor play with light and total physical activity remained in girls but not in boys. All other associations showed no significant differences by sex. Conclusions Independent outdoor play may boost children’s daily physical activity levels

Establishing a coherent and replicable measurement model of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Colin R; Redshaw, Maggie

2018-06-01

The 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is an established screening tool for postnatal depression. Inconsistent findings in factor structure and replication difficulties have limited the scope of development of the measure as a multi-dimensional tool. The current investigation sought to robustly determine the underlying factor structure of the EPDS and the replicability and stability of the most plausible model identified. A between-subjects design was used. EPDS data were collected postpartum from two independent cohorts using identical data capture methods. Datasets were examined with confirmatory factor analysis, model invariance testing and systematic evaluation of relational and internal aspects of the measure. Participants were two samples of postpartum women in England assessed at three months (n = 245) and six months (n = 217). The findings showed a three-factor seven-item model of the EPDS offered an excellent fit to the data, and was observed to be replicable in both datasets and invariant as a function of time point of assessment. Some EPDS sub-scale scores were significantly higher at six months. The EPDS is multi-dimensional and a robust measurement model comprises three factors that are replicable. The potential utility of the sub-scale components identified requires further research to identify a role in contemporary screening practice. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement Model Specification Error in LISREL Structural Equation Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Beatrice; Lomax, Richard

This LISREL study examines the robustness of the maximum likelihood estimates under varying degrees of measurement model misspecification. A true model containing five latent variables (two endogenous and three exogenous) and two indicator variables per latent variable was used. Measurement model misspecification considered included errors of…

Consequences of recent loophole-free experiments on a relaxation of measurement independence

Science.gov (United States)

Hnilo, Alejandro A.

2017-02-01

Recent experiments using innovative optical detectors and techniques have strongly increased the capacity of testing the violation of the Bell's inequalities in Nature. Most of them have used the Eberhard's inequality (EI) to close the "detection" loophole. Closing the "locality" loophole has been attempted by spacelike separated detections and fast changes of the bases of observation, driven by random number generators of new design. Also, pulsed pumping and time-resolved data recording to close the "time-coincidence" loophole, and sophisticated statistical methods to close the "memory" loophole, have been used. In this paper, the meaning of the EI is reviewed. A simple hidden variables theory based on a relaxation of the condition of "measurement independence," which was devised long ago for the Clauser-Horne-Shimony and Holt inequality, is adapted to the EI case. It is used here to evaluate the significance of the results of the recent experiments, which are briefly described. A table summarizes the main results.

Utility of Monte Carlo Modelling for Holdup Measurements.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belian, Anthony P.; Russo, P. A. (Phyllis A.); Weier, Dennis R. (Dennis Ray),

2005-01-01

Non-destructive assay (NDA) measurements performed to locate and quantify holdup in the Oak Ridge K25 enrichment cascade used neutron totals counting and low-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy. This facility housed the gaseous diffusion process for enrichment of uranium, in the form of UF{sub 6} gas, from {approx} 20% to 93%. Inventory of {sup 235}U inventory in K-25 is all holdup. These buildings have been slated for decontaminatino and decommissioning. The NDA measurements establish the inventory quantities and will be used to assure criticality safety and meet criteria for waste analysis and transportation. The tendency to err on the side of conservatism for the sake of criticality safety in specifying total NDA uncertainty argues, in the interests of safety and costs, for obtaining the best possible value of uncertainty at the conservative confidence level for each item of process equipment. Variable deposit distribution is a complex systematic effect (i.e., determined by multiple independent variables) on the portable NDA results for very large and bulk converters that contributes greatly to total uncertainty for holdup in converters measured by gamma or neutron NDA methods. Because the magnitudes of complex systematic effects are difficult to estimate, computational tools are important for evaluating those that are large. Motivated by very large discrepancies between gamma and neutron measurements of high-mass converters with gamma results tending to dominate, the Monte Carlo code MCNP has been used to determine the systematic effects of deposit distribution on gamma and neutron results for {sup 235}U holdup mass in converters. This paper details the numerical methodology used to evaluate large systematic effects unique to each measurement type, validates the methodology by comparison with measurements, and discusses how modeling tools can supplement the calibration of instruments used for holdup measurements by providing realistic values at well

Measurement-based reliability/performability models

Science.gov (United States)

Hsueh, Mei-Chen

1987-01-01

Measurement-based models based on real error-data collected on a multiprocessor system are described. Model development from the raw error-data to the estimation of cumulative reward is also described. A workload/reliability model is developed based on low-level error and resource usage data collected on an IBM 3081 system during its normal operation in order to evaluate the resource usage/error/recovery process in a large mainframe system. Thus, both normal and erroneous behavior of the system are modeled. The results provide an understanding of the different types of errors and recovery processes. The measured data show that the holding times in key operational and error states are not simple exponentials and that a semi-Markov process is necessary to model the system behavior. A sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the significance of using a semi-Markov process, as opposed to a Markov process, to model the measured system.

Domain Independent Vocabulary Generation and Its Use in Category-based Small Footprint Language Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KIM, K.-H.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The work in this paper pertains to domain independent vocabulary generation and its use in category-based small footprint Language Model (LM. Two major constraints of the conventional LMs in the embedded environment are memory capacity limitation and data sparsity for the domain-specific application. This data sparsity adversely affects vocabulary coverage and LM performance. To overcome these constraints, we define a set of domain independent categories using a Part-Of-Speech (POS tagged corpus. Also, we generate a domain independent vocabulary based on this set using the corpus and knowledge base. Then, we propose a mathematical framework for a category-based LM using this set. In this LM, one word can be assigned assign multiple categories. In order to reduce its memory requirements, we propose a tree-based data structure. In addition, we determine the history length of a category n-gram, and the independent assumption applying to a category history generation. The proposed vocabulary generation method illustrates at least 13.68% relative improvement in coverage for a SMS text corpus, where data are sparse due to the difficulties in data collection. The proposed category-based LM requires only 215KB which is 55% and 13% compared to the conventional category-based LM and the word-based LM, respectively. It successively improves the performance, achieving 54.9% and 60.6% perplexity reduction compared to the conventional category-based LM and the word-based LM in terms of normalized perplexity.

Model independent method to deconvolve hard X-ray spectra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polcaro, V.F.; Bazzano, A.; Ubertini, P.; La Padula, C. (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Frascati (Italy). Lab. di Astrofisica Spaziale); Manchanda, R.K. (Tata Inst. of Fundamental Research, Bombay (India))

1984-07-01

A general purpose method to deconvolve the energy spectra detected by means of the use of a hard X-ray telescope is described. The procedure does not assume any form of input spectrum and the observed energy loss spectrum is directly deconvolved into the incident photon spectrum, the form of which can be determined independently of physical interpretation of the data. Deconvolution of the hard X-ray spectrum of Her X-1, detected during the HXR 81M experiment, by the method independent method is presented.

Volumetric error modeling, identification and compensation based on screw theory for a large multi-axis propeller-measuring machine

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Xuemin; Liu, Hongqi; Mao, Xinyong; Li, Bin; He, Songping; Peng, Fangyu

2018-05-01

Large multi-axis propeller-measuring machines have two types of geometric error, position-independent geometric errors (PIGEs) and position-dependent geometric errors (PDGEs), which both have significant effects on the volumetric error of the measuring tool relative to the worktable. This paper focuses on modeling, identifying and compensating for the volumetric error of the measuring machine. A volumetric error model in the base coordinate system is established based on screw theory considering all the geometric errors. In order to fully identify all the geometric error parameters, a new method for systematic measurement and identification is proposed. All the PIGEs of adjacent axes and the six PDGEs of the linear axes are identified with a laser tracker using the proposed model. Finally, a volumetric error compensation strategy is presented and an inverse kinematic solution for compensation is proposed. The final measuring and compensation experiments have further verified the efficiency and effectiveness of the measuring and identification method, indicating that the method can be used in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools.

RIPE [robot independent programming environment]: A robot independent programming environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, D.J.; Lennox, R.C.

1990-01-01

Remote manual operations in radiation environments are typically performed very slowly. Sensor-based computer-controlled robots hold great promise for increasing the speed and safety of remote operations; however, the programming of robotic systems has proven to be expensive and difficult. Generalized approaches to robot programming that reuse available software modules and employ programming languages which are independent of the specific robotic and sensory devices being used are needed to speed software development and increase overall system reliability. This paper discusses the robot independent programming environment (RIPE) developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The RIPE is an object-oriented approach to robot system architectures; it is a software environment that facilitates rapid design and implementation of complex robot systems for diverse applications. An architecture based on hierarchies of distributed multiprocessors provides the computing platform for a layered programming structure that models applications using software objects. These objects are designed to support model-based automated programming of robotic and machining devices, real-time sensor-based control, error handling, and robust communication

Feasibility study for a model independent measurement of 2β + γ in B0 decays using D-K0π+ final states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polci, F.; Schune, M.H.; Stocchi, A.

2006-05-01

In this paper we present a feasibility study for measuring the combination of the Unitarity Triangle angle 2β + γ with a time dependent Dalitz analysis in B 0 decays using D - K 0 π + final states following the method proposed in. For this study we build a model for this decay using the latest experimental information and we investigate the possibility of fitting together with 2β + γ all the relevant strong amplitudes and phases of the decay model. (authors)

Creation of 3D Multi-Body Orthodontic Models by Using Independent Imaging Sensors

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Armando Viviano Razionale

2013-02-01

Full Text Available In the field of dental health care, plaster models combined with 2D radiographs are widely used in clinical practice for orthodontic diagnoses. However, complex malocclusions can be better analyzed by exploiting 3D digital dental models, which allow virtual simulations and treatment planning processes. In this paper, dental data captured by independent imaging sensors are fused to create multi-body orthodontic models composed of teeth, oral soft tissues and alveolar bone structures. The methodology is based on integrating Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT and surface structured light scanning. The optical scanner is used to reconstruct tooth crowns and soft tissues (visible surfaces through the digitalization of both patients’ mouth impressions and plaster casts. These data are also used to guide the segmentation of internal dental tissues by processing CBCT data sets. The 3D individual dental tissues obtained by the optical scanner and the CBCT sensor are fused within multi-body orthodontic models without human supervisions to identify target anatomical structures. The final multi-body models represent valuable virtual platforms to clinical diagnostic and treatment planning.

Performance of svm, k-nn and nbc classifiers for text-independent speaker identification with and without modelling through merging models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yussouf Nahayo

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes some methods of robust text-independent speaker identification based on Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM. We implemented a combination of GMM model with a set of classifiers such as Support Vector Machine (SVM, K-Nearest Neighbour (K-NN, and Naive Bayes Classifier (NBC. In order to improve the identification rate, we developed a combination of hybrid systems by using validation technique. The experiments were performed on the dialect DR1 of the TIMIT corpus. The results have showed a better performance for the developed technique compared to the individual techniques.

A comparative study in the UNCITRAL model law about the independence of the arbitration clause

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Atefeh Darami Zadeh

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper was to investigate the independence of the arbitration clause from the main contract in the International Commercial Arbitration Law of Iran with a comparative study in the UNCITRAL model law. The effectiveness of this type of procedure, its coordination with the specific objectives and the special status of international traders has led to their increasing willingness to use this legal solution. We use a comparative method, quasi-experimental, to describe similarities and differences in variables in two or more existing groups in a natural setting; it resembles an experiment as it uses manipulation but lacks random assignment of individual subjects.  This study begins analyzing international arbitration and the UNCITRAL model rules (Chapters I to VI, then reviewing the national arbitration (Chapter V; thus, the effects of the principle of independence of the arbitration clause can be seen (Chapter VII and, later, the problems that arise (Chapters VIII to X. Even so, the main conclusion is that the parties usually agree to resolve their international disputes through arbitration, which is judged privately and universally accepted.

Measuring Software Test Verification for Complex Workpieces based on Virtual Gear Measuring Instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yin Peili

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Validity and correctness test verification of the measuring software has been a thorny issue hindering the development of Gear Measuring Instrument (GMI. The main reason is that the software itself is difficult to separate from the rest of the measurement system for independent evaluation. This paper presents a Virtual Gear Measuring Instrument (VGMI to independently validate the measuring software. The triangular patch model with accurately controlled precision was taken as the virtual workpiece and a universal collision detection model was established. The whole process simulation of workpiece measurement is implemented by VGMI replacing GMI and the measuring software is tested in the proposed virtual environment. Taking involute profile measurement procedure as an example, the validity of the software is evaluated based on the simulation results; meanwhile, experiments using the same measuring software are carried out on the involute master in a GMI. The experiment results indicate a consistency of tooth profile deviation and calibration results, thus verifying the accuracy of gear measuring system which includes the measurement procedures. It is shown that the VGMI presented can be applied in the validation of measuring software, providing a new ideal platform for testing of complex workpiece-measuring software without calibrated artifacts.

Measurement system and model for simultaneously measuring 6DOF geometric errors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yuqiong; Zhang, Bin; Feng, Qibo

2017-09-04

A measurement system to simultaneously measure six degree-of-freedom (6DOF) geometric errors is proposed. The measurement method is based on a combination of mono-frequency laser interferometry and laser fiber collimation. A simpler and more integrated optical configuration is designed. To compensate for the measurement errors introduced by error crosstalk, element fabrication error, laser beam drift, and nonparallelism of two measurement beam, a unified measurement model, which can improve the measurement accuracy, is deduced and established using the ray-tracing method. A numerical simulation using the optical design software Zemax is conducted, and the results verify the correctness of the model. Several experiments are performed to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system and measurement model.

Phase-encoded measurement device independent quantum key distribution without a shared reference frame

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuo-Dan, Zhu; Shang-Hong, Zhao; Chen, Dong; Ying, Sun

2018-07-01

In this paper, a phase-encoded measurement device independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol without a shared reference frame is presented, which can generate secure keys between two parties while the quantum channel or interferometer introduces an unknown and slowly time-varying phase. The corresponding secret key rate and single photons bit error rate is analysed, respectively, with single photons source (SPS) and weak coherent source (WCS), taking finite-key analysis into account. The numerical simulations show that the modified phase-encoded MDI-QKD protocol has apparent superiority both in maximal secure transmission distance and key generation rate while possessing the improved robustness and practical security in the high-speed case. Moreover, the rejection of the frame-calibrating part will intrinsically reduce the consumption of resources as well as the potential security flaws of practical MDI-QKD systems.

Relationship between theory of mind and functional independence is mediated by executive function.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Fayeza S; Miller, L Stephen

2013-06-01

Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to comprehend another person's perspective. Although there is much literature of ToM in children, there is a limited and somewhat inconclusive amount of studies examining ToM in a geriatric population. This study examined ToM's relationship to functional independence. Two tests of ToM, tests of executive function, and a measure of functional ability were administered to cognitively intact older adults. Results showed that 1 test of ToM (Strange Stories test) significantly accounted for variance in functional ability, whereas the other did not (Faux Pas test). In addition, Strange Stories test performance was partially driven by a verbal abstraction-based executive function: proverb interpretation. A multiple mediation model was employed to examine whether executive functions explained the relationship between the Strange Stories test and functional ability. Results showed that both the combined and individual indirect effects of the executive function measures mediated the relationship. We argue that, although components of ToM are associated with functional independence, ToM does not appear to account for additional variance in functional independence beyond executive function measures. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Industrial point source CO2 emission strength estimation with aircraft measurements and dispersion modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Carotenuto, Federico; Gualtieri, Giovanni; Miglietta, Franco; Riccio, Angelo; Toscano, Piero; Wohlfahrt, Georg; Gioli, Beniamino

2018-02-22

CO 2 remains the greenhouse gas that contributes most to anthropogenic global warming, and the evaluation of its emissions is of major interest to both research and regulatory purposes. Emission inventories generally provide quite reliable estimates of CO 2 emissions. However, because of intrinsic uncertainties associated with these estimates, it is of great importance to validate emission inventories against independent estimates. This paper describes an integrated approach combining aircraft measurements and a puff dispersion modelling framework by considering a CO 2 industrial point source, located in Biganos, France. CO 2 density measurements were obtained by applying the mass balance method, while CO 2 emission estimates were derived by implementing the CALMET/CALPUFF model chain. For the latter, three meteorological initializations were used: (i) WRF-modelled outputs initialized by ECMWF reanalyses; (ii) WRF-modelled outputs initialized by CFSR reanalyses and (iii) local in situ observations. Governmental inventorial data were used as reference for all applications. The strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches and how they affect emission estimation uncertainty were investigated. The mass balance based on aircraft measurements was quite succesful in capturing the point source emission strength (at worst with a 16% bias), while the accuracy of the dispersion modelling, markedly when using ECMWF initialization through the WRF model, was only slightly lower (estimation with an 18% bias). The analysis will help in highlighting some methodological best practices that can be used as guidelines for future experiments.

