10,067 research outputs found
Network recovery from massive failures under uncertain knowledge of damages
This paper addresses progressive network recovery under uncertain knowledge of damages. We formulate the problem as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP), and show that it is NP-Hard. We propose an iterative stochastic recovery algorithm (ISR) to recover the network in a progressive manner to satisfy the critical services. At each optimization step, we make a decision to repair a part of the network and gather more information iteratively, until critical services are completely restored. Three different algorithms are used to find a feasible set and determine which node to repair, namely, 1) an iterative shortest path algorithm (ISR-SRT), 2) an approximate branch and bound (ISR-BB) and 3) an iterative multi-commodity LP relaxation (ISR-MULT). Further, we have modified the state-of-the-Art iterative split and prune (ISP) algorithm to incorporate the uncertain failures. Our results show that ISR-BB and ISR- MULT outperform the state-of-the-Art 'progressive ISP' algorithm while we can configure our choice of trade-off between the execution time, number of repairs (cost) and the demand loss. We show that our recovery algorithm, on average, can reduce the total number of repairs by a factor of about 3 with respect to ISP, while satisfying all critical deman
Legal determinants of external finance revisited : the inverse relationship between investor protection and societal well-being
This paper investigates relationships between corporate governance traditions and quality of life as measured by a number of widely reported indicators. It provides an empirical analysis of indicators of societal health in developed economies using a classification based on legal traditions. Arguably the most widely cited work in the corporate governance literature has been the collection of papers by La Porta et al. which has shown, inter alia, statistically significant relationships between legal traditions and various proxies for investor protection. We show statistically significant relationships between legal traditions and various proxies for societal health. Our comparative evidence suggests that the interests of investors may not be congruent with the interests of wider society, and that the criteria for judging the effectiveness of approaches to corporate governance should not be restricted to financial metrics
Transaminases persistentemente elevadas - o que fazer?
The persistent hypertransaminasemia requires detailed clinical analyses with history, physical examination and laboratory tests for liver evaluation and differential diagnosis. The purpose of this article is to assist the pediatrician in the management of these cases to optimize the invetigation and diagnosis of these patients. The values of these enzymes can vary according to age group and may be the first manifestation of a liver disease, or metabolic, genetic or extrahepatic disease
Indicações e contra-indicações no transplante hepático pediátrico
Advances in cirurgical techniques and immunessupressores result in better prognosis of patients elected to pediatric liver transplant. Many questions still arise as the transplant indications. Notes that in childhood the liver failure can occur faster than in adults. The main symptons are: progressive cholestasis, encephalopathy, ascites, bleeding of esophageal varices, Hepatopulmonary syndrome, malnutrition, recurrent infections, liver dysfunction, disabling itching and delayed growth and development
A report on SHARP (Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype) and the Voyager Neptune encounter
The development and application of the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP) for the operations of the telecommunications systems and link analysis functions in Voyager mission operations are presented. An overview is provided of the design and functional description of the SHARP system as it was applied to Voyager. Some of the current problems and motivations for automation in real-time mission operations are discussed, as are the specific solutions that SHARP provides. The application of SHARP to Voyager telecommunications had the goal of being a proof-of-capability demonstration of artificial intelligence as applied to the problem of real-time monitoring functions in planetary mission operations. AS part of achieving this central goal, the SHARP application effort was also required to address the issue of the design of an appropriate software system architecture for a ground-based, highly automated spacecraft monitoring system for mission operations, including methods for: (1) embedding a knowledge-based expert system for fault detection, isolation, and recovery within this architecture; (2) acquiring, managing, and fusing the multiple sources of information used by operations personnel; and (3) providing information-rich displays to human operators who need to exercise the capabilities of the automated system. In this regard, SHARP has provided an excellent example of how advanced artificial intelligence techniques can be smoothly integrated with a variety of conventionally programmed software modules, as well as guidance and solutions for many questions about automation in mission operations
Weak Riemannian manifolds from finite index subfactors
Let be a finite Jones' index inclusion of II factors, and
denote by their unitary groups. In this paper we study the
homogeneous space , which is a (infinite dimensional) differentiable
manifold, diffeomorphic to the orbit
of the Jones projection of the inclusion. We endow with a
Riemannian metric, by means of the trace on each tangent space. These are
pre-Hilbert spaces (the tangent spaces are not complete), therefore is a weak Riemannian manifold. We show that enjoys certain
properties similar to classic Hilbert-Riemann manifolds. Among them, metric
completeness of the geodesic distance, uniqueness of geodesics of the
Levi-Civita connection as minimal curves, and partial results on the existence
of minimal geodesics. For instance, around each point of ,
there is a ball (of uniform radius ) of
the usual norm of , such that any point in the ball is joined to
by a unique geodesic, which is shorter than any other piecewise smooth curve
lying inside this ball. We also give an intrinsic (algebraic) characterization
of the directions of degeneracy of the submanifold inclusion , where the last set denotes the Grassmann manifold
of the von Neumann algebra generated by and .Comment: 19 page
Penta-hepta defect chaos in a model for rotating hexagonal convection
In a model for rotating non-Boussinesq convection with mean flow we identify
a regime of spatio-temporal chaos that is based on a hexagonal planform and is
sustained by the {\it induced nucleation} of dislocations by penta-hepta
defects. The probability distribution function for the number of defects
deviates substantially from the usually observed Poisson-type distribution. It
implies strong correlations between the defects inthe form of density-dependent
creation and annihilation rates of defects. We extract these rates from the
distribution function and also directly from the defect dynamics.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Vortex tubes in velocity fields of laboratory isotropic turbulence: dependence on the Reynolds number
The streamwise and transverse velocities are measured simultaneously in
isotropic grid turbulence at relatively high Reynolds numbers, Re(lambda) =
110-330. Using a conditional averaging technique, we extract typical
intermittency patterns, which are consistent with velocity profiles of a model
for a vortex tube, i.e., Burgers vortex. The radii of the vortex tubes are
several of the Kolmogorov length regardless of the Reynolds number. Using the
distribution of an interval between successive enhancements of a small-scale
velocity increment, we study the spatial distribution of vortex tubes. The
vortex tubes tend to cluster together. This tendency is increasingly
significant with the Reynolds number. Using statistics of velocity increments,
we also study the energetical importance of vortex tubes as a function of the
scale. The vortex tubes are important over the background flow at small scales
especially below the Taylor microscale. At a fixed scale, the importance is
increasingly significant with the Reynolds number.Comment: 8 pages, 3 PS files for 8 figures, to appear in Physical Review
Structural Properties of Planar Graphs of Urban Street Patterns
Recent theoretical and empirical studies have focused on the structural
properties of complex relational networks in social, biological and
technological systems. Here we study the basic properties of twenty
1-square-mile samples of street patterns of different world cities. Samples are
represented by spatial (planar) graphs, i.e. valued graphs defined by metric
rather than topologic distance and where street intersections are turned into
nodes and streets into edges. We study the distribution of nodes in the
2-dimensional plane. We then evaluate the local properties of the graphs by
measuring the meshedness coefficient and counting short cycles (of three, four
and five edges), and the global properties by measuring global efficiency and
cost. As normalization graphs, we consider both minimal spanning trees (MST)
and greedy triangulations (GT) induced by the same spatial distribution of
nodes. The results indicate that most of the cities have evolved into networks
as efficienct as GT, although their cost is closer to the one of a tree. An
analysis based on relative efficiency and cost is able to characterize
different classes of cities.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
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