46,696 research outputs found
Solving Multiclass Learning Problems via Error-Correcting Output Codes
Multiclass learning problems involve finding a definition for an unknown
function f(x) whose range is a discrete set containing k > 2 values (i.e., k
``classes''). The definition is acquired by studying collections of training
examples of the form [x_i, f (x_i)]. Existing approaches to multiclass learning
problems include direct application of multiclass algorithms such as the
decision-tree algorithms C4.5 and CART, application of binary concept learning
algorithms to learn individual binary functions for each of the k classes, and
application of binary concept learning algorithms with distributed output
representations. This paper compares these three approaches to a new technique
in which error-correcting codes are employed as a distributed output
representation. We show that these output representations improve the
generalization performance of both C4.5 and backpropagation on a wide range of
multiclass learning tasks. We also demonstrate that this approach is robust
with respect to changes in the size of the training sample, the assignment of
distributed representations to particular classes, and the application of
overfitting avoidance techniques such as decision-tree pruning. Finally, we
show that---like the other methods---the error-correcting code technique can
provide reliable class probability estimates. Taken together, these results
demonstrate that error-correcting output codes provide a general-purpose method
for improving the performance of inductive learning programs on multiclass
problems.Comment: See http://www.jair.org/ for any accompanying file
Genetic Covariance Structure of Reading, Intelligence and Memory in Children
This study investigates the genetic relationship among reading performance, IQ, verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) in a sample of 112, 9-year-old twin pairs and their older siblings. The relationship between reading performance and the other traits was explained by a common genetic factor for reading performance, IQ, WM and STM and a genetic factor that only influenced reading performance and verbal memory. Genetic variation explained 83% of the variation in reading performance; most of this genetic variance was explained by variation in IQ and memory performance. We hypothesize, based on these results, that children with reading problems possibly can be divided into three groups: (1) children low in IQ and with reading problems; (2) children with average IQ but a STM deficit and with reading problems; (3) children with low IQ and STM deficits; this group may experience more reading problems than the other two
A New Genus of Miniaturized and Pug-Nosed Gecko from South America (Sphaerodactylidae: Gekkota)
Sphaerodactyl geckos comprise five genera distributed across Central and South America and the Caribbean. We estimated phylogenetic relationships among sphaerodactyl genera using both separate and combined analyses of seven nuclear genes. Relationships among genera were incongruent at different loci and phylogenies were characterized by short, in some cases zero-length, internal branches and poor phylogenetic support at most nodes. We recovered a polyphyletic Coleodactylus, with Coleodactylus amazonicus being deeply divergent from the remaining Coleodactylus species sampled. The C. amazonicus lineage possessed unique codon deletions in the genes PTPN12 and RBMX while the remaining Coleodactylus species had unique codon deletions in RAG1. Topology tests could not reject a monophyletic Coleodactylus, but we show that short internal branch lengths decreased the accuracy of topology tests because there were not enough data along these short branches to support one phylogenetic hypothesis over another. Morphological data corroborated results of the molecular phylogeny, with Coleodactylus exhibiting substantial morphological heterogeneity. We identified a suite of unique craniofacial features that differentiate C. amazonicus not only from other Coleodactylus species, but also from all other geckos. We describe this novel sphaerodactyl lineage as a new genus, Chatogekko gen. nov. We present a detailed osteology of Chatogekko, characterizing osteological correlates of miniaturization that provide a framework for future studies in sphaerodactyl systematics and biology
Systematic genetic analysis of the MHC region reveals mechanistic underpinnings of HLA type associations with disease.
The MHC region is highly associated with autoimmune and infectious diseases. Here we conduct an in-depth interrogation of associations between genetic variation, gene expression and disease. We create a comprehensive map of regulatory variation in the MHC region using WGS from 419 individuals to call eight-digit HLA types and RNA-seq data from matched iPSCs. Building on this regulatory map, we explored GWAS signals for 4083 traits, detecting colocalization for 180 disease loci with eQTLs. We show that eQTL analyses taking HLA type haplotypes into account have substantially greater power compared with only using single variants. We examined the association between the 8.1 ancestral haplotype and delayed colonization in Cystic Fibrosis, postulating that downregulation of RNF5 expression is the likely causal mechanism. Our study provides insights into the genetic architecture of the MHC region and pinpoints disease associations that are due to differential expression of HLA genes and non-HLA genes
Fast redshift clustering with the Baire (ultra) metric
The Baire metric induces an ultrametric on a dataset and is of linear
computational complexity, contrasted with the standard quadratic time
agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm. We apply the Baire distance to
spectrometric and photometric redshifts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
using, in this work, about half a million astronomical objects. We want to know
how well the (more cos\ tly to determine) spectrometric redshifts can predict
the (more easily obtained) photometric redshifts, i.e. we seek to regress the
spectrometric on the photometric redshifts, and we develop a clusterwise
nearest neighbor regression procedure for this.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
A self-study course in FORTRAN programming. Volume 1 - Textbook
Self study textbook for course in FORTRAN programming - Vol.
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