An updated PREDICT breast cancer prognostication and treatment benefit prediction model with independent validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Candido Dos Reis, Francisco J; Wishart, Gordon C; Dicks, Ed M; Greenberg, David; Rashbass, Jem; Schmidt, Marjanka K; van den Broek, Alexandra J; Ellis, Ian O; Green, Andrew; Rakha, Emad; Maishman, Tom; Eccles, Diana M; Pharoah, Paul D P

2017-05-22

PREDICT is a breast cancer prognostic and treatment benefit model implemented online. The overall fit of the model has been good in multiple independent case series, but PREDICT has been shown to underestimate breast cancer specific mortality in women diagnosed under the age of 40. Another limitation is the use of discrete categories for tumour size and node status resulting in 'step' changes in risk estimates on moving between categories. We have refitted the PREDICT prognostic model using the original cohort of cases from East Anglia with updated survival time in order to take into account age at diagnosis and to smooth out the survival function for tumour size and node status. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to fit separate models for ER negative and ER positive disease. Continuous variables were fitted using fractional polynomials and a smoothed baseline hazard was obtained by regressing the baseline cumulative hazard for each patients against time using fractional polynomials. The fit of the prognostic models were then tested in three independent data sets that had also been used to validate the original version of PREDICT. In the model fitting data, after adjusting for other prognostic variables, there is an increase in risk of breast cancer specific mortality in younger and older patients with ER positive disease, with a substantial increase in risk for women diagnosed before the age of 35. In ER negative disease the risk increases slightly with age. The association between breast cancer specific mortality and both tumour size and number of positive nodes was non-linear with a more marked increase in risk with increasing size and increasing number of nodes in ER positive disease. The overall calibration and discrimination of the new version of PREDICT (v2) was good and comparable to that of the previous version in both model development and validation data sets. However, the calibration of v2 improved over v1 in patients diagnosed under the age

Data-driven model-independent searches for long-lived particles at the LHC

Science.gov (United States)

Coccaro, Andrea; Curtin, David; Lubatti, H. J.; Russell, Heather; Shelton, Jessie

2016-12-01

Neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) are highly motivated by many beyond the Standard Model scenarios, such as theories of supersymmetry, baryogenesis, and neutral naturalness, and present both tremendous discovery opportunities and experimental challenges for the LHC. A major bottleneck for current LLP searches is the prediction of Standard Model backgrounds, which are often impossible to simulate accurately. In this paper, we propose a general strategy for obtaining differential, data-driven background estimates in LLP searches, thereby notably extending the range of LLP masses and lifetimes that can be discovered at the LHC. We focus on LLPs decaying in the ATLAS muon system, where triggers providing both signal and control samples are available at LHC run 2. While many existing searches require two displaced decays, a detailed knowledge of backgrounds will allow for very inclusive searches that require just one detected LLP decay. As we demonstrate for the h →X X signal model of LLP pair production in exotic Higgs decays, this results in dramatic sensitivity improvements for proper lifetimes ≳10 m . In theories of neutral naturalness, this extends reach to glueball masses far below the b ¯b threshold. Our strategy readily generalizes to other signal models and other detector subsystems. This framework therefore lends itself to the development of a systematic, model-independent LLP search program, in analogy to the highly successful simplified-model framework of prompt searches.

A heteroscedastic measurement error model for method comparison data with replicate measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawarathna, Lakshika S; Choudhary, Pankaj K

2015-03-30

Measurement error models offer a flexible framework for modeling data collected in studies comparing methods of quantitative measurement. These models generally make two simplifying assumptions: (i) the measurements are homoscedastic, and (ii) the unobservable true values of the methods are linearly related. One or both of these assumptions may be violated in practice. In particular, error variabilities of the methods may depend on the magnitude of measurement, or the true values may be nonlinearly related. Data with these features call for a heteroscedastic measurement error model that allows nonlinear relationships in the true values. We present such a model for the case when the measurements are replicated, discuss its fitting, and explain how to evaluate similarity of measurement methods and agreement between them, which are two common goals of data analysis, under this model. Model fitting involves dealing with lack of a closed form for the likelihood function. We consider estimation methods that approximate either the likelihood or the model to yield approximate maximum likelihood estimates. The fitting methods are evaluated in a simulation study. The proposed methodology is used to analyze a cholesterol dataset. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluating measurement of dynamic constructs: defining a measurement model of derivatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Estabrook, Ryne

2015-03-01

While measurement evaluation has been embraced as an important step in psychological research, evaluating measurement structures with longitudinal data is fraught with limitations. This article defines and tests a measurement model of derivatives (MMOD), which is designed to assess the measurement structure of latent constructs both for analyses of between-person differences and for the analysis of change. Simulation results indicate that MMOD outperforms existing models for multivariate analysis and provides equivalent fit to data generation models. Additional simulations show MMOD capable of detecting differences in between-person and within-person factor structures. Model features, applications, and future directions are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

A method for improving global pyranometer measurements by modeling responsivity functions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lester, A. [Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063 (United States); Myers, D.R. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401 (United States)

2006-03-15

Accurate global solar radiation measurements are crucial to climate change research and the development of solar energy technologies. Pyranometers produce an electrical signal proportional to global irradiance. The signal-to-irradiance ratio is the responsivity (RS) of the instrument (RS=signal/irradiance=microvolts/(W/m{sup 2})). Most engineering measurements are made using a constant RS. It is known that RS varies with day of year, zenith angle, and net infrared radiation. This study proposes a method to find an RS function to model a pyranometer's changing RS. Using a reference irradiance calculated from direct and diffuse instruments, we found instantaneous RS for two global pyranometers over 31 sunny days in a two-year period. We performed successive independent regressions of the error between the constant and instantaneous RS with respect to zenith angle, day of year, and net infrared to obtain an RS function. An alternative method replaced the infrared regression with an independently developed technique to account for thermal offset. Results show improved uncertainties with the function method than with the single-calibration value. Lower uncertainties also occur using a black-and-white (8-48), rather than all-black (PSP), shaded pyranometer as the diffuse reference instrument. We conclude that the function method is extremely effective in reducing uncertainty in the irradiance measurements for global PSP pyranometers if they are calibrated at the deployment site. Furthermore, it was found that the function method accounts for the pyranometer's thermal offset, rendering further corrections unnecessary. The improvements in irradiance data achieved in this study will serve to increase the accuracy of solar energy assessments and atmospheric research. (author)

Quantifying identifiability in independent component analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sokol, Alexander; Maathuis, Marloes H.; Falkeborg, Benjamin

2014-01-01

We are interested in consistent estimation of the mixing matrix in the ICA model, when the error distribution is close to (but different from) Gaussian. In particular, we consider $n$ independent samples from the ICA model $X = A\\epsilon$, where we assume that the coordinates of $\\epsilon......$ are independent and identically distributed according to a contaminated Gaussian distribution, and the amount of contamination is allowed to depend on $n$. We then investigate how the ability to consistently estimate the mixing matrix depends on the amount of contamination. Our results suggest...

Empirical model with independent variable moments of inertia for triaxial nuclei applied to 76Ge and 192Os

Science.gov (United States)

Sugawara, M.

2018-05-01

An empirical model with independent variable moments of inertia for triaxial nuclei is devised and applied to 76Ge and 192Os. Three intrinsic moments of inertia, J1, J2, and J3, are varied independently as a particular function of spin I within a revised version of the triaxial rotor model so as to reproduce the energy levels of the ground-state, γ , and (in the case of 192Os) Kπ=4+ bands. The staggering in the γ band is well reproduced in both phase and amplitude. Effective γ values are extracted as a function of spin I from the ratios of the three moments of inertia. The eigenfunctions and the effective γ values are subsequently used to calculate the ratios of B (E 2 ) values associated with these bands. Good agreement between the model calculation and the experimental data is obtained for both 76Ge and 192Os.

Standard-Model Tests with Superallowed β-Decay: An Important Application of Very Precise Mass Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hardy, J. C.; Towner, I. S.

2001-01-01

Superallowed β-decay provides a sensitive means for probing the limitations of the Electroweak Standard Model. To date, the strengths (ft-values) of superallowed 0 +→ 0 + β-decay transitions have been determined with high precision from nine different short-lived nuclei, ranging from 10 C to 54 Co. Each result leads to an independent measure for the vector coupling constant G V and collectively the nine values can be used to test the conservation of the weak vector current (CVC). Within current uncertainties, the results support CVC to better than a few parts in 10,000 - a clear success for the Standard Model! However, when the average value of G V , as determined in this way, is combined with data from decays of the muon and kaon to test another prediction of the Standard Model, the result is much more provocative. A test of the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix fails by more than two standard deviations. This result can be made more definitive by experiments that require extremely precise mass measurements, in some cases on very short-lived (≤100 ms) nuclei. This talk presents the current status and future prospects for these Standard-Model tests, emphasizing the role of precise mass, or mass-difference measurements. There remains a real challenge to mass-measurement technique with the opportunity for significant new results

Solar Measurement and Modeling | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Measurement and Modeling Solar Measurement and Modeling NREL supports grid integration studies , industry, government, and academia by disseminating solar resource measurements, models, and best practices have continuously gathered basic solar radiation information, and they now gather high-resolution data

[Development and reliability evaluation of an instrument to measure health-related quality of life in independent elderly].

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Maria José Barbosa de; Portela, Margareth Crisóstomo

2010-08-01

This study presents an instrument, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) profile for independent elderly, to measure the health-related quality of life of the functionally independent elderly assisted in the outpatient setting, based on the adaptation of four validated scales: Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Duke-UNC Health Profile (DUHP), Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). The study also evaluates the instrument's reliability based on its use by two different observers with a 15-day interval. The instrument includes five dimensions (health perception, symptoms, physical function, psychological function, and social function) and 45 items. Reliability evaluation of the QUASI instrument was based on interviews with 142 elderly outpatients in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prevalence-adjusted kappa statistic was used to assess all 45 items. Correlation was also calculated between overall scores and scores on individual dimensions. In the reliability evaluation, 39 of the 45 items showed prevalence-adjusted kappa greater than 0.60.

eMatchSite: sequence order-independent structure alignments of ligand binding pockets in protein models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michal Brylinski

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Detecting similarities between ligand binding sites in the absence of global homology between target proteins has been recognized as one of the critical components of modern drug discovery. Local binding site alignments can be constructed using sequence order-independent techniques, however, to achieve a high accuracy, many current algorithms for binding site comparison require high-quality experimental protein structures, preferably in the bound conformational state. This, in turn, complicates proteome scale applications, where only various quality structure models are available for the majority of gene products. To improve the state-of-the-art, we developed eMatchSite, a new method for constructing sequence order-independent alignments of ligand binding sites in protein models. Large-scale benchmarking calculations using adenine-binding pockets in crystal structures demonstrate that eMatchSite generates accurate alignments for almost three times more protein pairs than SOIPPA. More importantly, eMatchSite offers a high tolerance to structural distortions in ligand binding regions in protein models. For example, the percentage of correctly aligned pairs of adenine-binding sites in weakly homologous protein models is only 4-9% lower than those aligned using crystal structures. This represents a significant improvement over other algorithms, e.g. the performance of eMatchSite in recognizing similar binding sites is 6% and 13% higher than that of SiteEngine using high- and moderate-quality protein models, respectively. Constructing biologically correct alignments using predicted ligand binding sites in protein models opens up the possibility to investigate drug-protein interaction networks for complete proteomes with prospective systems-level applications in polypharmacology and rational drug repositioning. eMatchSite is freely available to the academic community as a web-server and a stand-alone software distribution at http://www.brylinski.org/ematchsite.

How to misinterpret photosynthesis measurements and develop incorrect ecosystem models

Science.gov (United States)

Prentice, Iain Colin

2017-04-01

It is becoming widely accepted than current land ecosystem models (dynamic global vegetation models and land-surface models) rest on shaky foundations and are in need of rebuilding, taking advantage of huge data resources that were hardly conceivable when these models were first developed. It has also become almost a truism that next-generation model development should involve observationalists, experimentalists and modellers working more closely together. What is currently lacking, however, is open discussion of specific problems in the structure of current models, and how they might have arisen. Such a discussion is important if the same mistakes are not to be perpetuated in a new generation of models. I will focus on the central processes governing leaf-level gas exchange, which powers the land carbon and water cycles. I will show that a broad area of confusion exists - as much in the empirical ecophysiological literature as in modelling research - concerning the interpretation of gas-exchange measurements and (especially) their scaling up from the narrow temporal and spatial scales of laboratory measurements to the broad-scale research questions linked to global environmental change. In particular, I will provide examples (drawing on a variety of published and unpublished observations) that illustrate the benefits of taking a "plant-centred" view, showing how consideration of optimal acclimation challenges many (often untstated) assumptions about the relationship of plant and ecosystem processes to environmental variation. (1) Photosynthesis is usually measured at light saturation (implying Rubisco limitation), leading to temperature and CO2 responses that are completely different from those of gross primary production (GPP) under field conditions. (2) The actual rate of electron transport under field conditions depends strongly on the intrinsic quantum efficiency, which is temperature-independent (within a broad range) and unrelated to the maximum electron

AC magnetic measurements of the ALS Booster Synchrotron Dipole Magnet engineering model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, M.I.; Hoyer, E.; Keller, R.; Nelson, D.H.

1988-09-01

We made a minimal set of AC magnetic measurements of the engineering model of the ALS Booster Dipole Magnet as part of the process of qualifying its design for production. Magnetic induction integrals over paths approximating electron-beam trajectories were measured with long curved coils connected to an electronic integrator. Magnetic induction was measured with point coils and an integrator and independently with a Hall-effect Gaussmeter. These quantities, and magnet current, were displayed on a commercial digital storage oscilloscope as parametric functions of time. The displayed waveforms were stored, processed and redisplayed as representations of selected magnet parameters. A waveform representing the magnet's effective-length was created by dividing the integral waveform by the magnetic induction waveform. Waveforms of the transfer functions were produced by dividing both the integral waveform and the magnetic induction waveform by the current waveform. Pairs of matched coils, connected in series opposition, provided differential measurements of field uniformity. Quadrupole and sextupole coefficients were derived from the uniformity data. These magnet parameters were measured at 2 and 10 Hz frequencies. Together with measurements of the magnetic field at selected dc levels, the ac measurements demonstrated that the magnet design met specifications and qualified it for production. 7 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs

A model-independent analysis of final-state interactions in B̄{sub d/s}{sup 0}→J/ψππ

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daub, J.T. [Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik (Theorie) andBethe Center for Theoretical Physics, Universität Bonn,D-53115 Bonn (Germany); Hanhart, C. [Institut für Kernphysik, Institute for Advanced Simulation and Jülich Center for Hadron Physics,Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Kubis, B. [Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik (Theorie) andBethe Center for Theoretical Physics, Universität Bonn,D-53115 Bonn (Germany)

2016-02-01

Exploiting B-meson decays for Standard Model tests and beyond requires a precise understanding of the strong final-state interactions that can be provided model-independently by means of dispersion theory. This formalism allows one to deduce the universal pion-pion final-state interactions from the accurately known ππ phase shifts and, in the scalar sector, a coupled-channel treatment with the kaon-antikaon system. In this work an analysis of the decays B̄{sub d}{sup 0}→J/ψπ{sup +}π{sup −} and B̄{sub s}{sup 0}→J/ψπ{sup +}π{sup −} is presented. We find very good agreement with the data up to 1.05 GeV in the ππ invariant mass, with a number of parameters reduced significantly compared to a phenomenological analysis. In addition, the phases of the amplitudes are correct by construction, a crucial feature for many CP violation measurements in heavy-meson decays.

Characterizing speed-independence of high-level designs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kishinevsky, Michael; Staunstrup, Jørgen

1994-01-01

This paper characterizes the speed-independence of high-level designs. The characterization is a condition on the design description ensuring that the behavior of the design is independent of the speeds of its components. The behavior of a circuit is modeled as a transition system, that allows data...... types, and internal as well as external non-determinism. This makes it possible to verify the speed-independence of a design without providing an explicit realization of the environment. The verification can be done mechanically. A number of experimental designs have been verified including a speed-independent...

Predicting Document Retrieval System Performance: An Expected Precision Measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Losee, Robert M., Jr.

1987-01-01

Describes an expected precision (EP) measure designed to predict document retrieval performance. Highlights include decision theoretic models; precision and recall as measures of system performance; EP graphs; relevance feedback; and computing the retrieval status value of a document for two models, the Binary Independent Model and the Two Poisson…

Model-independent test for scale-dependent non-Gaussianities in the cosmic microwave background.

Science.gov (United States)

Räth, C; Morfill, G E; Rossmanith, G; Banday, A J; Górski, K M

2009-04-03

We present a model-independent method to test for scale-dependent non-Gaussianities in combination with scaling indices as test statistics. Therefore, surrogate data sets are generated, in which the power spectrum of the original data is preserved, while the higher order correlations are partly randomized by applying a scale-dependent shuffling procedure to the Fourier phases. We apply this method to the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data of the cosmic microwave background and find signatures for non-Gaussianities on large scales. Further tests are required to elucidate the origin of the detected anomalies.

Decay patterns of multi-quasiparticle bands—a model independent test of chiral symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrie, E A

2017-01-01

Nuclear chiral systems exhibit chiral symmetry bands, built on left-handed and right-handed angular momentum nucleon configurations. The experimental search for such chiral systems revealed a number of suitable candidates, however an unambiguous identification of nuclear chiral symmetry is still outstanding. In this work it is shown that the decay patterns of chiral bands built on multi-quasiparticle configurations are different from those involving different single-particle configurations. It is suggested to use the observed decay patterns of chiral candidates as a new model-independent test of chiral symmetry. (paper)

Energy, fatigue, or both? A bifactor modeling approach to the conceptualization and measurement of vitality.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Nina; Guyer, Rick; Ware, John E

2015-01-01

Vitality is an important domain reflecting both the physical and emotional components of health-related quality of life. Because of its complexity, it has been defined and measured both broadly and narrowly. We explored the dimensionality of a very comprehensive item bank hypothesized to measure vitality and its related concepts. Secondary analyses were conducted using the responses of 1,343 adults representative of the US general population to Internet-based surveys including 42 items compiled from multiple scales (e.g., SF-36 Vitality, PROMIS-Fatigue), covering a broad range of vitality-related content areas (energy, fatigue, and their interference with physical, mental, social activities, and quality of life). Exploratory and confirmatory factor models were evaluated independently using split-half samples. Bifactor model was used to assess the essential unidimensionality of the items, in comparison with traditional unidimensional, multidimensional, and hierarchical models. Method effects of a common scale or phrase were modeled via correlating errors. The exploratory factor analysis identified one dominant factor. The confirmatory factor analysis identified a best-fitting (CFI = 0.964, RMSEA = 0.084) bifactor model with one general (vitality) and two group (energy and fatigue) factors, explaining 69, 3, and 4 % of total variance. Correlating errors accounting for the method effects were important in identifying the substantive dimensionality of the items. The bifactor model proved to be useful for evaluating the dimensionality of a complex construct. Results supported conceptualizing and measuring vitality as a unidimensional energy-fatigue construct. We encourage future studies comparing practical implications of measures based on the broader and narrower conceptualizations of vitality.

