uBoost: A boosting method for producing uniform selection efficiencies from multivariate classifiers

The use of multivariate classifiers, especially neural networks and decision trees, has become commonplace in particle physics. Typically, a series of classifiers is trained rather than just one to enhance the performance; this is known as boosting. This paper presents a novel method of boosting that produces a uniform selection efficiency in a user-defined multivariate space. Such a technique is ideally suited for amplitude analyses or other situations where optimizing a single integrated figure of merit is not what is desired

The Actions and Feelings Questionnaire in Autism and Typically Developed Adults

Open access via Springer Compact Agreement We are grateful to Simon Baron-Cohen and Paula Smith of the Cambridge Autism Centre for the use of the ARC database in distributing the questionnaire, to all participants for completing it, to Eilidh Farquar for special efforts in distributing the link and to Gemma Matthews for advice on using AMOS 23. JHGW is supported by the Northwood Trust.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Model selection for amplitude analysis

Model complexity in amplitude analyses is often a priori under-constrained since the underlying theory permits a large number of possible amplitudes to contribute to most physical processes. The use of an overly complex model results in reduced predictive power and worse resolution on unknown parameters of interest. Therefore, it is common to reduce the complexity by removing from consideration some subset of the allowed amplitudes. This paper studies a method for limiting model complexity from the data sample itself through regularization during regression in the context of a multivariate (Dalitz-plot) analysis. The regularization technique applied greatly improves the performance. An outline of how to obtain the significance of a resonance in a multivariate amplitude analysis is also provided

Contexts, Connections, and Clovis: Opportunities for Collaboration Between Information Scientists and Archaeologists

Our poster discusses the potential for collaboration between information scientists and archaeologists. In particular, this poster uses a case study of Clovis spear points to illustrate the importance of collaboration between the two disciplines in order to better understand the management of archaeological data. These artifacts are rare and are curated at widespread utilities across North America. We argue that the focus of collaboration between information scientists and archaeologists should be shifted from field methods to understanding data management practices along with digital metadata acquisition and maintenance. Research in this area should also focus on understanding the innovative data creation and curation approaches archaeologists taken given time and resource constraints. In addition, we will also use the preliminary results of a survey of archaeologists’ research data management practices to help support the potential avenues for collaboration. While the Clovis dataset is informative, many other archaeological datasets could benefit from the attention of information scientists

Shenandoah Valley Partnership: Growing and Enhancing the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Industry

This plan analyzes how the Shenandoah Valley Partnership can grow and enhance its food and beverage manufacturing industry. To answer this question, I interviewed and surveyed food and beverage manufacturers to understand their business needs, as well as interviewed service providers to identify their relationships with this industry. The four main results from the plan were: There is a need for more capital for the businesses. There is a labor shortage in the industry. The Shenandoah Valley has an excellent distribution location. The industry has a poor relationship with the region’s service providers. The plan outlines recommendations on how institutions and organizations can better collaborate with the food and beverage industry to improve its growth

Action perception is intact in autism spectrum disorder

Date of Acceptance:10/11/2014. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/351849-09$15.00/0. Copyright of all material published in The Journal of Neuroscience remains with the authors. The authors grant the Society for Neuroscience an exclusive license to publish their work for the first 6 months. After 6 months the work becomes available to the public to copy, distribute, or display under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Gendered Racism and the Moderating Influence of Racial Identity: Implications for African American Women?s Well-Being

Intersectionality theory has been put forth to explain how gender and race dually impact and act upon African American women (e.g., Settles, 2006; Thomas et al., 2008). Although there is a growing body of literature on the negative effect that perceived racism has on Black/African Americans well-being and that sexism has on women’s well-being, there is a paucity of research on the intersection of racism and sexism (i.e., gendered racism) and its influence on African American women’s well-being (e.g., Perry, Pullen, & Oser, 2012; Thomas et al., 2008). To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined gendered racism’s impact on African American women’s well-being (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms, life satisfaction, and the quality of their social relationships). Additionally, the protective (moderating) influence of racial identity, in particular racial centrality, racial public regard, and racial private regard, on the gendered racism and well-being relationship was examined. Self-identified African American, adult women (N = 249) were recruited from a southeastern metropolitan university. Lastly, the gendered racism measure used in the study, the Revised Schedule of Sexist Events (Thomas et al., 2008), appears to be a valid and reliable measure of African American women’s gendered racism experiences. Regression analyses found that more frequent experiences with gendered racism was associated with more depressive and anxiety symptoms. More frequent experiences of gendered racism were also associated with less optimal social relationships and poorer life satisfaction. Furthermore, racial identity dimensions did not moderate the impact of gendered racism on African American women’s well-being. Future studies should consider identities or worldviews that are theoretically aligned with the tenets of intersectionality theory as protective factors against the effect of gendered racism on African American women’s well-being

Biophysical Studies of Cholesterol in Unsaturated Phospholipid Model Membranes

Cellular membranes contain a staggering diversity of lipids. The lipids are heterogeneously distributed to create regions, or domains, whose physical properties differ from the bulk membrane and play an essential role in modulating the function of resident proteins. Many basic questions pertaining to the formation of these lateral assemblies remain. This research employs model membranes of well-defined composition to focus on the potential role of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their interaction with cholesterol (chol) in restructuring the membrane environment. Omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs are the main bioactive components of fish oil, whose consumption alleviates a variety of health problems by a molecular mechanism that is unclear. We hypothesize that the incorporation of PUFAs into membrane lipids and the effect they have on molecular organization may be, in part, responsible. Chol is a major constituent in the plasma membrane of mammals. It determines the arrangement and collective properties of neighboring lipids, driving the formation of domains via differential affinity for different lipids. The molecular organization of 1-[2H31]palmitoyl-2-eicosapentaenoylphosphatidylcholine (PEPC-d31) and 1-[2H31]palmitoyl-2-docosahexaenoylphosphatidylcholine (PDPC-d31) in membranes with sphingomyelin (SM) and chol (1:1:1 mol) was compared by solid-state 2H NMR spectroscopy. Eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids are the two major n-3 PUFAs found in fish oil, while PEPC-d31 and PDPC-d31 are phospholipids containing the respective PUFAs at the sn-2 position and a perdeuterated palmitic acid at the sn-1 position. Analysis of spectra recorded as a function of temperature indicates that in both cases, formation of PUFA-rich (less ordered) and SM-rich (more ordered) domains occurred. A surprisingly substantial proportion of PUFA was found to infiltrate the more ordered domain. There was almost twice as much DHA (65%) as EPA (30%). The implication is that n-3 PUFAs can incorporate into lipid rafts, which are domains enriched in SM and chol in the plasma membrane, and potentially disrupt the activity of signaling proteins that reside therein. DHA, furthermore, may be the more potent component of fish oil. PUFA-chol interactions were also examined through affinity measurements. A novel method utilizing electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was developed, to monitor the partitioning of a spin-labeled analog of chol, 3β-doxyl-5α-cholestane (chlstn), between large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) and methyl-β-cyclodextrin (mβCD). The EPR spectra for chlstn in the two environments are distinguishable due to the substantial differences in tumbling rates, allowing the population distribution ratio to be determined by spectral simulation. Advantages of this approach include speed of implementation and avoidance of potential artifacts associated with physical separation of LUV and mβCD. Additionally, in a check of the method, the relative partition coefficients between lipids measured for the spin label analog agree with values obtained for chol by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Results from LUV with different composition confirmed a hierarchy of decreased sterol affinity for phospholipids with increasing acyl chain unsaturation, PDPC possessing half the affinity of the corresponding monounsaturated phospholipid. Taken together, the results of these studies on model membranes demonstrate the potential for PUFA-driven alteration of the architecture of biomembranes, a mechanism through which human health may be impacted