2,072 research outputs found
Bootstrap methods for the empirical study of decision-making and information flows in social systems
Abstract: We characterize the statistical bootstrap for the estimation of information theoretic quantities from data, with particular reference to its use in the study of large-scale social phenomena. Our methods allow one to preserve, approximately, the underlying axiomatic relationships of information theory—in particular, consistency under arbitrary coarse-graining—that motivate use of these quantities in the first place, while providing reliability comparable to the state of the art for Bayesian estimators. We show how information-theoretic quantities allow for rigorous empirical study of the decision-making capacities of rational agents, and the time-asymmetric flows of information in distributed systems. We provide illustrative examples by reference to ongoing collaborative work on the semantic structure of the British Criminal Court system and the conflict dynamics of the contemporary Afghanistan insurgency
Evaluation of Current Heparin Weight Based Protocol in Obese Patients
Purpose: To evaluate the difference in achieving goal activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) within 24 hours utilizing the institutional heparin weight based protocol between obese and non-obese patients. Methods: Retrospective, non-randomized, open label chart review in a community based hospital. Patients age 18 years or older receiving heparin therapy for greater than or equal to 24 hours identified. Patients were excluded if the protocol was utilized for acute coronary syndrome or interrupted within the initial 24 hours of therapy. Patients were also excluded if any deviations from the protocol were identified. The primary endpoint evaluated the difference in achieving goal aPTT within 24 hours between obese and non-obese patients. The secondary endpoint evaluated the difference in achieving goal aPTT within 24-48 hours and safety outcomes such as bleeds. Results: Of the 253 patients identified, 167 patients were included and 86 patients were excluded. Seventy-two (71.3%) of the nonobese and 48 (72.7%) of obese patients achieved goal aPTT within 24 hours (odd ratio [OR]: 0.98, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.6 to 1.58). Sixteen (15.8%) of nonobese and 13 (19.7%) of the obese patients achieved goal aPTT within 24 to 48 hours (OR: 0.77, 95 % CI: 0.3 to 1.95). Two (1.9 %) of the nonobese and 3 (4.5 %) of the obese patients had a documented major bleed (OR: 0.42 and 95 % CI: 0.69 to 2.61). Conclusion: Overall, there was no difference in achieving goal aPTT between nonobese and obese patients while utilizing our facility’s weight based heparin dosing. No major bleeding was documented that warranted discontinuation of therapy, and bleeding incidences between both groups were similar
Joint Relay Selection and Power Allocation in Large-Scale MIMO Systems with Untrusted Relays and Passive Eavesdroppers
In this paper, a joint relay selection and power allocation (JRP) scheme is
proposed to enhance the physical layer security of a cooperative network, where
a multiple antennas source communicates with a single-antenna destination in
presence of untrusted relays and passive eavesdroppers (Eves). The objective is
to protect the data confidentially while concurrently relying on the untrusted
relays as potential Eves to improve both the security and reliability of the
network. To realize this objective, we consider cooperative jamming performed
by the destination while JRP scheme is implemented. With the aim of maximizing
the instantaneous secrecy rate, we derive a new closed-form solution for the
optimal power allocation and propose a simple relay selection criterion under
two scenarios of non-colluding Eves (NCE) and colluding Eves (CE). For the
proposed scheme, a new closed-form expression is derived for the ergodic
secrecy rate (ESR) and the secrecy outage probability as security metrics, and
a new closed-form expression is presented for the average symbol error rate
(SER) as a reliability measure over Rayleigh fading channels. We further
explicitly characterize the high signal-to-noise ratio slope and power offset
of the ESR to highlight the impacts of system parameters on the ESR. In
addition, we examine the diversity order of the proposed scheme to reveal the
achievable secrecy performance advantage. Finally, the secrecy and reliability
diversity-multiplexing tradeoff of the optimized network are provided.
Numerical results highlight that the ESR performance of the proposed JRP scheme
for NCE and CE cases is increased with respect to the number of untrustworthy
relays.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and
Security (In press
A model for the orientational ordering of the plant microtubule cortical array
The plant microtubule cortical array is a striking feature of all growing
plant cells. It consists of a more or less homogeneously distributed array of
highly aligned microtubules connected to the inner side of the plasma membrane
and oriented transversely to the cell growth axis. Here we formulate a
continuum model to describe the origin of orientational order in such confined
arrays of dynamical microtubules. The model is based on recent experimental
observations that show that a growing cortical microtubule can interact through
angle dependent collisions with pre-existing microtubules that can lead either
to co-alignment of the growth, retraction through catastrophe induction or
crossing over the encountered microtubule. We identify a single control
parameter, which is fully determined by the nucleation rate and intrinsic
dynamics of individual microtubules. We solve the model analytically in the
stationary isotropic phase, discuss the limits of stability of this isotropic
phase, and explicitly solve for the ordered stationary states in a simplified
version of the model.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
Epidurals in Pancreatic Resection Outcomes (E-PRO) study: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Survival of the aligned: ordering of the plant cortical microtubule array
The cortical array is a structure consisting of highly aligned microtubules
which plays a crucial role in the characteristic uniaxial expansion of all
growing plant cells. Recent experiments have shown polymerization-driven
collisions between the membrane-bound cortical microtubules, suggesting a
possible mechanism for their alignment. We present both a coarse-grained
theoretical model and stochastic particle-based simulations of this mechanism,
and compare the results from these complementary approaches. Our results
indicate that collisions that induce depolymerization are sufficient to
generate the alignment of microtubules in the cortical array.Comment: 4+ pages, 3 figures v2: significantly revised the exposition of the
analytical model and expanded the discussion on our choice for the collision
outcome probabilities; clarified the scope of the conclusions; numerous
smaller changes throughou
Sun protection: North and South – a comparison of attitudes and behaviours of young adults in the UK and NZ: implications for UK interventions
Skin cancer rates have steadily risen in the UK, doubling approximately every twenty years. There has been no significant mass media expenditure within the UK on improving public awareness of the link between sun exposure and skin cancer risk. In countries such as New Zealand, where extensive mass media and population segment-specific interventions have run for several years, melanoma rates show a decline, suggesting that mass media interventions should be considered within the UK and other European countries to help reduce skin cancer rates. Before considering the possibility of using similar mass media-based communication strategies to those used in New Zealand, an understanding of the attitudes and beliefs that underpin existing sun protective behaviours in both countries would be beneficial. We focus on adolescents as a target as this segment has particularly poor sun protective behaviours and appears resistant to health-based interventions .We therefore compare the attitudes, beliefs and actual reported behaviours of young adults in the UK and New Zealand identifying less than optimal sun protective behaviours in both countries. The findings suggest that the UK or other countries - should not adopt similar communication strategies to New Zealand without addressing underlying normative factors underpinning behaviours
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