Supply-chain modelling and control under proportional inventory-replenishment policies

A novel state-space model of a multi-node supply chain is presented, controlled via local proportional inventory-replenishment policies. The model is driven by a stochastic sequence representing customer demand. The model is analysed under stationarity conditions and a simple recursive scheme is developed for updating its covariance matrix. This allows us to characterise the ‘bullwhip effect’ (demand amplification) in the chain and to solve an optimisation problem for a three-node model involving the minimisation of inventory subject to a probabilistic constraint on downstream demand. Finally, issues related to estimation schemes based on local historical data are briefly discussed

High-resolution microwave frequency dissemination on an 86-km urban optical link

We report the first demonstration of a long-distance ultra stable frequency dissemination in the microwave range. A 9.15 GHz signal is transferred through a 86-km urban optical link with a fractional frequency stability of 1.3x10-15 at 1 s integration time and below 10-18 at one day. The optical link phase noise compensation is performed with a round-trip method. To achieve such a result we implement light polarisation scrambling and dispersion compensation. This link outperforms all the previous radiofrequency links and compares well with recently demonstrated full optical links.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

The neutral hydrogen cosmological mass density at z = 5

We present the largest homogeneous survey of z > 4.4 damped Lyα systems (DLAs) using the spectra of 163 QSOs that comprise the Giant Gemini GMOS (GGG) survey. With this survey we make the most precise high-redshift measurement of the cosmological mass density of neutral hydrogen, ΩHi. At such high redshift, important systematic uncertainties in the identification of DLAs are produced by strong intergalactic medium absorption and QSO continuum placement. These can cause spurious DLA detections, result in real DLAs being missed or bias the inferred DLA column density distribution. We correct for these effects using a combination of mock and higher resolution spectra, and show that for the GGG DLA sample the uncertainties introduced are smaller than the statistical errors on ΩHi. We find ΩHI=0.98+0.20−0.18×10−3 at 〈z〉 = 4.9, assuming a 20 per cent contribution from lower column density systems below the DLA threshold. By comparing to literature measurements at lower redshifts, we show that ΩHi can be described by the functional form ΩHI(z)∝(1+z)0.4. This gradual decrease from z = 5 to 0 is consistent with the bulk of H I gas being a transitory phase fuelling star formation, which is continually replenished by more highly ionized gas from the intergalactic medium and from recycled galactic winds

Multidimensional Data Visual Exploration by Interactive Information Segments

Visualization techniques provide an outstanding role in KDD process for data analysis and mining. However, one image does not always convey successfully the inherent information from high dimensionality, very large databases. In this paper we introduce VSIS (Visual Set of Information Segments), an interactive tool to visually explore multidimensional, very large, numerical data. Within the supervised learning, our proposal approaches the problem of classification by searching of meaningful intervals belonging to the most relevant attributes. These intervals are displayed as multi–colored bars in which the degree of impurity with respect to the class membership can be easily perceived. Such bars can be re–explored interactively with new values of user–defined parameters. A case study of applying VSIS to some UCI repository data sets shows the usefulness of our tool in supporting the exploration of multidimensional and very large data

Singularities in the Fermi liquid description of a partially filled Landau level and the energy gaps of fractional quantum Hall states

We consider a two dimensional electron system in an external magnetic field at and near an even denominator Landau level filling fraction. Using a fermionic Chern--Simons approach we study the description of the system's low energy excitations within an extension of Landau's Fermi liquid theory. We calculate perturbatively the effective mass and the quasi--particle interaction function characterizing this description. We find that at an even denominator filling fraction the fermion's effective mass diverges logarithmically at the Fermi level, and argue that this divergence allows for an {\it exact} calculation of the energy gaps of the fractional quantized Hall states asymptotically approaching these filling fractions. We find that the quasi--particle interaction function approaches a delta function. This singular behavior leads to a cancelation of the diverging effective mass from the long wavelength low frequency linear response functions at even denominator filling fractions.Comment: 46 pages, RevTeX, 5 figures included in a uuencoded postscript file. Minor revisions relative to the original version. The paper will be published in the Physical Review B, and can be retrieved from the World Wide Web, in http://cmtw.harvard.edu/~ster

Automated echocardiographic detection of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction using artificial intelligence

