56,794 research outputs found
The control of nonlinear stochastic control systems under discounted performance criteria
Control algorithm for optimization of nonlinear stochastic processes with discounted performance criteri
Transport on randomly evolving trees
The time process of transport on randomly evolving trees is investigated. By
introducing the notions of living and dead nodes a model of random tree
evolution is constructed which describes the spreading in time of objects
corresponding to nodes. By using the method of the age-dependent branching
processes we derive the joint distribution function of the number of living and
dead nodes, and determine the correlation between these node numbers as a
function of time. Also analyzed are the stochastic properties of the end-nodes;
and the correlation between the numbers of living and dead end-nodes is shown
to change its character suddenly at the very beginning of the evolution
process. The survival probability of random trees is investigated and
expressions are derived for this probability.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, published in Phys. Rev. E 72, 051101 (2005
Creep Evaluation of (Orthotic) Cast Materials During Simulated Clubfoot Correction
The Ponseti method is a widely accepted and highly successful conservative treatment of pediatric clubfoot that relies on weekly manipulations and cast applications. However, the material behavior of the cast in the Ponseti technique has not been investigated. The current study sought to characterize the ability of two standard casting materials to maintain the Ponseti corrected foot position by evaluating creep response. A dynamic cast testing device (DCTD) was built to simulate a typical pediatric clubfoot. Semi-rigid fiberglass and rigid fiberglass casting materials were applied to the device, and the rotational creep was measured at various constant torques. The movement was measured using a 3D motion capture system. A 2-way ANOVA was performed on the creep displacement data at a significance level of 0.05. Among cast materials, the rotational creep displacement was found to be significantly different (p-values ≪ 0.001). The most creep displacement occurs in the semi-rigid fiberglass (approximately 1.0 degrees), then the rigid fiberglass (approximately 0.4 degrees). There was no effect of torque magnitude on the creep displacement. All materials maintained the corrected position with minimal change in position over time
Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload
An experimental paradigm and a set of results which demonstrate a relationship between the level of performance on a skilled man-machine control task, the skill of the operator, the level of mental difficulty induced by an additional task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning performance. During a constant, simulated piloting task, visual scanning of instruments was found to vary as a function of the level of difficulty of a verbal mental loading task. The average dwell time of each fixation on the pilot's primary instrument increased as a function of the estimated skill level of the pilots, with novices being affected by the loading task much more than the experts. The results suggest that visual scanning of instruments in a controlled task may be an indicator of both workload and skill
Phase correlation of laser waves with arbitrary frequency spacing
The theoretically predicted correlation of laser phase fluctuations in
Lambda-type interaction schemes is experimentally demonstrated. We show, that
the mechanism of correlation in a Lambda scheme is restricted to high frequency
noise components, whereas in a double- scheme, due to the laser phase
locking in closed-loop interaction, it extends to all noise frequencies. In
this case the correlation is weakly sensitive to coherence losses. Thus the
double-Lambda scheme can be used to correlate e.m. fields with carrier
frequency differences beyond the GHz regime.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Entropy, instrument scan and pilot workload
Correlation and information theory which analyze the relationships between mental loading and visual scanpath of aircraft pilots are described. The relationship between skill, performance, mental workload, and visual scanning behavior are investigated. The experimental method required pilots to maintain a general aviation flight simulator on a straight and level, constant sensitivity, Instrument Landing System (ILS) course with a low level of turbulence. An additional periodic verbal task whose difficulty increased with frequency was used to increment the subject's mental workload. The subject's looppoint on the instrument panel during each ten minute run was computed via a TV oculometer and stored. Several pilots ranging in skill from novices to test pilots took part in the experiment. Analysis of the periodicity of the subject's instrument scan was accomplished by means of correlation techniques. For skilled pilots, the autocorrelation of instrument/dwell times sequences showed the same periodicity as the verbal task. The ability to multiplex simultaneous tasks increases with skill. Thus autocorrelation provides a way of evaluating the operator's skill level
Quantifying the Drivers of Star Formation on Galactic Scales. I. The Small Magellanic Cloud
We use the star formation history of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) to
place quantitative limits on the effect of tidal interactions and gas infall on
the star formation and chemical enrichment history of the SMC. The coincident
timing of two recent (< 4 Gyr) increases in the star formation rate and
SMC/Milky Way(MW) pericenter passages suggests that global star formation in
the SMC is driven at least in part by tidal forces due to the MW. The Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the other potential driver of star formation, but is
only near the SMC during the most recent burst. The poorly constrained LMC-SMC
orbit is our principal uncertainty. To explore the correspondence between
bursts and MW pericenter passages further, we model star formation in the SMC
using a combination of continuous and tidally-triggered star formation. The
behavior of the tidally-triggered mode is a strong inverse function of the
SMC-MW separation (preferred behavior ~ r^-5, resulting in a factor of ~100
difference in the rate of tidally-triggered star formation at pericenter and
apocenter). Despite the success of these closed-box evolutionary models in
reproducing the recent SMC star formation history and current chemical
abundance, they have some systematic shortcomings that are remedied by
postulating that a sizable infall event (~ 50% of the total gas mass) occured
about 4 Gyr ago. Regardless of whether this infall event is included, the
fraction of stars in the SMC that formed via a tidally triggered mode is > 10%
and could be as large as 70%.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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