17 research outputs found
LDR: A Package for Likelihood-Based Sufficient Dimension Reduction
No full textWe introduce a new mlab software package that implements several recently proposed likelihood-based methods for sufficient dimension reduction. Current capabilities include estimation of reduced subspaces with a fixed dimension d, as well as estimation of d by use of likelihood-ratio testing, permutation testing and information criteria. The methods are suitable for preprocessing data for both regression and classification. Implementations of related estimators are also available. Although the software is more oriented to command-line operation, a graphical user interface is also provided for prototype computations.
Wavelet shrinkage using adaptive structured sparsity constraints
No full textStructured sparsity approaches have recently received much attention in the statistics, machine learning, and signal processing communities. A common strategy is to exploit or assume prior information about structural dependencies inherent in the data; the solution is encouraged to behave as such by the inclusion of an appropriate regularisation term which enforces structured sparsity constraints over sub-groups of data. An important variant of this idea considers the tree-like dependency structures often apparent in wavelet decompositions. However, both the constituent groups and their associated weights in the regularisation term are typically defined a priori. We here introduce an adaptive wavelet denoising framework whereby a sparsity-inducing regulariser is modified based on information extracted from the signal itself. In particular, we use the same wavelet decomposition to detect the location of salient features in the signal, such as jumps or sharp bumps. Given these locations, the weights in the regulariser associated to the groups of coefficients that cover these time locations are modified in order to favour retention of those coefficients. Denoising experiments show that, not only does the adaptive method preserve the salient features better than the non-adaptive constraints, but it also delivers significantly better shrinkage over the signal as a whole
ll corpo invaso nella letteratura italiana. Ottocento e Novecento
No full textQuesto numero dei Cahiers d’études italiennes è imbastito su una pluralità di riflessioni che ruotano attorno alla rappresentazione del ‘corpo invaso’ nella letteratura italiana del XIX e XX secolo. I contributi qui raccolti annalizzano varie declinazioni che tale ‘invasione’ può assumere: dalla degenerazione psicologica descritta da Igino U. Tarchetti nel romanzo Una nobile follia, alla mutilazione fisica di alcuni reduci della seconda guerra mondiale, passando attraverso gli esperimenti narrati da dei racconti di ‘anticipazione’ (testi che mostrano il sempre fervido desiderio che la scienza possa dominare il corpo), e arrivando ai versi del poeta-operaio Ferruccio Brugnaro e di Elsa Morante. Queste due voci, pur appartenendo a universi differenti, descrivono una violenza dal potere invasivo affine: da un lato la coercizione esercitata dal lavoro e, dall’altra, quella che scaturisce dalla fuga nelle droghe e dai suoi effetti psichedelici e di decorporazione che fanno riflettere sulla dicotomia corpo/anima così radicata nella cultura occidentale. Il volume contiene inoltre una lettura dell’opera dello scrittore italo-argentino Juan Rodolfo Wilcock, condotta seguendo il filtro del concetto di ‘somatisation’ e un ampio studio della rappresentazione dello stupro con un’indagine della presenza di questo tema nel romanzo di Paola Masino Monte Ignoso. Il numero si conclude proponendo le poesie di due poetesse italiane contemporanee: Roberta Durante e Isabella Tomassi. Ce numéro des Cahiers d’études italiennes accueille des réflexions autour de la représentation du « corps envahi » dans la littérature italienne des XIXe et XXe siècles. Les contributions passent en revue les différentes formes que cette « invasion » peut revêtir : de la dégénérescence psychologique décrite par Igino U. Tarchetti dans son roman Una nobile follia, à l’amputation physique des soldats de la Seconde Guerre mondiale ; depuis les expérimentations dont rend compte la littérature d’anticipation, pleine du désir ardent que la science parvienne à maîtriser le corps, jusqu’aux vers du poète‑ouvrier Ferruccio Brugnaro et d’Elsa Morante. Ces derniers, quoique appartenant à deux univers très différents, décrivent par le biais de la poésie une violence pareillement envahissante : d’un côté, celle du travail à l’usine et, de l’autre, les effets psychédéliques et de décorporation qu’implique l’évasion dans les drogues, ce qui permet de s’interroger sur la dichotomie corps/esprit, fortement ancrée dans