18,523 research outputs found
Are Intervention-Design Characteristics More Predictive than Baseline Participant Characteristics on Participant Attendance to a Paediatric, Community Weight Management Programme?
BACKGROUND: Approximately 50% of participants complete a paediatric weight management programme, yet the predictors of attendance and dropout are inconsistent. This study investigates subject and intervention-design characteristics associated with attendance at a group based, family weight management programme.
SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Secondary data analysis of 2948 subjects (Age 10.4±2.8 years, BMI 26.0±5.7kg/m2, Standardised BMI (BMI SDS) 2.48±0.87, White 70.3%) from 244 MoreLife (UK) programmes. Subjects attend weekly for 10-12 weeks, sessions last 2-3 hours. Sessions include lifestyle guidance and physical activity.
METHOD: Subject characteristics (demographics, psychological (body satisfaction & self-esteem) and sedentary behaviour) were gathered at first contact and BMI SDS was noted weekly. Intervention-design characteristics were recorded (year, length (weeks), group size, age segregation and day of session). Attendance was calculated as total number of sessions attended (%). Multivariate linear regression examined predictors of attendance and multiple imputation countered missing data. RESULTS: Average attendance was 59.4%±29.3%. Baseline subject characteristics were ‘poor’ predictors of attendance. Intervention year, group size and day of session significantly predicted attendance (Tables 1 & 2). Yet, the most predictive marker of attendance was a change in BMI SDS during the programme (B = -0.38, 95% CI = -0.43 - -0.33).
CONCLUSION: A reduction in BMI was seen to predict greater attendance. However, baseline subject characteristics were weakly associated with attendance, refuting past findings. Dominant intervention characteristics (large groups, weekend sessions and recent delivery) predicted lower attendance. Future programmes may be better informed
Optimal Eavesdropping in Quantum Cryptography. II. Quantum Circuit
It is shown that the optimum strategy of the eavesdropper, as described in
the preceding paper, can be expressed in terms of a quantum circuit in a way
which makes it obvious why certain parameters take on particular values, and
why obtaining information in one basis gives rise to noise in the conjugate
basis.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, Latex, the second part of quant-ph/970103
Introduction to Arithmetic Mirror Symmetry
We describe how to find period integrals and Picard-Fuchs differential
equations for certain one-parameter families of Calabi-Yau manifolds. These
families can be seen as varieties over a finite field, in which case we show in
an explicit example that the number of points of a generic element can be given
in terms of p-adic period integrals. We also discuss several approaches to
finding zeta functions of mirror manifolds and their factorizations. These
notes are based on lectures given at the Fields Institute during the thematic
program on Calabi-Yau Varieties: Arithmetic, Geometry, and Physics
Dynamical approach study of spurious steady-state numerical solutions of nonlinear differential equations. Part 1: The ODE connection and its implications for algorithm development in computational fluid dynamics
Spurious stable as well as unstable steady state numerical solutions, spurious asymptotic numerical solutions of higher period, and even stable chaotic behavior can occur when finite difference methods are used to solve nonlinear differential equations (DE) numerically. The occurrence of spurious asymptotes is independent of whether the DE possesses a unique steady state or has additional periodic solutions and/or exhibits chaotic phenomena. The form of the nonlinear DEs and the type of numerical schemes are the determining factor. In addition, the occurrence of spurious steady states is not restricted to the time steps that are beyond the linearized stability limit of the scheme. In many instances, it can occur below the linearized stability limit. Therefore, it is essential for practitioners in computational sciences to be knowledgeable about the dynamical behavior of finite difference methods for nonlinear scalar DEs before the actual application of these methods to practical computations. It is also important to change the traditional way of thinking and practices when dealing with genuinely nonlinear problems. In the past, spurious asymptotes were observed in numerical computations but tended to be ignored because they all were assumed to lie beyond the linearized stability limits of the time step parameter delta t. As can be seen from the study, bifurcations to and from spurious asymptotic solutions and transitions to computational instability not only are highly scheme dependent and problem dependent, but also initial data and boundary condition dependent, and not limited to time steps that are beyond the linearized stability limit
On spurious steady-state solutions of explicit Runge-Kutta schemes
The bifurcation diagram associated with the logistic equation v sup n+1 = av sup n (1-v sup n) is by now well known, as is its equivalence to solving the ordinary differential equation u prime = alpha u (1-u) by the explicit Euler difference scheme. It has also been noted by Iserles that other popular difference schemes may not only exhibit period doubling and chaotic phenomena but also possess spurious fixed points. Runge-Kutta schemes applied to both the equation u prime = alpha u (1-u) and the cubic equation u prime = alpha u (1-u)(b-u) were studied computationally and analytically and their behavior was contrasted with the explicit Euler scheme. Their spurious fixed points and periodic orbits were noted. In particular, it was observed that these may appear below the linearized stability limits of the scheme and, consequently, computation may lead to erroneous results
Geometry of Universal Magnification Invariants
Recent work in gravitational lensing and catastrophe theory has shown that
the sum of the signed magnifications of images near folds, cusps and also
higher catastrophes is zero. Here, it is discussed how Lefschetz fixed point
theory can be used to interpret this result geometrically. It is shown for the
generic case as well as for elliptic and hyperbolic umbilics in gravitational
lensing.Comment: RevTEX4, 13 pages, submitted to J. Math. Phy
Noncommutative geometrical structures of entangled quantum states
We study the noncommutative geometrical structures of quantum entangled
states. We show that the space of a pure entangled state is a noncommutative
space. In particular we show that by rewritten the conifold or the Segre
variety we can get a -deformed relation in noncommutative geometry. We
generalized our construction into a multi-qubit state. We also in detail
discuss the noncommutative geometrical structure of a three-qubit state.Comment: 7 page
P,T-Violating Nuclear Matrix Elements in the One-Meson Exchange Approximation
Expressions for the P,T-violating NN potentials are derived for ,
and exchange. The nuclear matrix elements for and
exchange are shown to be greatly suppressed, so that, under the assumption of
comparable coupling constants, exchange would dominate by two orders of
magnitude. The ratio of P,T-violating to P-violating matrix elements is found
to remain approximately constant across the nuclear mass table, thus
establishing the proportionality between time-reversal-violation and
parity-violation matrix elements. The calculated values of this ratio suggest a
need to obtain an accuracy of order for the ratio of the
PT-violating to P-violating asymmetries in neutron transmission experiments in
order to improve on the present limits on the isovector pion coupling constant.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, no figure
A Simple Geometric Representative for of a Point
For (or ) Donaldson theory on a 4-manifold , we construct a
simple geometric representative for of a point. Let be a generic
point in . Then the set is reducible , with
coefficient -1/4 and appropriate orientation, is our desired geometric
representative.Comment: Updated 2018 to published version. 8 pages, AmS-TeX, no figure
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