770 research outputs found
Analysis of a continuous-time model of structural balance
It is not uncommon for certain social networks to divide into two opposing
camps in response to stress. This happens, for example, in networks of
political parties during winner-takes-all elections, in networks of companies
competing to establish technical standards, and in networks of nations faced
with mounting threats of war. A simple model for these two-sided separations is
the dynamical system dX/dt = X^2 where X is a matrix of the friendliness or
unfriendliness between pairs of nodes in the network. Previous simulations
suggested that only two types of behavior were possible for this system: either
all relationships become friendly, or two hostile factions emerge. Here we
prove that for generic initial conditions, these are indeed the only possible
outcomes. Our analysis yields a closed-form expression for faction membership
as a function of the initial conditions, and implies that the initial amount of
friendliness in large social networks (started from random initial conditions)
determines whether they will end up in intractable conflict or global harmony.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
OH 12.8-0.9: A New Water-Fountain Source
We present observational evidence that the OH/IR star OH 12.8-0.9 is the
fourth in a class of objects previously dubbed "water-fountain" sources. Using
the Very Long Baseline Array, we produced the first images of the water maser
emission associated with OH 12.8-0.9. We find that the masers are located in
two compact regions with an angular separation of ~109 mas on the sky. The axis
of separation between the two maser regions is at a position angle of 1.5 deg.
East of North with the blue-shifted (-80.5 to -85.5 km/s) masers located to the
North and the red-shifted (-32.0 to -35.5 km/s) masers to the South. In
addition, we find that the blue- and red-shifted masers are distributed along
arc-like structures ~10-12 mas across oriented roughly perpendicular to the
separation axis. The morphology exhibited by the water masers is suggestive of
an axisymmetric wind with the masers tracing bow shocks formed as the wind
impacts the ambient medium. This bipolar jet-like structure is typical of the
three other confirmed water-fountain sources. When combined with the previously
observed spectral characteristics of OH 12.8-0.9, the observed spatio-kinematic
structure of the water masers provides strong evidence that OH 12.8-0.9 is
indeed a member of the water-fountain class.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures (1 color), accepted for publication in the Ap J
Letter
HI observations of nearby galaxies I. The first list of the Karachentsev catalog
We present HI observations of the galaxies in the first list of the
Karachentsev catalog of previously unknown nearby dwarf galaxies (Karachentseva
& Karachentsev 1998). This survey covers all known nearby galaxy groups within
the Local Volume (i.e. within 10 Mpc) and their environment, that is about 25%
of the total sky. A total of 257 galaxies have been observed with a detection
rate of 60%. We searched a frequency band corresponding to heliocentric radial
velocities from -470 km/s to about +4000 km/s. Non-detections are either due to
limited coverage in radial velocity, confusion with Local HI (mainly in the
velocity range -140 km/s to +20 km/s, or lack of sensitivity for very weak
emission. 25% of the detected galaxies are located within the Local Volume.
