1,721,075 research outputs found
On the Equivalence and Optimality of Transformations of Diffusive Systems
No full textIn this paper we introduce, inspired by Clausius and developing the ideas of [11], the concept of equivalence of transformations in non equilibrium theory of diffusive systems within the framework of macroscopic fluctuation theory. Besides providing a new proof of a formula derived in [3, 4], which is the basis of the equivalence, we show that equivalent quasistatic transformations can be distinguished in finite terms, by the renormalized work introduced in [1, 2, 3-4]. This allows us to tackle the problem of determining the optimal quasistatic transformation among the equivalent ones
A new robust Bayesian small area estimation via α-stable model for estimating the proportion of athletic students in California
Full text linkIn the last few years, diabetes mellitus and obesity revealed to be one of the fastest-growing chronic diseases in youth in the United States. The number of new diabetes cases is dramatically increasing, and, for the moment, effective therapy does not exist. Experts believe that one of the causes of this increase is the decline in exercise behavior. The California Education Code requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to administer the FITNESSGRAM, the Physical Fitness Test (PFT), to Californian students of public schools. This test evaluates six fitness areas, and experts defined that a passing result on all six areas of the test represents a fitness level that offers some protection against the diseases associated with physical inactivity. We consider 2015–2016 data provided by the California Department of Education (CDE): for each Californian county ((Formula presented.)), we aim at estimating the county-level proportion of students with a score equal to six. To account for the heterogeneity of the phenomenon and the presence of outlying counties, we extend the standard area-level model by specifying the random effects as a symmetric (Formula presented.) -stable (S (Formula presented.) S) distribution that can accommodate different types of outlying observations. The model can accurately estimate the county-level proportion of students with a score equal to six. Results highlight some interesting relationships with social and economic situations in each county. The performance of the proposed model is also investigated through an extensive simulation study
Onsager Reciprocity Relations Without Microscopic Reversibility
No full textIn this paper we show that Onsager-Machlup time-reversal properties of thermodynamic fluctuations
and Onsager reciprocity relations for transport coefficients can hold also if the microscopic dynamics
is not reversible. This result is based on the explicit construction of models which can be analyzed
rigorousl
A multivariate approach to the analysis of air quality in a high environmental risk area
No full text- …