Background: Detection of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) involves integration of multiple imaging and clinical features which are often discordant or indeterminate. Objectives: We applied artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze a single apical four-chamber (A4C) transthoracic echocardiogram videoclip to detect HFpEF. Methods: A three-dimensional convolutional neural network was developed and trained on A4C videoclips to classify patients with HFpEF (diagnosis of HF, EF≥50%, and echocardiographic evidence of increased filling pressure; cases) versus without HFpEF (EF≥50%, no diagnosis of HF, normal filling pressure; controls). Model outputs were classified as HFpEF, no HFpEF, or non-diagnostic (high uncertainty). Performance was assessed in an independent multi-site dataset and compared to previously validated clinical scores. Results: Training and validation included 2971 cases and 3785 controls (validation holdout, 16.8% patients), and demonstrated excellent discrimination (AUROC:0.97 [95%CI:0.96-0.97] and 0.95 [0.93-0.96] in training and validation, respectively). In independent testing (646 cases, 638 controls), 94 (7.3%) were non-diagnostic; sensitivity (87.8%; 84.5-90.9%) and specificity (81.9%; 78.2-85.6%) were maintained in clinically relevant subgroups, with high repeatability and reproducibility. Of 701 and 776 indeterminate outputs from the HFA-PEFF and H2FPEF scores, the AI HFpEF model correctly reclassified 73.5 and 73.6%, respectively. During follow-up (median [IQR]:2.3 [0.5-5.6] years), 444 (34.6%) patients died; mortality was higher in patients classified as HFpEF by AI (hazard ratio [95%CI]:1.9 [1.5-2.4]). Conclusion: An AI HFpEF model based on a single, routinely acquired echocardiographic video demonstrated excellent discrimination of patients with versus without HFpEF, more often than clinical scores, and identified patients with higher mortality

The T2K ND280 Off-Axis Pi-Zero Detector

The Pi-Zero detector (P{\O}D) is one of the subdetectors that makes up the off-axis near detector for the Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) long baseline neutrino experiment. The primary goal for the P{\O}D is to measure the relevant cross sections for neutrino interactions that generate pi-zero's, especially the cross section for neutral current pi-zero interactions, which are one of the dominant sources of background to the electron neutrino appearance signal in T2K. The P{\O}D is composed of layers of plastic scintillator alternating with water bags and brass sheets or lead sheets and is one of the first detectors to use Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPCs) on a large scale.Comment: 17 pages, submitted to NIM

Non-linear response of a Kondo system: Perturbation approach to the time dependent Anderson impurity model

Nonlinear tunneling current through a quantum dot (an Anderson impurity system) subject to both constant and alternating electric fields is studied in the Kondo regime. A systematic diagram technique is developed for perturbation study of the current in physical systems out of equilibrium governed by time - dependent Hamiltonians of the Anderson and the Kondo models. The ensuing calculations prove to be too complicated for the Anderson model, and hence, a mapping on an effective Kondo problem is called for. This is achieved by constructing a time - dependent version of the Schrieffer - Wolff transformation. Perturbation expansion of the current is then carried out up to third order in the Kondo coupling J yielding a set of remarkably simple analytical expressions for the current. The zero - bias anomaly of the direct current differential conductance is shown to be suppressed by the alternating field while side peaks develop at finite source - drain voltage. Both the direct component and the first harmonics of the time - dependent response are equally enhanced due to the Kondo effect, while amplitudes of higher harmonics are shown to be relatively small. A zero alternating bias anomaly is found in the alternating current differential conductance, that is, it peaks around zero alternating bias. This peak is suppressed by the constant bias. No side peaks show up in the differential alternating - conductance but their counterpart is found in the derivative of the alternating current with respect to the direct bias. The results pertaining to nonlinear response are shown to be valid also below the Kondo temperature.Comment: 55 latex pages 11 ps figure

Directed flow in Au+Au, Xe+CsI and Ni+Ni collisions and the nuclear equation of state

We present new experimental data on directed flow in collisions of Au+Au, Xe+CsI and Ni+Ni at incident energies from 90 to 400A MeV. We study the centrality and system dependence of integral and differential directed flow for particles selected according to charge. All the features of the experimental data are compared with Isospin Quantum Molecular Dynamics (IQMD) model calculations in an attempt to extract information about the nuclear matter equation of state (EoS). We show that the combination of rapidity and transverse momentum analysis of directed flow allow to disentangle various parametrizations in the model. At 400A MeV, a soft EoS with momentum dependent interactions is best suited to explain the experimental data in Au+Au and Xe+CsI, but in case of Ni+Ni the model underpredicts flow for any EoS. At 90A MeV incident beam energy, none of the IQMD parametrizations studied here is able to consistently explain the experimental data.Comment: RevTeX, 20 pages, 30 eps figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C. Data files available at http://www.gsi.de/~fopiwww/pub

Late-time Entropy Production from Scalar Decay and Relic Neutrino Temperature

Entropy production from scalar decay in the era of low temperatures after neutrino decoupling will change the ratio of the relic neutrino temperature to the CMB temperature, and, hence, the value of N_eff, the effective number of neutrino species. Such scalar decay is relevant to reheating after thermal inflation, proposed to dilute massive particles, like the moduli and the gravitino, featuring in supersymmetric and string theories. The effect of such entropy production on the relic neutrino temperature ratio is calculated in a semi-analytic manner, and a recent lower bound on this ratio, obtained from the WMAP satellite and 2dF galaxy data, is used to set a lower bound of ~ 1.5 x 10^-23 Gev on the scalar decay constant, corresponding to a reheating temperature of about 3.3 Mev.Comment: 13 pages, to appear in PR