la culture occidentale. Ce numéro contient également une lecture de l’œuvre de l’écrivain italo-argentin Juan R. Wilcock sous le prisme du concept de « somatisation », ainsi qu’une étude sur la représentation du « viol », avec une attention particulière portée au roman Monte Ignoso de Paola Masino. Enfin, la dernière section réunit quelques poèmes de deux écrivaines italiennes, Roberta Durante et Isabella Tomassi, en lien avec la thématique qui nous sert de fil conducteur. This issue of Cahiers d’études italiennes presents studies on the representation of the ‘Invaded Body’ in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Italian literature. The contributions review the various forms this invasion can take: from the psychological degeneration described by Igino U. Tarchetti in his novel Una nobile follia to physical amputation suffered by soldiers in World War II; from experiments reported in ‘speculative’ literature that display a desire to master the body through science to the verses of Elsa Morante and poet‑worker Ferruccio Brugnaro. Although these latter two writers belong to very different worlds, both use poetry to describe a similarly pervasive violence: on the one hand, the violence inherent in factory work; on the other hand, the psychedelic and ‘decorporation’ effects generated by drugs—effects raising questions about the mind/body dichotomy so deeply rooted in Western culture. The issue also includes a “somatization”-focused reading of the work of Italian-Argentinian writer Juan R. Wilcock and a study of the representation of rape, with a particular focus on Paola Masino’s novel Monte Ignoso. The issue’s final section introduces poems by two Italian women poets, Roberta Durante and Isabella Tomassi
LDR: A Package for Likelihood-Based Sufficient Dimension Reduction
No full textWe introduce a new mlab software package that implements several recently proposed likelihood-based methods for sufficient dimension reduction. Current capabilities include estimation of reduced subspaces with a fixed dimension d, as well as estimation of d by use of likelihood-ratio testing, permutation testing and information criteria. The methods are suitable for preprocessing data for both regression and classification. Implementations of related estimators are also available. Although the software is more oriented to command-line operation, a graphical user interface is also provided for prototype computations
Signal denoising with hidden Markov models using hidden Markov trees as observation densities
No full textDimension reduction for hidden Markov models using the suficiency approach
No full textDimension reduction is often included in pattern recognizers based on hidden Markov models to lower the size of the models to estimate. Commonly used methods are heuristic in nature and do not take care of information retention after projection. In this paper, we present a new method based on the approach of suficient dimension reductions. It explicitly accounts for all the discriminative information available in the original features, while using a minimum number of linear combinations of them. We review the underlying theory and present an algorithm for the practical implementation of the proposed method. On the experimental side, we use simulations to illustrate its advantages over widely-used existing alternatives. In particular, we show that it performs as good as existing techniques when data is optimal according to the assumptions of those techniques, but signi cantly better for heteroscedastic data with no special structure on the covariance matrix.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ
Managing living marine resources in a dynamic environment: The role of seasonal to decadal climate forecasts
No full textRecent developments in global dynamical climate prediction systems have allowed for skillful predictions of climate variables relevant to living marine resources (LMRs) at a scale useful to understanding and managing LMRs. Such predictions present opportunities for improved LMR management and industry operations, as well as new research avenues in fisheries science. LMRs respond to climate variability via changes in physiology and behavior. For species and systems where climate-fisheries links are well established, forecasted LMR responses can lead to anticipatory and more effective decisions, benefiting both managers and stakeholders. Here, we provide an overview of climate prediction systems and advances in seasonal to decadal prediction of marine-resource relevant environmental variables. We then describe a range of climate-sensitive LMR decisions that can be taken at lead-times of months to decades, before highlighting a range of pioneering case studies using climate