Analytic compartmental models are currently used in mathematical epidemiology to forecast the COVID-19 pandemic evolution and explore the impact of mitigation strategies. In general, such models ...treat the population as a single entity, losing the social, cultural and economical specificities. We present a network model that uses socio-demographic datasets with the highest available granularity to predict the spread of COVID-19 in the province of Barcelona. The model is flexible enough to incorporate the effect of containment policies, such as lockdowns or the use of protective masks, and can be easily adapted to future epidemics. We follow a stochastic approach that combines a compartmental model with detailed individual microdata from the population census, including social determinants and age-dependent strata, and time-dependent mobility information. We show that our model reproduces the dynamical features of the disease across two waves and demonstrates its capability to become a powerful tool for simulating epidemic events.
Semiblind Spectrum Balancing for DSL Moraes, Rodrigo B; Dortschy, Boris; Klautau, Aldebaro ...
IEEE transactions on signal processing,
07/2010, Letnik:
58, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Digital subscriber lines (DSLs) technology is vastly used for high-speed data transmission. Crosstalk is one of the main problems in DSL. The research community has done extensive work on how to ...optimize spectrum allocation across DSL frequencies and mitigate crosstalk, a subject that has been called dynamic spectrum management (DSM). This text presents a novel DSM solution, referred to as semiblind spectrum balancing (2SB). 2SB performs an optimization process with a virtual line, a fictitious line that represents to each user the damage it causes for all other users. With the aid of message exchanges between modems and a central agent, the method will adjust the virtual line's parameters so that it represents the real crosstalk scenario in the binder. In this paper, we provide the conditions for how such a situation can be achieved and show that it can do so with semicentralization, low complexity and limited crosstalk channel information-only the ratios between crosstalk channels are necessary. Performance is very close to optimal.
During summer and fall 2004, the response of a full slice of the ATLAS barrel detector to different particles was studied in controlled beam. One module of the ATLAS liquid argon barrel ...calorimeter—identical to the production modules and read out by the final front-end and back-end electronics—was used for electromagnetic calorimetry. This paper presents and discusses the electron performance of the LAr barrel calorimeter, including linearity, uniformity, and resolution with different amounts of material upstream the calorimeter and energies ranging from 1 to 250
GeV.
The broadband capacity of the twisted-pair lines strongly varies within the copper access network. It is therefore important to assess the ability of a digital subscriber line (DSL) to support the ...DSL services prior to deployment. This task is handled by the line qualification procedures, where the identification of the line topology is an important part. This paper presents a new method, denoted topology identification via model-based evolutionary computation (TIMEC), for line topology identification, where either one-port measurements or both one- and two-port measurements are utilized. The measurements are input to a model-based multiobjective criterion that is minimized by a genetic algorithm to provide an estimate of the line topology. The inherent flexibility of TIMEC enables the incorporation of a priori information, e.g., the total line length. The performance of TIMEC is evaluated by computer simulations with varying degrees of information. Comparison with a state-of-art method indicates that TIMEC achieves better results for all the tested lines when only one-port measurements are used. The results are improved when employing both one- and two-port measurements. If a rough estimate of the total length is also used, near-perfect estimation is obtained for all the tested lines.
Physics with e+e− linear colliders Accomando, E.; Andreazza, A.; Ballestrero, A. ...
Physics reports,
06/1998, Letnik:
299, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The physics potential of
e
+
e
− linear colliders is summarized in this report. These machines are planned to operate in the first phase at a center-of-mass energy of 500
GeV, before being scaled up ...to about 1
TeV. In the second phase of the operation, a final energy of about 2
TeV is expected. The machines will allow us to perform precision tests of the heavy particles in the Standard Model, the top quark and the electroweak bosons. They are ideal facilities for exploring the properties of Higgs particles, in particular in the intermediate mass range. New vector bosons and novel matter particles in extended gauge theories can be searched for and studied thoroughly. The machines provide unique opportunities for the discovery of particles in supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the spectrum of Higgs particles, the supersymmetric partners of the electroweak gauge and Higgs bosons, and of the matter particles. High precision analyses of their properties and interactions will allow for extrapolations to energy scales close to the Planck scale where gravity becomes significant. In alternative scenarios, i.e. compositeness models, novel matter particles and interactions can be discovered and investigated in the energy range above the existing colliders up to the TeV scale. Whatever scenario is realized in Nature, the discovery potential of
e
+
e
− linear colliders and the high precision with which the properties of particles and their interactions can be analyzed, define an exciting physics program complementary to hadron machines.
Previous research projects have demonstrated that a standardized protected blend of capsicum and turmeric oleoresins (XT, Xtract® Nature, Pancosma, Switzerland) had an immune-modulating effect and ...could potentiate and complement the effects of vaccines in poultry. However, similar data were not available in swine. The objective of this trial was to evaluate if the supplementation of XT in late gestation could improve the performance of sows vaccinated against E. coli during farrowing and lactation. A total of 1531 sows vaccinated against E. coli at 80 d of gestation and regrouped in 3 successive bands were involved. Sows in phases 1 and 3 were fed an unsupplemented basal diet (CT, N = 529 and 329, respectively), whereas animals in the second phase were provided the same basal diet supplemented with 200 g/t XT (N = 673) from 80 until 110 d of gestation. In terms of sow performance, the proportion of piglets born/litter was recorded at farrowing as well as piglets' mortality during lactation. Colostrum was also collected at birth (N = 14 and 16, respectively, for the XT and CT groups) for analysis of total protein, albumin, and globulins. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance, considering the effect of the treatment for colostrum quality, and the effects of the treatment, parity, and their interaction for performance outcomes. Results showed that XT increased the levels of total proteins by +5.0% in colostrum (P = 0.04), and this was mainly driven by a greater concentration in globulins (+5.0%, P = 0.08). XT enhanced the proportion of piglets born alive per litter (92.6% vs. 90.7%, respectively, for XT and CT; P < 0.01). This effect was more pronounced in sows of parity 1 or 2 (+2.2%, P = 0.02) than in sows of parity 3 or more (+1.9%, P = 0.06). The treatment did not affect the piglets' mortality during suckling, but there was a treatment*parity effect on this outcome: litters in primiparous and parity 2 sows had reduced mortality when fed XT compared to CT (10.1 vs. 12.5%, P = 0.01). These results suggest that XT supplementation to vaccinated sows during late gestation has the potential to improve nutrient supply to the progeny, litter performance at farrowing, and litter size at weaning.
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