An Open Source Pattern Recognition Toolbox for MATLAB

Pattern recognition and machine learning are becoming integral parts of algorithms in a wide range of applications. Different algorithms and approaches for machine learning include different tradeoffs between performance and computation, so during algorithm development it is often necessary to explore a variety of different approaches to a given task. A toolbox with a unified framework across multiple pattern recognition techniques enables algorithm developers the ability to rapidly evaluate different choices prior to deployment. MATLAB is a widely used environment for algorithm development and prototyping, and although several MATLAB toolboxes for pattern recognition are currently available these are either incomplete, expensive, or restrictively licensed. In this work we describe a MATLAB toolbox for pattern recognition and machine learning known as the PRT (Pattern Recognition Toolbox), licensed under the permissive MIT license. The PRT includes many popular techniques for data preprocessing, supervised learning, clustering, regression and feature selection, as well as a methodology for combining these components using a simple, uniform syntax. The resulting algorithms can be evaluated using cross-validation and a variety of scoring metrics to ensure robust performance when the algorithm is deployed. This paper presents an overview of the PRT as well as an example of usage on Fisher's Iris dataset

Evaluating Peer mobilization Films as a Tool in Altering Self Concept

The thesis examines the Peer Mobilization film series to determine if they are effective tools to positively affect mental health

Bliss v. Attorney General of Canada: From Legal Defeat to Political Victory

This article rests on the distinction between the legal and political meanings of a judicial decision. Cases that are resolved in legal terms may have unpredictable political consequences. Bliss v. Attorney General of Canada (1978) demonstrates this brilliantly: Stella Bliss\u27s argument that Canadian Unemployment Insurance maternity benefits violated the equality provisions of the Bill of Rights was soundly defeated in the court& Ultimately, however, a loose coalition of feminist and civil liberties groups took Bliss into the political process and succeeded in forcing a revision of Unemployment Insurance along with a dramatic expansion of the scope of section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The article traces the complex transition from personal case to political cause, demonstrating that Supreme Court decisions have a specious finality: disputes may only be conclusively resolved by a broader political process wherein organizational strength, not legal principle, prevails

Challenging the Clostridium botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) with a selection of microorganisms by culture methods and extended storage of used vials to assess the loss of sterility

In 2002, botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cosmetic use. However, there may be procedural differences between the ways in which a clinician handles, applies and stores the product compared to the suggested guidelines of the manufacturer for handling and storage. To this end vials (N = 12) of BoNT/A were tested for the incidence of microbial contamination followed by challenging the product with a selection of microorganisms by culture methods and by using a calcein release assay to contaminate multi-dose vials at the single concentration used for facial aesthetics. A culture, droplet method was used to count microorganisms challenged with the therapeutic product and to compare viability levels in appropriate controls as well as measuring their lytic properties via an existing cell-free system involving calcein release. Counts of test organisms within the droplets, with the product and the controls without the product were undertaken using Image J software. The result from the incidence of in-vial contamination was inconclusive. Bacterial levels between controls and product challenged groups demonstrated no differences in the growth of viable microorganisms following immediate contact (p = ≥ 0.05). The cell-free calcein release assay demonstrated differences at all time points for low levels of lysis in each case with bacterial lipid extract and were statistically significant (p = 0.011). Although these data appear to correlate with the minimum inhibitory concentration, the additives and vial integrity are also likely to contribute to the maintenance of BoNT/A sterility

The California-Kepler Survey. II. Precise Physical Properties of 2025 Kepler Planets and Their Host Stars

We present stellar and planetary properties for 1305 Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) hosting 2025 planet candidates observed as part of the California-Kepler Survey. We combine spectroscopic constraints, presented in Paper I, with stellar interior modeling to estimate stellar masses, radii, and ages. Stellar radii are typically constrained to 11%, compared to 40% when only photometric constraints are used. Stellar masses are constrained to 4%, and ages are constrained to 30%. We verify the integrity of the stellar parameters through comparisons with asteroseismic studies and Gaia parallaxes. We also recompute planetary radii for 2025 planet candidates. Because knowledge of planetary radii is often limited by uncertainties in stellar size, we improve the uncertainties in planet radii from typically 42% to 12%. We also leverage improved knowledge of stellar effective temperature to recompute incident stellar fluxes for the planets, now precise to 21%, compared to a factor of two when derived from photometry.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in AJ; full versions of tables 3 and 4 are include

The California-Kepler Survey. I. High Resolution Spectroscopy of 1305 Stars Hosting Kepler Transiting Planets

