207 research outputs found
Quantum initial value representations using approximate Bohmian trajectories
Quantum trajectories, originating from the de Broglie-Bohm (dBB) hydrodynamic
description of quantum mechanics, are used to construct time-correlation
functions in an initial value representation (IVR). The formulation is fully
quantum mechanical and the resulting equations for the correlation functions
are similar in form to their semi-classical analogs but do not require the
computation of the stability or monodromy matrix or conjugate points. We then
move to a {\em local} trajectory description by evolving the cumulants of the
wave function along each individual path. The resulting equations of motion are
an infinite hierarchy, which we truncate at a given order. We show that
time-correlation functions computed using these approximate quantum
trajectories can be used to accurately compute the eigenvalue spectrum for
various potential systems.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Beable trajectories for revealing quantum control mechanisms
The dynamics induced while controlling quantum systems by optimally shaped
laser pulses have often been difficult to understand in detail. A method is
presented for quantifying the importance of specific sequences of quantum
transitions involved in the control process. The method is based on a
``beable'' formulation of quantum mechanics due to John Bell that rigorously
maps the quantum evolution onto an ensemble of stochastic trajectories over a
classical state space. Detailed mechanism identification is illustrated with a
model 7-level system. A general procedure is presented to extract mechanism
information directly from closed-loop control experiments. Application to
simulated experimental data for the model system proves robust with up to 25%
noise.Comment: Latex, 20 pages, 13 figure
The Canadian Joint Replacement Registryâwhat have we learned?
The Canadian Joint Replacement Registry (CJRR) was launched in 2000 through the collaborative efforts of the Canadian Orthopedic Association and the Canadian Institutes for Health Information. Participation is voluntary, and data collected by participating surgeons in the operating room is linked to hospital stay information from administrative databases to compile yearly reports. In the fiscal year 2006â2007, there were 62,196 hospitalizations for hip and knee replacements in Canada, excluding Quebec. This represents a 10-year increase of 101% and a 1-year increase of 6%. Compared to men, Canadian women have higher age-adjusted rates per 105 for both TKA (148 vs. 110) and THA (86 vs. 76). There also exist substantial inter-provincial variations in both age-adjusted rates of arthroplasty and implant utilization that cannot be explained entirely on the basis of differing patient demographics. The reasons for these variations are unclear, but probably represent such factors as differences in provincial health expenditure, efforts to reduce waiting lists, and surgeon preference. The main challenge currently facing the CJRR is to increase procedure capture to > 90%. This is being pursued through a combination of efforts including simplification of the consent process, streamlining of the data collection form, and the production of customized reports with information that has direct clinical relevance for surgeons and administrators. As the CJRR continues to mature, we are optimistic that it will provide clinically important information on the wide range of factors that affect arthroplasty outcome
Enabling and scaling biomolecular simulations of 100 million atoms on petascale machines with a multicore-optimized message-driven runtime
A 100-million-atom biomolecular simulation with NAMD is one of the three benchmarks for the NSF-funded sustainable petascale machine. Simulating this large molecular system on a petascale machine presents great challenges, including handling I/O, large memory footprint and getting good strong-scaling results. In this paper, we present parallel I/O techniques to enable the simula-tion. A new SMP model is designed to efficiently utilize ubiquitous wide multicore clusters by extending the CHARM++ asynchronous message-driven runtime. We exploit node-aware techniques to op-timize both the application and the underlying SMP runtime. Hi-erarchical load balancing is further exploited to scale NAMD to the full Jaguar PF Cray XT5 (224,076 cores) at Oak Ridge Na-tional Laboratory, both with and without PME full electrostatics, achieving 93 % parallel efficiency (vs 6720 cores) at 9 ms per step for a simple cutoff calculation. Excellent scaling is also obtained on 65,536 cores of the Intrepid Blue Gene/P at Argonne National Laboratory. 1
Outcomes of unilateral and bilateral total knee arthroplasty in 238,373 patients
