29,760 research outputs found
Monte Carlo methods and applications for the nuclear shell model
The shell-model Monte Carlo (SMMC) technique transforms the traditional
nuclear shell-model problem into a path-integral over auxiliary fields. We
describe below the method and its applications to four physics issues:
calculations of sdpf- shell nuclei, a discussion of electron-capture rates in
pf-shell nuclei, exploration of pairing correlations in unstable nuclei, and
level densities in rare earth systems.Comment: Proceedings of the Nuclear Structure '98 conference, Gatlinburg, TN,
10-15 August 199
Limits on the Doppler factor in relativistic jets by means of gamma-ray observations
A new, simple and potentially useful method for constraining the kinematical parameters of relativistic jets based on gamma ray spectral measurements of Active Galaxies is presented. The application of this method to the Quasar 3C273 leads to a value of the Doppler factor of 3 to 4. This corresponds to jet parameters of mu 2 and theta 15 deg in good agreement with the values estimated independently from radio observations of superluminal motion. For the particular case of 3C273, the results are also compared to those given by a similar technique based on the comparison of the X-ray observational data with the synchrotron self Compton prediction from radio measurements. The application of the proposed technique to a significant sample of active galaxies as a result of future gamma ray surveys of the sky is briefly discussed, particularly with respect to possible ways to constrain the cosmological constants H sub o and q sub o
Tapping Thermodynamics of the One Dimensional Ising Model
We analyse the steady state regime of a one dimensional Ising model under a
tapping dynamics recently introduced by analogy with the dynamics of
mechanically perturbed granular media. The idea that the steady state regime
may be described by a flat measure over metastable states of fixed energy is
tested by comparing various steady state time averaged quantities in extensive
numerical simulations with the corresponding ensemble averages computed
analytically with this flat measure. The agreement between the two averages is
excellent in all the cases examined, showing that a static approach is capable
of predicting certain measurable properties of the steady state regime.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Gamow-Teller GT+ distributions in nuclei with mass A=90-97
We investigate the Gamow-Teller strength distributions in the
electron-capture direction in nuclei having mass A=90-97, assuming a 88Sr core
and using a realistic interaction that reasonably reproduces nuclear
spectroscopy for a wide range of nuclei in the region as well as experimental
data on Gamow-Teller strength distributions. We discuss the systematics of the
distributions and their centroids. We also predict the strength distributions
for several nuclei involving stable isotopes that should be experimentally
accessible for one-particle exchange reactions in the near future.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures (from 17 eps files), to be submitted to
Phys.Rev.C; corrected typos, minor language change
Solution of large scale nuclear structure problems by wave function factorization
Low-lying shell model states may be approximated accurately by a sum over
products of proton and neutron states. The optimal factors are determined by a
variational principle and result from the solution of rather low-dimensional
eigenvalue problems. Application of this method to sd-shell nuclei, pf-shell
nuclei, and to no-core shell model problems shows that very accurate
approximations to the exact solutions may be obtained. Their energies, quantum
numbers and overlaps with exact eigenstates converge exponentially fast as the
number of retained factors is increased.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures (from 15 eps files) include
Recommendation Subgraphs for Web Discovery
Recommendations are central to the utility of many websites including
YouTube, Quora as well as popular e-commerce stores. Such sites typically
contain a set of recommendations on every product page that enables visitors to
easily navigate the website. Choosing an appropriate set of recommendations at
each page is one of the key features of backend engines that have been deployed
at several e-commerce sites.
Specifically at BloomReach, an engine consisting of several independent
components analyzes and optimizes its clients' websites. This paper focuses on
the structure optimizer component which improves the website navigation
experience that enables the discovery of novel content.
We begin by formalizing the concept of recommendations used for discovery. We
formulate this as a natural graph optimization problem which in its simplest
case, reduces to a bipartite matching problem. In practice, solving these
matching problems requires superlinear time and is not scalable. Also,
implementing simple algorithms is critical in practice because they are
significantly easier to maintain in production. This motivated us to analyze
three methods for solving the problem in increasing order of sophistication: a
sampling algorithm, a greedy algorithm and a more involved partitioning based
algorithm.
We first theoretically analyze the performance of these three methods on
random graph models characterizing when each method will yield a solution of
sufficient quality and the parameter ranges when more sophistication is needed.
We complement this by providing an empirical analysis of these algorithms on
simulated and real-world production data. Our results confirm that it is not
always necessary to implement complicated algorithms in the real-world and that
very good practical results can be obtained by using heuristics that are backed
by the confidence of concrete theoretical guarantees
Clinical manifestations of human brucellosis : a systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The objectives of this systematic review, commissioned by WHO, were to assess the frequency and severity of clinical manifestations of human brucellosis, in view of specifying a disability weight for a DALY calculation. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty three databases were searched, with 2,385 articles published between January 1990-June 2010 identified as relating to human brucellosis. Fifty-seven studies were of sufficient quality for data extraction. Pooled proportions of cases with specific clinical manifestations were stratified by age category and sex and analysed using generalized linear mixed models. Data relating to duration of illness and risk factors were also extracted. Severe complications of brucellosis infection were not rare, with 1 case of endocarditis and 4 neurological cases per 100 patients. One in 10 men suffered from epididymo-orchitis. Debilitating conditions such as arthralgia, myalgia and back pain affected around half of the patients (65%, 47% and 45%, respectively). Given that 78% patients had fever, brucellosis poses a diagnostic challenge in malaria-endemic areas. Significant delays in appropriate diagnosis and treatment were the result of health service inadequacies and socioeconomic factors. Based on disability weights from the 2004 Global Burden of Disease Study, a disability weight of 0.150 is proposed as the first informed estimate for chronic, localised brucellosis and 0.190 for acute brucellosis. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review adds to the understanding of the global burden of brucellosis, one of the most common zoonoses worldwide. The severe, debilitating, and chronic impact of brucellosis is highlighted. Well designed epidemiological studies from regions lacking in data would allow a more complete understanding of the clinical manifestations of disease and exposure risks, and provide further evidence for policy-makers. As this is the first informed estimate of a disability weight for brucellosis, there need for further debate amongst brucellosis experts and a consensus to be reache
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