Tree-Based Methods: A Tool for Modeling Nonlinear Complex Relationships and Generating New Insights from Data

Our paper introduces tree-based methods, specifically classification and regression trees (CRT), to study student achievement. CRT allows data analysis to be driven by the data’s internal structure. Thus, CRT can model complex nonlinear relationships and supplement traditional hypothesis-testing approaches to provide a fuller picture of the topic being studied. Using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2011 data as a case study, our research investigated predictors from students’ demographic backgrounds to ascertain their relationships to students’ academic performance and achievement gains in reading and math. In our study, CRT displays complex patterns between predictors and outcomes; more specifically, the patterns illuminated by the regression trees differ across the subject areas (i.e., reading and math) and between the performance levels and achievement gains. Through the use of real-world assessment datasets, this article demonstrates the strengths and limitations of CRT when analyzing student achievement data as well as the challenges. When achievement data such as achievement gains in our case study are not linearly strongly related to any continuous predictors, regression trees may make more accurate predictions than general linear models and produce results that are easier to interpret. Our study illustrates scenarios when CRT on achievement data is most appropriate and beneficial

An excursion set model of the cosmic web: The abundance of sheets, filaments and halos

We discuss an analytic approach for modeling structure formation in sheets, filaments and knots. This is accomplished by combining models of triaxial collapse with the excursion set approach: sheets are defined as objects which have collapsed along only one axis, filaments have collapsed along two axes, and halos are objects in which triaxial collapse is complete. In the simplest version of this approach, which we develop here, large scale structure shows a clear hierarchy of morphologies: the mass in large-scale sheets is partitioned up among lower mass filaments, which themselves are made-up of still lower mass halos. Our approach provides analytic estimates of the mass fraction in sheets, filaments and halos, and its evolution, for any background cosmological model and any initial fluctuation spectrum. In the currently popular $\Lambda$CDM model, our analysis suggests that more than 99% of the cosmic mass is in sheets, and 72% in filaments, with mass larger than $10^{10} M_{\odot}$ at the present time. For halos, this number is only 46%. Our approach also provides analytic estimates of how halo abundances at any given time correlate with the morphology of the surrounding large-scale structure, and how halo evolution correlates with the morphology of large scale structure.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Cycles of evidence collection in the development of a measure of teacher knowledge

This study highlights some of the tensions that arise during measure development while attending to both Rasch measurement principles and mathematics education’s focus on high quality operationalization of complex theoretical constructs. We situate our measure development work within the context of a larger design-based mathematics teacher preparation intervention project focused on improving teacher candidate attentiveness, and illustrate how these tensions have shaped our instrument and item development work over the last four years.This research was supported in part by grant #1726543 Preparing Secondary Mathematics Teachers with Video Cases of Students’ Functional Reasoning from the National Science Foundation

A Case Study of Nonresponse Bias Analysis

Nonresponse bias is a widely prevalent problem for data collections. We develop a ten-step exemplar to guide nonresponse bias analysis (NRBA) in cross-sectional studies, and apply these steps to the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11. A key step is the construction of indices of nonresponse bias based on proxy pattern-mixture models for survey variables of interest. A novel feature is to characterize the strength of evidence about nonresponse bias contained in these indices, based on the strength of relationship of the characteristics in the nonresponse adjustment with the key survey variables. Our NRBA incorporates missing at random and missing not at random mechanisms, and all analyses can be done straightforwardly with standard statistical software