Comparisons of Box Model Calculations and Measurements of Formaldehyde from the 1997 North Atlantic Regional Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frost, G. J.; Fried, Alan; Lee, Y.- N.; Wert, B.; Henry, B.; Drummond, J. R.; Evans, M. J.; Fehsenfeld, Fred C.; Goldan, P. D.; Holloway, J. S.; Hubler, Gerhard F.; Jakoubek, R.; Jobson, B Tom T.; Knapp, K.; Kuster, W. C.; Roberts, J.; Rudolph, Jochen; Ryerson, T. B.; Stohl, A.; Stroud, C.; Sueper, D. T.; Trainer, Michael; Williams, J.

2002-04-18

Formaldehyde (CH2O) measurements from two independent instruments are compared with photochemical box model calculations. The measurements were made on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration P-3 aircraft as part of the 1997 North Atlantic Regional Experiment (NARE 97). The data set considered here consists of air masses sampled between 0 and 8 km over the North Atlantic Ocean which do not show recent influence from emissions or transport. These air masses therefore should be in photochemical steady state with respect to CH2O when constrained by the other P-3 measurements, and methane oxidation was expected to be the predominant source of CH2O in these air masses. For this data set both instruments measured identical CH2O concentrations to within 40 parts per trillion by volume (pptv) on average over the 0–800 pptv range, although differences larger than the combined 2s total uncertainty estimates were observed between the two instruments in 11% of the data. Both instruments produced higher CH2O concentrations than the model in more than 90% of this data set, with a median measured-modeled [CH2O] difference of 0.13 or 0.18 ppbv (depending on the instrument), or about a factor of 2. Such large differences cannot be accounted for by varying model input parameters within their respective uncertainty ranges. After examining the possible reasons for the model-measurement discrepancy, we conclude that there are probably one or more additional unknown sources of CH2O in the North Atlantic troposphere.

Model-independent determination of the two-photon exchange contribution to hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peset, Clara; Pineda, Antonio [Grup de Física Teòrica, Dept. Física and IFAE-BIST, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,E-08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) (Spain)

2017-04-11

We obtain a model-independent prediction for the two-photon exchange contribution to the hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen. We use the relation of the Wilson coefficients of the spin-dependent dimension-six four-fermion operator of NRQED applied to the electron-proton and to the muon-proton sectors. Their difference can be reliably computed using chiral perturbation theory, whereas the Wilson coefficient of the electron-proton sector can be determined from the hyperfine splitting in hydrogen. This allows us to give a precise model-independent determination of the Wilson coefficient for the muon-proton sector, and consequently of the two-photon exchange contribution to the hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen, which reads δĒ{sub pμ,HF}{sup TPE}(nS)=−(1/(n{sup 3}))1.161(20) meV. Together with the associated QED analysis, we obtain a prediction for the hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen that reads E{sub pμ,HF}{sup th}(1S)=182.623(27) meV and E{sub pμ,HF}{sup th}(2S)=22.8123(33) meV. The error is dominated by the two-photon exchange contribution.

Parametric model measurement: reframing traditional measurement ideas in neuropsychological practice and research.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Gregory G; Thomas, Michael L; Patt, Virginie

Neuropsychology is an applied measurement field with its psychometric work primarily built upon classical test theory (CTT). We describe a series of psychometric models to supplement the use of CTT in neuropsychological research and test development. We introduce increasingly complex psychometric models as measurement algebras, which include model parameters that represent abilities and item properties. Within this framework of parametric model measurement (PMM), neuropsychological assessment involves the estimation of model parameters with ability parameter values assuming the role of test 'scores'. Moreover, the traditional notion of measurement error is replaced by the notion of parameter estimation error, and the definition of reliability becomes linked to notions of item and test information. The more complex PMM approaches incorporate into the assessment of neuropsychological performance formal parametric models of behavior validated in the experimental psychology literature, along with item parameters. These PMM approaches endorse the use of experimental manipulations of model parameters to assess a test's construct representation. Strengths and weaknesses of these models are evaluated by their implications for measurement error conditional upon ability level, sensitivity to sample characteristics, computational challenges to parameter estimation, and construct validity. A family of parametric psychometric models can be used to assess latent processes of interest to neuropsychologists. By modeling latent abilities at the item level, psychometric studies in neuropsychology can investigate construct validity and measurement precision within a single framework and contribute to a unification of statistical methods within the framework of generalized latent variable modeling.

Tests of the Standard Model and Constraints on New Physics from Measurements of Fermion-Pair Production at 189-209 GeV at LEP

CERN Document Server

Abbiendi, G.; Akesson, P.F.; Alexander, G.; Allison, John; Amaral, P.; Anagnostou, G.; Anderson, K.J.; Arcelli, S.; Asai, S.; Axen, D.; Azuelos, G.; Bailey, I.; Barberio, E.; Barillari, T.; Barlow, R.J.; Batley, R.J.; Bechtle, P.; Behnke, T.; Bell, Kenneth Watson; Bell, P.J.; Bella, G.; Bellerive, A.; Benelli, G.; Bethke, S.; Biebel, O.; Boeriu, O.; Bock, P.; Boutemeur, M.; Braibant, S.; Brigliadori, L.; Brown, Robert M.; Buesser, K.; Burckhart, H.J.; Campana, S.; Carnegie, R.K.; Caron, B.; Carter, A.A.; Carter, J.R.; Chang, C.Y.; Charlton, David G.; Ciocca, C.; Csilling, A.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; De Roeck, A.; De Wolf, E.A.; Desch, K.; Dienes, B.; Donkers, M.; Dubbert, J.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Duerdoth, I.P.; Etzion, E.; Fabbri, F.; Feld, L.; Ferrari, P.; Fiedler, F.; Fleck, I.; Ford, M.; Frey, A.; Furtjes, A.; Gagnon, P.; Gary, John William; Gaycken, G.; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Giacomelli, G.; Giacomelli, P.; Giunta, Marina; Goldberg, J.; Gross, E.; Grunhaus, J.; Gruwe, M.; Gunther, P.O.; Gupta, A.; Hajdu, C.; Hamann, M.; Hanson, G.G.; Harel, A.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C.M.; Hawkings, R.; Hemingway, R.J.; Hensel, C.; Herten, G.; Heuer, R.D.; Hill, J.C.; Hoffman, Kara Dion; Horvath, D.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Ishii, K.; Jeremie, H.; Jovanovic, P.; Junk, T.R.; Kanaya, N.; Kanzaki, J.; Karlen, D.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Keeler, R.K.; Kellogg, R.G.; Kennedy, B.W.; Klein, K.; Klier, A.; Kluth, S.; Kobayashi, T.; Kobel, M.; Komamiya, S.; Kormos, Laura L.; Kramer, T.; Krieger, P.; von Krogh, J.; Kruger, K.; Kuhl, T.; Kupper, M.; Lafferty, G.D.; Landsman, H.; Lanske, D.; Layter, J.G.; Lellouch, D.; Lettso, J.; Levinson, L.; Lillich, J.; Lloyd, S.L.; Loebinger, F.K.; Lu, J.; Ludwig, A.; Ludwig, J.; Macpherson, A.; Mader, W.; Marcellini, S.; Martin, A.J.; Masetti, G.; Mashimo, T.; Mattig, Peter; McDonald, W.J.; McKenna, J.; McMahon, T.J.; McPherson, R.A.; Meijers, F.; Menges, W.; Merritt, F.S.; Mes, H.; Michelini, A.; Mihara, S.; Mikenberg, G.; Miller, D.J.; Moed, S.; Mohr, W.; Mori, T.; Mutter, A.; Nagai, K.; Nakamura, I.; Nanjo, H.; Neal, H.A.; Nisius, R.; O'Neale, S.W.; Oh, A.; Okpara, A.; Oreglia, M.J.; Orito, S.; Pahl, C.; Pasztor, G.; Pater, J.R.; Pilcher, J.E.; Pinfold, J.; Plane, David E.; Poli, B.; Polok, J.; Pooth, O.; Przybycien, M.; Quadt, A.; Rabbertz, K.; Rembser, C.; Renkel, P.; Roney, J.M.; Rosati, S.; Rozen, Y.; Runge, K.; Sachs, K.; Saeki, T.; Sarkisyan, E.K.G.; Schaile, A.D.; Schaile, O.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; Schieck, J.; Schoerner-Sadenius, Thomas; Schroder, Matthias; Schumacher, M.; Schwick, C.; Scott, W.G.; Seuster, R.; Shears, T.G.; Shen, B.C.; Sherwood, P.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A.M.; Sobie, R.; Soldner-Rembold, S.; Spano, F.; Stahl, A.; Stephens, K.; Strom, David M.; Strohmer, R.; Tarem, S.; Tasevsky, M.; Teuscher, R.; Thomson, M.A.; Torrence, E.; Toya, D.; Tran, P.; Trigger, I.; Trocsanyi, Z.; Tsur, E.; Turner-Watson, M.F.; Ueda, I.; Ujvari, B.; Vollmer, C.F.; Vannerem, P.; Vertesi, R.; Verzocchi, M.; Voss, H.; Vossebeld, J.; Waller, D.; Ward, C.P.; Ward, D.R.; Watkins, P.M.; Watson, A.T.; Watson, N.K.; Wells, P.S.; Wengler, T.; Wermes, N.; Wetterling, D.; Wilson, G.W.; Wilson, J.A.; Wolf, G.; Wyatt, T.R.; Yamashita, S.; Zer-Zion, D.; Zivkovic, Lidija

2004-01-01

Cross-section and angular distributions for hadronic and lepton-pair final states in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies between 189 GeV and 209 GeV, measured with the OPAL detector at LEP, are presented and compared with the predictions of the Standard Model. The measurements are used to determine the electromagnetic coupling constant alphaem at LEP2 energies. In addition, the results are used together with OPAL measurements at 91-183 GeV within the S-matrix formalism to determine the gamma-Z interference term and to make an almost model-independent measurement of the Z mass. Limits on extensions to the Standard Model described by effective four-fermion contact interactions or the addition of a heavy Z boson are also presented.

Indoor MIMO Channel Measurement and Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jesper Ødum; Andersen, Jørgen Bach

2005-01-01

Forming accurate models of the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel is essential both for simulation as well as understanding of the basic properties of the channel. This paper investigates different known models using measurements obtained with a 16x32 MIMO channel sounder for the 5.8GHz...... band. The measurements were carried out in various indoor scenarios including both temporal and spatial aspects of channel changes. The models considered include the so-called Kronecker model, a model proposed by Weichselberger et. al., and a model involving the full covariance matrix, the most...

Comparison of conventional study model measurements and 3D digital study model measurements from laser scanned dental impressions

Science.gov (United States)

Nugrahani, F.; Jazaldi, F.; Noerhadi, N. A. I.

2017-08-01

The field of orthodontics is always evolving,and this includes the use of innovative technology. One type of orthodontic technology is the development of three-dimensional (3D) digital study models that replace conventional study models made by stone. This study aims to compare the mesio-distal teeth width, intercanine width, and intermolar width measurements between a 3D digital study model and a conventional study model. Twelve sets of upper arch dental impressions were taken from subjects with non-crowding teeth. The impressions were taken twice, once with alginate and once with polivinylsiloxane. The alginate impressions used in the conventional study model and the polivinylsiloxane impressions were scanned to obtain the 3D digital study model. Scanning was performed using a laser triangulation scanner device assembled by the School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics at the Institut Teknologi Bandung and David Laser Scan software. For the conventional model, themesio-distal width, intercanine width, and intermolar width were measured using digital calipers; in the 3D digital study model they were measured using software. There were no significant differences between the mesio-distal width, intercanine width, and intermolar width measurments between the conventional and 3D digital study models (p>0.05). Thus, measurements using 3D digital study models are as accurate as those obtained from conventional study models

Analysis of the Functional Independence Measure Value of Cervical Spine Injury Patients with Conservative Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Zafrullah Arifin

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Analysis of the Functional Independence Measure Value of Cervical Spine Injury Patients with Conservative Management. Cervical spine injury is one of the most common spinal cord injuries in trauma patients. From 100,000 spinal cord injury cases reported in the United States of America (2008, sixty seven percent involve cervical spine injury. American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA impairment score is used as an initial assessment but not enough attention prognostic outcome of these patients was paid to. The objective of this study is to analyze the value of functional independence measure (FIM cervical spine injury patients with conservative management and its correlation with age, sex, type of trauma, onset of trauma, cervical abnormalities, type of cervical spine lesion and ASIA impairment score. A prospective cohort study was performed to all patients with cervical spine injury treated inNeurosurgery Department of Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung that fullfiled the inclusion criteria. The subjects were classified based on age, sex, single/multiple trauma, acute /chronic, cervical abnormalities, complete/incomplete lesion and ASIA impairment score. The FIM examination was performed in Outpatient clinic of Neurosurgery. T-test and chi-square test was done to analyze the data. There were 17 cervical spine injury patients treated in Neurosurgery Department of Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital during April 2009–April 2010. The average FIM value of cervical spine injury in those patients is 4+ 1.63 by cohort prospective study. There were no correlation between FIM value with age, sex, type of trauma, onset of trauma and cervical abnormalities. Significant correlations were found between FIM value with type of cervical spine lesion and ASIA impairment score in cervical spine patients. Type of cervical spine lesion and ASIA impairment score have significant correlation with FIM value of patients in 6 months after cervical injury.

The effect of measurement quality on targeted structural model fit indices: A comment on Lance, Beck, Fan, and Carter (2016).

Science.gov (United States)

McNeish, Daniel; Hancock, Gregory R

2018-03-01

Lance, Beck, Fan, and Carter (2016) recently advanced 6 new fit indices and associated cutoff values for assessing data-model fit in the structural portion of traditional latent variable path models. The authors appropriately argued that, although most researchers' theoretical interest rests with the latent structure, they still rely on indices of global model fit that simultaneously assess both the measurement and structural portions of the model. As such, Lance et al. proposed indices intended to assess the structural portion of the model in isolation of the measurement model. Unfortunately, although these strategies separate the assessment of the structure from the fit of the measurement model, they do not isolate the structure's assessment from the quality of the measurement model. That is, even with a perfectly fitting measurement model, poorer quality (i.e., less reliable) measurements will yield a more favorable verdict regarding structural fit, whereas better quality (i.e., more reliable) measurements will yield a less favorable structural assessment. This phenomenon, referred to by Hancock and Mueller (2011) as the reliability paradox, affects not only traditional global fit indices but also those structural indices proposed by Lance et al. as well. Fortunately, as this comment will clarify, indices proposed by Hancock and Mueller help to mitigate this problem and allow the structural portion of the model to be assessed independently of both the fit of the measurement model as well as the quality of indicator variables contained therein. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Equivalent water height extracted from GRACE gravity field model with robust independent component analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Jinyun; Mu, Dapeng; Liu, Xin; Yan, Haoming; Dai, Honglei

2014-08-01

The Level-2 monthly GRACE gravity field models issued by Center for Space Research (CSR), GeoForschungs Zentrum (GFZ), and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are treated as observations used to extract the equivalent water height (EWH) with the robust independent component analysis (RICA). The smoothing radii of 300, 400, and 500 km are tested, respectively, in the Gaussian smoothing kernel function to reduce the observation Gaussianity. Three independent components are obtained by RICA in the spatial domain; the first component matches the geophysical signal, and the other two match the north-south strip and the other noises. The first mode is used to estimate EWHs of CSR, JPL, and GFZ, and compared with the classical empirical decorrelation method (EDM). The EWH STDs for 12 months in 2010 extracted by RICA and EDM show the obvious fluctuation. The results indicate that the sharp EWH changes in some areas have an important global effect, like in Amazon, Mekong, and Zambezi basins.

Modelling Systemic Iron Regulation during Dietary Iron Overload and Acute Inflammation: Role of Hepcidin-Independent Mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Enculescu, Mihaela; Metzendorf, Christoph; Sparla, Richard; Hahnel, Maximilian; Bode, Johannes; Muckenthaler, Martina U; Legewie, Stefan

2017-01-01

Systemic iron levels must be maintained in physiological concentrations to prevent diseases associated with iron deficiency or iron overload. A key role in this process plays ferroportin, the only known mammalian transmembrane iron exporter, which releases iron from duodenal enterocytes, hepatocytes, or iron-recycling macrophages into the blood stream. Ferroportin expression is tightly controlled by transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms in response to hypoxia, iron deficiency, heme iron and inflammatory cues by cell-autonomous and systemic mechanisms. At the systemic level, the iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin is released from the liver in response to these cues, binds to ferroportin and triggers its degradation. The relative importance of individual ferroportin control mechanisms and their interplay at the systemic level is incompletely understood. Here, we built a mathematical model of systemic iron regulation. It incorporates the dynamics of organ iron pools as well as regulation by the hepcidin/ferroportin system. We calibrated and validated the model with time-resolved measurements of iron responses in mice challenged with dietary iron overload and/or inflammation. The model demonstrates that inflammation mainly reduces the amount of iron in the blood stream by reducing intracellular ferroportin transcription, and not by hepcidin-dependent ferroportin protein destabilization. In contrast, ferroportin regulation by hepcidin is the predominant mechanism of iron homeostasis in response to changing iron diets for a big range of dietary iron contents. The model further reveals that additional homeostasis mechanisms must be taken into account at very high dietary iron levels, including the saturation of intestinal uptake of nutritional iron and the uptake of circulating, non-transferrin-bound iron, into liver. Taken together, our model quantitatively describes systemic iron metabolism and generated experimentally testable predictions for additional

Comparative studies of atomic independent-particle potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talman, J.D.; Ganas, P.S.; Green, A.E.S.

1979-01-01

A number of atomic properties are compared in various independent-particle models for atoms. The models studied are the Hartree-Fock method, a variationally optimized potential model, a parametrized analytic form of the same model, parametrized analytic models constructed to fit atomic energy levels, the so-called Hartree-Fock-Slater model, and the Xα model. The physical properties compared are single-particle energy levels, total energies, and dipole polarizabilities. The extent to which the virial theorem is satisfied in the different models is also considered. The atoms Be, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe and ions O v and Al iv hav been compared. The results show that the experimental properties can be well represented by several of the independent-particle models. Since it has been shown that the optimized potential models yield wavefunctions that are almost the same as Hartree-Fock wavefunctions, they provide a natural solution to the problem of extending the Hartree-Fock method to excited states

Model plant Key Measurement Points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, R.A.

