Local Adaptive Grouped Regularization and its Oracle Properties for Varying Coefficient Regression

Varying coefficient regression is a flexible technique for modeling data where the coefficients are functions of some effect-modifying parameter, often time or location in a certain domain. While there are a number of methods for variable selection in a varying coefficient regression model, the existing methods are mostly for global selection, which includes or excludes each covariate over the entire domain. Presented here is a new local adaptive grouped regularization (LAGR) method for local variable selection in spatially varying coefficient linear and generalized linear regression. LAGR selects the covariates that are associated with the response at any point in space, and simultaneously estimates the coefficients of those covariates by tailoring the adaptive group Lasso toward a local regression model with locally linear coefficient estimates. Oracle properties of the proposed method are established under local linear regression and local generalized linear regression. The finite sample properties of LAGR are assessed in a simulation study and for illustration, the Boston housing price data set is analyzed.Comment: 30 pages, one technical appendix, two figure

Path to power: A narrative inquiry of the life journeys of ELCA college presidents at selected institutions

This qualitative study focused on the life journeys of four ELCA college presidents. Specifically, it examined how life journeys informed their ascendency to the presidency. In this study, life journeys are defined as the professional and personal happenings the participants experienced during their professional years prior to earning an ELCA presidency. Life journeys include career paths, impactful professional experiences, personal relationships, the formation of self-identity, and other meaningful transitions as identified by the participants. Numerous studies exist about the career paths of higher education administrators (Amey & VanDerLinden, 2002; Birnbaum & Umbach, 2001; Brown, 2000; Campbell, Mueller, & Souza, 2010; Jackson & Harris, 2005; Song & Hartley, 2012; Munoz, 2006; Green, 1983). College president transitions have also been examined (Krause, 2009; Turner, 2007; Toman, 2008; Moore, 1983). Many of these studies concentrated on the trajectories of females to the presidency as well as the community college environment. Methodologically, narrative analysis was used, and the four participants were purposefully selected from upper Midwest Evangelical Lutheran Church of America colleges and universities (ELCA). The primary data collection method used was unstructured interviews that employed the narrative interview technique in partnership with Seidman\u27s interview technique. Participants participated in a series of three interviews, where they shared their lived experiences through uninterrupted stories. Using thematic analysis that involves coding and text reduction, themes were found and organized into three overarching categories: (1) work experiences prior to attaining the presidency; (2) lives beyond the office; and (3) a sense of vocational calling and the alignment of personal gifts and passions to address institutional needs. Addressing the overarching research question in this study, How do life journeys impact career paths to ELCA college presidencies? , both professional and personal factors were found to contribute to career ascendency. Being open to new opportunities, holding administrative and leadership roles, having supportive spouses and families, and having a deep sense of self all contributed to the attainment of additional leadership roles, culminating in an ELCA college presidency. Participants shared a common understanding of Lutheran traditions and Lutheran higher education and vocation, and a desire to help others. Additionally, commonalities existed about work-life balance and the challenges it presents, the importance of having hobbies, the demands of ELCA college presidencies, and in reflections of transitions the participants experienced during their life journeys. Implications due to this study\u27s findings exist for a variety of audiences, including ELCA higher education administrators, aspiring higher education leaders across all institutional types, ELCA college presidents, individual ELCA institutions, ELCA colleges and universities as a whole, and individual ELCA college and university institutional governing boards. This study created opportunities for future research. Recommended studies using the same methodological approach include examining the life journeys of female ELCA college presidents, the life journeys of ELCA presidents in other geographic locations, the life journeys of presidents from different institutional types, the life journeys of ELCA presidents from schools of different Lutheran depth, the life journeys of spouses and children of current ELCA college presidents, and the life journeys of other higher education administrators beyond the presidency. Additional research could also examine life journeys using Schlossberg\u27s (1995) theory of transition or Holland\u27s (1997) theory of vocational personalities and work environments as the entire conceptual framework of the study

The Effects of God Language on Perceived Attributes of God

Sixty-three participants listened to an audio· tape asking them to imagine themselves in God\u27s presence. Half the participants listened to a script in which God was presented as female and half listened to a script in which God was presented as male. Half of those in each group listened to a male narrator and the other half listened to a female narrator. Before and after listening to the script, participants rated the attributes of God on a forced-choice questionnaire. Those to whom God was presented as female were more likely to emphasize God\u27s mercy at posttest whereas those to whom God was presented as male were more likely to endorse God\u27s power. Those hearing a male voice describe a female God and those hearing a female voice describe a male God reported enjoying the experiment and the audiotape more than those hearing a narrator describing a God of the same gender. Implications are discussed

Architecture for Cognitive Networking within NASAs Future Space Communications Infrastructure

Future space mission concepts and designs pose many networking challenges for command, telemetry, and science data applications with diverse end-to-end data delivery needs. For future end-to-end architecture designs, a key challenge is meeting expected application quality of service requirements for multiple simultaneous mission data flows with options to use diverse onboard local data buses, commercial ground networks, and multiple satellite relay constellations in LEO, MEO, GEO, or even deep space relay links. Effectively utilizing a complex network topology requires orchestration and direction that spans the many discrete, individually addressable computer systems, which cause them to act in concert to achieve the overall network goals. The system must be intelligent enough to not only function under nominal conditions, but also adapt to unexpected situations, and reorganize or adapt to perform roles not originally intended for the system or explicitly programmed. This paper describes architecture features of cognitive networking within the future NASA space communications infrastructure, and interacting with the legacy systems and infrastructure in the meantime. The paper begins by discussing the need for increased automation, including inter-system collaboration. This discussion motivates the features of an architecture including cognitive networking for future missions and relays, interoperating with both existing endpoint-based networking models and emerging information-centric models. From this basis, we discuss progress on a proof-of-concept implementation of this architecture as a cognitive networking on-orbit application on the SCaN Testbed attached to the International Space Station

Poly[[(acetonitrile)­lithium(I)]-μ3-tetra­fluoridoborato]

The structure of the title compound, [Li(BF4)(CH3CN)]n, consists of a layered arrangement parallel to (100) in which the Li+ cations are coordinated by three F atoms from three tetra­fluoridoborate (BF4 −) anions and an N atom from an acetonitrile mol­ecule. The BF4 − anion is coordinated to three different Li+ cations though three F atoms. The structure can be described as being built from vertex-shared BF4 and LiF3(NCCH3) tetra­hedra. These tetra­hedra reside around a crystallographic inversion center and form 8-membered rings

Poly[bis­(acetonitrile-κN)bis­[μ3-bis(tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonyl)­imido-κ4 O,O′:O′′:O′′′]dilithium]

In the title compound, [Li2(CF3SO2NSO2CF3)2(CH3CN)2]n, two Li+ cations reside on crystallographic inversion centers, each coordinated by six O atoms from bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI−) anions. The third Li+ cation on a general position is four-coordinated by two anion O atoms and two N atoms from acetonitrile mol­ecules in a tetra­hedral geometry

The contribution of epigenetics in Sjögren's Syndrome.

International audience: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune epithelitis that combines exocrine gland dysfunctions and lymphocytic infiltrations. While the pathogenesis of SS remains unclear, its etiology is multifunctional and includes a combination of genetic predispositions, environmental factors, and epigenetic factors. Recently, interest has grown in the involvement of epigenetics in autoimmune diseases. Epigenetics is defined as changes in gene expression, that are inheritable and that do not entail changes in the DNA sequence. In SS, several epigenetic mechanisms are defective including DNA demethylation that predominates in epithelial cells, an abnormal expression of microRNAs, and abnormal chromatin positioning-associated with autoantibody production. Last but not least, epigenetic modifications are reversible as observed in minor salivary glands from SS patients after B cell depletion using rituximab. Thus epigenetic findings in SS open new perspectives for therapeutic approaches as well as the possible identification of new biomarkers

Virtual target screening to rapidly identify potential protein targets of natural products in drug discovery

Inherent biological viability and diversity of natural products make them a potentially rich source for new therapeutics. However, identification of bioactive compounds with desired therapeutic effects and identification of their protein targets is a laborious, expensive process. Extracts from organism samples may show desired activity in phenotypic assays but specific bioactive compounds must be isolated through further separation methods and protein targets must be identified by more specific phenotypic and in vitro experimental assays. Still, questions remain as to whether all relevant protein targets for a compound have been identified. The desire is to understand breadth of purposing for the compound to maximize its use and intellectual property, and to avoid further development of compounds with insurmountable adverse effects. Previously we developed a Virtual Target Screening system that computationally screens one or more compounds against a collection of virtual protein structures. By scoring each compound-protein interaction, we can compare against averaged scores of synthetic drug-like compounds to determine if a particular protein would be a potential target of a compound of interest. Here we provide examples of natural products screened through our system as we assess advantages and shortcomings of our current system in regards to natural product drug discovery