Statistical Scientist Meets a Philosopher of Science: A Conversation

philosophy of science, philosophy of statistics, decision theory, likelihood, subjective probability, Bayesianism, Bayes theorem, Fisher, Neyman and Pearson, Jeffreys, induction, frequentism, reliability, informativeness

Variations in leasing arrangements and optimum farm organizations for part-time and part-retired farmers in West Tennessee

The problems of farm managers, operators, and rural land owners have intensified because of rapid technological, economical, and sociological changes over the last twenty years. These changes have caused new risks and uncertainties and have placed a high premium on competent farm managers. Increased land values and large investments in machinery have placed a greater burden upon the small operator and hindered the entrance of young men into farming. The addition of many new industries to Tennessee has resulted in more part-time farming, increased absentee land ownership, and a shortage of labor for farm use. The industrial jobs and other more rewarding opportunities out-side of agriculture have caused many young farm people to leave the farm. Thus there are many old people with farms and no one to operate them. There are many small inefficient farms in Tennessee which result from an improper relationship between land owners, farm operators, and farm laborers. While many farmers need more land and young people are wanting to enter farming, part-time farmers are in need of labor, machines, and management; retired or semi-retired farmers need someone to operate their farms; and absentee land owners need managers and/or laborers. Many farmers have found it advantageous to sell or rent their farms and to engage in off-farm work. The overall objective of this study will be to determine the most profitable combination of resources and enterprises which will maximize net profit for owners of six repre-sentative farm situations in West Tennessee under various rental arrangements and two different labor supplies

The Role of Slippery Slope Arguments in Public Policy Debates

The goal of this paper is to explore the nature and role of slippery slope arguments in public debates. The thesis of the paper is that slippery slope arguments often function in public policy debate as the natural response of competing ideologies to developments which represent corruption or erosion of their competing visions of the good

Predicting Cryptocurrency Price Change Direction from Supply-Side Factors via Machine Learning Methods

Cryptocurrency prices are highly variable. Predicting changes in cryptocurrency price is a hugely important topic to investors and researchers, with much existing research on demand-side factors. The goal of this research project is to design and implement machine learning models to predict future cryptocurrency price change direction based primarily on supply-side factors. Different unsupervised machine learning techniques are used to build the predictive models. These techniques include K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Naïve Bayesian Classifier, and Random Forest Classifier. A dataset of 10 daily supply-side metrics for three prominent cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin) at four different time horizons (ranging from one day to 30 days) are used to build and test the machine learning models. The outputs of these models indicate the predicted direction of the price movement over the time horizon (i.e., whether the price would go up or down), not the magnitude of the movement. Experimental results show that predictions were very unreliable for the shorter time spans but very reliable for the longest time spans. The Artificial Neural Network and Random Forest classifiers consistently outperformed the other techniques and achieved a prediction accuracy of over 90% in most models and over 95% in the best models. Experimental results show also that there is no significant difference in predictability between the three prominent cryptocurrencies.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2022/1038/thumbnail.jp

A designed phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase variant allows efficient in vivo incorporation of aryl ketone functionality into proteins

Incorporation of non-natural amino acids into proteins in vivo expands the scope of protein synthesis and design. p-Acetylphenylalanine was incorporated into recombinant dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) in Escherichia coli via a computationally designed mutant form of the phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase of the host. DHFR outfitted with ketone functionality can be chemoselectively ligated with hydrazide reagents under mild conditions