1984-01-01

For IAEA safeguards a Key Measurement Point is defined as the location where nuclear material appears in such a form that it may be measured to determine material flow or inventory. This presentation describes in an introductory manner the key measurement points and associated measurements for the model plant used in this training course

Model-independent determination of the strong phase difference between D 0 and {\\overline{D}}^0\\to {π}+{π}-{π}+{π}- amplitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Harnew, Samuel; Naik, Paras; Prouve, Claire; Rademacker, Jonas; Asner, David

2018-01-01

For the first time, the strong phase difference between D 0 and {\\overline{D}}^0\\to {π}+{π}-{π}+{π}- amplitudes is determined in bins of the decay phase space. The measurement uses 818 pb-1 of e + e - collision data that is taken at the ψ(3770) resonance and collected by the CLEO-c experiment. The measurement is important for the determination of the CP -violating phase γ in B ± → DK ± (and similar) decays, where the D meson (which represents a superposition of D 0 and {\\overline{D}}^0 ) subsequently decays to π + π - π + π -. To obtain optimal sensitivity to γ, the phase space of the D → π + π - π + π - decay is divided into bins based on a recent amplitude model of the decay. Although an amplitude model is used to define the bins, the measurements obtained are model-independent. The CP -even fraction of the D → π + π - π + π - decay is determined to be F + 4 π = 0.769 ± 0.021 ± 0.010, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. Using simulated B ± → DK ±, D → π + π - π + π - decays, it is estimated that by the end of the current LHC run, the LHCb experiment could determine γ from this decay mode with an uncertainty of (±10 ± 7)°, where the first uncertainty is statistical based on estimated LHCb event yields, and the second is due to the uncertainties on the parameters determined in this paper.

Are Independent Fiscal Institutions Really Independent?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slawomir Franek

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In the last decade the number of independent fiscal institutions (known also as fiscal councils has tripled. They play an important oversight role over fiscal policy-making in democratic societies, especially as they seek to restore public finance stability in the wake of the recent financial crisis. Although common functions of such institutions include a role in analysis of fiscal policy, forecasting, monitoring compliance with fiscal rules or costing of spending proposals, their roles, resources and structures vary considerably across countries. The aim of the article is to determine the degree of independence of such institutions based on the analysis of the independence index of independent fiscal institutions. The analysis of this index values may be useful to determine the relations between the degree of independence of fiscal councils and fiscal performance of particular countries. The data used to calculate the index values will be derived from European Commission and IMF, which collect sets of information about characteristics of activity of fiscal councils.

Supervising Model of Independent Enterprise Group (Study of Community Development PT Badak NGL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hermansyah Hermansyah

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This research aims to arrange an empowerment model of enterprise group through the program of Community Development in order to be independent and ready to compete, which is begun from the empirical study of the success of Cipta Busana Cooperative.. This research uses the descriptive analysis by using a case study on one enterprise supervised by PT Badak NGL that is Koperasi Cipta Busana (Kocibu. Kocibu is chosen to be the object of research due to its success to achieve the target to be the independent supervised enterprise in the fourth year. The data analysis method used in this research is the explorative analysis. Based on the research, there are some results such as that Kocibu is one of the supervised Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of PT Badak NGL that could develop and be independent through several supporting programs. Some of key successes of Kocibu are as follows: a high commitment, a good leader, and intensive supervising programs. Besides, a good marketing system also contributes to the key of success. There are some aspects that naturally contribute to the Kocibu improvement and emerge naturally as follows: the leader figure and the high commitment from the stakeholders. While, the aspects emerged by design are: the supervising and training programs, the evaluation, the determination of rules, and the business targets. Hopefully, after this research has been conducted, the aspects appeared naturaly would be realized so early that the success of the public empowerment program will be able to increase. 

A model-independent ''general search'' for new physics with the ATLAS detector at LHC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bianchi, Riccardo Maria

2014-03-18

The LHC particle collider accelerates bunches of protons at energies never reached before, thus opening a completely new landscape of new physics. In this scenario the number of possible physics processes and signatures becomes virtually infinite, making the setup of dedicated analyses impossible. Moreover there are regions of the phase-space where signals of new physics are not very likely to be found, or where suitable theoretical models are missing, and it is important to be able to reveal new processes from such regions as well. At the time this Thesis was started, no model-independent analysis had been set for the ATLAS experiment at LHC. The goal of this work was then to conceive and develop a new model-independent ''General Search'' for ATLAS, and to explore its possibilities. The new analysis has been then implemented and run over the first data which have been collected by the ATLAS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. This work presents the motivation of the data analysis, describes its implementation and shows the results. The data have shown a very good agreement with the Standard Model expectation and no evidence of new physics has been observed. Nevertheless, an efficient strategy and methodology for a new model-independent ''General Search'' have been defined and they are ready to be used in a next version of this analysis, over a larger set of experimental data. During this work, a new innovative software framework has been also conceived and developed to ease the implementation of physics analysis code using Computer-Aided- Software-Engineering (CASE) principles. The framework has been successfully used to analyze the very first LHC data, and then it has been transformed into an open-source modular framework for HEP data analysis, and presented at Physics and Computer Science international conferences.

A model perception on the independence of PhD students in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Rwandan Journal of Education ... As results, we suggest that a well-trained independent PhD student from UR should be able to think critically, to initiate, to innovate and to enhance the research capabilities. Therefore ... Keywords: PhD supervision, independent researcher, PhD student, research capability, critical thinking ...

Time-independent limit of a creep-recovery constitutive equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, S.J.

1984-01-01

The effect of strain recovery is taken into consideration in ORNL efforts to establish unified constitutive equations for time-dependent plastic deformation for metals at elevated temperatures. Representation by internal state variables and Rice's flow potential are under consideration. Here the growth law for the internal state variables is discussed and interpreted in terms of a generalized form of the kinematic hardening condition of Prager. The yield condition is obtained from the flow potential representation of the inelastic strain rate. A consistency condition is derived from the yield condition and leads to a flow rule which assumes a slightly general form as compared with that of the classical plasticity due to the effect of strain recovery and the time-dependent property of the yield condition. Based on this representation, the time-independent limit is discussed. From a vanishing effect of recovery and a rate-independent limit for the yield condition at low temperature, this flow rule reduces to the well-known form of time-independent plasticity with a kinematic hardening condition. The duration of time (the characteristic time) required for the inelastic strain to reach its saturated value is defined for the inelastic loading condition. It provides the measure of a minimum duration of time which is required for a valid approximation made by the time-independent plasticity model

Development of a Grid-Independent Geos-Chem Chemical Transport Model (v9-02) as an Atmospheric Chemistry Module for Earth System Models

Science.gov (United States)

Long, M. S.; Yantosca, R.; Nielsen, J. E; Keller, C. A.; Da Silva, A.; Sulprizio, M. P.; Pawson, S.; Jacob, D. J.

2015-01-01

The GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model (CTM), used by a large atmospheric chemistry research community, has been re-engineered to also serve as an atmospheric chemistry module for Earth system models (ESMs). This was done using an Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) interface that operates independently of the GEOSChem scientific code, permitting the exact same GEOSChem code to be used as an ESM module or as a standalone CTM. In this manner, the continual stream of updates contributed by the CTM user community is automatically passed on to the ESM module, which remains state of science and referenced to the latest version of the standard GEOS-Chem CTM. A major step in this re-engineering was to make GEOS-Chem grid independent, i.e., capable of using any geophysical grid specified at run time. GEOS-Chem data sockets were also created for communication between modules and with external ESM code. The grid-independent, ESMF-compatible GEOS-Chem is now the standard version of the GEOS-Chem CTM. It has been implemented as an atmospheric chemistry module into the NASA GEOS- 5 ESM. The coupled GEOS-5-GEOS-Chem system was tested for scalability and performance with a tropospheric oxidant-aerosol simulation (120 coupled species, 66 transported tracers) using 48-240 cores and message-passing interface (MPI) distributed-memory parallelization. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the GEOS-Chem chemistry module scales efficiently for the number of cores tested, with no degradation as the number of cores increases. Although inclusion of atmospheric chemistry in ESMs is computationally expensive, the excellent scalability of the chemistry module means that the relative cost goes down with increasing number of cores in a massively parallel environment.

The independent loss model with ordered insertions for the evolution of CRISPR spacers.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumdicker, F; Huebner, A M I; Pfaffelhuber, P

2018-02-01

Today, the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) region within bacterial and archaeal genomes is known to encode an adaptive immune system. We rely on previous results on the evolution of the CRISPR arrays, which led to the ordered independent loss model, introduced by Kupczok and Bollback (2013). When focusing on the spacers (between the repeats), new elements enter a CRISPR array at rate θ at the leader end of the array, while all spacers present are lost at rate ρ along the phylogeny relating the sample. Within this model, we compute the distribution of distances of spacers which are present in all arrays in a sample of size n. We use these results to estimate the loss rate ρ from spacer array data for n=2 and n=3. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethos of independence across regions in the United States: the production-adoption model of cultural change.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitayama, Shinobu; Conway, Lucian Gideon; Pietromonaco, Paula R; Park, Hyekyung; Plaut, Victoria C

2010-09-01

Contemporary U.S. culture has a highly individualistic ethos. Nevertheless, exactly how this ethos was historically fostered remains unanalyzed. A new model of dynamic cultural change maintains that sparsely populated, novel environments that impose major threats to survival, such as the Western frontier in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries, breed strong values of independence, which in turn guide the production of new practices that encourage self-promotion and focused, competitive work. Faced with few significant threats to survival, residents in traditional areas are likely to seek social prestige by adopting existing practices of other, higher status groups. Because of both the massive economic success of the frontier and the official endorsement of the frontier by the federal government, eastern residents of the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries may have actively adopted the frontier practices of independence, thus incorporating the frontier ethos of independence to form the contemporary U.S. national culture. Available evidence is reviewed, and implications for further research on cultural change are suggested. Copyright 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

The model-independent analysis of multi-channel pion-pion scattering and the pion-pion scattering length

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Surovtsev, Yu .S.; Bydžovský, Petr; Gutsche, T.; Kaminski, R.; Lyubovitskij, V. E.; Nagy, M.

2012-01-01

Roč. 219, č. 107 (2012), s. 263-266 ISSN 0920-5632. [5th Joint International Hadron Structure Conference. Tatranska Strba, 27.6.2011 - 1.7.2011] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/08/0984 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10480505 Keywords : scalar mesons * multichannel resonances * model-independent approach Subject RIV: BE - Theoretical Physics

Measurement of Function Post Hip Fracture: Testing a Comprehensive Measurement Model of Physical Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnick, Barbara; Gruber-Baldini, Ann L; Hicks, Gregory; Ostir, Glen; Klinedinst, N Jennifer; Orwig, Denise; Magaziner, Jay

2016-07-01

Measurement of physical function post hip fracture has been conceptualized using multiple different measures. This study tested a comprehensive measurement model of physical function. This was a descriptive secondary data analysis including 168 men and 171 women post hip fracture. Using structural equation modeling, a measurement model of physical function which included grip strength, activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and performance was tested for fit at 2 and 12 months post hip fracture, and among male and female participants. Validity of the measurement model of physical function was evaluated based on how well the model explained physical activity, exercise, and social activities post hip fracture. The measurement model of physical function fit the data. The amount of variance the model or individual factors of the model explained varied depending on the activity. Decisions about the ideal way in which to measure physical function should be based on outcomes considered and participants. The measurement model of physical function is a reliable and valid method to comprehensively measure physical function across the hip fracture recovery trajectory. © 2015 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.

Controlling response dependence in the measurement of change using the Rasch model.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrich, David

2017-01-01

The advantages of using person location estimates from the Rasch model over raw scores for the measurement of change using a common test include the linearization of scores and the automatic handling of statistical properties of repeated measurements. However, the application of the model requires that the responses to the items are statistically independent in the sense that the specific responses to the items on the first time of testing do not affect the responses at a second time. This requirement implies that the responses to the items at both times of assessment are governed only by the invariant location parameters of the items at the two times of testing and the location parameters of each person each time. A specific form of dependence that is pertinent when the same items are used is when the observed response to an item at the second time of testing is affected by the response to the same item at the first time, a form of dependence which has been referred to as response dependence. This paper presents the logic of applying the Rasch model to quantify, control and remove the effect of response dependence in the measurement of change when the same items are used on two occasions. The logic is illustrated with four sets of simulation studies with dichotomous items and with a small example of real data. It is shown that the presence of response dependence can reduce the evidence of change, a reduction which may impact interpretations at the individual, research, and policy levels.

A new uncertainty importance measure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borgonovo, E.

2007-01-01

Uncertainty in parameters is present in many risk assessment problems and leads to uncertainty in model predictions. In this work, we introduce a global sensitivity indicator which looks at the influence of input uncertainty on the entire output distribution without reference to a specific moment of the output (moment independence) and which can be defined also in the presence of correlations among the parameters. We discuss its mathematical properties and highlight the differences between the present indicator, variance-based uncertainty importance measures and a moment independent sensitivity indicator previously introduced in the literature. Numerical results are discussed with application to the probabilistic risk assessment model on which Iman [A matrix-based approach to uncertainty and sensitivity analysis for fault trees. Risk Anal 1987;7(1):22-33] first introduced uncertainty importance measures

Measurement and modelization of silica opal reflection properties: Optical determination of the silica index

Science.gov (United States)

Avoine, Amaury; Hong, Phan Ngoc; Frederich, Hugo; Frigerio, Jean-Marc; Coolen, Laurent; Schwob, Catherine; Nga, Pham Thu; Gallas, Bruno; Maître, Agnès

2012-10-01

Self-assembled artificial opals (in particular silica opals) constitute a model system to study the optical properties of three-dimensional photonic crystals. The silica optical index is a key parameter to correctly describe an opal but is difficult to measure at the submicrometer scale and usually treated as a free parameter. Here, we propose a method to extract the silica index from the opal reflection spectra and we validate it by comparison with two independent methods based on infrared measurements. We show that this index gives a correct description of the opal reflection spectra, either by a band structure or by a Bragg approximation. In particular, we are able to provide explanations in quantitative agreement with the measurements for two features : the observation of a second reflection peak in specular direction, and the quasicollapse of the p-polarized main reflection peak at a typical angle of 54∘.

A model independent method to deconvolve hard X-ray spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polcaro, V.F.; Bazzano, A.; Ubertini, P.; La Padula, C.

1984-01-01

A general purpose method to deconvolve the energy spectra detected by means of the use of a hard X-ray telescope is described. The procedure does not assume any form of input spectrum and the observed energy loss spectrum is directly deconvolved into the incident photon spectrum, the form of which can be determined independently of physical interpretation of the data. Deconvolution of the hard X-ray spectrum of Her X-1, detected during the HXR 81M experiment, by the method independent method is presented. (orig.)

Pericardial and thoracic peri-aortic adipose tissues contribute to systemic inflammation and calcified coronary atherosclerosis independent of body fat composition, anthropometric measures and traditional cardiovascular risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Chun-Ho; Lin, Tin-Yu; Wu, Yih-Jer; Liu, Chuan-Chuan; Kuo, Jen-Yuan; Yeh, Hung-I.; Yang, Fei-Shih; Chen, Su-Chiu; Hou, Charles Jia-Yin; Bezerra, Hiram G.; Hung, Chung-Lieh; Cury, Ricardo C.

2012-01-01

Background: Coronary atherosclerosis has traditionally been proposed to be associated with several cardiovascular risk factors and anthropometric measures. However, clinical data regarding the independent value of visceral adipose tissue in addition to such traditional predictors remains obscure. Materials and methods: We subsequently studied 719 subjects (age: 48.1 ± 8.3 years, 25% females) who underwent multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for coronary calcium score (CCS) quantification. Baseline demographic data and anthropometric measures were taken with simultaneous body fat composition estimated. Visceral adipose tissue of pericardial and thoracic peri-aortic fat was quantified by MDCT using TeraRecon Aquarius workstation (San Mateo, CA). Traditional cardiovascular risk stratification was calculated by metabolic (NCEP ATP III) and Framingham (FRS) scores and high-sensitivity CRP (Hs-CRP) was taken to represent systemic inflammation. The independent value of visceral adipose tissue to systemic inflammation and CCS was assessed by utilizing multivariable regression analysis. Results: Of all subjects enrolled in this study, the mean values for pericardial and peri-aortic adipose tissue were 74.23 ± 27.51 and 7.23 ± 3.69 ml, respectively. Higher visceral fat quartile groups were associated with graded increase of risks for cardiovascular diseases. Both adipose burdens strongly correlated with anthropometric measures including waist circumference, body weight and body mass index (all p < 0.001). In addition, both visceral amount correlates well with ATP and FRS scores, all lipid profiles and systemic inflammation marker in terms of Hs-CRP (all p < 0.001). After adjustment for baseline variables, both visceral fat were independently related to Hs-CRP levels (all p < 0.05), but only pericardial fat exerted independent role in coronary calcium deposit. Conclusion: Both visceral adipose tissues strongly correlated with systemic inflammation beyond traditional

Measuring Collective Efficacy: A Multilevel Measurement Model for Nested Data

Science.gov (United States)

Matsueda, Ross L.; Drakulich, Kevin M.

2016-01-01

This article specifies a multilevel measurement model for survey response when data are nested. The model includes a test-retest model of reliability, a confirmatory factor model of inter-item reliability with item-specific bias effects, an individual-level model of the biasing effects due to respondent characteristics, and a neighborhood-level…

Continuous-variable Measurement-device-independent Quantum Relay Network with Phase-sensitive Amplifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fei; Zhao, Wei; Guo, Ying

2018-01-01

Continuous-variable (CV) measurement-device-independent (MDI) quantum cryptography is now heading towards solving the practical problem of implementing scalable quantum networks. In this paper, we show that a solution can come from deploying an optical amplifier in the CV-MDI system, aiming to establish a high-rate quantum network. We suggest an improved CV-MDI protocol using the EPR states coupled with optical amplifiers. It can implement a practical quantum network scheme, where the legal participants create the secret correlations by using EPR states connecting to an untrusted relay via insecure links and applying the multi-entangled Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state analysis at relay station. Despite the possibility that the relay could be completely tampered with and imperfect links are subject to the powerful attacks, the legal participants are still able to extract a secret key from network communication. The numerical simulation indicates that the quantum network communication can be achieved in an asymmetric scenario, fulfilling the demands of a practical quantum network. Furthermore, we show that the use of optical amplifiers can compensate the inherent imperfections and improve the secret key rate of the CV-MDI system.

