Managing expectations when publishing tools and methods for computational proteomics

Computational tools are pivotal in proteomics because they are crucial for identification, quantification, and statistical assessment of data. The gateway to finding the best choice of a tool or approach for a particular problem is frequently journal articles, yet there is Often an overwhelming variety of options that makes it hard to decide on the best solution. This is particularly difficult for nonexperts in bioinformatics. The maturity, reliability, and performance of tools can vary widely because publications may appear at different stages of development. A novel idea might merit early publication despite only offering proof-of-principle, while it may take years before a tool Can be considered mature, and-by that time it might be difficult for a new publication to be accepted, because of a perceived lack of novelty. After discussions with members of the computational mass spectrometry community, we describe here proposed recommendations for organization of informatics manuscripts as a Way to set the expectations of readers (and reviewers) through three different manuscript types that are based on existing journal designations. Brief Communications are short reports describing novel computational approaches where the implementation is not necessarily production-ready. Research Articles present both a novel idea and mature implementation that has been suitably benchmarked. Application Notes focus on a mature and tested tool or concept and need not be novel but should offer advancement from improved,quality, ease of use, and/or implementation. Organizing computational proteomics contributions into these three manuscript types will facilitate the review process and will also enable readers to identify the maturity and applicability of the tool for their own workflows

Neuroevolution on the Edge of Chaos

Echo state networks represent a special type of recurrent neural networks. Recent papers stated that the echo state networks maximize their computational performance on the transition between order and chaos, the so-called edge of chaos. This work confirms this statement in a comprehensive set of experiments. Furthermore, the echo state networks are compared to networks evolved via neuroevolution. The evolved networks outperform the echo state networks, however, the evolution consumes significant computational resources. It is demonstrated that echo state networks with local connections combine the best of both worlds, the simplicity of random echo state networks and the performance of evolved networks. Finally, it is shown that evolution tends to stay close to the ordered side of the edge of chaos.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference 2017 (GECCO '17

A Qualitative Study of Why Women Join Panhellenic Organizations

Each year more and more women across the country are enrolling in higher education institutions. However, this increase in attendance is not reflected in sorority recruitment. Studies are either non-existent on why women are joining sororities, or the studies that are conducted focus on harm reduction, including alcohol and hazing. Studies also seem to focus more on men, and fraternities. This study was designed to focus on the experience that women are experiencing during recruitment and the reasoning for joining their respective chapters. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher interviewed six women who varied in race, year in school, and analyzed the data for common themes. All six of the participants were women who joined a chapter after formal recruitment in the Fall of 2019. Results varied from the participants in a social sorority at a Mid-Western university. Participants expressed that sense of belonging was the one of the major indicators for not only going through recruitment but deciding to join a chapter. Other major themes for the women deciding to join a sorority were academic performance, philanthropies, professionalism and personal growth

Exploring requisites and antecedents of continuous innovation.

When innovating, an organization needs to be capable of (1) exploring problem definition spaces and (2) exploiting them. The processes in which both activities unfold, display paradoxical characteristics which can be addressed by adopting ambidextrous organizational forms. Analyzing underlying value dynamics indicate that such forms will only be sustainable to the extent that cross-fertilization between both types of activity is achieved. These findings underscore the relevancy of interface management practices directed towards enacting synergies.

Quantitative Validation: An Overview and Framework for PD Backtesting and Benchmarking.

The aim of credit risk models is to identify and quantify future outcomes of a set of risk measurements. In other words, the model's purpose is to provide as good an approximation as possible of what constitutes the true underlying risk relationship between a set of inputs and a target variable. These parameters are used for regulatory capital calculations to determine the capital needed that serves a buffer to protect depositors in adverse economic conditions. In order to manage model risk, financial institutions need to set up validation processes so as to monitor the quality of the models on an ongoing basis. Validation is important to inform all stakeholders (e.g. board of directors, senior management, regulators, investors, borrowers, …) and as such allow them to make better decisions. Validation can be considered from both a quantitative and qualitative point of view. Backtesting and benchmarking are key quantitative validation tools. In backtesting, the predicted risk measurements (PD, LGD, CCF) will be contrasted with observed measurements using a workbench of available test statistics to evaluate the calibration, discrimination and stability of the model. A timely detection of reduced performance is crucial since it directly impacts profitability and risk management strategies. The aim of benchmarking is to compare internal risk measurements with external risk measurements so to allow to better gauge the quality of the internal rating system. This paper will focus on the quantitative PD validation process within a Basel II context. We will set forth a traffic light indicator approach that employs all relevant statistical tests to quantitatively validate the used PD model, and document this complete approach with a reallife case-study.Framework; Benchmarking; Credit; Credit scoring; Control;