Those galaxies are dwarf galaxies judged by their optical linear diameter (1.4
+/- 0.2 kpc on the average), their mean total HI mass (4.6 E7 solar masses),
and their observed linewidths (39 km/s).Comment: 22 pages, 9 ps figures, A&AS, in pres
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Correlations between FEV1 and patient-reported outcomes: A pooled analysis of 23 clinical trials in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
BACKGROUND: In clinical trials of inhaled bronchodilators, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) guidelines recommend that patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are assessed alongside lung function. How these endpoints are related is unclear. METHODS: Pooled longitudinal data from 23 randomised controlled COPD studies were analyzed (N = 23,213). Treatments included long-acting β2 agonists, long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LABAs or LAMAs) and the LABA/LAMA combination QVA149. Outcome measures were Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI) and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores, COPD exacerbation frequency and rescue medication use. Relationships between changes in trough forced expiratory volume in one second (ΔFEV1) and outcomes following treatment were assessed using correlations of data summaries and model-based analysis: generalized linear mixed-effect regression modeling to determine if ΔFEV1 could predict patient outcomes with different treatments. RESULTS: Mean age was 64 years, 73% were male, and most had moderate (45%) or severe (52%) disease. Statistically significant correlations were observed between ΔFEV1 and each outcome measure (exacerbations Rs = 0.05; rescue medication, SGRQ, TDI, r = 0.11-0.16; all p < .001). Patients with greater improvements in trough FEV1 had on average better SGRQ and TDI scores, fewer exacerbations, and used less rescue medication. For SGRQ and TDI scores, minimal clinically important differences were observed over the range of pooled ΔFEV1 values. Model-based predictions confirmed the treatment effect was partly explained by changes in FEV1 from baseline with improvements in PROs observed across all treatments when trough FEV1 improved. Across all endpoints active treatments were better than placebo (p < .0001), and LABA/LAMA treatment resulted in numerically better treatment outcomes than either monocomponent. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that FEV1 improvements post-bronchodilation correlate with PRO improvements. Further improvements in patient outcomes may be expected by maximizing lung function improvements. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registration details for the 23 randomised controlled studies used in this pooled analysis are supplied in Additional File 4
The vacuum bubbles in de Sitter background and black hole pair creation
We study the possible types of the nucleation of vacuum bubbles. We classify
vacuum bubbles in de Sitter background and present some numerical solutions.
The thin-wall approximation is employed to obtain the nucleation rate and the
radius of vacuum bubbles. With careful analysis we confirm that Parke's formula
is also applicable to the large true vacuum bubbles. The nucleation of the
false vacuum bubble in de Sitter background is also evaluated. The tunneling
process in the potential with degenerate vacua is analyzed as the limiting
cases of the large true vacuum bubble and false vacuum bubble. Next, we
consider the pair creation of black holes in the background of bubble
solutions. We obtain static bubble wall solutions of junction equation with
black hole pair. The masses of created black holes are uniquely determined by
the cosmological constant and surface tension on the wall. Finally, we obtain
the rate of pair creation of black holes.Comment: 3 figures, minor including errors and typos corrected, and refs.
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Polarization of coalitions in an agent-based model of political discourse
Political discourse is the verbal interaction between political actors in a policy domain. This article explains the formation of polarized advocacy or discourse coalitions in this complex phenomenon by presenting a dynamic, stochastic, and discrete agent-based model based on graph theory and local optimization. In a series of thought experiments, actors compute their utility of contributing a specific statement to the discourse by following ideological criteria, preferential attachment, agenda-setting strategies, governmental coherence, or other mechanisms. The evolving macro-level discourse is represented as a dynamic network and evaluated against arguments from the literature on the policy process. A simple combination of four theoretical mechanisms is already able to produce artificial policy debates with theoretically plausible properties. Any sufficiently realistic configuration must entail innovative and path-dependent elements as well as a blend of exogenous preferences and endogenous opinion formation mechanisms
The key physical parameters governing frictional dissipation in a precipitating atmosphere
Precipitation generates small-scale turbulent air flows the energy of which
ultimately dissipates to heat. The power of this process has previously been
estimated to be around 2-4 W m-2 in the tropics: a value comparable in
magnitude to the dynamic power of the global circulation. Here we suggest that
this previous power estimate is approximately double the true figure. Our
result reflects a revised evaluation of the mean precipitation path length Hp.
We investigate the dependence of Hp on surface temperature,relative
humidity,temperature lapse rate and degree of condensation in the ascending
air. We find that the degree of condensation,defined as the relative change of
the saturated water vapor mixing ratio in the region of condensation, is a
major factor determining Hp. We estimate from theory that the mean large-scale
rate of frictional dissipation associated with total precipitation in the
tropics lies between 1 and 2 W m-2 and show that our estimate is supported by
empirical evidence. We show that under terrestrial conditions frictional
dissipation constitutes a minor fraction of the dynamic power of
condensation-induced atmospheric circulation,which is estimated to be at least
2.5 times larger. However,because Hp increases with surface temperature Ts, the
rate of frictional dissipation would exceed that of condensation-induced
dynamics, and thus block major circulation, at Ts >~320 K in a moist adiabatic
atmosphere.Comment: 12 pp, 2 figure
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