812 research outputs found
Cost-effectiveness of physical fitness training for stroke survivors
Background Physical fitness is impaired after stroke, yet fitness training after stroke reduces disability. Several international guidelines recommend that fitness training be incorporated as part of stroke rehabilitation. However, information about cost-effectiveness is limited.
Methods A decision tree model was used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of a fitness programme for stroke survivors vs. relaxation (control group). This was based on a published randomised controlled trial, from which evidence about quality of life was used to estimate Quality Adjusted Life Years. Costs were based on the cost of the provision of group fitness classes within local community centres and a cost per Quality Adjusted Life Year was calculated.
Results The results of the base case analysis found an incremental cost per Quality Adjusted Life Year of £2,343.
Conclusions Physical fitness sessions after stroke are a cost-effective intervention for stroke survivors. This information will help make the case for the development of new services
Effect of seeding rate and row spacing on the agronomic performance of winter wheat
Non-Peer ReviewedThe effect of row spacings and seed rates on the agronomic performance of "stubbled in" winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were studied over a period of two years at locations in central, northeast, and southeast Saskatchewan. In both years of the study there was a highly significant relationship between row spacing and yield with increased yields at narrower row spacings. The yield response to seeding rate
indicated different trends in each of the two years of the study. In 1985/86 there was a highly significant relationship between seed rate and yield with increased yields at higher seed rates. In 1986/87 the relationship between seeding rate and yield was not significant. In 1985/86 higher head counts/m2 at higher seeding rates resulted in the higher yields. In 1986/87 the head counts/m2 were also higher at higher seeding rates however a reduction in seeds/head and/or 1000k weight counteracted the effects of the higher head populations resulting in non-significant yield differences
Using the Regular Chains Library to build cylindrical algebraic decompositions by projecting and lifting
Cylindrical algebraic decomposition (CAD) is an important tool, both for
quantifier elimination over the reals and a range of other applications.
Traditionally, a CAD is built through a process of projection and lifting to
move the problem within Euclidean spaces of changing dimension. Recently, an
alternative approach which first decomposes complex space using triangular
decomposition before refining to real space has been introduced and implemented
within the RegularChains Library of Maple. We here describe a freely available
package ProjectionCAD which utilises the routines within the RegularChains
Library to build CADs by projection and lifting. We detail how the projection
and lifting algorithms were modified to allow this, discuss the motivation and
survey the functionality of the package
Effect of seeding depth on the performance of winter wheat
Non-Peer Reviewe
Speeding up Cylindrical Algebraic Decomposition by Gr\"obner Bases
Gr\"obner Bases and Cylindrical Algebraic Decomposition are generally thought
of as two, rather different, methods of looking at systems of equations and, in
the case of Cylindrical Algebraic Decomposition, inequalities. However, even
for a mixed system of equalities and inequalities, it is possible to apply
Gr\"obner bases to the (conjoined) equalities before invoking CAD. We see that
this is, quite often but not always, a beneficial preconditioning of the CAD
problem.
It is also possible to precondition the (conjoined) inequalities with respect
to the equalities, and this can also be useful in many cases.Comment: To appear in Proc. CICM 2012, LNCS 736
Adapting Real Quantifier Elimination Methods for Conflict Set Computation
The satisfiability problem in real closed fields is decidable. In the context
of satisfiability modulo theories, the problem restricted to conjunctive sets
of literals, that is, sets of polynomial constraints, is of particular
importance. One of the central problems is the computation of good explanations
of the unsatisfiability of such sets, i.e.\ obtaining a small subset of the
input constraints whose conjunction is already unsatisfiable. We adapt two
commonly used real quantifier elimination methods, cylindrical algebraic
decomposition and virtual substitution, to provide such conflict sets and
demonstrate the performance of our method in practice
Renormalization Group Analysis of \rho-Meson Properties at Finite Density
We calculate the density dependence of the -meson mass and coupling
constant() for -nucleon-nucleon vertex at one loop using the
lagrangian where the -meson is included as a dynamical gauge boson of a
hidden local symmetry. From the condition that thermodynamic potential should
not depend on the arbitrary energy scale, renormalization scale, one can
construct a renormalization group equation for the thermodynamic potential and
argue that the various renormalization group coefficients are functions of the
density or temperature. We calculate the -function for
-nucleon-nucleon coupling constant () and -function
for -meson mass (). We found that the -meson mass
and the coupling constant for drop as density increases in the
low energy limit.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, revised versio
Dynamic noise estimation: a generalized method for modeling noise fluctuations in decision-making
Computational cognitive modeling is an important tool for understanding the processes supporting human and animal decision-making. Choice data in decision-making tasks are inherently noisy, and separating noise from signal can improve the quality of computational modeling. Common approaches to model decision noise often assume constant levels of noise or exploration throughout learning (e.g., the ϵ-softmax policy). However, this assumption is not guaranteed to hold – for example, a subject might disengage and lapse into an inattentive phase for a series of trials in the middle of otherwise low-noise performance. Here, we introduce a new, computationally inexpensive method to dynamically estimate the levels of noise fluctuations in choice behavior, under a model assumption that the agent can transition between two discrete latent states (e.g., fully engaged and random). Using simulations, we show that modeling noise levels dynamically instead of statically can substantially improve model fit and parameter estimation, especially in the presence of long periods of noisy behavior, such as prolonged lapses of attention. We further demonstrate the empirical benefits of dynamic noise estimation at the individual and group levels by validating it on four published datasets featuring diverse populations, tasks, and models. Based on the theoretical and empirical evaluation of the method reported in the current work, we expect that dynamic noise estimation will improve modeling in many decision-making paradigms over the static noise estimation method currently used in the modeling literature, while keeping additional model complexity and assumptions minimal
Synthesis for Polynomial Lasso Programs
We present a method for the synthesis of polynomial lasso programs. These
programs consist of a program stem, a set of transitions, and an exit
condition, all in the form of algebraic assertions (conjunctions of polynomial
equalities). Central to this approach is the discovery of non-linear
(algebraic) loop invariants. We extend Sankaranarayanan, Sipma, and Manna's
template-based approach and prove a completeness criterion. We perform program
synthesis by generating a constraint whose solution is a synthesized program
together with a loop invariant that proves the program's correctness. This
constraint is non-linear and is passed to an SMT solver. Moreover, we can
enforce the termination of the synthesized program with the support of test
cases.Comment: Paper at VMCAI'14, including appendi
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