6,184 research outputs found
CSI sensing and control: Analytical and experimental results
Recent work on structural identification and large-angle maneuvers with vibration suppression was presented. The recent work has sought to balance structural and controls analysis activities by involving the analysts directly in the validation and experimental aspects of the research. Some new sensing, actuation, system identification, and control concepts were successfully implemented. An overview of these results is given
An introduction to overviews of reviews: planning a relevant research question and objective for an overview.
This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: Overviews of systematic reviews are a relatively new approach to synthesising evidence, and research methods and associated guidance are developing. Within this paper we aim to help readers understand key issues which are essential to consider when taking the first steps in planning an overview. These issues relate to the development of clear, relevant research questions and objectives prior to the development of an overview protocol. METHODS: Initial discussions and key concepts for this paper were formed during a workshop on overview methods at the 2016 UK Cochrane Symposium, at which all members of this author group presented work and contributed to wider discussions. Detailed descriptions of the various key features of overviews and their different objectives were created by the author group based upon current evidence (Higgins J, Green S. Cochrane Handbook Syst Rev Interv. 2011;4:5, Pollock M, et al. Sys Rev. 2016;5:190-205, Pollock A, et al. Cochrane overviews of reviews: exploring the methods and challenges. UK and Ireland: Cochrane Symposium; 2016, Pieper D, et al. Res Syn Meth. 2014;5:187-99, Lunny C, et al. Sys Rev. 2016;5:4-12, Hartling L, et al. Comparing multiple treatments: an introduction to overviews of reviews. In 23rd Cochrane Colloquium; 2015, Hartling L, et al. Plos One. 2012;7:1-8, Ballard M, Montgomery P. Res Syn Meth. 2017;8:92-108) and author experiences conducting overviews. RESULTS: Within this paper we introduce different types of overviews and suggest common research questions addressed by these overviews. We briefly reflect on the key features and objectives of the example overviews discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Clear decisions relating to the research questions and objectives are a fundamental first step during the initial planning stages for an overview. Key stakeholders should be involved at the earliest opportunity to ensure that the planned overview is relevant and meaningful to the potential end users of the overview. Following best practice in common with other forms of systematic evidence synthesis, an overview protocol should be published, ensuring transparency and reducing opportunities for introduction of bias in the conduct of the overview.Research conducted by Harriet Hunt referred to within this paper [38] was
supported as part of doctoral programme funding by the National Institute
for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health
Research and Care South West Peninsula (PenCLAHRC). The overview
conducted by Pollock [3] was supported by a project grant from the Chief
Scientist Office of the Scottish Government. The overview conducted by
McClurg [5] was supported by a project grant by the Physiotherapy Research
Foundation.
Alex Pollock is employed by the Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health
Professions (NMAHP) Research Unit, which is supported by the Chief
Scientist Office of the Scottish Government. Pauline Campbell is supported
by the Chief Nurses Office of the Scottish Government.
The overview conducted by Estcourt [7] was supported by an NIHR
Cochrane Programme Grant for the Safe and Appropriate Use of Blood
Components.
The overview conducted by Brunton [10] was commissioned by the
Department of Health as part of an ongoing programme of work on health
policy research synthesis
The electron-nucleon cross section in reactions
We examine commonly used approaches to deal with the scattering of electrons
from a bound nucleon. Several prescriptions are shown to be related by gauge
transformations. Nevertheless, due to current non-conservation, they yield
different results. These differences reflect the size of the uncertainty that
persists in the interpretation of experiments.Comment: 6 pp (10 in preprint form), ReVTeX, (+ 4 figures, uuencoded
Comparison of two non-primitive methods for path integral simulations: Higher-order corrections vs. an effective propagator approach
Two methods are compared that are used in path integral simulations. Both
methods aim to achieve faster convergence to the quantum limit than the
so-called primitive algorithm (PA). One method, originally proposed by
Takahashi and Imada, is based on a higher-order approximation (HOA) of the
quantum mechanical density operator. The other method is based upon an
effective propagator (EPr). This propagator is constructed such that it
produces correctly one and two-particle imaginary time correlation functions in
the limit of small densities even for finite Trotter numbers P. We discuss the
conceptual differences between both methods and compare the convergence rate of
both approaches. While the HOA method converges faster than the EPr approach,
EPr gives surprisingly good estimates of thermal quantities already for P = 1.
Despite a significant improvement with respect to PA, neither HOA nor EPr
overcomes the need to increase P linearly with inverse temperature. We also
derive the proper estimator for radial distribution functions for HOA based
path integral simulations.Comment: 17 pages, latex, 6 postscript figure
Antigen depot is not required for alum adjuvanticity
Alum adjuvants have been in continuous clinical use for more than 80 yr. While the prevailing theory has been that depot formation and the associated slow release of antigen and/or inflammation are responsible for alum enhancement of antigen presentation and subsequent T- and B-cell responses, this has never been formally proven. To examine antigen persistence, we used the chimeric fluorescent protein EαGFP, which allows assessment of antigen presentation in situ, using the Y-Ae antibody. We demonstrate that alum and/or CpG adjuvants induced similar uptake of antigen, and in all cases, GFP signal did not persist beyond 24 h in draining lymph node antigen-presenting cells. Antigen presentation was first detectable on B cells within 6–12 h of antigen administration, followed by conventional dendritic cells (DCs) at 12–24 h, then finally plasmacytoid DCs at 48 h or later. Again, alum and/or CpG adjuvants did not have an effect on the magnitude or sequence of this response; furthermore, they induced similar antigen-specific T-cell activation in vivo. Notably, removal of the injection site and associated alum depot, as early as 2 h after administration, had no appreciable effect on antigen-specific T- and B-cell responses. This study clearly rules out a role for depot formation in alum adjuvant activity
The Origin of Structures in Generalized Gravity
In a class of generalized gravity theories with general couplings between the
scalar field and the scalar curvature in the Lagrangian, we can describe the
quantum generation and the classical evolution of both the scalar and tensor
structures in a simple and unified manner. An accelerated expansion phase based
on the generalized gravity in the early universe drives microscopic quantum
fluctuations inside a causal domain to expand into macroscopic ripples in the
spacetime metric on scales larger than the local horizon. Following their
generation from quantum fluctuations, the ripples in the metric spend a long
period outside the causal domain. During this phase their evolution is
characterized by their conserved amplitudes. The evolution of these
fluctuations may lead to the observed large scale structures of the universe
and anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation.Comment: 5 pages, latex, no figur
Path integral Monte Carlo simulation of helium at negative pressures
Path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations of liquid helium at negative
pressure have been carried out for a temperature range from the critical
temperature to below the superfluid transition. We have calculated the
temperature dependence of the spinodal line as well as the pressure dependence
of the isothermal sound velocity in the region of the spinodal. We discuss the
slope of the superfluid transition line and the shape of the dispersion curve
at negative pressures.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Physical Review B Revised: new
reference, replaced figure
Precision Monte Carlo Test of the Hartree-Fock Approximation for a trapped Bose Gas
We compare the semiclassical Hartree-Fock approximation for a trapped Bose
gas to a direct Path Integral Quantum Monte Carlo simulation. The chosen
parameters correspond to current Rb experiments. We observe corrections to the
mean-field density profile. The Path Integral calculation reveals an increase
of the number of condensed particles, which is of the same order as a
previously computed result for a homogeneous system. We discuss the
experimental observability of the effect and propose a method to analyze data
of in-situ experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revte
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