© 2016 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Nordic Orthopedic Federation. Background and purpose â There is no consensus about the outcome of simultaneous vs. staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We examined this issue by analyzing 238,373 patients. Patients and methods â Demographic, clinical, and outcome data were evaluated for TKA patients (unilateral: 206,771; simultaneous bilateral: 6,349; staged bilateral: 25,253) from the Canadian Hospital Morbidity Database for fiscal years 2006â2007 to 2012â2013. Outcomes were adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and hospital TKA volume. Results â Simultaneous bilateral TKA patients were younger than staged bilateral TKA patients (median 64 years vs. 66 years), were more likely to be male (41% vs. 39%), and had a lower frequency of having â„1 comorbid condition (2.9% vs. 4.2%). They also had a higher frequency of blood transfusions (41% vs. 19%), a shorter median length of stay (6 days vs. 8 days), a higher frequency of transfer to a rehabilitation facility (46% vs. 9%), and a lower frequency of knee infection (0.5% vs. 0.9%) than staged bilateral TKA patients, but they had higher rate of cardiac complications within 90 days (2.0% vs. 1.7%). Simultaneous patients had higher in-hospital mortality compared to the second TKA in staged patients (0.16% vs. 0.06%), but they had similar rates of in-hospital mortality compared to unilateral patients (0.16% vs. 0.14%). The cumulative 3-year revision rate was highest in the unilateral group (2.3%), but it was similar in the staged and simultaneous bilateral groups (1.4%). Interpretation â We found important differences between the outcomes of simultaneous and staged bilateral TKA. Further clarification of outcomes would be best determined in an adequately powered randomized trial, which would remove the selection bias inherent in this retrospective study design
A Preliminary Seismic Analysis of 51 Peg: Large and Small Spacings from Standard Models
We present a preliminary theoretical seismic study of the astronomically
famous star 51 Peg. This is done by first performing a detailed analysis within
the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD). Using the Yale stellar evolution code
(YREC), a grid of stellar evolutionary tracks has been constructed for the
masses 1.00 M_sun, 1.05 M_sun and 1.10 M_sun, in the metallicity range
Z=0.024-0.044, and for values of the Galactic helium enrichment ratio DY/DZ in
the range 0-2.5. Along these evolutionary tracks, we select 75 stellar model
candidates that fall within the 51 Peg observational error box in the HRD (all
turn out to have masses of 1.05 M_sun and 1.10 M_sun. The corresponding
allowable age range for these models, which depends sensitively on the
parameters of the model, is relatively large and is ~2.5 - 5.5 Gyr. For each of
the 75 models, a non-radial pulsation analysis is carried out, and the large
and small frequency spacings are calculated. The results show that just
measuring the large and small frequency spacings will greatly reduce the
present uncertainties in the derived physical parameters and in the age of 51
Peg. Finally we discuss briefly refinements in the physics of the models and in
the method of analysis which will have to be included in future models to make
the best of the precise frequency determinations expected from space
observations.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publicaton by Ap
Bell nonlocality, signal locality and unpredictability (or What Bohr could have told Einstein at Solvay had he known about Bell experiments)
The 1964 theorem of John Bell shows that no model that reproduces the
predictions of quantum mechanics can simultaneously satisfy the assumptions of
locality and determinism. On the other hand, the assumptions of \emph{signal
locality} plus \emph{predictability} are also sufficient to derive Bell
inequalities. This simple theorem, previously noted but published only
relatively recently by Masanes, Acin and Gisin, has fundamental implications
not entirely appreciated. Firstly, nothing can be concluded about the
ontological assumptions of locality or determinism independently of each other
-- it is possible to reproduce quantum mechanics with deterministic models that
violate locality as well as indeterministic models that satisfy locality. On
the other hand, the operational assumption of signal locality is an empirically
testable (and well-tested) consequence of relativity. Thus Bell inequality
violations imply that we can trust that some events are fundamentally
\emph{unpredictable}, even if we cannot trust that they are indeterministic.
This result grounds the quantum-mechanical prohibition of arbitrarily accurate
predictions on the assumption of no superluminal signalling, regardless of any
postulates of quantum mechanics. It also sheds a new light on an early stage of
the historical debate between Einstein and Bohr.Comment: Substantially modified version; added HMW as co-autho
Simulating Large Scale Parallel Applications Using Statistical Models for Sequential Execution Blocks
Predicting sequential execution blocks of a large scale parallel application is an essential part of accurate prediction of the overall performance of the application. When simulating a future machine that is not yet fabricated, or a prototype system only available at a small scale, it becomes a significant challenge. Using hardware simulators may not be feasible due to excessively slowed down execution times and insufficient resources. These challenging issues become increasingly difficult in proportion to scale of the simulation. In this paper, we propose an approach based on statistical models to accurately predict the performance of the sequential execution blocks that comprise a parallel application. We de-ployed these techniques in a trace-driven simulation framework to capture both the detailed behavior of the application as well as the overall predicted performance. The technique is validated using both synthetic benchmarks and the NAMD application. Index Termsâparallel simulator, performance prediction, trace-driven, machine learning, statistical model I
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