3,252 research outputs found
Towards an Algebra for Cascade Effects
We introduce a new class of (dynamical) systems that inherently capture
cascading effects (viewed as consequential effects) and are naturally amenable
to combinations. We develop an axiomatic general theory around those systems,
and guide the endeavor towards an understanding of cascading failure. The
theory evolves as an interplay of lattices and fixed points, and its results
may be instantiated to commonly studied models of cascade effects.
We characterize the systems through their fixed points, and equip them with
two operators. We uncover properties of the operators, and express global
systems through combinations of local systems. We enhance the theory with a
notion of failure, and understand the class of shocks inducing a system to
failure. We develop a notion of mu-rank to capture the energy of a system, and
understand the minimal amount of effort required to fail a system, termed
resilience. We deduce a dual notion of fragility and show that the combination
of systems sets a limit on the amount of fragility inherited.Comment: 31 page
Educational Games in Geriatric Medicine Education: A Systematic Review
OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the medical literature to assess the effect of geriatric educational games on the satisfaction, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of health care professionals. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review following the Cochrane Collaboration methodology including an electronic search of 10 electronic databases. We included randomized controlled trials (RCT) and controlled clinical trials (CCT) and excluded single arm studies. Population of interests included members (practitioners or students) of the health care professions. Outcomes of interests were participants' satisfaction, knowledge, beliefs, attitude, and behaviors. RESULTS: We included 8 studies evaluating 5 geriatric role playing games, all conducted in United States. All studies suffered from one or more methodological limitations but the overall quality of evidence was acceptable. None of the studies assessed the effects of the games on beliefs or behaviors. None of the 8 studies reported a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of change in attitude. One study assessed the impact on knowledge and found non-statistically significant difference between the 2 groups. Two studies found levels of satisfaction among participants to be high. We did not conduct a planned meta-analysis because the included studies either reported no statistical data or reported different summary statistics. CONCLUSION: The available evidence does not support the use of role playing interventions in geriatric medical education with the aim of improving the attitudes towards the elderly.Society of General Internal Medicin
Particle Diffusion in Slow Granular Bulk Flows
We probe the diffusive motion of particles in slowly sheared three
dimensional granular suspensions. For sufficiently large strains, the particle
dynamics exhibits diffusive Gaussian statistics, with the diffusivity
proportional to the local strain rate - consistent with a local, quasi static
picture. Surprisingly, the diffusivity is also inversely proportional to the
depth of the particles within the flow - at the free surface, diffusivity is
thus ill defined. We find that the crossover to Gaussian displacement
statistics is governed by the same depth dependence, evidencing a non-trivial
strain scale in three dimensional granular flows.Comment: 6 page
Effective synchronization of a class of Chua's chaotic systems using an exponential feedback coupling
In this work a robust exponential function based controller is designed to
synchronize effectively a given class of Chua's chaotic systems. The stability
of the drive-response systems framework is proved through the Lyapunov
stability theory. Computer simulations are given to illustrate and verify the
method.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figure
Risque-Pays et Investissements Directs Etrangers au Benin
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of country risk on the entry of foreign direct investment into Benin For this purpose at least one variable of each country risk component political risk economic risk and financial risk has been taken into account in the model From the Hendry-based Error Correction Model ECM over the period from 1980 to 2015 the results from the econometric estimation suggest that FDI inflow is positively explained by the rate of economic growth and the rate while foreign debt and corruption do not favor the growth of FDI in Benin For the country to become a pole of attractiveness of FDI it is imperative to clean up the institutional framework in the field of political right to undertake economic reforms and to work for a real financial independence to ensure its solvency and self-financin
Assessing and presenting summaries of evidence in Cochrane Reviews
Cochrane Reviews are intended to help providers, practitioners and patients make informed decisions about health care. The goal of the Cochrane Applicability and Recommendation Methods Group (ARMG) is to develop approaches, strategies and guidance that facilitate the uptake of information from Cochrane Reviews and their use by a wide audience with specific focus on developers of recommendations and on healthcare decision makers. This paper is part of a series highlighting developments in systematic review methodology in the 20 years since the establishment of The Cochrane Collaboration, and its aim is to present current work and highlight future developments in assessing and presenting summaries of evidence, with special focus on Summary of Findings (SoF) tables and Plain Language Summaries. A SoF table provides a concise and transparent summary of the key findings of a review in a tabular format. Several studies have shown that SoF tables improve accessibility and understanding of Cochrane Reviews. The ARMG and GRADE Working Group are working on further development of the SoF tables, for example by evaluating the degree of acceptable flexibility beyond standard presentation of SoF tables, developing SoF tables for diagnostic test accuracy reviews and interactive SoF tables (iSoF). The plain language summary (PLS) is the other main building block for dissemination of review results to end-users. The PLS aims to summarize the results of a review in such a way that health care consumers can readily understand them. Current efforts include the development of a standardized language to describe statistical results, based on effect size and quality of supporting evidence. Producing high quality PLS and SoF tables and making them compatible and linked would make it easier to produce dissemination products targeting different audiences (for example, providers, health policy makers, guideline developers). Current issues of debate include optimal presentation formats of SoF tables, the training required to produce SoF tables, and the extent to which the authors of Cochrane Reviews should provide explicit guidance to target audiences of patients, clinicians and policy-makers
Finite-time synchronization of tunnel diode based chaotic oscillators
This paper addresses the problem of finite-time synchronization of tunnel
diode based chaotic oscillators. After a brief investigation of its chaotic
dynamics, we propose an active adaptive feedback coupling which accomplishes
the synchronization of tunnel diode based chaotic systems with and without the
presence of delay(s), basing ourselves on Lyapunov and on Krasovskii-Lyapunov
stability theories. This feedback coupling could be applied to many other
chaotic systems. A finite horizon can be arbitrarily established by ensuring
that chaos synchronization is achieved at a pre-established time. An advantage
of the proposed feedback coupling is that it is simple and easy to implement.
Both mathematical investigations and numerical simulatioComment: 11 pages, 43 figure
Rheology of sedimenting particle pastes
We study the local and global rheology of non-Brownian suspensions in a
solvent that is not density-matched, leading to either creaming or
sedimentation of the particles. Both local and global measurements show that
the incomplete density matching leads to the appearance of a critical shear
rate above which the suspension is homogenized by the flow, and below which
sedimentation or creaming happens. We show that the value of the critical shear
rate and its dependence on the experimental parameters are governed by a simple
competition between the viscous and gravitational forces, and present a simple
scaling model that agrees with the experimental results from different types of
experiments (local and global) in different setups and systems
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