The California-Kepler Survey (CKS) is an observational program to improve our knowledge of the properties of stars found to host transiting planets by NASA's Kepler Mission. The improvement stems from new high-resolution optical spectra obtained using HIRES at the W. M. Keck Observatory. The CKS stellar sample comprises 1305 stars classified as Kepler Objects of Interest, hosting a total of 2075 transiting planets. The primary sample is magnitude-limited (Kp < 14.2) and contains 960 stars with 1385 planets. The sample was extended to include some fainter stars that host multiple planets, ultra short period planets, or habitable zone planets. The spectroscopic parameters were determined with two different codes, one based on template matching and the other on direct spectral synthesis using radiative transfer. We demonstrate a precision of 60 K in effective temperature, 0.10 dex in surface gravity, 0.04 dex in [Fe/H], and 1.0 km/s in projected rotational velocity. In this paper we describe the CKS project and present a uniform catalog of spectroscopic parameters. Subsequent papers in this series present catalogs of derived stellar properties such as mass, radius and age; revised planet properties; and statistical explorations of the ensemble. CKS is the largest survey to determine the properties of Kepler stars using a uniform set of high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra. The HIRES spectra are available to the community for independent analyses.Comment: 20 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in AJ; a full version of Table 5 is included as tab_cks.csv and tab_cks.te

Masses, Radii, and Orbits of Small Kepler Planets: The Transition from Gaseous to Rocky Planets

We report on the masses, sizes, and orbits of the planets orbiting 22 Kepler stars. There are 49 planet candidates around these stars, including 42 detected through transits and 7 revealed by precise Doppler measurements of the host stars. Based on an analysis of the Kepler brightness measurements, along with high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy, Doppler spectroscopy, and (for 11 stars) asteroseismology, we establish low false-positive probabilities (FPPs) for all of the transiting planets (41 of 42 have an FPP under 1%), and we constrain their sizes and masses. Most of the transiting planets are smaller than three times the size of Earth. For 16 planets, the Doppler signal was securely detected, providing a direct measurement of the planet's mass. For the other 26 planets we provide either marginal mass measurements or upper limits to their masses and densities; in many cases we can rule out a rocky composition. We identify six planets with densities above 5 g cm^(–3), suggesting a mostly rocky interior for them. Indeed, the only planets that are compatible with a purely rocky composition are smaller than ~2 R_⊕. Larger planets evidently contain a larger fraction of low-density material (H, He, and H_2O)

The prevention of lower urinary tract symptoms (PLUS) research consortium: A transdisciplinary approach toward promoting bladder health and preventing lower urinary tract symptoms in women across the life course

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are highly prevalent in women, and are expected to impose a growing burden to individuals and society as the population ages. The predominance of research related to LUTS has focused on underlying pathology, disease mechanisms, or the efficacy of treatments for women with LUTS. Although this research has been vital for helping to reduce or ameliorate LUTS conditions, it has done little to prevent the onset of LUTS. Health promotion and prevention require an expansion of scientific inquiry beyond the traditional paradigm of studying disease mechanisms and treatment to the creation of an evidence base to support recommendations for bladder health promotion and, in turn, prevention of LUTS. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) introduced the concept of prevention as an important priority for women's urologic research as a prelude to supporting the formation of the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) research consortium. In this article, we introduce the PLUS research consortium to the scientific community; share the innovative paradigms by which the consortium operates; and describe its unique research mission: to identify factors that promote bladder health across the life course and prevent the onset of LUTS in girls and women

The California-Kepler Survey. III. A Gap in the Radius Distribution of Small Planets

The size of a planet is an observable property directly connected to the physics of its formation and evolution. We used precise radius measurements from the California-Kepler Survey (CKS) to study the size distribution of 2025 $\textit{Kepler}$ planets in fine detail. We detect a factor of $\geq$2 deficit in the occurrence rate distribution at 1.5-2.0 R$_{\oplus}$. This gap splits the population of close-in ($P$ < 100 d) small planets into two size regimes: R$_P$ < 1.5 R$_{\oplus}$ and R$_P$ = 2.0-3.0 R$_{\oplus}$, with few planets in between. Planets in these two regimes have nearly the same intrinsic frequency based on occurrence measurements that account for planet detection efficiencies. The paucity of planets between 1.5 and 2.0 R$_{\oplus}$ supports the emerging picture that close-in planets smaller than Neptune are composed of rocky cores measuring 1.5 R$_{\oplus}$ or smaller with varying amounts of low-density gas that determine their total sizes.Comment: Paper III in the California-Kepler Survey series, accepted to the Astronomical Journa