All Those Independent Variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Meacham, Merle L.

This paper presents a case study of a sixth grade remedial math class which illustrates the thesis that only the "experimental attitude," not the "experimental method," is appropriate in the classroom. The thesis is based on the fact that too many independent variables exist in a classroom situation to allow precise measurement. The case study…

Estimating the impact of Medicare part D on the profitability of independent community pharmacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Norman V

2008-10-01

Medicare Part D provides insurance coverage for prescription drugs to elderly and disabled consumers. Part D accounted for 24% of prescriptions dispensed by independent pharmacies in the first year of the program (2006). To date, the impact of Part D on independent pharmacies has been explored only in small, qualitative, or non-peer-reviewed studies. To develop preliminary estimates of the impact of Part D on independent pharmacies' profitability. A financial model was built to examine the impact of Part D on pharmacy profitability. A key input value was the gross margin percentage for Part D; the midpoint of estimates reported in the literature was used as the base-case input value. The remaining model inputs were derived from 2 non-peer-reviewed published sources: (a) the National Community Pharmacist Association (NCPA)'s survey of independent pharmacies, which provided financial data for the year prior to Part D implementation (2005); and (b) IMS Health national market research data, which provided information about changes in prescription drug utilization from 2005 to 2006. Model estimates represented a "typical" independent pharmacy, defined using mean values for financial measures in 2005 as reported by NCPA. The model examined the impact of Part D on the proportion of prescriptions reimbursed by other sources (private third-party insurance, Medicaid, and cash payments by patients); pharmacies' overall prescription gross margin; the number of Part D-induced prescriptions; the number of prescriptions lost to mail-order pharmacies; and net income before taxes. Key values and assumptions were subjected to one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. The model indicated that implementation of Part D resulted in a mean (SD) 22% (4%) decrease in net income before taxes. This change was primarily the result of an absolute 0.7% decline in the gross margin for all prescriptions. The lower overall gross margin resulted from lower reimbursement on Part D

On the temperature independence of statistical model parameters for cleavage fracture in ferritic steels

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Guian; Lei, Wei-Sheng; Niffenegger, M.; González-Albuixech, V. F.

2018-04-01

The work relates to the effect of temperature on the model parameters in local approaches (LAs) to cleavage fracture. According to a recently developed LA model, the physical consensus of plastic deformation being a prerequisite to cleavage fracture enforces any LA model of cleavage fracture to observe initial yielding of a volume element as its threshold stress state to incur cleavage fracture in addition to the conventional practice of confining the fracture process zone within the plastic deformation zone. The physical consistency of the new LA model to the basic LA methodology and the differences between the new LA model and other existing models are interpreted. Then this new LA model is adopted to investigate the temperature dependence of LA model parameters using circumferentially notched round tensile specimens. With the published strength data as input, finite element (FE) calculation is conducted for elastic-perfectly plastic deformation and the realistic elastic-plastic hardening, respectively, to provide stress distributions for model calibration. The calibration results in temperature independent model parameters. This leads to the establishment of a 'master curve' characteristic to synchronise the correlation between the nominal strength and the corresponding cleavage fracture probability at different temperatures. This 'master curve' behaviour is verified by strength data from three different steels, providing a new path to calculate cleavage fracture probability with significantly reduced FE efforts.

Managerial leadership is associated with employee stress, health, and sickness absence independently of the demand-control-support model.

Science.gov (United States)

Westerlund, Hugo; Nyberg, Anna; Bernin, Peggy; Hyde, Martin; Oxenstierna, Gabriel; Jäppinen, Paavo; Väänänen, Ari; Theorell, Töres

2010-01-01

Research on health effects of managerial leadership has only taken established work environment factors into account to a limited extent. We therefore investigated the associations between a measure of Attentive Managerial Leadership (AML), and perceived stress, age-relative self-rated health, and sickness absence due to overstrain/fatigue, adjusting for the dimensions of the Demand-Control-Support model. Blue- and white-collar workers from Finland, Germany and Sweden employed in a multi-national forest industry company (N=12,622). Cross-sectional data on leadership and health from a company-wide survey analysed with logistic regression in different subgroups. AML was associated with perceived stress, age-relative self-rated health, and sickness absence due to overstrain/fatigue after controlling for the Demand-Control-Support model. Lack of AML was significantly associated with a high stress level in all subgroups (OR=1.68-2.67). Associations with age-relative self-rated health and sickness absence due to overstrain/fatigue were weaker, but still significant, and in the expected direction for several of the subgroups studied, suggesting an association between lack of AML and negative health consequences. The study indicates that managerial leadership is associated with employee stress, health, and sickness absence independently of the Demand-Control-Support model and should be considered in future studies of health consequences for employees, and in work environment interventions.

Using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item parameters of a common metric resulted in similar depression scores compared to independent item response theory model reestimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liegl, Gregor; Wahl, Inka; Berghöfer, Anne; Nolte, Sandra; Pieh, Christoph; Rose, Matthias; Fischer, Felix

2016-03-01

To investigate the validity of a common depression metric in independent samples. We applied a common metrics approach based on item-response theory for measuring depression to four German-speaking samples that completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). We compared the PHQ item parameters reported for this common metric to reestimated item parameters that derived from fitting a generalized partial credit model solely to the PHQ-9 items. We calibrated the new model on the same scale as the common metric using two approaches (estimation with shifted prior and Stocking-Lord linking). By fitting a mixed-effects model and using Bland-Altman plots, we investigated the agreement between latent depression scores resulting from the different estimation models. We found different item parameters across samples and estimation methods. Although differences in latent depression scores between different estimation methods were statistically significant, these were clinically irrelevant. Our findings provide evidence that it is possible to estimate latent depression scores by using the item parameters from a common metric instead of reestimating and linking a model. The use of common metric parameters is simple, for example, using a Web application (http://www.common-metrics.org) and offers a long-term perspective to improve the comparability of patient-reported outcome measures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Model independent calculation of B(anti B0→D(*)+τ- anti ν)/B(anti B0→D(*)+e- anti ν)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, D.S.

2000-01-01

Using the formulas for the dΓ/dq 2 distribution with non-zero lepton mass and experimentally determined form factors, we calculate the dΓ(D (*)+ l - anti ν)/dq 2 spectra and branching fractions for l=e,μ and τ. We obtain the results B(anti B 0 →D + τ - anti ν)/B(anti B 0 →D + e - anti ν)=0.278 +0.049 -0.035 and B(anti B 0 →D *+ τ - anti ν)/B(anti B 0 →D *+ e - anti ν)=0.256 +0.014 -0.013 . Since we used the experimentally measured form factors, these results are independent of theoretical models of the form factors. (orig.)

Independence and interdependence in collective decision making: an agent-based model of nest-site choice by honeybee swarms

Science.gov (United States)

List, Christian; Elsholtz, Christian; Seeley, Thomas D.

2008-01-01

Condorcet's jury theorem shows that when the members of a group have noisy but independent information about what is best for the group as a whole, majority decisions tend to outperform dictatorial ones. When voting is supplemented by communication, however, the resulting interdependencies between decision makers can strengthen or undermine this effect: they can facilitate information pooling, but also amplify errors. We consider an intriguing non-human case of independent information pooling combined with communication: the case of nest-site choice by honeybee (Apis mellifera) swarms. It is empirically well documented that when there are different nest sites that vary in quality, the bees usually choose the best one. We develop a new agent-based model of the bees' decision process and show that its remarkable reliability stems from a particular interplay of independence and interdependence between the bees. PMID:19073474

Dopamine-independent locomotor actions of amphetamines in a novel acute mouse model of Parkinson disease.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2005-08-01

Full Text Available Brain dopamine is critically involved in movement control, and its deficiency is the primary cause of motor symptoms in Parkinson disease. Here we report development of an animal model of acute severe dopamine deficiency by using mice lacking the dopamine transporter. In the absence of transporter-mediated recycling mechanisms, dopamine levels become entirely dependent on de novo synthesis. Acute pharmacological inhibition of dopamine synthesis in these mice induces transient elimination of striatal dopamine accompanied by the development of a striking behavioral phenotype manifested as severe akinesia, rigidity, tremor, and ptosis. This phenotype can be reversed by administration of the dopamine precursor, L-DOPA, or by nonselective dopamine agonists. Surprisingly, several amphetamine derivatives were also effective in reversing these behavioral abnormalities in a dopamine-independent manner. Identification of dopamine transporter- and dopamine-independent locomotor actions of amphetamines suggests a novel paradigm in the search for prospective anti-Parkinsonian drugs.

Sensing, Measuring and Modelling the Mechanical Properties of Sandstone

Science.gov (United States)

Antony, S. J.; Olugbenga, A.; Ozerkan, N. G.

2018-02-01

We present a hybrid framework for simulating the strength and dilation characteristics of sandstone. Where possible, the grain-scale properties of sandstone are evaluated experimentally in detail. Also, using photo-stress analysis, we sense the deviator stress (/strain) distribution at the micro-scale and its components along the orthogonal directions on the surface of a V-notch sandstone sample under mechanical loading. Based on this measurement and applying a grain-scale model, the optical anisotropy index K 0 is inferred at the grain scale. This correlated well with the grain contact stiffness ratio K evaluated using ultrasound sensors independently. Thereafter, in addition to other experimentally characterised structural and grain-scale properties of sandstone, K is fed as an input into the discrete element modelling of fracture strength and dilation of the sandstone samples. Physical bulk-scale experiments are also conducted to evaluate the load-displacement relation, dilation and bulk fracture strength characteristics of sandstone samples under compression and shear. A good level of agreement is obtained between the results of the simulations and experiments. The current generic framework could be applied to understand the internal and bulk mechanical properties of such complex opaque and heterogeneous materials more realistically in future.

Does Board Independence Matter? Evidence from New Zealand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hardjo Koerniadi

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the effects of the presence of independent directors on firm value using both market-based performance measures (Tobin’s Q ratio and EVA and accounting-based ratios (ROA and ROE. We find that, instead of adding value, independent directors in NewZealand negatively affect firm value. We also find that, consistent with stewardship theory,independent directors have a positive effect on firm value only when they are in the minority.These findings are important given the increasing trend toward independence in corporate boards around the globe and suggest that board independence may not generally be suitable for countries where managers are considered as active partners along with other stakeholders in companies.

Sustainable Biofuel Contributions to Carbon Mitigation and Energy Independence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phillip Steele

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The growing interest in US biofuels has been motivated by two primary national policy goals, (1 to reduce carbon emissions and (2 to achieve energy independence. However, the current low cost of fossil fuels is a key barrier to investments in woody biofuel production capacity. The effectiveness of wood derived biofuels must consider not only the feedstock competition with low cost fossil fuels but also the wide range of wood products uses that displace different fossil intensive products. Alternative uses of wood result in substantially different unit processes and carbon impacts over product life cycles. We developed life cycle data for new bioprocessing and feedstock collection models in order to make life cycle comparisons of effectiveness when biofuels displace gasoline and wood products displace fossil intensive building materials. Wood products and biofuels can be joint products from the same forestland. Substantial differences in effectiveness measures are revealed as well as difficulties in valuing tradeoffs between carbon mitigation and energy independence.

Measurement error models with interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Midthune, Douglas; Carroll, Raymond J.; Freedman, Laurence S.; Kipnis, Victor

2016-01-01

An important use of measurement error models is to correct regression models for bias due to covariate measurement error. Most measurement error models assume that the observed error-prone covariate (\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$W$\\end{document}) is a linear function of the unobserved true covariate (\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$X$\\end{document}) plus other covariates (\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$Z$\\end{document}) in the regression model. In this paper, we consider models for \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$W$\\end{document} that include interactions between \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$X$\\end{document} and \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$Z$\\end{document}. We derive the conditional distribution of

Model specification in oral health-related quality of life research.

Science.gov (United States)

Kieffer, Jacobien M; Verrips, Erik; Hoogstraten, Johan

2009-10-01

The aim of this study was to analyze conventional wisdom regarding the construction and analysis of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) questionnaires and to outline statistical complications. Most methods used for developing and analyzing questionnaires, such as factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha, presume psychological constructs to be latent, inferring a reflective measurement model with the underlying assumption of local independence. Local independence implies that the latent variable explains why the variables observed are related. Many OHRQoL questionnaires are analyzed as if they were based on a reflective measurement model; local independence is thus assumed. This assumption requires these questionnaires to consist solely of items that reflect, instead of determine, OHRQoL. The tenability of this assumption is the main topic of the present study. It is argued that OHRQoL questionnaires are a mix of both a formative measurement model and a reflective measurement model, thus violating the assumption of local independence. The implications are discussed.

Model-independent limits on four-fermion contact interactions at LC with polarization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pankov, A.A.; Paver, N.

1998-04-01

Fermion compositeness, and other types of new physics that can be described by the exchange of very massive particles, can manifest themselves as the result of an effective four-fermion contact interaction. In the case of the processes e + e - →μ + μ - , τ + τ - , b-bar b and c-bar c at future e + e - colliders with √s=0.5-1 TeV, we examine the sensitivity to four-fermion contact interactions of two new integrated observables, σ + and σ - , conveniently defined for such kind of analysis. We find that, if longitudinal polarization of the electron beam were available, these observables would offer the opportunity to separate the helicity cross sections and, in this way, to derive model-independent bounds on the relevant parameters. (author)

Language-Independent and Language-Specific Aspects of Early Literacy: An Evaluation of the Common Underlying Proficiency Model

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, J. Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2017-01-01

According to the common underlying proficiency model (Cummins, 1981), as children acquire academic knowledge and skills in their first language, they also acquire language-independent information about those skills that can be applied when learning a second language. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relevance of the common underlying…

Model-independent separation of poorly resolved hypperfine split spectra by a linear combination method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagy, D.L.; Dengler, J.; Ritter, G.

1988-01-01

A model-independent evaluation of the components of poorly resolved Moessbauer spectra based on a linear combination method is possible if there is a parameter as a function of which the shape of the individual components do not but their intensities do change and the dependence of the intensities on this parameter is known. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated on the example of low temperature magnetically split spectra of the high-T c superconductor YBa 2 (Cu 0.9 Fe 0 .1 ) 3 O 7-y . (author)

Aesthetic Surgery Training during Residency in the United States: A Comparison of the Integrated, Combined, and Independent Training Models

OpenAIRE

Momeni, Arash; Kim, Rebecca Y.; Wan, Derrick C.; Izadpanah, Ali; Lee, Gordon K.

2014-01-01

Background. Three educational models for plastic surgery training exist in the United States, the integrated, combined, and independent model. The present study is a comparative analysis of aesthetic surgery training, to assess whether one model is particularly suitable to provide for high-quality training in aesthetic surgery. Methods. An 18-item online survey was developed to assess residents’ perceptions regarding the quality of training in aesthetic surgery in the US. The survey had three...

Formal Definition of Measures for BPMN Models

Science.gov (United States)

Reynoso, Luis; Rolón, Elvira; Genero, Marcela; García, Félix; Ruiz, Francisco; Piattini, Mario

Business process models are currently attaining more relevance, and more attention is therefore being paid to their quality. This situation led us to define a set of measures for the understandability of BPMN models, which is shown in a previous work. We focus on understandability since a model must be well understood before any changes are made to it. These measures were originally informally defined in natural language. As is well known, natural language is ambiguous and may lead to misunderstandings and a misinterpretation of the concepts captured by a measure and the way in which the measure value is obtained. This has motivated us to provide the formal definition of the proposed measures using OCL (Object Constraint Language) upon the BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) metamodel presented in this paper. The main advantages and lessons learned (which were obtained both from the current work and from previous works carried out in relation to the formal definition of other measures) are also summarized.

Factors related to oral health-related quality of life of independent brazilian elderly

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulinski, Karla Giovana Bavaresco; do Nascimento, Mariele Andrade; Lima, Arinilson Moreira Chaves

2013-01-01

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the factors associated with the impact of oral health on the quality of life in a sample of 504 Brazilian independent elderly. Data collection included oral examinations and structured interviews. The simplified form of the Oral Health Impact...... Profile (OHIP-14) was used to measure OHRQoL. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, use of dental services, and subjective measures of health was collected. Poisson regression within a hierarchical model was used to data analyses. The following variables were associated with a negative impact...

Single-Column Modeling, GCM Parameterizations and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Somerville, R.C.J.; Iacobellis, S.F.

2005-01-01

Our overall goal is identical to that of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: the development of new and improved parameterizations of cloud-radiation effects and related processes, using ARM data at all three ARM sites, and the implementation and testing of these parameterizations in global and regional models. To test recently developed prognostic parameterizations based on detailed cloud microphysics, we have first compared single-column model (SCM) output with ARM observations at the Southern Great Plains (SGP), North Slope of Alaska (NSA) and Topical Western Pacific (TWP) sites. We focus on the predicted cloud amounts and on a suite of radiative quantities strongly dependent on clouds, such as downwelling surface shortwave radiation. Our results demonstrate the superiority of parameterizations based on comprehensive treatments of cloud microphysics and cloud-radiative interactions. At the SGP and NSA sites, the SCM results simulate the ARM measurements well and are demonstrably more realistic than typical parameterizations found in conventional operational forecasting models. At the TWP site, the model performance depends strongly on details of the scheme, and the results of our diagnostic tests suggest ways to develop improved parameterizations better suited to simulating cloud-radiation interactions in the tropics generally. These advances have made it possible to take the next step and build on this progress, by incorporating our parameterization schemes in state-of-the-art 3D atmospheric models, and diagnosing and evaluating the results using independent data. Because the improved cloud-radiation results have been obtained largely via implementing detailed and physically comprehensive cloud microphysics, we anticipate that improved predictions of hydrologic cycle components, and hence of precipitation, may also be achievable. We are currently testing the performance of our ARM-based parameterizations in state-of-the--art global and regional

Exponential GARCH Modeling with Realized Measures of Volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Peter Reinhard; Huang, Zhuo

returns and volatility. We apply the model to DJIA stocks and an exchange traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 index and find that specifications with multiple realized measures dominate those that rely on a single realized measure. The empirical analysis suggests some convenient simplifications......We introduce the Realized Exponential GARCH model that can utilize multiple realized volatility measures for the modeling of a return series. The model specifies the dynamic properties of both returns and realized measures, and is characterized by a flexible modeling of the dependence between...