Resonant Drivings in Global AdS

We revisit the case of a real scalar field in global AdS$_4$ subject to a periodic driving. We address the issue of adiabatic preparation and deformation of a time-periodic solution dual to a Floquet condensate. Then we carefully study the case of driving close to the normal mode resonant frequencies. We examine different slow protocols that adiabatically change the amplitude and/or the frequency of the driving. Traversing a normal mode frequency has very different results depending upon the sense of the frequency modulation. Generally, in the growing sense, the geometry reaches a periodically-modulated state, whereas in the opposite one, it collapses into a black hole. We study the suppression points. These are periodic solutions that are dual to a scalar field with vanishing $v.e.v., \langle \phi\rangle = 0$, instead of vanishing source. We also investigate quasi-periodic solutions that are prepared by driving with a combination of two normal resonant frequencies. We observe that, while the driving is on, the non-linear cascading towards higher frequencies is strongly suppressed. However, once the driving is switched off, the cascading takes over again, and in some cases, it eventually brings the solution to a collapse. Finally, we study the driving by a non-coherent thermal ensemble of resonant drivings that model stochastic noise. Our numerical results suggest the existence of stable regular solutions at sufficiently low temperature and a transition to collapse above some threshold.Comment: 27 pages + 1 appendix, 18 figure

Cross-Subsidies in Telecommunications: Roadblocks on the Road to More Intelligent Telephone Pricing

A decade ago, Alfred Kahn challenged regulators to adopt more efficient telephone pricing policies. They have yet to respond and instead have maintained a system of inefficient cross-subsidies. While some argue that the current system promotes universal telephone service, a careful examination reveals that the cross-subsidies do not further that goal. Professors Kaserman and Mayo argue that regulators maintain the current system because they believe that its pattern of cross-subsidization benefits a politically influential class-local residential customers. Kaserman and Mayo contend, however, that the regulators are wrong. the benefits from the current cross-subsidies are so diffused that abolishing them will not ultimately affect individual customers

A Framework for Developing Nascent Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurship Education’s Kobayashi Maru

Experiential entrepreneurship education is consistent with resource-based theories of entrepreneurship, which, among other things, regard the impacts of education and experience on entrepreneurial outcomes. Hands-on educational programming is a reification of such theoretical work, combining both of those elements. Such programs often utilize a coaching or mentoring approach, with the expectation that practice under the guidance of a qualified mentor develops the resources and capabilities the entrepreneur may leverage to perform entrepreneurial activities successfully and consistently. Specifically, entrepreneurship literature points to entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) as well as confidence in the business and commitment to entrepreneurship as impactful elements in the entrepreneur’s bringing an idea to fruition and to venture performance (Trevelyan, 2009). Related pedagogical research indicates that teaching theory-based competencies, rather than exclusively providing prescriptive or technical solutions, is important to student success. In educating and training aspiring entrepreneurs, our discipline requires a blended framework for encouraging entrepreneurial persistence among students as nascent entrepreneurs. Following resource-based literature, we assert this outcome may be accomplished through the development of resilience and ESE as personal resources, and that resilience may be taught using theory. Thus, we draw on the resource-based theoretical stream and the constructs of entrepreneurial resilience and persistence to propose a theory-inclusive pedagogical model with practical implications

Emerging Non-Canonical Functions and Regulation by p53: p53 and Stemness

Since its discovery nearly 40 years ago, p53 has ascended to the forefront of investigated genes and proteins across diverse research disciplines and is recognized most exclusively for its role in cancer as a tumor suppressor. Levine and Oren (2009) reviewed the evolution of p53 detailing the significant discoveries of each decade since its first report in 1979. In this review, we will highlight the emerging non-canonical functions and regulation of p53 in stem cells. We will focus on general themes shared among p53's functions in non-malignant stem cells and cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) and the influence of p53 on the microenvironment and CSC niche. We will also examine p53 gain of function (GOF) roles in stemness. Mutant p53 (mutp53) GOFs that lead to survival, drug resistance and colonization are reviewed in the context of the acquisition of advantageous transformation processes, such as differentiation and dedifferentiation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stem cell senescence and quiescence. Finally, we will conclude with therapeutic strategies that restore wild-type p53 (wtp53) function in cancer and CSCs, including RING finger E3 ligases and CSC maintenance. The mechanisms by which wtp53 and mutp53 influence stemness in non-malignant stem cells and CSCs or tumor-initiating cells (TICs) are poorly understood thus far. Further elucidation of p53's effects on stemness could lead to novel therapeutic strategies in cancer research