Flow and chemical characteristics of the St. Johns River at Jacksonville, Florida

This report will be of substantial value to water managers in developing the St. Johns River as a multiple resource. Evaluation of the capacity of the river to accept pollutants without adversely affecting other uses requires detailed data of flow and chemical characteristics and an understanding of how they interact. (66 page document

Parallelization of the Naval Space Surveillance Satellite Motion Model

SIAM News, 30, November 1997.The Naval Space Surveillance Center (NAVSPASUR) uses an analytic satellite motion model based on the Brouwer-Lyddane theory to track objects orbiting the Earth. In this paper we develop several parallel algorithms based on this model. These have been implemented on the INTEL iPSC/2 hypercube multi-computer. The speed-up and efficiency of these algorithms will be obtained. We show that the best of these algorithms achieves 87% efficiency if one uses at 16-node hypercube

Foam Micromechanics

Foam evokes many different images: waves breaking at the seashore, the head on a pint of Guinness, an elegant dessert, shaving, the comfortable cushion on which you may be seated... From the mundane to the high tech, foams, emulsions, and cellular solids encompass a broad range of materials and applications. Soap suds, mayonnaise, and foamed polymers provide practical motivation and only hint at the variety of materials at issue. Typical of mukiphase materiaIs, the rheoIogy or mechanical behavior of foams is more complicated than that of the constituent phases alone, which may be gas, liquid, or solid. For example, a soap froth exhibits a static shear modulus-a hallmark of an elastic solid-even though it is composed primarily of two Newtonian fluids (water and air), which have no shear modulus. This apparent paradox is easily resolved. Soap froth contains a small amount of surfactant that stabilizes the delicate network of thin liq- uid films against rupture. The soap-film network deforms in response to a macroscopic strain; this increases interracial area and the corresponding sur- face energy, and provides the strain energy of classical elasticity theory [1]. This physical mechanism is easily imagined but very challenging to quantify for a realistic three-dimensional soap froth in view of its complex geome- try. Foam micromechanics addresses the connection between constituent properties, cell-level structure, and macroscopic mechanical behavior. This article is a survey of micromechanics applied to gas-liquid foams, liquid-liquid emulsions, and cellular solids. We will focus on static response where the foam deformation is very slow and rate-dependent phenomena such as viscous flow can be neglected. This includes nonlinear elasticity when deformations are large but reversible. We will also discuss elastic- plastic behavior, which involves yield phenomena. Foam structures based on polyhedra packed to fill space provide a unify- ing geometrical theme. Because a two-dimensional situation is always easier to visualize and usually easier to analyze, the roots of foam micromechanics lie in the plane packed with polygons. There are striking similarities as well as obvious differences between 2D and 3D

Counting and computing regions of DD-decomposition: algebro-geometric approach

New methods for $D$-decomposition analysis are presented. They are based on topology of real algebraic varieties and computational real algebraic geometry. The estimate of number of root invariant regions for polynomial parametric families of polynomial and matrices is given. For the case of two parametric family more sharp estimate is proven. Theoretic results are supported by various numerical simulations that show higher precision of presented methods with respect to traditional ones. The presented methods are inherently global and could be applied for studying $D$-decomposition for the space of parameters as a whole instead of some prescribed regions. For symbolic computations the Maple v.14 software and its package RegularChains are used.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Knowledge engineering with image data in real-world settings

We report on experiences in adding ML-trained visual recognition modules to a human-oriented image semantic annotation tool which creates RDF descriptions of images and scene contents. We conclude that ML cannot replace expert humans but can aid them in various ways, some unexpected. Semantic markup systems can be to designed to align human and machine blind spots. Finally, we briefly outline directions for future work

Universal quantum interfaces

To observe or control a quantum system, one must interact with it via an interface. This letter exhibits simple universal quantum interfaces--quantum input/output ports consisting of a single two-state system or quantum bit that interacts with the system to be observed or controlled. It is shown that under very general conditions the ability to observe and control the quantum bit on its own implies the ability to observe and control the system itself. The interface can also be used as a quantum communication channel, and multiple quantum systems can be connected by interfaces to become an efficient universal quantum computer. Experimental realizations are proposed, and implications for controllability, observability, and quantum information processing are explored.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTe

Correlations in Scale-Free Networks: Tomography and Percolation

We discuss three related models of scale-free networks with the same degree distribution but different correlation properties. Starting from the Barabasi-Albert construction based on growth and preferential attachment we discuss two other networks emerging when randomizing it with respect to links or nodes. We point out that the Barabasi-Albert model displays dissortative behavior with respect to the nodes' degrees, while the node-randomized network shows assortative mixing. These kinds of correlations are visualized by discussig the shell structure of the networks around their arbitrary node. In spite of different correlation behavior, all three constructions exhibit similar percolation properties.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures; added reference

Cost and Outcome of Behavioural Activation versus Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression (COBRA): a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial

Background Depression is a common, debilitating, and costly disorder. Many patients request psychological therapy, but the best-evidenced therapy—cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)—is complex and costly. A simpler therapy—behavioural activation (BA)—might be as effective and cheaper than is CBT. We aimed to establish the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of BA compared with CBT for adults with depression. Methods In this randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial, we recruited adults aged 18 years or older meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV criteria for major depressive disorder from primary care and psychological therapy services in Devon, Durham, and Leeds (UK). We excluded people who were receiving psychological therapy, were alcohol or drug dependent, were acutely suicidal or had attempted suicide in the previous 2 months, or were cognitively impaired, or who had bipolar disorder or psychosis or psychotic symptoms. We randomly assigned participants (1:1) remotely using computer-generated allocation (minimisation used; stratified by depression severity [Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) score of <19 vs ≥19], antidepressant use, and recruitment site) to BA from junior mental health workers or CBT from psychological therapists. Randomisation done at the Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit was concealed from investigators. Treatment was given open label, but outcome assessors were masked. The primary outcome was depression symptoms according to the PHQ-9 at 12 months. We analysed all those who were randomly allocated and had complete data (modified intention to treat [mITT]) and also all those who were randomly allocated, had complete data, and received at least eight treatment sessions (per protocol [PP]). We analysed safety in the mITT population. The non-inferiority margin was 1·9 PHQ-9 points. This trial is registered with the ISCRTN registry, number ISRCTN27473954. Findings Between Sept 26, 2012, and April 3, 2014, we randomly allocated 221 (50%) participants to BA and 219 (50%) to CBT. 175 (79%) participants were assessable for the primary outcome in the mITT population in the BA group compared with 189 (86%) in the CBT group, whereas 135 (61%) were assessable in the PP population in the BA group compared with 151 (69%) in the CBT group. BA was non-inferior to CBT (mITT: CBT 8·4 PHQ-9 points [SD 7·5], BA 8·4 PHQ-9 points [7·0], mean difference 0·1 PHQ-9 points [95% CI −1·3 to 1·5], p=0·89; PP: CBT 7·9 PHQ-9 points [7·3]; BA 7·8 [6·5], mean difference 0·0 PHQ-9 points [–1·5 to 1·6], p=0·99). Two (1%) non-trial-related deaths (one [1%] multidrug toxicity in the BA group and one [1%] cancer in the CBT group) and 15 depression-related, but not treatment-related, serious adverse events (three in the BA group and 12 in the CBT group) occurred in three [2%] participants in the BA group (two [1%] patients who overdosed and one [1%] who self-harmed) and eight (4%) participants in the CBT group (seven [4%] who overdosed and one [1%] who self-harmed). Interpretation We found that BA, a simpler psychological treatment than CBT, can be delivered by junior mental health workers with less intensive and costly training, with no lesser effect than CBT. Effective psychological therapy for depression can be delivered without the need for costly and highly trained professionals. Funding National Institute for Health Research

Hopf algebras and Markov chains: Two examples and a theory

The operation of squaring (coproduct followed by product) in a combinatorial Hopf algebra is shown to induce a Markov chain in natural bases. Chains constructed in this way include widely studied methods of card shuffling, a natural "rock-breaking" process, and Markov chains on simplicial complexes. Many of these chains can be explictly diagonalized using the primitive elements of the algebra and the combinatorics of the free Lie algebra. For card shuffling, this gives an explicit description of the eigenvectors. For rock-breaking, an explicit description of the quasi-stationary distribution and sharp rates to absorption follow.Comment: 51 pages, 17 figures. (Typographical errors corrected. Further fixes will only appear on the version on Amy Pang's website, the arXiv version will not be updated.