Sensor monitoring to measure and support daily functioning for independently living older people: A systematic review and road map for further development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pol, M.C.; Poerbodipoero, S.; Robben, S.; Daams, J.; van Hartingsveldt, M.; de Vos, R.; de Rooij, S.E.; Kröse, B.; Buurman, B.M.

2013-01-01

Objectives To study sensor monitoring (use of a sensor network placed in the home environment to observe individuals' daily functioning (activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living)) as a method to measure and support daily functioning for older people living independently

Sensor monitoring to measure and support daily functioning for independently living older people: a systematic review and road map for further development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pol, Margriet C.; Poerbodipoero, Soemitro; Robben, Saskia; Daams, Joost; van Hartingsveldt, Margo; de Vos, Rien; de Rooij, Sophia E.; Kröse, Ben; Buurman, Bianca M.

2013-01-01

To study sensor monitoring (use of a sensor network placed in the home environment to observe individuals' daily functioning (activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living)) as a method to measure and support daily functioning for older people living independently at home.

Interdisciplinary Care Model Independently Decreases Use of Critical Care Services After Corrective Surgery for Adult Degenerative Scoliosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Adogwa, Owoicho; Elsamadicy, Aladine A; Sergesketter, Amanda R; Ongele, Michael; Vuong, Victoria; Khalid, Syed; Moreno, Jessica; Cheng, Joseph; Karikari, Isaac O; Bagley, Carlos A

2018-03-01

Interdisciplinary management of elderly patients requiring spine surgery has been shown to improve short- and long-term outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine whether an interdisciplinary team approach mitigates use of intensive care unit (ICU) resources. A unique comanagement model for elderly patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery was implemented at a major academic medical center. The Peri-operative Optimization of Senior Health Program (POSH) was launched with the aim of improving outcomes in elderly patients (>65 years old) undergoing complex lumbar spine surgery. In this model, a geriatrician evaluates elderly patients preoperatively, comanages daily throughout hospital course, and coordinates multidisciplinary rehabilitation, along with the neurosurgical team. We retrospectively reviewed the first 100 cases after the initiation of the POSH protocol and compared them with the immediately preceding 25 cases to assess the rates of ICU transfer and independent predictors of ICU admission. A total of 125 patients undergoing lumbar decompression and fusion surgery were enrolled in this pilot program. Baseline characteristics and intraoperative variables, as well as number of fusion levels and duration of surgery, were similar between both cohorts. There was a significant difference in the use of ICU services (ICU admission rates) between both cohorts, with the non-POSH cohort having a 3-fold increase compared with the POSH cohort (P < 0.0001). In a multivariate analysis, lack of an interdisciplinary comanagement team approach was an independent predictor for ICU transfers in elderly patients undergoing corrective surgery (odds ratio 8.51, 95% confidence interval 2.972-24.37, P < 0.0001). Our study suggests that an interdisciplinary comanagement model between geriatrics and neurosurgery is independently associated with reduced use of critical care services. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Incorporation of an organic MAGIC (Model of Acidification of Groundwater in Catchments) and testing of the revised model using independent data sources]. [MAGIC Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan, T.J.

1992-09-01

A project was initiated in March, 1992 to (1) incorporate a rigorous organic acid representation, based on empirical data and geochemical considerations, into the MAGIC model of acidification response, and (2) test the revised model using three sets of independent data. After six months of performance, the project is on schedule and the majority of the tasks outlined for Year 1 have been successfully completed. Major accomplishments to data include development of the organic acid modeling approach, using data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation (ALSC), and coupling the organic acid model with MAGIC for chemical hindcast comparisons. The incorporation of an organic acid representation into MAGIC can account for much of the discrepancy earlier observed between MAGIC hindcasts and paleolimnological reconstructions of preindustrial pH and alkalinity for 33 statistically-selected Adirondack lakes. Additional work is on-going for model calibration and testing with data from two whole-catchment artificial acidification projects. Results obtained thus far are being prepared as manuscripts for submission to the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

A novel rate-independent hysteresis model of a piezostack actuator using the congruency property

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Phuong-Bac; Choi, Seung-Bok

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel hysteresis prediction model for a piezostack actuator. The model proposed in this work is a type of rate-independent hysteresis and is formulated using the inherent congruency property which exists in most piezoelectric materials. Specifically, the model is established by exploiting the fact that the high-order hysteretic curve segment is congruent with its first-order one that is limited by the same consecutive maximum and minimum values of input. Thus, in order to successfully implement this model two discretized first-order datasets of the ascending and descending curves need to be experimentally identified in advance. Using both the identified datasets and the congruency property, a systematic approach for predicting the hysteresis of the piezostack actuator is then obtained in two cases of input voltage: monotonic ascending and monotonic descending. The developed model is experimentally realized in order to demonstrate the effectiveness on the hysteresis prediction. In the experiment, three waveforms of input excitation schemes—a triangular waveform of decreasing amplitude, a triangular waveform of increasing amplitude and a multi-extremes triangular waveform—are applied to the proposed model. The hysteresis characteristics of the piezostack actuator predicted from the proposed model are compared with those obtained from the classical Preisach model. It is shown that the proposed model gives better accuracy, less computation time for the hysteresis prediction and more feasibility to realize than the classical Preisach model

Obstructive sleep apnoea is independently associated with the metabolic syndrome but not insulin resistance state

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sithole J

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA is a cardio-metabolic disorder. Whether metabolic syndrome (MS, insulin resistance (IR and albuminuria are independently associated with OSA is unclear, but defining the interactions between OSA and various cardiovascular (CV risk factors independent of obesity facilitates the development of therapeutic strategies to mitigate their increased CV risks. We prospectively recruited 38 subjects with OSA and 41 controls. Anthropometric measurements, glucose, lipids, insulin and blood pressure (BP were measured after an overnight fast. IR state was defined as homeostasis model assessment (HOMA value >3.99 and MS diagnosed according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF criteria. Subjects with OSA were more obese, more insulin resistant, more hyperglycaemic, had higher Epworth score (measure of day time somnolence and systolic blood pressure levels. The prevalence of MS was higher in OSA compared with non-OSA subjects (74% vs 24%, p 103 cm would predict MS in patients with OSA at 75–78% sensitivity and 61–64% specificity. The agreement between MS and IR state in this cohort is poor. Thus, OSA is associated with MS independent of obesity predominantly due to increased triglyceride, glucose and Epworth score values but not IR or microalbuminuria status. This observation suggests an alternative pathogenic factor mediating the increased cardiovascular risk in patients with OSA and MS, other than that due to IR. The independent link between Epworth score and MS in patients with OSA implicates the role of daytime sleepiness and chronic hypoxia as a potential mediator. Given the discordant between MS and IR state, measurement of waist is useful for predicting mainly MS but not insulin resistance status in patients with OSA. Appropriate pharmacological intervention targeting these independent factors is important in reducing the increased CV risks among patients with OSA.

Weak electric and magnetic form factors for semileptonic baryon decays in an independent-quark model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barik, N.; Dash, B.K.; Das, M.

1985-01-01

Weak electric and magnetic form factors for semileptonic baryon decays are calculated in a relativistic quark model based on the Dirac equation with the independent-quark confining potential of the form (1+γ 0 )V(r). The values obtained for (g 2 /g 1 ), for various decay modes in a model with V(r) = a'r 2 , are roughly of the same order as those predicted in the MIT bag model. However in a similar model with V(r) = (a/sup nu+1/r/sup ν/+V 0 ), the (g 2 /g 1 ) values agree with the nonrelativistic results of Donoghue and Holstein. Incorporating phenomenologically the effect of nonzero g 2 in the ratio (g 1 /f 1 ), we have estimated the values for (f 2 /f 1 ) for various semileptonic transitions. It is observed that SU(3)-symmetry breaking does not generate significant departures in (f 2 /f 1 ) values from the corresponding Cabibbo values

Model-Independent Evaluation of Tumor Markers and a Logistic-Tree Approach to Diagnostic Decision Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weizeng Ni

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Sensitivity and specificity of using individual tumor markers hardly meet the clinical requirement. This challenge gave rise to many efforts, e.g., combing multiple tumor markers and employing machine learning algorithms. However, results from different studies are often inconsistent, which are partially attributed to the use of different evaluation criteria. Also, the wide use of model-dependent validation leads to high possibility of data overfitting when complex models are used for diagnosis. We propose two model-independent criteria, namely, area under the curve (AUC and Relief to evaluate the diagnostic values of individual and multiple tumor markers, respectively. For diagnostic decision support, we propose the use of logistic-tree which combines decision tree and logistic regression. Application on a colorectal cancer dataset shows that the proposed evaluation criteria produce results that are consistent with current knowledge. Furthermore, the simple and highly interpretable logistic-tree has diagnostic performance that is competitive with other complex models.

Using DORIS measurements for ionosphere modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Dettmering, Denise; Schmidt, Michael; Limberger, Marco

2013-04-01

Nowadays, most of the ionosphere models used in geodesy are based on terrestrial GNSS measurements and describe the Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) depending on longitude, latitude, and time. Since modeling the height distribution of the electrons is difficult due to the measurement geometry, the VTEC maps are based on the the assumption of a single-layer ionosphere. Moreover, the accuracy of the VTEC maps is different for different regions of the Earth, because the GNSS stations are unevenly distributed over the globe and some regions (especially the ocean areas) are not very well covered by observations. To overcome the unsatisfying measurement geometry of the terrestrial GNSS measurements and to take advantage of the different sensitivities of other space-geodetic observation techniques, we work on the development of multi-dimensional models of the ionosphere from the combination of modern space-geodetic satellite techniques. Our approach consists of a given background model and an unknown correction part expanded in terms of B-spline functions. Different space-geodetic measurements are used to estimate the unknown model coefficients. In order to take into account the different accuracy levels of the observations, a Variance Component Estimation (VCE) is applied. We already have proven the usefulness of radio occultation data from space-borne GPS receivers and of two-frequency altimetry data. Currently, we test the capability of DORIS observations to derive ionospheric parameters such as VTEC. Although DORIS was primarily designed for precise orbit computation of satellites, it can be used as a tool to study the Earth's ionosphere. The DORIS ground beacons are almost globally distributed and the system is on board of various Low Earth Orbiters (LEO) with different orbit heights, such as Jason-2, Cryosat-2, and HY-2. The last generation of DORIS receivers directly provides phase measurements on two frequencies. In this contribution, we test the DORIS

A stochastic model for quantum measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budiyono, Agung

2013-01-01

We develop a statistical model of microscopic stochastic deviation from classical mechanics based on a stochastic process with a transition probability that is assumed to be given by an exponential distribution of infinitesimal stationary action. We apply the statistical model to stochastically modify a classical mechanical model for the measurement of physical quantities reproducing the prediction of quantum mechanics. The system+apparatus always has a definite configuration at all times, as in classical mechanics, fluctuating randomly following a continuous trajectory. On the other hand, the wavefunction and quantum mechanical Hermitian operator corresponding to the physical quantity arise formally as artificial mathematical constructs. During a single measurement, the wavefunction of the whole system+apparatus evolves according to a Schrödinger equation and the configuration of the apparatus acts as the pointer of the measurement so that there is no wavefunction collapse. We will also show that while the outcome of each single measurement event does not reveal the actual value of the physical quantity prior to measurement, its average in an ensemble of identical measurements is equal to the average of the actual value of the physical quantity prior to measurement over the distribution of the configuration of the system. (paper)

Obtaining better performance in the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with heralded single-photon sources

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xing-Yu; Zhang, Chun-Hui; Zhang, Chun-Mei; Wang, Qin

2017-11-01

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) has been widely investigated due to its remarkable advantages on the achievable transmission distance and practical security. However, the relative low key generation rate limits its real-life implementations. In this work, we adopt the newly proposed four-intensity decoy-state scheme [Phys. Rev. A 93, 042324 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevA.93.042324] to study the performance of MDI-QKD with heralded single-photon sources (HSPS). Corresponding simulation results demonstrate that the four-intensity decoy-state scheme combining HSPS can drastically improve both the key generation rate and transmission distance in MDI-QKD, which may be very promising in future MDI-QKD systems.

Improving Continuous-Variable Measurement-Device-Independent Multipartite Quantum Communication with Optical Amplifiers*

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Ying; Zhao, Wei; Li, Fei; Huang, Duan; Liao, Qin; Xie, Cai-Lang

2017-08-01

The developing tendency of continuous-variable (CV) measurement-device-independent (MDI) quantum cryptography is to cope with the practical issue of implementing scalable quantum networks. Up to now, most theoretical and experimental researches on CV-MDI QKD are focused on two-party protocols. However, we suggest a CV-MDI multipartite quantum secret sharing (QSS) protocol use the EPR states coupled with optical amplifiers. More remarkable, QSS is the real application in multipartite CV-MDI QKD, in other words, is the concrete implementation method of multipartite CV-MDI QKD. It can implement a practical quantum network scheme, under which the legal participants create the secret correlations by using EPR states connecting to an untrusted relay via insecure links and applying the multi-entangled Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state analysis at relay station. Even if there is a possibility that the relay may be completely tampered, the legal participants are still able to extract a secret key from network communication. The numerical simulation indicates that the quantum network communication can be achieved in an asymmetric scenario, fulfilling the demands of a practical quantum network. Additionally, we illustrate that the use of optical amplifiers can compensate the partial inherent imperfections of detectors and increase the transmission distance of the CV-MDI quantum system.

Increased mean lung density: Another independent predictor of lung cancer?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sverzellati, Nicola, E-mail: nicola.sverzellati@unipr.it [Department of Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of Diagnostic Imaging, University of Parma, Padiglione Barbieri, University Hospital of Parma, V. Gramsci 14, 43100 Parma (Italy); Randi, Giorgia, E-mail: giorgia.randi@marionegri.it [Department of Epidemiology, Mario Negri Institute, Via La Masa 19, 20156 Milan (Italy); Spagnolo, Paolo, E-mail: paolo.spagnolo@unimore.it [Respiratory Disease Unit, Center for Rare Lung Disease, Department of Oncology, Hematology and Respiratory Disease, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via del Pozzo 71, 44124 Modena (Italy); Marchianò, Alfonso, E-mail: alfonso.marchiano@istitutotumori.mi.it [Department of Radiology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan (Italy); Silva, Mario, E-mail: mac.mario@hotmail.it [Department of Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of Diagnostic Imaging, University of Parma, Padiglione Barbieri, University Hospital of Parma, V. Gramsci 14, 43100 Parma (Italy); Kuhnigk, Jan-Martin, E-mail: Jan-Martin.Kuhnigk@mevis.fraunhofer.de [Fraunhofer MEVIS, Universitaetsallee 29, 28359 Bremen (Germany); La Vecchia, Carlo, E-mail: carlo.lavecchia@marionegri.it [Department of Occupational Health, University of Milan, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan (Italy); Zompatori, Maurizio, E-mail: maurizio.zompatori@unibo.it [Department of Radiology, Cardio-Thoracic Section, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna (Italy); Pastorino, Ugo, E-mail: ugo.pastorino@istitutotumori.mi.it [Department of Surgery, Section of Thoracic Surgery, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan (Italy)

2013-08-15

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between emphysema phenotype, mean lung density (MLD), lung function and lung cancer by using an automated multiple feature analysis tool on thin-section computed tomography (CT) data. Methods: Both emphysema phenotype and MLD evaluated by automated quantitative CT analysis were compared between outpatients and screening participants with lung cancer (n = 119) and controls (n = 989). Emphysema phenotype was defined by assessing features such as extent, distribution on core/peel of the lung and hole size. Adjusted multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate independent associations of CT densitometric measurements and pulmonary function test (PFT) with lung cancer risk. Results: No emphysema feature was associated with lung cancer. Lung cancer risk increased with decreasing values of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV{sub 1}) independently of MLD (OR 5.37, 95% CI: 2.63–10.97 for FEV{sub 1} < 60% vs. FEV{sub 1} ≥ 90%), and with increasing MLD independently of FEV{sub 1} (OR 3.00, 95% CI: 1.60–5.63 for MLD > −823 vs. MLD < −857 Hounsfield units). Conclusion: Emphysema per se was not associated with lung cancer whereas decreased FEV{sub 1} was confirmed as being a strong and independent risk factor. The cross-sectional association between increased MLD and lung cancer requires future validations.

Models Used for Measuring Customer Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai TICHINDELEAN

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to define and measure the customer engagement as a forming element of the relationship marketing theory. In the first part of the paper, the authors review the marketing literature regarding the concept of customer engagement and summarize the main models for measuring it. One probability model (Pareto/NBD model and one parametric model (RFM model specific for the customer acquisition phase are theoretically detailed. The second part of the paper is an application of the RFM model; the authors demonstrate that there is no statistical significant variation within the clusters formed on two different data sets (training and test set if the cluster centroids of the training set are used as initial cluster centroids for the second test set.

Design and performance of a 30 KV electron gun with ten independent cathodes & a magnetic lens.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rudys, Joseph Matthew; Reed, Kim Warren

2006-08-01

Measurements on a 30 kV electron gun with ten independent cathodes, operating in a 6.5 Tesla (T) magnetic field are presented. An earlier paper covered the design of this electron gun [1]. Experimental results are compared to model predictions. Beam current is compared to theoretical space charge limited flow.

