9,944 research outputs found
Shape restricted regression with random Bernstein polynomials
Shape restricted regressions, including isotonic regression and concave
regression as special cases, are studied using priors on Bernstein polynomials
and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. These priors have large supports, select
only smooth functions, can easily incorporate geometric information into the
prior, and can be generated without computational difficulty. Algorithms
generating priors and posteriors are proposed, and simulation studies are
conducted to illustrate the performance of this approach. Comparisons with the
density-regression method of Dette et al. (2006) are included.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921707000000157 in the IMS
Lecture Notes Monograph Series
(http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Bright 22 m Excess Candidates from WISE All-Sky Catalog and Hipparcos Main Catalog
In this paper we present a catalog which includes 141 bright candidates
( mag, V band) showing the infrared (IR) excess at 22 m. Of
which, 38 stars are known IR excess stars or disk, 23 stars are double or
multiple stars and 4 are Be stars. While the remaining more than 70 stars are
identified as the 22 m excess candidates in our work. The criterion of
selecting candidates is . All these candidates are selected
from \emph{WISE} All-sky data cross-correlated with \emph{Hipparcos} Main
Catalog and the likelihood-ratio technique is employed. Considering the effect
of background, we introduce the \emph{IRAS} 100 m level to exclude the
high background. We also estimated the coincidence probability of these
sources. In addition, we presented the optical to mid-infrared SEDs and optical
images of all the candidates, and gave the observed optical spectra of 6 stars
with NAOC's 2.16-m telescope. To measure for the dust amount around each star,
the fractional luminosity is also provided. We also test whether our method of
selecting IR excess stars can be used to search for extra-solar planets, we
cross-matched our catalog with known IR-excess stars having planets but none is
matched. Finally, we give the fraction of stars showing IR-excess for different
spectral type of main-sequence stars.Comment: 45 pages, 16 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Profiling time course expression of virus genes---an illustration of Bayesian inference under shape restrictions
There have been several studies of the genome-wide temporal transcriptional
program of viruses, based on microarray experiments, which are generally useful
in the construction of gene regulation network. It seems that biological
interpretations in these studies are directly based on the normalized data and
some crude statistics, which provide rough estimates of limited features of the
profile and may incur biases. This paper introduces a hierarchical Bayesian
shape restricted regression method for making inference on the time course
expression of virus genes. Estimates of many salient features of the expression
profile like onset time, inflection point, maximum value, time to maximum
value, area under curve, etc. can be obtained immediately by this method.
Applying this method to a baculovirus microarray time course expression data
set, we indicate that many biological questions can be formulated
quantitatively and we are able to offer insights into the baculovirus biology.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-AOAS258 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Assess Calibration Consistency of MODIS and AVHRR Thermal Infrared Bands Using SNO Observations Corrected for Atmospheric Effects
Monitoring environmental changes from space requires extremely well-calibrated observations to achieve the necessary high accuracy and stability. The calibration differences between the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) thermal bands provide a valuable quality assessment of the instrument performance. This letter compares the calibration differences between the Aqua MODIS and NOAA-18 AVHRR bands at 11.0 and 12.0 /Lm using simultaneous nadir overpass observations obtained in nearly parallel orbits. Impacts due to the relative spectral-response differences between the two sensors are estimated by MODTRAN simulations with real-time atmospheric profiles of temperature, water vapor, atmospheric pressure and ozone, and surface skin temperatures. Results show that the temperature difference after the removal of atmospheric impacts is within 0.30 K (or 0.40% in radiance) across the effective calibration range (or the 1l.0 l'm band/channel. For the 12.0 pm band, the differences are OAO K (or 0.50%) at the typical radiance and up to 0.70 K (or 0.90%) close to the maximum radiance, indicating an excellent calibration consistency between MODIS and AVHRR for both bands
Effects of computer-based cognitive training combined with physical training for older adults with cognitive impairment: A four-arm randomized controlled trial
OBJECTIVE: Combined physical (PHY) and cognitive (COG) training in sequential (SEQ) and simultaneous (SIMUL) sessions may delay the progression of cognitive impairment. To date, no study has directly compared in older adults with cognitive impairment the effects of COG training, PHY training, SEQ motor-cognitive training and SIMUL motor-cognitve training on specific indices of cognitive performance and activities of daily living (ADL). The purpose of this study was to determine whether SEQ and SIMUL motor-cognitive training can improve treatment outcomes compared with PHY or COG training alone. We also aimed to compare the effects of SEQ versus SIMUL motor-cognitive training on cognitive functions and instrumental ADL (IADL) in older adults with cognitive impairment.
METHODS: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted. Eighty older adults with cognitive impairment were randomly assigned to COG, PHY, SEQ or SIMUL training groups. The intervention consisted of 90-min training sessions, totaling 36 sessions. Outcome measures were the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, three subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and the Lawton IADL scale.
RESULTS: Significant interaction effects between group and time were found in WMS-spatial span (
CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed SEQ and SIMUL motor-cognitive training led to more pronounced improvements in visuospatial working memory or verbal memory compared with isolated COG or PHY training for community-based older adults with cognitive impairment. For enhancing effects on IADL, we suggest the use of sensitive measurement tools and context-enriched cognitive training involving real-life task demands
One-Loop Maximal Helicity Violating Amplitudes in N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theories
One-loop maximal helicity violating (MHV) amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills
(SYM) theories are analyzed, using the prescription of Cachazo, Svrcek, and
Witten (CSW). The relations between leading N_c amplitudes A_{n;1} and
sub-leading amplitudes A_{n;c} obtained by the CSW prescription are found to be
identical to those obtained from conventional field theory calculations.
Combining with existing results, this establishes the validity of the CSW
prescription to one-loop in the calculation of MHV amplitudes in N=4 SYM
theories of finite N_c.Comment: Minor changes and typos fixed. Published version in JHE
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