Unbiased risk estimation and scoring rules

Stein unbiased risk estimation is generalized twice, from the Gaussian shift model to nonparametric families of smooth densities, and from the quadratic risk to more general divergence type distances. The development relies on a connection with local proper scoring rules.Comment: This is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Comptes rendus Mathematiqu

Local proper scoring rules of order two

Scoring rules assess the quality of probabilistic forecasts, by assigning a numerical score based on the predictive distribution and on the event or value that materializes. A scoring rule is proper if it encourages truthful reporting. It is local of order $k$ if the score depends on the predictive density only through its value and the values of its derivatives of order up to $k$ at the realizing event. Complementing fundamental recent work by Parry, Dawid and Lauritzen, we characterize the local proper scoring rules of order 2 relative to a broad class of Lebesgue densities on the real line, using a different approach. In a data example, we use local and nonlocal proper scoring rules to assess statistically postprocessed ensemble weather forecasts.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/12-AOS973 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Poetry is Not a Luxury: Dis-ing Self, Dis-ing Archive

‘Poetry Is Not a Luxury:’ Dis-ing Self, Dis-sing Archive,” is divided into three separate interrogations of such rts institutions, archives, and constructions of identity. Each chapter explores how these related categories are challenged by curators, artists and artists’ respective styles or forms. My central focus investigates the use of paraficition and disidentification in Cheryl Dunye\u27s work. In both her early video works and first feature-length film The Watermelon Woman, Cheryl Dunye investigates the complexity of her own Black lesbian identity and the constructedness of identity as a whole. She begins her practice as a moving image artist during a time engulfed in conversations about the politics of identity in art-making

Self-assembly of intrinsically disordered peptide amphiphiles

Intrinsically disordered peptide amphiphiles (IDPAs) are a novel class of molecules with great potentialif incorporated into nanocarriers. IDPAs combine hydrocarbon chains that originate fromnatural lipids and polypeptide chains composed of sequences that do not fold into a static structurebut remain intrinsically disordered, fluctuating between various conformations. This amphiphilicstructure makes IDPA self-assemble into mesophases or aggregates in solution. The possible sequencevariations are vast, and their influence on the self-assembly structures has hardly beenexplored. In my Ph.D., I studied how to decode the impact on sequence composition and conformationand provide the basis for future applications and implementations of IDPAs. I worked onfour different IDPAs that differ in their amino acid sequences. We used SAXS, TEM, and turbiditymeasurements to analyze the nanoscopic self-assembled structures. We showed that permutationsand the sequence’s charge pattern remarkably alter the headgroup’s conformation. Consequently,pH-dependent phase transitions between spherical, cylindrical micelles and condensed hexagonalphases are related to the sequence variation. We demonstrated that even a single amino acid mutationcould tune the phase transition. Last, we showed that our system should phase transition forIDPAs that can be enzymatically cleaved. Altogether, we demonstrated that IDPAs enable manyapplications for lipid nanoparticle systems to add multiple functionalities by incorporating IDPAswith desired properties. For most experiments, I used small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Toenable measurement under multiple conditions with ONE single probe, we developed a 3D printedsample chamber made of cyclic olefin copolymers (COC), including COC X-ray windows providingultra-low SAXS background. The chamber’s design enables both in-situ buffer exchangeand optical transmission spectroscopy. It is thus suitable for many more applications. The designconsists of a membrane insert for in-situ dialysis of the 100 μl sample volume against a reservoir.We demonstrated the chamber used by measuring our IDPA system at various pHs and polymersystems as a function of salt concentration. Our chamber’s design makes in-situ measurements atin-house sources possible. This design is proved useful and is in regular use in our lab at LMU forpH-dependent experiments. In my Ph.D. project, I studied the self-assembly of tunable IDPA andtheir properties under various environmental conditions. We developed a 3D printed chamber forin-situ dialysis to measure these conditions on one probe

Nounself pronouns: 3rd person personal pronouns as identity expression

This paper is an examination of and attempt at a preliminary definition of nounself pronouns, which are a large number of newly invented English 3rd person personal pronouns that have not been previously studied. The pronouns are created and used primarily by a virtual community on the blogging platform tumblr.com, with the first occurrence of a nounself pronoun in late 2013. The study is based on data from 134 responses to a questionnaire written by the author, distributed through tumblr.com, as well as on email-based interviews with three respondents who volunteered to be interviewed.  Analysis of the data suggests that the pronouns are used to express, explore, and negotiate the identities of the respondents, in particular in relation to gender identities

De, den, hen, and the rest: A pilot study of the use of gender-neutral and nonbinary/genderqueer pronouns in Danish

The Danish language, like many other ‘Western’ languages, does not have any human-referent gender neutral third person singular pronoun that is “officially” recognized in the sense that it is taught in language classes, used in public documents, or included in most dictionaries. Nevertheless, many individuals prefer being referred to with pronouns that do not designate that individual as either female or male, which prompts linguistic innovation and creativity. This article is a pilot study presenting the initial results of a 7-question survey investigating the use of gender neutral and nonbinary/genderqueer pronouns in Danish. Based on 75 responses, it is found that the pronouns most people prefer others to refer to them with are de ‘they’ (the third person plural), den ‘it’ (the third person singular common gender, conventionally used to refer to objects and non-pet animals), and hen (third person singular neologism), as well as hun ‘she’ and han ‘he’. The survey targeted two groups of respondents: 1) Nonbinary/genderqueer individuals and 2) Women and men who wish to be referred to with pronouns other than hun/han. The final section of the article suggests several topics for further research of gender neutral and nonbinary/genderqueer pronouns, both in Danish and in other languages