Using the SIRDE model of social change to examine the vote of Scottish teenagers in the 2014 independence referendum.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Peter R; Bennett, Mark; Abrams, Dominic

2017-09-01

Five hundred and seventy-three Scottish high school students were surveyed in the 2 months following the 2014 referendum on Scotland's independence. We used the Social Identity, Relative Deprivation, collective Efficacy (SIRDE) model of social change to examine the social psychological factors that should have influenced the voting choices of these teenagers. Structural equation modelling indicated that the SIRDE model fit the data and largely supported four sets of hypotheses derived from the model. Specifically, (1) those with a stronger Scottish identity, (2) those who felt frustrated and angry that Scottish people are discriminated against in British society, and (3) those who believed that Scottish people are not able to improve their relatively poor social conditions within the United Kingdom (a lack of collective efficacy) were more likely to hold separatist beliefs. Further, the relationships between identity, relative deprivation, and collective efficacy, on the one hand, and voting for Scotland's independence, on the other, were fully mediated by separatist social change beliefs. Consistent with the specificity of the model, neither political engagement nor personal relative deprivation were associated with voting choice, whereas the latter was associated with lower life satisfaction. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Towards a product independent ERP training model: An Insight from a literature review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Mohammad Motahar

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ERP can be called as one of the most significant contributions of computer science and particularly information systems for the business environment which can support all complicated business process of an organisation including sale, purchase, warehouse and manufacturing into a single database. For such complex system like ERP, implementation involves much collaboration which raises the concern of the success of the project. Among most significant success and failure factors of ERP implementation cited in the literature are training and consultation. For many years the majority of ERP vendors promote their product specific training models as long-term and expensive allowing the organisation to gain knowledge of the ERP system and the way it handles the business process. However, recent studies showed that ERP training can be conducted in the short term and with minimum investment and yet to be effective. Findings triggered a signal and opened a new door for research to investigate vendor-independent training models that require limited investment in training and consultancy. This paper aims to provide an overview of the literature; highlighting the research methods and theories used by authors towards building ERP training models and methods.

Towards standardized measurement of adverse events in spine surgery: conceptual model and pilot evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deyo Richard A

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Independent of efficacy, information on safety of surgical procedures is essential for informed choices. We seek to develop standardized methodology for describing the safety of spinal operations and apply these methods to study lumbar surgery. We present a conceptual model for evaluating the safety of spine surgery and describe development of tools to measure principal components of this model: (1 specifying outcome by explicit criteria for adverse event definition, mode of ascertainment, cause, severity, or preventability, and (2 quantitatively measuring predictors such as patient factors, comorbidity, severity of degenerative spine disease, and invasiveness of spine surgery. Methods We created operational definitions for 176 adverse occurrences and established multiple mechanisms for reporting them. We developed new methods to quantify the severity of adverse occurrences, degeneration of lumbar spine, and invasiveness of spinal procedures. Using kappa statistics and intra-class correlation coefficients, we assessed agreement for the following: four reviewers independently coding etiology, preventability, and severity for 141 adverse occurrences, two observers coding lumbar spine degenerative changes in 10 selected cases, and two researchers coding invasiveness of surgery for 50 initial cases. Results During the first six months of prospective surveillance, rigorous daily medical record reviews identified 92.6% of the adverse occurrences we recorded, and voluntary reports by providers identified 38.5% (surgeons reported 18.3%, inpatient rounding team reported 23.1%, and conferences discussed 6.1%. Trained observers had fair agreement in classifying etiology of 141 adverse occurrences into 18 categories (kappa = 0.35, but agreement was substantial (kappa ≥ 0.61 for 4 specific categories: technical error, failure in communication, systems failure, and no error. Preventability assessment had moderate agreement (mean weighted

Iron deposition is independent of cellular inflammation in a cerebral model of multiple sclerosis

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Lee Phil

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Perivenular inflammation is a common early pathological feature in multiple sclerosis (MS. A recent hypothesis stated that CNS inflammation is induced by perivenular iron deposits that occur in response to altered blood flow in MS subjects. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, an animal model was developed, called cerebral experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (cEAE, which presents with CNS perivascular iron deposits. This model was used to investigate the relationship of iron deposition to inflammation. Methods In order to generate cEAE, mice were given an encephalitogen injection followed by a stereotactic intracerebral injection of TNF-α and IFN-γ. Control animals received encephalitogen followed by an intracerebral injection of saline, or no encephalitogen plus an intracerebral injection of saline or cytokines. Laser Doppler was used to measure cerebral blood flow. MRI and iron histochemistry were used to localize iron deposits. Additional histological procedures were used to localize inflammatory cell infiltrates, microgliosis and astrogliosis. Results Doppler analysis revealed that cEAE mice had a reduction in cerebral blood flow compared to controls. MRI revealed T2 hypointense areas in cEAE animals that spatially correlated with iron deposition around vessels and at some sites of inflammation as detected by iron histochemistry. Vessels with associated iron deposits were distributed across both hemispheres. Mice with cEAE had more iron-labeled vessels compared to controls, but these vessels were not commonly associated with inflammatory cell infiltrates. Some iron-laden vessels had associated microgliosis that was above the background microglial response, and iron deposits were observed within reactive microglia. Vessels with associated astrogliosis were more commonly observed without colocalization of iron deposits. Conclusion The findings indicate that iron deposition around vessels can occur independently of

Independent verification of monitor unit calculation for radiation treatment planning system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Li; Chen, Li-Xin; Huang, Shao-Min; Sun, Wen-Zhao; Sun, Hong-Qiang; Deng, Xiao-Wu

2010-02-01

To ensure the accuracy of dose calculation for radiation treatment plans is an important part of quality assurance (QA) procedures for radiotherapy. This study evaluated the Monitor Units (MU) calculation accuracy of a third-party QA software and a 3-dimensional treatment planning system (3D TPS), to investigate the feasibility and reliability of independent verification for radiation treatment planning. Test plans in a homogenous phantom were designed with 3-D TPS, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Report No. 430, including open, blocked, wedge, and multileaf collimator (MLC) fields. Test plans were delivered and measured in the phantom. The delivered doses were input to the QA software and the independent calculated MUs were compared with delivery. All test plans were verified with independent calculation and phantom measurements separately, and the differences of the two kinds of verification were then compared. The deviation of the independent calculation to the measurements was (0.1 +/- 0.9)%, the biggest difference fell onto the plans that used block and wedge fields (2.0%). The mean MU difference between the TPS and the QA software was (0.6 +/- 1.0)%, ranging from -0.8% to 2.8%. The deviation in dose of the TPS calculation compared to the measurements was (-0.2 +/- 1.7)%, ranging from -3.9% to 2.9%. MU accuracy of the third-party QA software is clinically acceptable. Similar results were achieved with the independent calculations and the phantom measurements for all test plans. The tested independent calculation software can be used as an efficient tool for TPS plan verification.

MEASUREMENT OPTIMALIZATION OF ZAKAT DISTRIBUTION AT LEMBAGA AMIL ZAKAT USING VARIABLE MEASUREMENT OF ECONOMY

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Marissa Haque

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research conducted is to optimalize the zakat distribution using economy variabel measurement. Design/Metodology. The Quantitative Research Method is used to analyze financial data, with Optimalize Model as Z variable design, Measurement of Economy as Y variable and Objective Output as X variable, using AMOS program and SEM as tool analysis to confirm that the model can be used as a measurement tool. Research result. Using some indicators to analyze every variable, obtaining output and objective result, influence optimalization of measurement of economy. Conclusion. The measurement of optimalization of zakat distribution using measurement of economy variable, with independent variable/output exogenous and objective, can be used as a model to measure Lembaga Amil Zakat performance. Furthermore, this research need to have some indicators’ development especially in the area of objective variable. Key words:   Output, Objective, Measurement of Economy, Distribution Optimalization, Zakat JEL Classification: D64

Better firm performance through board independence in a two-tier setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schøler, Finn; Holm, Claus

2013-01-01

independence, these were retrieved from different sections in the corresponding annual reports, i.e. from different notes and different parts of the management commentary. We used structured equations models (IBM SPSS, AMOS 19) to model the hypothesized relationship between board independence and performance...

Concentration addition, independent action and generalized concentration addition models for mixture effect prediction of sex hormone synthesis in vitro.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niels Hadrup

Full Text Available Humans are concomitantly exposed to numerous chemicals. An infinite number of combinations and doses thereof can be imagined. For toxicological risk assessment the mathematical prediction of mixture effects, using knowledge on single chemicals, is therefore desirable. We investigated pros and cons of the concentration addition (CA, independent action (IA and generalized concentration addition (GCA models. First we measured effects of single chemicals and mixtures thereof on steroid synthesis in H295R cells. Then single chemical data were applied to the models; predictions of mixture effects were calculated and compared to the experimental mixture data. Mixture 1 contained environmental chemicals adjusted in ratio according to human exposure levels. Mixture 2 was a potency adjusted mixture containing five pesticides. Prediction of testosterone effects coincided with the experimental Mixture 1 data. In contrast, antagonism was observed for effects of Mixture 2 on this hormone. The mixtures contained chemicals exerting only limited maximal effects. This hampered prediction by the CA and IA models, whereas the GCA model could be used to predict a full dose response curve. Regarding effects on progesterone and estradiol, some chemicals were having stimulatory effects whereas others had inhibitory effects. The three models were not applicable in this situation and no predictions could be performed. Finally, the expected contributions of single chemicals to the mixture effects were calculated. Prochloraz was the predominant but not sole driver of the mixtures, suggesting that one chemical alone was not responsible for the mixture effects. In conclusion, the GCA model seemed to be superior to the CA and IA models for the prediction of testosterone effects. A situation with chemicals exerting opposing effects, for which the models could not be applied, was identified. In addition, the data indicate that in non-potency adjusted mixtures the effects cannot

On the mass spectra of the pseudoscalar mesons in the relativistic independent quark model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khrushchev, V.V.; Semenov, S.V.

2002-01-01

In the framework of the relativistic independent quark model with the QCD-motivated static potential, the masses of the ground states of pseudoscalar mesons and their radial excitations are calculated for both observed mesons and unobserved ones. The strength of the spin-spin interaction and the magnitude of the mean field contribution are estimated for both the light and heavy 0 -+ mesons. The calculated masses are in agreement with experimental values within an accuracy of 30 - 40 MeV, and the predictions are obtained for the mass values of a number of unobserved yet radial excitations of pseudoscalar mesons

Independent monitor unit calculation for intensity modulated radiotherapy using the MIMiC multileaf collimator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zhe; Xing Lei; Nath, Ravinder

2002-01-01

A self-consistent monitor unit (MU) and isocenter point-dose calculation method has been developed that provides an independent verification of the MU for intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using the MIMiC (Nomos Corporation) multileaf collimator. The method takes into account two unique features of IMRT using the MIMiC: namely the gantry-dynamic arc delivery of intensity modulated photon beams and the slice-by-slice dose delivery for large tumor volumes. The method converts the nonuniform beam intensity planned at discrete gantry angles of 5 deg. or 10 deg. into conventional nonmodulated beam intensity apertures of elemental arc segments of 1 deg. This approach more closely simulates the actual gantry-dynamic arc delivery by MIMiC. Because each elemental arc segment is of uniform intensity, the MU calculation for an IMRT arc is made equivalent to a conventional arc with gantry-angle dependent beam apertures. The dose to the isocenter from each 1 deg. elemental arc segment is calculated by using the Clarkson scatter summation technique based on measured tissue-maximum-ratio and output factors, independent of the dose calculation model used in the IMRT planning system. For treatments requiring multiple treatment slices, the MU for the arc at each treatment slice takes into account the MU, leakage and scatter doses from other slices. This is achieved by solving a set of coupled linear equations for the MUs of all involved treatment slices. All input dosimetry data for the independent MU/isocenter point-dose calculation are measured directly. Comparison of the MU and isocenter point dose calculated by the independent program to those calculated by the Corvus planning system and to direct measurements has shown good agreement with relative difference less than ±3%. The program can be used as an independent initial MU verification for IMRT plans using the MIMiC multileaf collimators

Rolling Resistance Measurement and Model Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lasse Grinderslev; Larsen, Jesper; Fraser, Elsje Sophia

2015-01-01

There is an increased focus worldwide on understanding and modeling rolling resistance because reducing the rolling resistance by just a few percent will lead to substantial energy savings. This paper reviews the state of the art of rolling resistance research, focusing on measuring techniques, s......, surface and texture modeling, contact models, tire models, and macro-modeling of rolling resistance...

Model-independent determination of hadronic neutral-current couplings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Claudson, M.; Paschos, E.A.; Strait, J.; Sulak, L.R.

1979-01-01

Completion of a second generation of experiments on neutrino-induced neutral-current reactions allows a more discriminating study of neutral-current couplings to hadrons. To minimize the sensitivity to model-dependent analyses of inclusive and exclusive pion data, we base our work on measurements of deep-inelastic and elastic reactions alone. Within the regions allowed by the deep-inelastic data for scattering on isoscalar targets, the coupling constants are fit to the q 2 dependence of the neutrino-proton elastic scattering data. This procedure initially yields two solutions for the couplings. One of these, at theta/sub L/ = 55 0 and theta/sub R/ = 205 0 , is predominantly isoscalar and therefore is ruled out by only qualitative consideration of exclusive pion data. The other solution at theta/sub D/ = 140 0 and and theta/sub R/ = 330 0 , is thus a unique determination of the hadronic neutral-current couplings. It coincides with solution A obtained in earlier work, and is insensitive to variations of M/sub A/ within 2 standard deviations of the world average. When constrained to the coupling constants required by the Weinberg-Salam model, the fit agrees with the data to within 1 standard deviation

The universality of the confining potential and the running of the quasi-Coulombic potential constant in the independent-quark model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khruschev, V.V.; Savrin, V.I.; Semenov, S.V.

1999-01-01

Parameters of the QCD-motivated static potential and the quark masses are calculated on the basis of the 1 -- meson mass spectra in the framework of the relativistic independent-quark model based on the Dirac equation. The value of the confining potential parameter is found to be (0.20 ± 0.01) GeV 2 for interactions between quarks and antiquarks independently on their flavors. The flavor independence of the confining potential is justified on the 5 x 10 -2 accuracy level both for the heavy quarks and for the light ones. The values of parameter α s , which is a strength of the quasi-Coulombic potential are consistent with the QCD-motivated decrease of α s at small interaction range [ru

The independence of schizotypy from affective temperaments--a combined confirmatory factor analysis of SPQ and the short TEMPS-A.

Science.gov (United States)

Preti, Antonio; Corrias, Irene; Gabbrielli, Mersia; Lai, Veronica; Muratore, Tamara; Pintus, Elisa; Pintus, Mirra; Sanna, Sara; Scanu, Rosanna; Tronci, Debora; Vellante, Marcello; Siddi, Sara; Petretto, Donatella Rita; Carta, Mauro Giovanni

2015-01-30

Sparse evidence of a co-aggregation of the risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder provides support for a shared but nonspecific genetic etiology of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Temperaments are conceptualized as trait sub-syndromic conditions of major pathologies. This study set out to test the hypothesis of a continuum between schizotypy and affective temperaments versus the alternative hypothesis of their independence based on a cross-sectional, survey design involving 649 (males: 47%) college students. The short 39-item TEMPS-A and the SPQ were used as measures of the affective temperaments and of schizotypy, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses were applied to a unidimensional model, to a standard correlate traits model, to second-order representations of a common latent structure, and to a bifactor model. Confirmatory bifactor modeling provided evidence against a complete independence of the dimensions subsumed by the affective and the schizotypal traits. The best solution distinguished between two sub-domains grouping positive symptoms and negative symptoms as measured by the SPQ subscales, and a sub-domain related to the affective temperaments as measured by the TEMPS-A. Limitations due to the use of subscales from two different tools should be taken into account. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A robust hybrid model integrating enhanced inputs based extreme learning machine with PLSR (PLSR-EIELM) and its application to intelligent measurement.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yan-Lin; Geng, Zhi-Qiang; Xu, Yuan; Zhu, Qun-Xiong

2015-09-01

In this paper, a robust hybrid model integrating an enhanced inputs based extreme learning machine with the partial least square regression (PLSR-EIELM) was proposed. The proposed PLSR-EIELM model can overcome two main flaws in the extreme learning machine (ELM), i.e. the intractable problem in determining the optimal number of the hidden layer neurons and the over-fitting phenomenon. First, a traditional extreme learning machine (ELM) is selected. Second, a method of randomly assigning is applied to the weights between the input layer and the hidden layer, and then the nonlinear transformation for independent variables can be obtained from the output of the hidden layer neurons. Especially, the original input variables are regarded as enhanced inputs; then the enhanced inputs and the nonlinear transformed variables are tied together as the whole independent variables. In this way, the PLSR can be carried out to identify the PLS components not only from the nonlinear transformed variables but also from the original input variables, which can remove the correlation among the whole independent variables and the expected outputs. Finally, the optimal relationship model of the whole independent variables with the expected outputs can be achieved by using PLSR. Thus, the PLSR-EIELM model is developed. Then the PLSR-EIELM model served as an intelligent measurement tool for the key variables of the Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) process and the High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) process. The experimental results show that the predictive accuracy of PLSR-EIELM is stable, which indicate that PLSR-EIELM has good robust character. Moreover, compared with ELM, PLSR, hierarchical ELM (HELM), and PLSR-ELM, PLSR-EIELM can achieve much smaller predicted relative errors in these two applications. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decomposing a Utility Function Based on Discrete Distribution Independence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

He, Ying; Dyer, James; Butler, John

2014-01-01

For two-attribute decision-making problems, the multilinear utility model cannot be applied when the risk aversion on one attribute depends on the level of the other attribute. We propose a family of general preference conditions called nth-degree discrete distribution independence that can...... accommodate a variety of dependence relationships between two attributes. The special case of second-degree discrete distribution independence is equivalent to the utility independence condition. We focus on third-degree discrete distribution independence that leads to a decomposition formula that contains...

