1,781 research outputs found
lassopack: Model selection and prediction with regularized regression in Stata
This article introduces lassopack, a suite of programs for regularized
regression in Stata. lassopack implements lasso, square-root lasso, elastic
net, ridge regression, adaptive lasso and post-estimation OLS. The methods are
suitable for the high-dimensional setting where the number of predictors
may be large and possibly greater than the number of observations, . We
offer three different approaches for selecting the penalization (`tuning')
parameters: information criteria (implemented in lasso2), -fold
cross-validation and -step ahead rolling cross-validation for cross-section,
panel and time-series data (cvlasso), and theory-driven (`rigorous')
penalization for the lasso and square-root lasso for cross-section and panel
data (rlasso). We discuss the theoretical framework and practical
considerations for each approach. We also present Monte Carlo results to
compare the performance of the penalization approaches.Comment: 52 pages, 6 figures, 6 tables; submitted to Stata Journal; for more
information see https://statalasso.github.io
Changes in circle area after gravity compensation training in chronic stroke patients
After a stroke, many people experience difficulties to selectively activate muscles. As a result many patients move the affected arm in stereotypical patterns. Shoulder abduction is often accompanied by elbow flexion, reducing the ability to extend the elbow. This involuntary coupling reduces the patient's active range of motion. Gravity compensation reduces the activation level of shoulder abductors which limits the amount of coupled elbow flexion. As a result, stroke patients can instantaneously increase their active range of motion [1]. The objective of the present study is to examine whether training in a gravity compensated environment can also lead to an increased range of motion in an unsupported environment. Parts of this work have been presented at EMBC2009, Minneapolis, USA
Surface bubble nucleation phase space
Recent research has revealed several different techniques for nanoscopic gas
nucleation on submerged surfaces, with findings seemingly in contradiction with
each other. In response to this, we have systematically investigated the
occurrence of surface nanobubbles on a hydrophobised silicon substrate for
various different liquid temperatures and gas concentrations, which we
controlled independently. We found that nanobubbles occupy a distinct region of
this phase space, occurring for gas concentrations of approximately 100-110%.
Below the nanobubble phase we did not detect any gaseous formations on the
substrate, whereas micropancakes (micron wide, nanometer high gaseous domains)
were found at higher temperatures and gas concentrations. We moreover find that
supersaturation of dissolved gases is not a requirement for nucleation of
bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Rapid shifts in Atta cephalotes fungus-garden enzyme activity after a change in fungal substrate (Attini, Formicidae)
Fungus gardens of the basidiomycete Leucocoprinus gongylophorus sustain large colonies of leaf-cutting ants by degrading the plant material collected by the ants. Recent studies have shown that enzyme activity in these gardens is primarily targeted toward starch, proteins and the pectin matrix associated with cell walls, rather than toward structural cell wall components such as cellulose and hemicelluloses. Substrate constituents are also known to be sequentially degraded in different sections of the fungus garden. To test the plasticity in the extracellular expression of fungus-garden enzymes, we measured the changes in enzyme activity after a controlled shift in fungal substrate offered to six laboratory colonies of Atta cephalotes. An ant diet consisting exclusively of grains of parboiled rice rapidly increased the activity of endo-proteinases and some of the pectinases attacking the backbone structure of pectin molecules, relative to a pure diet of bramble leaves, and this happened predominantly in the most recently established top sections of fungus gardens. However, fungus-garden amylase activity did not significantly increase despite the substantial increase in starch availability from the rice diet, relative to the leaf diet controls. Enzyme activity in the older, bottom sections of fungus gardens decreased, indicating a faster processing of the rice substrate compared to the leaf diet. These results suggest that leaf-cutting ant fungus gardens can rapidly adjust enzyme activity to provide a better match with substrate availability and that excess starch that is not protected by cell walls may be digested by the ants rather than by the fungus-garden symbiont
Comparison of computational codes for direct numerical simulations of turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection
Computational codes for direct numerical simulations of Rayleigh-B\'enard
(RB) convection are compared in terms of computational cost and quality of the
solution. As a benchmark case, RB convection at and in a
periodic domain, in cubic and cylindrical containers is considered. A dedicated
second-order finite-difference code (AFID/RBflow) and a specialized
fourth-order finite-volume code (Goldfish) are compared with a general purpose
finite-volume approach (OpenFOAM) and a general purpose spectral-element code
(Nek5000). Reassuringly, all codes provide predictions of the average heat
transfer that converge to the same values. The computational costs, however,
are found to differ considerably. The specialized codes AFID/RBflow and
Goldfish are found to excel in efficiency, outperforming the general purpose
flow solvers Nek5000 and OpenFOAM by an order of magnitude with an error on the
Nusselt number below . However, we find that alone is not
sufficient to assess the quality of the numerical results: in fact,
instantaneous snapshots of the temperature field from a near wall region
obtained for deliberately under-resolved simulations using Nek5000 clearly
indicate inadequate flow resolution even when is converged. Overall,
dedicated special purpose codes for RB convection are found to be more
efficient than general purpose codes.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
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