823 research outputs found
Improving Software Reliability Forecasting
This work investigates some methods for software reliability forecasting. A supermodel is presented as a suited tool for prediction of reliability in software project development. Also, times series forecasting for cumulative interfailure time is proposed and illustrated
Analyzing powers in inclusive pion production at high energy and the nucleon spin structure
Analyzing powers in inclusive pion production in high energy transversely
polarized proton-proton collisions are studied theoretically in the framework
of the quark recombination model. Calculations by assuming the SU(6)
spin-flavor symmetry for the nucleon structure disagree with the experiments.
We solve this difficulty by taking into account the %We overcome this
difficulty by taking into account the realistic spin distribution functions of
the nucleon, which differs from the SU(6) expectation at large , %but
coincides with a perturbative QCD constraint on the ratio of the unpolarized
valence distributions, as . We also discuss the kaon spin
asymmetry and find in the polarized proton-proton
collisions at large .Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, late
Single spin asymmetries in QCD
Measurements of single transverse spin asymmetries in high energy inclusive
processes have always shown unexpected and challenging results. Several cases
are considered and discussed within a QCD approach which couples perturbative
dynamics to new non perturbative partonic information; the aim is that of
developing a consistent phenomenological description of these unusual single
spin phenomena, based on a generalized QCD factorization scheme.Comment: 14 pages, lectures delivered at School on "Symmetries and Spin",
Praha-SPIN-2001, Prague, July 15 - July 28, 200
Systems of Linear Equations over and Problems Parameterized Above Average
In the problem Max Lin, we are given a system of linear equations
with variables over in which each equation is assigned a
positive weight and we wish to find an assignment of values to the variables
that maximizes the excess, which is the total weight of satisfied equations
minus the total weight of falsified equations. Using an algebraic approach, we
obtain a lower bound for the maximum excess.
Max Lin Above Average (Max Lin AA) is a parameterized version of Max Lin
introduced by Mahajan et al. (Proc. IWPEC'06 and J. Comput. Syst. Sci. 75,
2009). In Max Lin AA all weights are integral and we are to decide whether the
maximum excess is at least , where is the parameter.
It is not hard to see that we may assume that no two equations in have
the same left-hand side and . Using our maximum excess results,
we prove that, under these assumptions, Max Lin AA is fixed-parameter tractable
for a wide special case: for an arbitrary fixed function
.
Max -Lin AA is a special case of Max Lin AA, where each equation has at
most variables. In Max Exact -SAT AA we are given a multiset of
clauses on variables such that each clause has variables and asked
whether there is a truth assignment to the variables that satisfies at
least clauses. Using our maximum excess results, we
prove that for each fixed , Max -Lin AA and Max Exact -SAT AA can
be solved in time This improves
-time algorithms for the two problems obtained by Gutin et
al. (IWPEC 2009) and Alon et al. (SODA 2010), respectively
Juvenile Dermatomyositis: what comes next? Long-term outcomes in childhood myositis from a patient perspective
BACKGROUND:
To describe long-term outcomes in JDM using patient questionnaires and link to longitudinal, prospectively collected data for each patient within the Juvenile Dermatomyositis Cohort and Biomarker Study, UK and Ireland (JDCBS) to determine outcome predictors.Â
METHODS:
JDCBS participants agedââ„â16y completed the SF36, HAQ and a questionnaire regarding current disease features, medications, education and employment. Data collected from the JDCBS included disease subtype, demographics, clinical and laboratory features. Intensity indices were calculated for physician VAS, modified skin DAS, CMAS and MMT8 by dividing area under the curve (AUC) from longitudinal score trajectories by duration of study follow-up (y). Relationships between questionnaire and JDCBS clinical / laboratory data were investigated fitting statistical models appropriate for cross sectional and longitudinal data.
RESULTS:
Of 190 questionnaires sent, 84 (44%) were returned. Average age of respondents was 20.6 years (SD 3.9), time since diagnosis was 12.4 years (SD 5.0), age at onset was 9.2 years (SD 4.3), female to male ratio 4.25:1. Forty-nine (59%) self-reported persistently active disease, 54 (65%) were still taking immunosuppressive medication. 14/32 at school/higher education reported myositis adversely affecting academic results. 18â24 year-olds were twice as likely to be unemployed compared the UK population (ORâ=â0.456, 95% CI 0.24, 0.84, pâ=â0.001). Participantsââ„â18 years were three times as likely to be living with a parent/guardian (ORâ=â3.39, pâ<â0.001). SF36 MCS and MMT8 intensity index scores were significantly correlated (Ï =â0.328, pâ=â0.007).
CONCLUSIONS:
After 12.4Â years, questionnaire responders reported self-perceived high rates of persistently active disease and medication use, reduced rates of employment and were more likely to live with a parent/guardian. Perceived persistently active muscle disease appeared to affect quality of life in these patients and was the most significant contributor to long-term outcomes. Our findings highlight the importance of including the patient perspective in the assessment of long term outcomes, so that that we can start to target initial management strategies more effectively based on a combination of clinical and patient-reported data
Quark Distributions of Octet Baryons from SU(3) Symmetry
SU(3) symmetry relations between the octet baryons are introduced in order to
connect both the unpolarized and polarized quark distributions of the octet
baryons with those of the nucleon. Two different parametrizations of the
nucleon quark distributions are used. A new scenario of quark flavor and spin
structure of the is found and compared with two other models: a
perturbative QCD based analysis and a quark diquark model. The and
quarks inside the are predicted to be positively polarized at large
Bjorken variable in the new scenario. By using an approximate relation
connecting the quark fragmentation functions with the quark distributions, the
hadron polarizations of the octet baryons in -annihilation, polarized
charged lepton deep inelastic scattering (DIS) processes, and neutrino
(antineutrino) DIS processes are predicted. The predictions for
polarizations in several processes are compatible with the available data at
large fragmentation momentum fraction , and support the prediction of
positively polarized and quarks inside the at large .
Predictions for Drell-Yan processes from and beams on an
isoscalar target are also given and discussed.Comment: 29 latex pages, 16 figures, to appear in PR
Next-to-leading order QCD evolution of transversity fragmentation functions
We derive the next-to-leading order splitting kernels for the scale evolution
of fragmentation functions for transversely polarized quarks into transversely
polarized hadrons.Comment: 9 pages, LaTe
Energy Dependence of the Contribution of Pion Exchange to Large-Rapidity-Gap Events in Deep Inelastic Scattering
We study the energy dependence of the contribution of pion exchange to
large-rapidity-gap events in deep inelastic scattering. The results show that
this contribution can be quite significant at low energy and that the LRG
events observed by E665 collaboration in \mu Xe and \mu D interactions at 490
can be reasonably well described in terms of meson exchange. We also show
that the distribution of the maximum rapidity for all hadrons is quite
different from that for charged hadrons only and that the former exhibits also
shoulder-like structure for events at 490 similar to that at HERA.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, Phys. Rev. D (in press
Improved comprehensibility and reliability of explanations via restricted halfspace discretization
Abstract. A number of two-class classification methods first discretize each attribute of two given training sets and then construct a propositional DNF formula that evaluates to True for one of the two discretized training sets and to False for the other one. The formula is not just a classification tool but constitutes a useful explanation for the differences between the two underlying populations if it can be comprehended by humans and is reliable. This paper shows that comprehensibility as well as reliability of the formulas can sometimes be improved using a discretization scheme where linear combinations of a small number of attributes are discretized
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