1,441 research outputs found
Comparative analysis of techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of aircraft computing systems
Performability analysis is a technique developed for evaluating the effectiveness of fault-tolerant computing systems in multiphase missions. Performability was evaluated for its accuracy, practical usefulness, and relative cost. The evaluation was performed by applying performability and the fault tree method to a set of sample problems ranging from simple to moderately complex. The problems involved as many as five outcomes, two to five mission phases, permanent faults, and some functional dependencies. Transient faults and software errors were not considered. A different analyst was responsible for each technique. Significantly more time and effort were required to learn performability analysis than the fault tree method. Performability is inherently as accurate as fault tree analysis. For the sample problems, fault trees were more practical and less time consuming to apply, while performability required less ingenuity and was more checkable. Performability offers some advantages for evaluating very complex problems
The eVALuate study: two parallel randomised trials, one comparing laparoscopic with abdominal hysterectomy, the other comparing laparoscopic with vaginal hysterectomy
OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of laparoscopic hysterectomy
and abdominal hysterectomy in the abdominal trial, and
laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy in the
vaginal trial.
DESIGN: Two parallel, multicentre, randomised trials.
Setting 28 UK centres and two South African centres.
Participants 1380 women were recruited; 1346 had surgery;
937 were followed up at one year.
PRIMARY OUTCOME: outcome Rate of major complications.
RESULTS: In the abdominal trial laparoscopic hysterectomy was
associated with a higher rate of major complications than
abdominal hysterectomy (11.1% v 6.2%, P = 0.02; difference
4.9%, 95% confidence interval 0.9% to 9.1%) and the number
needed to treat to harm was 20. Laparoscopic hysterectomy
also took longer to perform (84 minutes v 50 minutes) but was
less painful (visual analogue scale 3.51 v 3.88, P = 0.01) and
resulted in a shorter stay in hospital after the operation (3 days
v 4 days). Six weeks after the operation, laparoscopic
hysterectomy was associated with less pain and better quality of
life than abdominal hysterectomy (SF-12, body image scale, and
sexual activity questionnaires).
In the vaginal trial we found no evidence of a difference in
major complication rates between laparoscopic hysterectomy
and vaginal hysterectomy (9.8% v 9.5%, P = 0.92; difference
0.3%, − 5.2% to 5.8%), and the number needed to treat to harm
was 333.We found no evidence of other differences between
laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy except
that laparoscopic hysterectomy took longer to perform (72
minutes v 39 minutes) and was associated with a higher rate of
detecting unexpected pathology (16.4% v 4.8%, P = < 0.01).
However, this trial was underpowered.
CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with a
significantly higher rate of major complications than abdominal
hysterectomy. It also took longer to perform but was associated
with less pain, quicker recovery, and better short term quality of
life. The trial comparing vaginal hysterectomy with laparoscopic
hysterectomy was underpowered and is inconclusive on the rate
of major complications; however, vaginal hysterectomy took less
time
Mathematical structure of unit systems
We investigate the mathematical structure of unit systems and the relations
between them. Looking over the entire set of unit systems, we can find a
mathematical structure that is called preorder (or quasi-order). For some pair
of unit systems, there exists a relation of preorder such that one unit system
is transferable to the other unit system. The transfer (or conversion) is
possible only when all of the quantities distinguishable in the latter system
are always distinguishable in the former system. By utilizing this structure,
we can systematically compare the representations in different unit systems.
Especially, the equivalence class of unit systems (EUS) plays an important role
because the representations of physical quantities and equations are of the
same form in unit systems belonging to an EUS. The dimension of quantities is
uniquely defined in each EUS. The EUS's form a partially ordered set. Using
these mathematical structures, unit systems and EUS's are systematically
classified and organized as a hierarchical tree.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figure
Tricritical Phenomena at the Cerium Transition
The isostructural transition in the
CeLaTh system is measured as a function of La alloying
using specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, thermal
expansivity/striction measurements. A line of discontinuous transitions, as
indicated by the change in volume, decreases exponentially from 118 K to close
to zero with increasing La doping and the transition changes from being
first-order to continuous at a critical concentration . At the tricritical point, the coefficient of the linear term in the
specific heat and the magnetic susceptibility start to increase
rapidly near = 0.14 and gradually approaches large values at =0.35
signifying that a heavy Fermi-liquid state evolves at large doping. Near ,
the Wilson ratio, , has a value of 3.0, signifying the presence of
magnetic fluctuations. Also, the low-temperature resistivity shows that the
character of the low-temperature Fermi-liquid is changing
Three Questions on Lorentz Violation
We review the basics of the two most widely used approaches to Lorentz
violation - the Stardard Model Extension and Noncommutative Field Theory - and
discuss in some detail the example of the modified spectrum of the synchrotron
radiation. Motivated by touching upon such a fundamental issue as Lorentz
symmetry, we ask three questions: What is behind the search for Lorentz
violation? Is String Theory a physical theory? Is there an alternative to
Supersymmetry?Comment: 16 pages; invited luecture at DICE2006 - Piombino, Italy - September
200
Complete pressure dependent phase diagrams for SrFe2As2 and BaFe2As2
The temperature dependent electrical resistivity of single crystalline
SrFe2As2 and BaFe2As2 has been measured in a liquid medium, modified Bridgman
anvil cell for pressures in excess of 75 kbar. These data allow for the
determination of the pressure dependence of the higher temperature, structural
/ antiferromagnetic phase transitions as well as the lower temperature
superconducting phase transition. For both compounds the ambient pressure,
higher temperature structural / antiferromagnetic phase transition can be fully
suppressed with a dome-like region of zero resistivity found to be centered
about its critical pressure. Indeed, qualitatively, the temperature dependence
of the resistivity curves closest to the critical pressures are the closest to
linear, consistent with possible quantum criticality. For pressures
significantly higher than the critical pressure the zero resistivity state is
suppressed and the low temperature resistivity curves asymptotically approach a
universal, low temperature manifold. These results are consistent with the
hypothesis that correlations / fluctuations associated with the
ambient-pressure, high-temperature, tetragonal phase have to be brought to low
enough temperature to allow superconductivity, but if too fully suppressed can
lead to the loss of the superconducting state
Positive-Operator-Valued Time Observable in Quantum Mechanics
We examine the longstanding problem of introducing a time observable in
Quantum Mechanics; using the formalism of positive-operator-valued measures we
show how to define such an observable in a natural way and we discuss some
consequences.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, no figures. Some minor changes, expanded the
bibliography (now it is bigger than the one in the published version),
changed the title and the style for publication on the International Journal
of Theoretical Physic
Superhorizon curvaton amplitude in inflation and pre-big bang cosmology
We follow the evolution of the curvaton on superhorizon scales and check that
the spectral tilt of the curvaton perturbations is unchanged as the curvaton
becomes non-relativistic. Both inflation and pre-big bang cosmology can be
treated since the curvaton mechanism within the two scenarios works the same
way. We also discuss the amplitude of the density perturbations, which leads to
some interesting constrains on the pre-big bang scenario. It is shown that
within a SL(3,R) non-linear sigma model one of the three axions has the right
coupling to the dilaton and moduli to yield a flat spectrum with a high string
scale, if a quadratic non-perturbative potential is generated and an
intermediate string phase lasts long enough.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX. Discussion and references adde
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