predictions to inform LMR decisions. The success of these case studies suggests that many additional applications are possible. Progress, however, is limited by observational and modeling challenges. Priority developments include strengthening of the mechanistic linkages between climate and marine resource responses, development of LMR models able to explicitly represent such responses, integration of climate driven LMR dynamics in the multi-driver context within which marine resources exist, and improved prediction of ecosystemrelevant variables at the fine regional scales at which most marine resource decisions are made. While there are fundamental limits to predictability, continued advances in these areas have considerable potential to make LMR managers and industry decision more resilient to climate variability and help sustain valuable resources. Concerted dialog between scientists, LMR managers and industry is essential to realizing this potential.Peer reviewe
Chromatin and oxygen sensing in the context of JmjC histone demethylases
No full textResponding appropriately to changes in oxygen availability is essential for multicellular organism survival. Molecularly, cells have evolved intricate gene expression programmes to handle this stressful condition. Although it is appreciated that gene expression is co-ordinated by changes in transcription and translation in hypoxia, much less is known about how chromatin changes allow for transcription to take place. The missing link between co-ordinating chromatin structure and the hypoxiainduced transcriptional programme could be in the form of a class of dioxygenases called JmjC (Jumonji C) enzymes, the majority of which are histone demethylases. In the present review, we will focus on the function of JmjC histone demethylases, and howthese could act as oxygen sensors for chromatin in hypoxia. The current knowledge concerning the role of JmjC histone demethylases in the process of organism development and human disease will also be reviewed. © 2014 The Author(s) This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY).</p
Food Utensils And Nutritional Implications [utensílios Para Alimentos E Implicações Nutricionais]
No full textMany materials are used to make food utensils: clay, iron, glass, pottery stainless steel, stone, aluminum, etc. Stainless steel utensils account for 43% of cookware sold in the USA. Another part of the population uses aluminum utensils. This article aims at speculating on the nutritional contribution of utensils used for food preparation and made from three different materials (aluminum, iron and stainless steel), through a review of scientific literature.133151156Agarwal, P., Srivastava, S., Srivastava, M.M., Prakash, S., Ramanamurthy, M., Shirivastav, R., Dass, S., Studies on leaching of Cr and Ni from stainless steel utensils in certain acids and in some Indian drinks (1997) Science of the Total Environment, 199 (3), pp. 271-275. , AmsterdamAikoh, H., Nishio, M.R., Aluminium content of varius canned an bottled beverages (1996) Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 56 (1), pp. 1-7. , New YorkAlfrey, A.C., Aluminum (1986), 2, pp. 399-413. , Mertz, W. 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Italian Survey on adjuvant treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
No full textBackground: A recent pooled analysis of randomized trials indicated significant improvement in overall survival from cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), depending on disease stage (only in stages II and III) and PS (≤1). Post-operative radiotherapy (RT) is optional for pN2 tumours. Patients and methods: To evaluate opinions and daily clinical practice of Italian Oncologists about adjuvant treatment of NSCLC, a 46-item questionnaire was delivered via e-mail. Results: Seventy-eight physicians from 68 Centers (out of 98 contacted) returned their questionnaire. Seventy-four, 86, 94, and 78% of them give the indication for adjuvant chemotherapy for stage IIA, IIB, IIIA, and IIIB disease, respectively and 14% in stage IB disease. Stage, PS, and age are taken into consideration evaluating adjuvant approach by 97, 95 and 73%, respectively. Cisplatin-vinorelbine (64%) and cisplatin-gemcitabine (33%), for 4 cycles (81%), are the preferred regimens, while 32% use different regimens. Ninety-two percent indicate RT in pN2 disease and/or positive resection margins. Real Number of patients Needed to Treat (NNT) is probably not completely known/understood and/or used by physicians. Conclusions: A substantial adherence between clinical daily practice in Italy and scientific progresses is described in this paper, even with some discordances regarding the most appropriate adjuvant chemotherapy regime
