4,883 research outputs found
Computation of epidemic final size distributions
We develop a new methodology for the efficient computation of epidemic final
size distributions for a broad class of Markovian models. We exploit a
particular representation of the stochastic epidemic process to derive a method
which is both computationally efficient and numerically stable. The algorithms
we present are also physically transparent and so allow us to extend this
method from the basic SIR model to a model with a phase-type infectious period
and another with waning immunity. The underlying theory is applicable to many
Markovian models where we wish to efficiently calculate hitting probabilities.Comment: final published versio
Hydrodynamic Irreversibility in Particle Suspensions with Non-Uniform Strain
A dynamical phase transition from reversible to irreversible behavior occurs
when particle suspensions are subjected to uniform oscillatory shear, even in
the Stokes flow limit. We consider a more general situation with non-uniform
strain (e.g. oscillatory channel flow), which is observed to exhibit markedly
different dynamics. Self-organization and shear-induced migration only
partially explain the delayed, simultaneous onset of irreversibility across the
channel. The onset of irreversibility is accompanied by long-range correlated
particle motion. This motion leads to particle activity even at the channel
center, where the strain is negligible, and prevents the system from evolving
into a reversible state
Quantum entanglement and fixed-point bifurcations
How does the classical phase space structure for a composite system relate to
the entanglement characteristics of the corresponding quantum system? We
demonstrate how the entanglement in nonlinear bipartite systems can be
associated with a fixed point bifurcation in the classical dynamics. Using the
example of coupled giant spins we show that when a fixed point undergoes a
supercritical pitchfork bifurcation, the corresponding quantum state - the
ground state - achieves its maximum amount of entanglement near the critical
point. We conjecture that this will be a generic feature of systems whose
classical limit exhibits such a bifurcation.Comment: v2: Structure of the paper changed for clarity, reduced length, now 9
pages with 6 figure
Inference of epidemiological parameters from household stratified data
We consider a continuous-time Markov chain model of SIR disease dynamics with
two levels of mixing. For this so-called stochastic households model, we
provide two methods for inferring the model parameters---governing
within-household transmission, recovery, and between-household
transmission---from data of the day upon which each individual became
infectious and the household in which each infection occurred, as would be
available from first few hundred studies. Each method is a form of Bayesian
Markov Chain Monte Carlo that allows us to calculate a joint posterior
distribution for all parameters and hence the household reproduction number and
the early growth rate of the epidemic. The first method performs exact Bayesian
inference using a standard data-augmentation approach; the second performs
approximate Bayesian inference based on a likelihood approximation derived from
branching processes. These methods are compared for computational efficiency
and posteriors from each are compared. The branching process is shown to be an
excellent approximation and remains computationally efficient as the amount of
data is increased
An Intelligent Fuse-box for use with Renewable Energy Sources integrated within a Domestic Environment
This paper outlines a proposal for an intelligent fuse-box that can replace existing fuse-boxes in a domestic context such that a number of renewable energy sources can easily be integrated into the domestic power supply network, without the necessity for complex islanding and network protection. The approach allows intelligent control of both the generation of power and its supply to single or groups of electrical appliances. Energy storage can be implemented in such a scheme to even out the power supplied and simplify the control scheme required, and environmental monitoring and load analysis can help in automatically controlling the supply and demand profiles for optimum electrical and economic efficiency. Simulations of typical scenarios are carried out to illustrate the concept in operation
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