Independent modelling in SSM's licensing review of a spent nuclear fuel repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Shulan; Dverstorp, Bjoern; Norden, Maria

2014-01-01

inconsistency between the documents and the actual modelling performed in SKB's dose assessment, QA problems in the consequence analyses, and insufficient justification of assumptions. We can already now conclude that independent regulatory modelling combined with traditional document review is an effective way to enhance the authority's licensing review process. SSM communicated the results from the initial review phase on the 29 October 2012 by handing in a written statement to the Land and Environment Court and SKB. SKB has also been informed of the results of SSM's independent modelling through SSM's request for complementary information. In the main review phase, to follow, we plan to continue with reproduction of selected 'What if?' and 'residual' scenarios as well as 'barrier function' scenarios that were not covered in the initial review phase. Moreover, to further investigate uncertainty in the calculated LDF values we plan to perform some alternative modelling, i.e. simpler 'reference biosphere' modelling with the objective of exploring the uncertainty of various properties of SKB's biosphere objects, including their evolution in time. Further, the details of the derivations of the probabilities of canister failure scenarios, which are beyond scope of this paper, will be handled in the in-depth review of the main review phase. (authors)

Weak leptonic decay of light and heavy pseudoscalar mesons in an independent quark model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barik, N.; Dash, P.C.

1993-01-01

Weak leptonic decays of light and heavy pseudoscalar mesons are studied in a field-theoretic framework based on the independent quark model with a scalar-vector harmonic potential. Defining the quark-antiquark momentum distribution amplitude obtainable from the bound quark eigenmodes of the model with the assumption of a strong correlation between quark-antiquark momenta inside the decaying meson in its rest frame, we derive the partial decay width with correct kinematical factors from which we extract an expression for the pseudoscalar decay constants f M . Using the model parameters determined from earlier studies in the light-flavor sector and heavy-quark masses m c and m b from the hyperfine splitting of (D * ,D) and (B * ,B), we calculate the pseudoscalar decay constants. We find that while (f π ,f K )≡(138,157 MeV); (f D ,f Ds )≡(161,205 MeV), (f B ,f Bs )≡(122,154 MeV), and f Bc =221 MeV. We also obtain the partial decay widths and branching ratios for some kinematically allowed weak leptonic decay processes

Pre- and Postintervention Factor Structure of Functional Independence Measure in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikhail Saltychev

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To evaluate the factor structure of Functional Independence Measure (FIM® scale amongst people with spinal cord injury (SCI. Methods. This was a retrospective, register-based cohort study on 155 rehabilitants with SCI. FIM was assessed at the beginning and at the end of multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation. The internal consistency of the FIM was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha and exploratory factor analysis was employed to approximate the construct structure of FIM. Results. The internal consistency demonstrated high Cronbach’s alpha of 0.95 to 0.96. For both pre- and postintervention assessments, the exploratory factor analysis resulted in 3-factor structures. Except for two items (“walking or using a wheelchair” and “expression”, the structures of the identified three factors remained the same from the beginning to the end of rehabilitation. The loadings of all items were sufficient, exceeding 0.3. Both pre- and postintervention chi-square tests showed significant p values < 0.0001. The “motor” domain was divided into two factors with this 2-factor structure enduring through the intervention period. Conclusions. Amongst rehabilitants with SCI, FIM failed to demonstrate unidimensionality. Instead, it showed a 3-factor structure that fluctuated only little depending on the timing of measurement. Additionally, when measured separately, also motor score was 2-dimensional, not 1-dimensional. Using a total or subscale FIM, scores seem to be unjustified in the studied population.

Model-Independent Beam Dynamics Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, J.; Wang, C.X.; Yan, Y.T.; Bane, K.L.; Cai, Y.; Decker, F.; Minty, M.G.; Stupakov, G.V.; Zimmermann, F.

1999-01-01

Using a singular value decomposition of a beam line matrix, composed of many beam position measurements for a large number of pulses, together with the measurement of pulse-by-pulse beam properties or machine attributes, the contributions of each variable to the beam centroid motion can be identified with a greatly improved resolution. The eigenvalues above the noise floor determine the number of significant physical variables. This method is applicable to storage rings, linear accelerators, and any system involving a number of sources and a larger number of sensors with unknown correlations. Applications are presented from the Stanford Linear Collider. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Are Face and Object Recognition Independent? A Neurocomputational Modeling Exploration.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Panqu; Gauthier, Isabel; Cottrell, Garrison

2016-04-01

Are face and object recognition abilities independent? Although it is commonly believed that they are, Gauthier et al. [Gauthier, I., McGugin, R. W., Richler, J. J., Herzmann, G., Speegle, M., & VanGulick, A. E. Experience moderates overlap between object and face recognition, suggesting a common ability. Journal of Vision, 14, 7, 2014] recently showed that these abilities become more correlated as experience with nonface categories increases. They argued that there is a single underlying visual ability, v, that is expressed in performance with both face and nonface categories as experience grows. Using the Cambridge Face Memory Test and the Vanderbilt Expertise Test, they showed that the shared variance between Cambridge Face Memory Test and Vanderbilt Expertise Test performance increases monotonically as experience increases. Here, we address why a shared resource across different visual domains does not lead to competition and to an inverse correlation in abilities? We explain this conundrum using our neurocomputational model of face and object processing ["The Model", TM, Cottrell, G. W., & Hsiao, J. H. Neurocomputational models of face processing. In A. J. Calder, G. Rhodes, M. Johnson, & J. Haxby (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of face perception. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011]. We model the domain general ability v as the available computational resources (number of hidden units) in the mapping from input to label and experience as the frequency of individual exemplars in an object category appearing during network training. Our results show that, as in the behavioral data, the correlation between subordinate level face and object recognition accuracy increases as experience grows. We suggest that different domains do not compete for resources because the relevant features are shared between faces and objects. The essential power of experience is to generate a "spreading transform" for faces (separating them in representational space) that

Evidence in Support of the Independent Channel Model Describing the Sensorimotor Control of Human Stance Using a Humanoid Robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasma, Jantsje H; Assländer, Lorenz; van Kordelaar, Joost; de Kam, Digna; Mergner, Thomas; Schouten, Alfred C

2018-01-01

The Independent Channel (IC) model is a commonly used linear balance control model in the frequency domain to analyze human balance control using system identification and parameter estimation. The IC model is a rudimentary and noise-free description of balance behavior in the frequency domain, where a stable model representation is not guaranteed. In this study, we conducted firstly time-domain simulations with added noise, and secondly robot experiments by implementing the IC model in a real-world robot (PostuRob II) to test the validity and stability of the model in the time domain and for real world situations. Balance behavior of seven healthy participants was measured during upright stance by applying pseudorandom continuous support surface rotations. System identification and parameter estimation were used to describe the balance behavior with the IC model in the frequency domain. The IC model with the estimated parameters from human experiments was implemented in Simulink for computer simulations including noise in the time domain and robot experiments using the humanoid robot PostuRob II. Again, system identification and parameter estimation were used to describe the simulated balance behavior. Time series, Frequency Response Functions, and estimated parameters from human experiments, computer simulations, and robot experiments were compared with each other. The computer simulations showed similar balance behavior and estimated control parameters compared to the human experiments, in the time and frequency domain. Also, the IC model was able to control the humanoid robot by keeping it upright, but showed small differences compared to the human experiments in the time and frequency domain, especially at high frequencies. We conclude that the IC model, a descriptive model in the frequency domain, can imitate human balance behavior also in the time domain, both in computer simulations with added noise and real world situations with a humanoid robot. This

Evidence in Support of the Independent Channel Model Describing the Sensorimotor Control of Human Stance Using a Humanoid Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jantsje H. Pasma

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Independent Channel (IC model is a commonly used linear balance control model in the frequency domain to analyze human balance control using system identification and parameter estimation. The IC model is a rudimentary and noise-free description of balance behavior in the frequency domain, where a stable model representation is not guaranteed. In this study, we conducted firstly time-domain simulations with added noise, and secondly robot experiments by implementing the IC model in a real-world robot (PostuRob II to test the validity and stability of the model in the time domain and for real world situations. Balance behavior of seven healthy participants was measured during upright stance by applying pseudorandom continuous support surface rotations. System identification and parameter estimation were used to describe the balance behavior with the IC model in the frequency domain. The IC model with the estimated parameters from human experiments was implemented in Simulink for computer simulations including noise in the time domain and robot experiments using the humanoid robot PostuRob II. Again, system identification and parameter estimation were used to describe the simulated balance behavior. Time series, Frequency Response Functions, and estimated parameters from human experiments, computer simulations, and robot experiments were compared with each other. The computer simulations showed similar balance behavior and estimated control parameters compared to the human experiments, in the time and frequency domain. Also, the IC model was able to control the humanoid robot by keeping it upright, but showed small differences compared to the human experiments in the time and frequency domain, especially at high frequencies. We conclude that the IC model, a descriptive model in the frequency domain, can imitate human balance behavior also in the time domain, both in computer simulations with added noise and real world situations with a

Should metacognition be measured by logistic regression?

Science.gov (United States)

Rausch, Manuel; Zehetleitner, Michael

2017-03-01

Are logistic regression slopes suitable to quantify metacognitive sensitivity, i.e. the efficiency with which subjective reports differentiate between correct and incorrect task responses? We analytically show that logistic regression slopes are independent from rating criteria in one specific model of metacognition, which assumes (i) that rating decisions are based on sensory evidence generated independently of the sensory evidence used for primary task responses and (ii) that the distributions of evidence are logistic. Given a hierarchical model of metacognition, logistic regression slopes depend on rating criteria. According to all considered models, regression slopes depend on the primary task criterion. A reanalysis of previous data revealed that massive numbers of trials are required to distinguish between hierarchical and independent models with tolerable accuracy. It is argued that researchers who wish to use logistic regression as measure of metacognitive sensitivity need to control the primary task criterion and rating criteria. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the independent particle approximation of Gauge theories: a simple example

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palladino, B.E.

1992-08-01

In this work, the independent particle model formulation is studied as a mean-field approximation of gauge theories using the path integral approach in the framework of quantum electrodynamics in 1+1 dimensions. It is shown how a mean-field approximation scheme can be applied to fit an effective potential to an independent particle model, building a straightforward relation between the model and the associated gauge field theory. An example is made considering the problem of massive Dirac fermions on a line, the so called massive Schwinger model. An interesting result is found, indicating a behaviour of screening of the charges in the relativistic limit of strong coupling. A forthcoming application of the method developed to confining potentials in independent quark models for QCD is in view and is briefly discussed. (author)

Measurement control program at model facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, R.A.

1984-01-01

A measurement control program for the model plant is described. The discussion includes the technical basis for such a program, the application of measurement control principles to each measurement, and the use of special experiments to estimate measurement error parameters for difficult-to-measure materials. The discussion also describes the statistical aspects of the program, and the documentation procedures used to record, maintain, and process the basic data

The Regulatory Independence of FANR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ALNuaimi, Fatema; Choi, Kwang Shik

2012-01-01

Regulatory independence is meant to provide a conservative system of policy making in order to comply with the problems that are forecasted upon the basis of assumptions. The Federal Authorization of Nuclear Regulation (FANR) is a regulatory commission that was formed to be regulatory body that governs the generation of nuclear power in United Arab Emirates. It was established under the UAE nuclear law (9/2009) as an independent regulatory body that was tasked with the regulation of all nuclear activities in the United Arab Emirates. As an independent body, FANR was tasked with ensuring that the regulation of the nuclear sector is done in effective and transparent manner to ensure its accountability to the people. Being independent, the regulatory body develops national nuclear regulations based on laid down safety standards by the International Atomic Energy Agency, ensuring that they are based on scientific and proven technologies The role of FANR is to ensure that the all corporations that undertake nuclear activities follow the laid down procedures and objectives and ensure safety measures are taken keenly to ensure the safety of the workers and the general public while at the same time ensuring the environment is free from nuclear radiations

The Regulatory Independence of FANR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ALNuaimi, Fatema; Choi, Kwang Shik [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

Regulatory independence is meant to provide a conservative system of policy making in order to comply with the problems that are forecasted upon the basis of assumptions. The Federal Authorization of Nuclear Regulation (FANR) is a regulatory commission that was formed to be regulatory body that governs the generation of nuclear power in United Arab Emirates. It was established under the UAE nuclear law (9/2009) as an independent regulatory body that was tasked with the regulation of all nuclear activities in the United Arab Emirates. As an independent body, FANR was tasked with ensuring that the regulation of the nuclear sector is done in effective and transparent manner to ensure its accountability to the people. Being independent, the regulatory body develops national nuclear regulations based on laid down safety standards by the International Atomic Energy Agency, ensuring that they are based on scientific and proven technologies The role of FANR is to ensure that the all corporations that undertake nuclear activities follow the laid down procedures and objectives and ensure safety measures are taken keenly to ensure the safety of the workers and the general public while at the same time ensuring the environment is free from nuclear radiations

Varying coefficients model with measurement error.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Liang; Greene, Tom

2008-06-01

We propose a semiparametric partially varying coefficient model to study the relationship between serum creatinine concentration and the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) among kidney donors and patients with chronic kidney disease. A regression model is used to relate serum creatinine to GFR and demographic factors in which coefficient of GFR is expressed as a function of age to allow its effect to be age dependent. GFR measurements obtained from the clearance of a radioactively labeled isotope are assumed to be a surrogate for the true GFR, with the relationship between measured and true GFR expressed using an additive error model. We use locally corrected score equations to estimate parameters and coefficient functions, and propose an expected generalized cross-validation (EGCV) method to select the kernel bandwidth. The performance of the proposed methods, which avoid distributional assumptions on the true GFR and residuals, is investigated by simulation. Accounting for measurement error using the proposed model reduced apparent inconsistencies in the relationship between serum creatinine and GFR among different clinical data sets derived from kidney donor and chronic kidney disease source populations.

Condition monitoring with Mean field independent components analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pontoppidan, Niels Henrik; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur; Larsen, Jan

2005-01-01

We discuss condition monitoring based on mean field independent components analysis of acoustic emission energy signals. Within this framework it is possible to formulate a generative model that explains the sources, their mixing and also the noise statistics of the observed signals. By using...... a novelty approach we may detect unseen faulty signals as indeed faulty with high precision, even though the model learns only from normal signals. This is done by evaluating the likelihood that the model generated the signals and adapting a simple threshold for decision. Acoustic emission energy signals...... from a large diesel engine is used to demonstrate this approach. The results show that mean field independent components analysis gives a better detection of fault compared to principal components analysis, while at the same time selecting a more compact model...

The Adder Phenomenon Emerges from Independent Control of Pre- and Post-Start Phases of the Budding Yeast Cell Cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandler-Brown, Devon; Schmoller, Kurt M; Winetraub, Yonatan; Skotheim, Jan M

2017-09-25

Although it has long been clear that cells actively regulate their size, the molecular mechanisms underlying this regulation have remained poorly understood. In budding yeast, cell size primarily modulates the duration of the cell-division cycle by controlling the G1/S transition known as Start. We have recently shown that the rate of progression through Start increases with cell size, because cell growth dilutes the cell-cycle inhibitor Whi5 in G1. Recent phenomenological studies in yeast and bacteria have shown that these cells add an approximately constant volume during each complete cell cycle, independent of their size at birth. These results seem to be in conflict, as the phenomenological studies suggest that cells measure the amount they grow, rather than their size, and that size control acts over the whole cell cycle, rather than specifically in G1. Here, we propose an integrated model that unifies the adder phenomenology with the molecular mechanism of G1/S cell-size control. We use single-cell microscopy to parameterize a full cell-cycle model based on independent control of pre- and post-Start cell-cycle periods. We find that our model predicts the size-independent amount of cell growth during the full cell cycle. This suggests that the adder phenomenon is an emergent property of the independent regulation of pre- and post-Start cell-cycle periods rather than the consequence of an underlying molecular mechanism measuring a fixed amount of growth. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration of Error Compensation of Coordinate Measuring Machines into Feature Measurement: Part I—Model Development

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, Roque; D’Amato, Roberto; Gómez, Emilio; Domingo, Rosario

2016-01-01

The development of an error compensation model for coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and its integration into feature measurement is presented. CMMs are widespread and dependable instruments in industry and laboratories for dimensional measurement. From the tip probe sensor to the machine display, there is a complex transformation of probed point coordinates through the geometrical feature model that makes the assessment of accuracy and uncertainty measurement results difficult. Therefore, error compensation is not standardized, conversely to other simpler instruments. Detailed coordinate error compensation models are generally based on CMM as a rigid-body and it requires a detailed mapping of the CMM’s behavior. In this paper a new model type of error compensation is proposed. It evaluates the error from the vectorial composition of length error by axis and its integration into the geometrical measurement model. The non-explained variability by the model is incorporated into the uncertainty budget. Model parameters are analyzed and linked to the geometrical errors and uncertainty of CMM response. Next, the outstanding measurement models of flatness, angle, and roundness are developed. The proposed models are useful for measurement improvement with easy integration into CMM signal processing, in particular in industrial environments where built-in solutions are sought. A battery of implementation tests are presented in Part II, where the experimental endorsement of the model is included. PMID:27690052

Integration of Error Compensation of Coordinate Measuring Machines into Feature Measurement: Part I—Model Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roque Calvo

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The development of an error compensation model for coordinate measuring machines (CMMs and its integration into feature measurement is presented. CMMs are widespread and dependable instruments in industry and laboratories for dimensional measurement. From the tip probe sensor to the machine display, there is a complex transformation of probed point coordinates through the geometrical feature model that makes the assessment of accuracy and uncertainty measurement results difficult. Therefore, error compensation is not standardized, conversely to other simpler instruments. Detailed coordinate error compensation models are generally based on CMM as a rigid-body and it requires a detailed mapping of the CMM’s behavior. In this paper a new model type of error compensation is proposed. It evaluates the error from the vectorial composition of length error by axis and its integration into the geometrical measurement model. The non-explained variability by the model is incorporated into the uncertainty budget. Model parameters are analyzed and linked to the geometrical errors and uncertainty of CMM response. Next, the outstanding measurement models of flatness, angle, and roundness are developed. The proposed models are useful for measurement improvement with easy integration into CMM signal processing, in particular in industrial environments where built-in solutions are sought. A battery of implementation tests are presented in Part II, where the experimental endorsement of the model is included.