Interpolation formula between very low and intermediate-to-high damping Kramers escape rates for single-domain ferromagnetic particles

It is shown that the Mel'nikov-Meshkov formalism for bridging the very low damping (VLD) and intermediate-to-high damping (IHD) Kramers escape rates as a function of the dissipation parameter for mechanical particles may be extended to the rotational Brownian motion of magnetic dipole moments of single-domain ferromagnetic particles in nonaxially symmetric potentials of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy so that both regimes of damping, occur. The procedure is illustrated by considering the particular nonaxially symmetric problem of superparamagnetic particles possessing uniaxial anisotropy subject to an external uniform field applied at an angle to the easy axis of magnetization. Here the Mel'nikov-Meshkov treatment is found to be in good agreement with an exact calculation of the smallest eigenvalue of Brown's Fokker-Planck equation, provided the external field is large enough to ensure significant departure from axial symmetry, so that the VLD and IHD formulas for escape rates of magnetic dipoles for nonaxially symmetric potentials are valid.

Evaluation of extended training for general practice in Northern Ireland: qualitative study.

Objective To evaluate participants' perceptions of the impact on them of an additional six months' training beyond the standard 12 month general practice vocational training scheme. Design Qualitative study using focus groups. Setting General practice vocational training in Northern Ireland. Participants 13 general practitioner registrars, six of whom participated in the additional six months' training, and four trainers involved in the additional six months' training. Main outcome measures: Participants' views about their experiences in 18 month and 12 month courses. Results Participants reported that the 12 month course was generally positive but was too pressurised and focused on examinations, and also that it had a negative impact on self care. The nature of the learning and assessment was reported to have left participants feeling averse to further continuing education and lacking in confidence. In contrast, the extended six month component was reported to have restimulated learning by focusing more on patient care and promoting self directed learning. It developed confidence, promoted teamwork, and gave experience of two practice contexts, and was reported as valuable by both ex-registrars and trainers. However, both the 12 and 18 month courses left participants feeling underprepared for practice management and self care. Conclusions 12 months' training in general practice does not provide doctors with the necessary competencies and confidence to enter independent practice. The extended period was reported to promote greater professional development, critical evaluation skills, and orientation to lifelong learning but does not fill all the gaps.

Analysis of Extended Partial Least Squares for Monitoring Large-Scale Processes

This paper theoretically analysis the recently proposed "Extended Partial Least Squares" (EPLS) algorithm. After pointing out some conceptual deficiencies, a revised algorithm is introduced that covers the middle ground between Partial Least Squares and Principal Component Analysis. It maximises a covariance criterion between a cause and an effect variable set (partial least squares) and allows a complete reconstruction of the recorded data (principal component analysis). The new and conceptually simpler EPLS algorithm has successfully been applied in detecting and diagnosing various fault conditions, where the original EPLS algorithm did only offer fault detection.

North European last glacial-interglacial transition (LGIT; 15-9 ka) tephrochronology: extended limits and new events

High-precision correlation of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records is crucial for testing hypotheses of synchronous change. Although radiocarbon is the traditional method for dating late Quaternary sedimentary sequences, particularly during the last glacial–interglacial transition (LGIT; 15–9?ka), there are inherent problems with the method, particularly during periods of climate change which are often accompanied by major perturbations in atmospheric radiocarbon content. An alternative method is the use of tephras that act as time-parallel marker horizons. Within Europe, numerous volcanic centres are known to have erupted during the LGIT, providing considerable potential for high-precision correlation independent of past radiocarbon fluctuations. Here we report the first identification of the Vedde Ash and Askja Tephra in Ireland, significantly extending the known provenance of these events. We have also identified two new horizons (the Roddans Port Tephras A and B) and tentatively recognise an additional horizon from Vallensgård Mose (Denmark) that provide crucial additional chronological control for the LGIT. Two phases of the Laacher See Tephra (LST) are reported, the lower Laacher See Tephra (LLST) and probably the C2 phase of the Middle Laacher See Tephra (MLST-C2) indicating a more northeasterly distribution of this fan than reported previously.

An Extended Implementation of the Great Deluge Algorithm for Course Timetabling

Course Scheduling consists of assigning lecture events to a limited set of specific timeslots and rooms. The objective is to satisfy as many soft constraints as possible, while maintaining a feasible solution timetable. The most successful techniques to date require a compute-intensive examination of the solution neighbourhood to direct searches to an optimum solution. Although they may require fewer neighbourhood moves than more exhaustive techniques to gain comparable results, they can take considerably longer to achieve success. This paper introduces an extended version of the Great Deluge Algorithm for the Course Timetabling problem which, while avoiding the problem of getting trapped in local optima, uses simple Neighbourhood search heuristics to obtain solutions in a relatively short amount of time. The paper presents results based on a standard set of benchmark datasets, beating over half of the currently published best results with in some cases up to 60% of an improvement.

Compact operators without extended eigenvalues

A complex number lambda is called an extended eigenvalue of a bounded linear operator T on a Banach space B if there exists a non-zero bounded linear operator X acting on B such that XT = lambda TX. We show that there are compact quasinilpotent operators on a separable Hilbert space, for which the set of extended eigenvalues is the one-point set {1}.

Extended spectral decompositions of the Renyi map

We present new general methods to obtain spectral decompositions of dynamical systems in rigged Hilbert spaces and investigate the existence of resonances and the completeness of the associated eigenfunctions. The results are illustrated explicitly for the simplest chaotic endomorphism, namely the Renyi map.