Induction of mast cell accumulation, histamine release and skin edema by N49 phospholipase A2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been recognized that phospholipase A₂(PLA₂) is a crucial component of snake venom, which contributes greatly to snake venom induced inflammation in man. However, the mechanisms through which N49 PLA₂provoke inflammation remain unclear. Recently, a N49 PLA₂, TM-N49 from <it>Protobothrops mucrosquamatus </it>crude venom was characterized in our laboratory. Since the purification procedure developed is able to supply us with relatively large quantity of highly purified TM-N49, we investigated the ability of TM-N49 in induction of inflammation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that TM-N49 provoked a dose dependent increase in microvascular leakage in the skin of rats. The potency of TM-N49 in induction of skin edema appeared similar potency of bradykinin and histamine. Pretreatment of rats with compound 48/80 diminished TM-N49 induced skin reaction and reduced mast cell numbers in rats. Ginkgolide B and cyproheptadine, but not terfenadine and quinacrine, inhibited TM-N49 elicited microvascular leakage when they were co-injected with the stimulus to rat skin. Moreover, TM-N49 was found to induce histamine release from human colon, lung and tonsil mast cells, and both metabolic inhibitors and pertussis toxin were capable of inhibiting TM-N49 elicited histamine release. TM-N49 induced mast cell accumulation in the peritoneum of mice, which was inhibited by co-injection of ginkgolide B, cyproheptadine and terfenadine. Intravenous injection of monoclonal antibodies against CD18, ICAM-1 and CD11a also blocked TM-N49 induced mast cell accumulation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>TM-N49 is a potent stimulus for skin edema, mast cell activation and accumulation.</p

Methological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on acupuncture for stroke: a review of review

Objective: To assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses regarding acupuncture intervention for stroke and the primary studies within them. Methods: Two researchers searched PubMed, Cumulative index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, Cochrane, Allied and Complementary Medicine, Ovid Medline, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and Traditional Chinese Medical Database to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses about acupuncture for stroke published from the inception to December 2016. Review characteristics and the criteria for assessing the primary studies within reviews were extracted. The methodological quality of the reviews was assessed using adapted Oxman and Guyatt Scale. The methodological quality of primary studies was also assessed. Results: Thirty-two eligible reviews were identified, 15 in English and 17 in Chinese. The English reviews were scored higher than the Chinese reviews (P=0.025), especially in criteria for avoiding bias and the scope of search. All reviews used the quality criteria to evaluate the methodological quality of primary studies, but some criteria were not comprehensive. The primary studies, in particular the Chinese reviews, had problems with randomization, allocation concealment, blinding, dropouts and withdrawals, intent-to-treat analysis and adverse events. Conclusions: Important methodological flaws were found in Chinese systematic reviews and primary studies. It was necessary to improve the methodological quality and reporting quality of both the systematic reviews published in China and primary studies on acupuncture for stroke

Stabilizing sample-wide Kekul\'e orders in graphene/transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures

Kekul\'e phases are Peierls-like lattice distortions in graphene that are predicted to host novel electronic states beyond graphene (1-8). Although the Kekul\'e phases are realized in graphene through introducing electron-electron interactions at high magnetic fields (9-11) or adatom superlattices (12-15), it is still an extremely challenge to obtain large-area graphene Kekul\'e phases in experiment. Here we demonstrate that sample-wide Kekul\'e distortions in graphene can be stabilized by using transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as substrates and the induced Kekul\'e orders are quite robust in the whole graphene/TMDs heterostructures with different twist angles. The commensurate structures of the heterostructures provide periodic scattering centers that break the translational symmetry of graphene and couple electrons of the two valleys in graphene, which tips the graphene toward global Kekul\'e density wave phases. Unexpectedly, three distinct Kekul\'e bond textures stabilized at various energies are directly imaged in every graphene/TMDs heterostructure. Our results reveal an unexpected sensitivity of electronic properties in graphene to the supporting substrates and provide an attractive route toward designing novel phases in graphene/TMDs heterostructures

The Numerical Solution of Scalar Field for Nariai Case in 5D Ricci-flat SdS Black String Space with Polynomial Approximation

As one exact candidate of the higher dimensional black hole, the 5D Ricci-flat Schwarzschild-de Sitter black string space presents something interesting. In this paper, we give a numerical solution to the real scalar field around the Nariai black hole by the polynomial approximation. Unlike the previous tangent approximation, this fitting function makes a perfect match in the leading intermediate region and gives a good description near both the event and the cosmological horizons. We can read from our results that the wave is close to a harmonic one with the tortoise coordinate. Furthermore, with the actual radial coordinate the waves pile up almost equally near the both horizons.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure