WorldWideScience

Sample records for seventh highest ranked

  1. The highest-ranking rooster has priority to announce the break of dawn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimmura, Tsuyoshi; Ohashi, Shosei; Yoshimura, Takashi

    2015-07-23

    The "cock-a-doodle-doo" crowing of roosters, which symbolizes the break of dawn in many cultures, is controlled by the circadian clock. When one rooster announces the break of dawn, others in the vicinity immediately follow. Chickens are highly social animals, and they develop a linear and fixed hierarchy in small groups. We found that when chickens were housed in small groups, the top-ranking rooster determined the timing of predawn crowing. Specifically, the top-ranking rooster always started to crow first, followed by its subordinates, in descending order of social rank. When the top-ranking rooster was physically removed from a group, the second-ranking rooster initiated crowing. The presence of a dominant rooster significantly reduced the number of predawn crows in subordinates. However, the number of crows induced by external stimuli was independent of social rank, confirming that subordinates have the ability to crow. Although the timing of subordinates' predawn crowing was strongly dependent on that of the top-ranking rooster, free-running periods of body temperature rhythms differed among individuals, and crowing rhythm did not entrain to a crowing sound stimulus. These results indicate that in a group situation, the top-ranking rooster has priority to announce the break of dawn, and that subordinate roosters are patient enough to wait for the top-ranking rooster's first crow every morning and thus compromise their circadian clock for social reasons.

  2. A population-based evaluation of the seventh edition of the TNM system for lung cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strand, T-E; Rostad, H; Wentzel-Larsen, T

    2010-01-01

    description of stage IIIB was observed in the seventh edition. Survival rates of T1b and T2a tumours were similar (log rank p = 0.94). The concordance index was 0.68 for both editions, indicating no overall difference in their predictive accuracy. In the seventh edition, 211 (29%) stage IB patients migrated...... and the seventh edition of the TNM system. We compared survival differences adjusting for known prognostic factors. Furthermore, we evaluated the overall predictive ability of both editions using Harrell's concordance index. Survival curves by stage for each of the editions were similar; however, a better...

  3. The highest-ranking rooster has priority to announce the break of dawn

    OpenAIRE

    Shimmura, Tsuyoshi; Ohashi, Shosei; Yoshimura, Takashi

    2015-01-01

    The ?cock-a-doodle-doo? crowing of roosters, which symbolizes the break of dawn in many cultures, is controlled by the circadian clock. When one rooster announces the break of dawn, others in the vicinity immediately follow. Chickens are highly social animals, and they develop a linear and fixed hierarchy in small groups. We found that when chickens were housed in small groups, the top-ranking rooster determined the timing of predawn crowing. Specifically, the top-ranking rooster always start...

  4. Investigating Predictors of Listening Comprehension in Third-, Seventh-, and Tenth-Grade Students: A Dominance Analysis Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Spencer, Mercedes; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2015-01-01

    This study rank ordered the contributive importance of several predictors of listening comprehension for third, seventh, and tenth graders. Principal components analyses revealed that a three-factor solution with fluency, reasoning, and working memory components provided the best fit across grade levels. Dominance analyses indicated that fluency…

  5. Who Are Seventh-day Adventists?

    OpenAIRE

    Wyhmeister, Nancy J.

    2005-01-01

    A simple answer to the question “Who are Seventh-day Adventists?” can be stated briefly: the Seventh-day Adventist Church (or in Croatia, Christian Adventist Church) is a worldwide body of more than 10 million Christians who observe Saturday as the Sabbath and expect Jesus’ second coming soon. In more detail, one might say that Seventh- day Adventists are a conservative Protestant body of evangelical Christians whose faith is grounded in the Bible and centered on Jesus, with stress on His ato...

  6. Breast cancer survival rates among Seventh-day Adventists and non-Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zollinger, T W; Phillips, R L; Kuzma, J W

    1984-04-01

    Survival rates were compared among 282 Seventh-day Adventists and 1675 other white female cancer cases following diagnosis during the 30-year period, 1946 to 1976, at two California hospitals owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Adventist women had a more favorable 5-year relative survival pattern than the other women (69.7% vs. 62.9%) as well as a higher probability of not dying of breast cancer. The differences, however, were no longer significant when stage at diagnosis was taken into account. It seems likely that the lower breast cancer death rates reported among Seventh-day Adventist women as compared with the general population result in part from better survival patterns due to earlier diagnosis and treatment.

  7. Health status of Seventh-Day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, I W; Rawson, G K

    1979-05-19

    A comparison of health status between 779 Seventh-day Adventists, who have a strong commitment to heal-related life styles, and two other groups of people--8363 persons referred by general practitioners and 9825 volunteers--was made. The Seventh-day Adventists showed less impairment of systolic and diastolic blood pressures, of plasma cholesterol and plasma urate concentrations, and of lung ventilatory capacity; and less obesity at most specific ages. With increasing age, the level of breathlessness, reported heart disease, hypertension, and hypertensive and diuretic therapy in this sample approached that of the comparative groups, possibly because of natural attrition of high-risk persons in the latter. Depression, sleeplessness, use of sedatives and tranquillizers were lower in the Seventh-day Adventists; although, once again, a drawing together of the three groups in older age categories was evident. It is concluded that the life style of Seventh-day Adventists is conducive to lessened morbidity, delayed mortality, and decreased call on health services in comparison with the general population.

  8. Ranking accounting, banking and finance journals: A note

    OpenAIRE

    Halkos, George; Tzeremes, Nickolaos

    2012-01-01

    This paper by applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) ranks Economics journals in the field of Accounting, Banking and Finance. By using one composite input and one composite output the paper ranks 57 journals. In addition for the first time three different quality ranking reports have been incorporated to the DEA modelling problem in order to classify the journals into four categories (‘A’ to ‘D’). The results reveal that the journals with the highest rankings in the field are Journal of Fi...

  9. Universal scaling in sports ranking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng Weibing; Li Wei; Cai Xu; Bulou, Alain; Wang Qiuping A

    2012-01-01

    Ranking is a ubiquitous phenomenon in human society. On the web pages of Forbes, one may find all kinds of rankings, such as the world's most powerful people, the world's richest people, the highest-earning tennis players, and so on and so forth. Herewith, we study a specific kind—sports ranking systems in which players' scores and/or prize money are accrued based on their performances in different matches. By investigating 40 data samples which span 12 different sports, we find that the distributions of scores and/or prize money follow universal power laws, with exponents nearly identical for most sports. In order to understand the origin of this universal scaling we focus on the tennis ranking systems. By checking the data we find that, for any pair of players, the probability that the higher-ranked player tops the lower-ranked opponent is proportional to the rank difference between the pair. Such a dependence can be well fitted to a sigmoidal function. By using this feature, we propose a simple toy model which can simulate the competition of players in different matches. The simulations yield results consistent with the empirical findings. Extensive simulation studies indicate that the model is quite robust with respect to the modifications of some parameters. (paper)

  10. Coronary risk factors in Norwegian Seventh-day Adventists: a study of 247 Seventh-day Adventists and matched controls. The Cardiovascular Disease Studies in Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fønnebø, V

    1992-03-01

    Coronary risk factors in Seventh-day Adventists were compared with those in non-Seventh-day Adventist matched controls in the Norwegian Cardiovascular Disease Studies, 1973-1987. Only 10% of the Seventh-day Adventists were smokers (p less than 0.001) and serum cholesterol was 0.86 mmol/liter (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59-1.13) lower in men and 0.48 mmol/liter (95% CI 0.25-0.71) lower in women. Blood pressure was significantly lower only in women. Ex-members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and members who did not comply with the recommended life-style had a risk factor level significantly higher than Seventh-day Adventists who complied with the life-style.

  11. The Tromsø Heart Study: coronary risk factors in Seventh-Day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fønnebø, V

    1985-11-01

    Seventh-Day Adventists in Tromsø showed a coronary risk factor pattern similar to Seventh-Day Adventists in other parts of the world. Compared with non-Seventh-Day Adventists, serum cholesterol was 1.35 mmol/liter (1974) and 0.83 mmol/liter (1979-1980) lower in males and 0.64 mmol/liter (1979-1980) lower in females. Blood pressure was lower in Seventh-Day Adventist women. The religiously inactive Seventh-Day Adventists had risk factor patterns more similar to non-Seventh-Day Adventists.

  12. Seventh International Beaver Symposium

    OpenAIRE

    Yuri A. Gorshkov

    2016-01-01

    The paper presents data on the seventh international Beaver Symposium. Brief historical background about previous Beaver Symposia beaver is shown. Data on the sections of symposium, number of participants and reports are presented.

  13. Seventh International Beaver Symposium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuri A. Gorshkov

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents data on the seventh international Beaver Symposium. Brief historical background about previous Beaver Symposia beaver is shown. Data on the sections of symposium, number of participants and reports are presented.

  14. Analysis model for forecasting extreme temperature using refined rank set pair

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiao Ling-Xia

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the precision of forecasting extreme temperature time series, a refined rank set pair analysis model with a refined rank transformation function is proposed to improve precision of its prediction. The measured values of the annual highest temperature of two China’s cities, Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang, in July are taken to examine the performance of a refined rank set pair model.

  15. Hazard-ranking of agricultural pesticides for chronic health effects in Yuma County, Arizona.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugeng, Anastasia J; Beamer, Paloma I; Lutz, Eric A; Rosales, Cecilia B

    2013-10-01

    With thousands of pesticides registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it not feasible to sample for all pesticides applied in agricultural communities. Hazard-ranking pesticides based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize community-specific pesticide hazards. This study applied hazard-ranking schemes for cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive/developmental toxicity in Yuma County, Arizona. An existing cancer hazard-ranking scheme was modified, and novel schemes for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity were developed to rank pesticide hazards. The hazard-ranking schemes accounted for pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential based on chemical properties of each pesticide. Pesticides were ranked as hazards with respect to each health effect, as well as overall chronic health effects. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides for overall chronic health effects were maneb, metam-sodium, trifluralin, pronamide, and bifenthrin. The relative pesticide rankings were unique for each health effect. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides differed from those most heavily applied, as well as from those previously detected in Yuma homes over a decade ago. The most hazardous pesticides for cancer in Yuma County, Arizona were also different from a previous hazard-ranking applied in California. Hazard-ranking schemes that take into account pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize pesticides of greatest health risk in agricultural communities. This study is the first to provide pesticide hazard-rankings for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential. These hazard-ranking schemes can be applied to other agricultural communities for prioritizing community-specific pesticide hazards to target decreasing health risk. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Hazard-Ranking of Agricultural Pesticides for Chronic Health Effects in Yuma County, Arizona

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugeng, Anastasia J.; Beamer, Paloma I.; Lutz, Eric A.; Rosales, Cecilia B.

    2013-01-01

    With thousands of pesticides registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it not feasible to sample for all pesticides applied in agricultural communities. Hazard-ranking pesticides based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize community-specific pesticide hazards. This study applied hazard-ranking schemes for cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive/developmental toxicity in Yuma County, Arizona. An existing cancer hazard-ranking scheme was modified, and novel schemes for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity were developed to rank pesticide hazards. The hazard-ranking schemes accounted for pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential based on chemical properties of each pesticide. Pesticides were ranked as hazards with respect to each health effect, as well as overall chronic health effects. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides for overall chronic health effects were maneb, metam sodium, trifluralin, pronamide, and bifenthrin. The relative pesticide rankings were unique for each health effect. The highest hazard-ranked pesticides differed from those most heavily applied, as well as from those previously detected in Yuma homes over a decade ago. The most hazardous pesticides for cancer in Yuma County, Arizona were also different from a previous hazard-ranking applied in California. Hazard-ranking schemes that take into account pesticide use, toxicity, and exposure potential can help prioritize pesticides of greatest health risk in agricultural communities. This study is the first to provide pesticide hazard-rankings for endocrine disruption and reproductive/developmental toxicity based on use, toxicity, and exposure potential. These hazard-ranking schemes can be applied to other agricultural communities for prioritizing community-specific pesticide hazards to target decreasing health risk. PMID:23783270

  17. Use of recommended score chart and ranking of clinical features in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The ranking of symptoms by all respondents were persistent non remitting cough (1), weight loss or failure to thrive (2&3), history of contact with adult with smear positive tuberculosis (4), radiographic abnormalities (5). Weight loss and failure to thrive was scored highest in ranks (2) and (3). There was a difference in the ...

  18. Toward optimal feature selection using ranking methods and classification algorithms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novaković Jasmina

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We presented a comparison between several feature ranking methods used on two real datasets. We considered six ranking methods that can be divided into two broad categories: statistical and entropy-based. Four supervised learning algorithms are adopted to build models, namely, IB1, Naive Bayes, C4.5 decision tree and the RBF network. We showed that the selection of ranking methods could be important for classification accuracy. In our experiments, ranking methods with different supervised learning algorithms give quite different results for balanced accuracy. Our cases confirm that, in order to be sure that a subset of features giving the highest accuracy has been selected, the use of many different indices is recommended.

  19. A Relative Ranking Approach for Nano-Enabled Applications to Improve Risk-Based Decision Making: A Case Study of Army Materiel

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-24

    accidental expo- sures to carbon nanotubes and copper flakes incorporated into energy and obscurant materiel by Army workers rank highest relative to...that inhalation from accidental exposures to carbon nanotubes and copper flakes incorporated into energy and obscurant materiel by Army workers rank... copper (Cu), and titanium (Ti) flakes used in smokes and obscurants ranked the highest on the risk scale for sce- narios primarily involving accidental

  20. 1991 Acceptance priority ranking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-12-01

    The Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High- Level Radioactive Waste (10 CFR Part 961) that the Department of Energy (DOE) has executed with the owners and generators of civilian spent nuclear fuel requires annual publication of the Acceptance Priority Ranking (APR). The 1991 APR details the order in which DOE will allocate Federal waste acceptance capacity. As required by the Standard Contract, the ranking is based on the age of permanently discharged spent nuclear fuel (SNF), with the owners of the oldest SNF, on an industry-wide basis, given the highest priority. the 1991 APR will be the basis for the annual allocation of waste acceptance capacity to the Purchasers in the 1991 Annual Capacity Report (ACR), to be issued later this year. This document is based on SNF discharges as of December 31, 1990, and reflects Purchaser comments and corrections, as appropriate, to the draft APR issued on May 15, 1991

  1. The fifty highest cited papers in anterior cruciate ligament injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vielgut, Ines; Dauwe, Jan; Leithner, Andreas; Holzer, Lukas A

    2017-07-01

    The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most common injured knee ligaments and at the same time, one of the most frequent injuries seen in the sport orthopaedic practice. Due to the clinical relevance of ACL injuries, numerous papers focussing on this topic including biomechanical-, basic science-, clinical- or animal studies, were published. The purpose of this study was to determine the most frequently cited scientific articles which address this subject, establish a ranking of the 50 highest cited papers and analyse them according to their characteristics. The 50 highest cited articles related to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury were searched in Thomson ISI Web of Science® by the use of defined search terms. All types of scientific papers with reference to our topic were ranked according to the absolute number of citations and analyzed for the following characteristics: journal title, year of publication, number of citations, citation density, geographic origin, article type and level of evidence. The 50 highest cited articles had up to 1624 citations. The top ten papers on this topic were cited 600 times at least. Most papers were published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. The publication years spanned from 1941 to 2007, with the 1990s and 2000s accounting for half of the articles (n = 25). Seven countries contributed to the top 50 list, with the USA having by far the most contribution (n = 40). The majority of articles could be attributed to the category "Clinical Science & Outcome". Most of them represent a high level of evidence. Scientific articles in the field of ACL injury are highly cited. The majority of these articles are clinical studies that have a high level of evidence. Although most of the articles were published between 1990 and 2007, the highest cited articles in absolute and relative numbers were published in the early 1980s. These articles contain well established scoring- or classification systems. The

  2. Seventh Grade Students' Conceptions of Global Warming and Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepardson, Daniel P.; Niyogi, Dev; Choi, Soyoung; Charusombat, Umarporn

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate seventh grade students' conceptions of global warming and climate change. The study was descriptive in nature and involved the collection of qualitative data from 91 seventh grade students from three different schools in the Midwest, USA. An open response and draw and explain assessment instrument was…

  3. Making Information Visual: Seventh Grade Art Information and Visual Literacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoemaker, Joel; Schau, Elizabeth; Ayers, Rachael

    2008-01-01

    Seventh grade students entering South East Junior High in Iowa City come from eight elementary feeder schools, as well as from schools around the world. Their information literacy skills and knowledge of reference sources vary, but since all seventh graders and new eighth graders are required to take one trimester of Visual Studies, all entering…

  4. Highest cited papers published in Neurology India: An analysis for the years 1993-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, Paritosh; Subeikshanan, V; Madhugiri, Venkatesh S

    2016-01-01

    The highest cited papers published in a journal provide a snapshot of the clinical practice and research in that specialty and/or region. The aim of this study was to determine the highest cited papers published in Neurology India and analyze their attributes. This study was a citation analysis of all papers published in Neurology India since online archiving commenced in 1993. All papers published in Neurology India between the years 1993-2014 were listed. The number of times each paper had been cited up till the time of performing this study was determined by performing a Google Scholar search. Published papers were then ranked on the basis of total times cited since publication and the annual citation rate. Statistical Techniques: Simple counts and percentages were used to report most results. The mean citations received by papers in various categories were compared using the Student's t-test or a one-way analysis of variance, as appropriate. All analyses were carried out on SAS University Edition (SAS/STAT®, SAS Institute Inc, NC, USA) and graphs were generated on MS Excel 2016. The top papers on the total citations and annual citation rate rank lists pertained to basic neuroscience research. The highest cited paper overall had received 139 citations. About a quarter of the papers published had never been cited at all. The major themes represented were vascular diseases and infections. The highest cited papers reflect the diseases that are of major concern in India. Certain domains such as trauma, allied neurosciences, and basic neuroscience research were underrepresented.

  5. Face the hierarchy: ERP and oscillatory brain responses in social rank processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breton, Audrey; Jerbi, Karim; Henaff, Marie-Anne; Cheylus, Anne; Baudouin, Jean-Yves; Schmitz, Christina; Krolak-Salmon, Pierre; Van der Henst, Jean-Baptiste

    2014-01-01

    Recognition of social hierarchy is a key feature that helps us navigate through our complex social environment. Neuroimaging studies have identified brain structures involved in the processing of hierarchical stimuli but the precise temporal dynamics of brain activity associated with such processing remains largely unknown. Here, we used electroencephalography to examine the effect of social hierarchy on neural responses elicited by faces. In contrast to previous studies, the key manipulation was that a hierarchical context was constructed, not by varying facial expressions, but by presenting neutral-expression faces in a game setting. Once the performance-based hierarchy was established, participants were presented with high-rank, middle-rank and low-rank player faces and had to evaluate the rank of each face with respect to their own position. Both event-related potentials and task-related oscillatory activity were investigated. Three main findings emerge from the study. First, the experimental manipulation had no effect on the early N170 component, which may suggest that hierarchy did not modulate the structural encoding of neutral-expression faces. Second, hierarchy significantly modulated the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) within a 400-700 ms time-window, with more a prominent LPP occurring when the participants processed the face of the highest-rank player. Third, high-rank faces were associated with the highest reduction of alpha power. Taken together these findings provide novel electrophysiological evidence for enhanced allocation of attentional resource in the presence of high-rank faces. At a broader level, this study brings new insights into the neural processing underlying social categorization.

  6. Getting to the top: an analysis of 25 years of career rankings trajectories for professional women's tennis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovalchik, Stephanie A; Bane, Michael K; Reid, Machar

    2017-10-01

    Official rankings are the most common measure of success in professional women's tennis. Despite their importance for earning potential and tournament seeding, little is known about ranking trajectories of female players and their influence on career success. Our objective was to conduct a comprehensive study of the career progression of elite female tennis talent. The study examined the ranking trajectories of the top 250 female professionals between 1990 and 2015. Using regression modelling of yearly peak rankings, we found a strong association between the shape of the ranking trajectory and the highest career ranking earned. Players with the highest career peak ranking were the youngest when first ranked. For example, top 10 players were first ranked at age 15.5 years (99% CI = 14.8-15.9), 1.2 years (99% CI = 0.8-1.5) earlier than top 51-100 players. Top 10 players were also ranked in the top 100 longer than other players, holding a top 100 ranking until a mean age of 29.0 years (99% CI = 27.8-30.3) compared with age 24.4 years (99% CI = 23.7-25.2) for top 51-100 players. Ranking trajectories were more distinct with respect to player age than years from first ranking. The present study's findings will be instructive for players, coaches, and administrators in setting goals and assessing athlete development in women's tennis.

  7. Microtensile dentin bond strength of fifth with five seventh-generation dentin bonding agents after thermocycling: An in vitro study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruhvi Poptani

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The objective of this in vitro study was to compare the microtensile dentin bond strength (μTBS of five seventh-generation dentin bonding agents (DBA with fifth-generation DBA before and after thermocycling. Materials and Methods: Ten extracted teeth were assigned to fifth generation control group (optibond solo and each of the five experimental groups namely, Group I (G-Bond ,Group II (S 3 Clearfil, Group III (One Coat 7.0, Group IV (Xeno V, and Group V (Optibond all in one. The crown portions of the teeth were horizontally sectioned below the central groove to expose the dentin. The adhesive resins from all groups were bonded to the teeth with their respective composites. Specimens of sizes 1 × 1 × 6 mm 3 were obtained. Fifty specimens that bonded to dentin from each group were selected. Twenty-five of the specimens were tested for debonding without thermocycling and the remaining were subjected to thermocycling followed by μTBS testing. The data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Dunnett′s-test for comparison with the reference group(Vth Generation. Results: There was no significant difference (P > 0.05 between the fifth- and seventh-generation adhesives before and after thermocycling. The results of our study showed significantly higher value (P < 0.05 of μTBS of seventh-generation Group II (Clearfil S 3 compared to the fifth-generation before and after thermocycling. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the Clearfil S 3 bond had the highest μTBS values. In addition, of the five tested seventh-generation adhesive resins were comparable to the fifth-generation DBA.

  8. European and US publications in the 50 highest ranking pathology journals from 2000 to 2006.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritzsche, F R; Oelrich, B; Dietel, M; Jung, K; Kristiansen, G

    2008-04-01

    To analyse the contributions of the 15 primary member states of the European Union and selected non-European countries to pathological research between 2000 and 2006. Pathological journals were screened using ISI Web of Knowledge database. The number of publications and related impact factors were determined for each country. Relevant socioeconomic indicators were related to the scientific output. Subsequently, results were compared to publications in 10 of the leading biomedical journals. The research output remained generally stable. In Europe, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain ranked top concerning contributions to publications and impact factors in the pathological and leading general biomedical journals. With regard to socioeconomic data, smaller, mainly northern European countries showed a relatively higher efficiency. Of the lager countries, the UK is the most efficient in that respect. The rising economic powers of China and India were consistently in the rear. Results mirror the leading role of the USA in pathology research but also show the relevance of European scientists. The scientometric approach in this study provides a new fundamental and comparative overview of pathology research in the European Union and the USA which could help to benchmark scientific output among countries.

  9. Rank Dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gershenson, Carlos

    Studies of rank distributions have been popular for decades, especially since the work of Zipf. For example, if we rank words of a given language by use frequency (most used word in English is 'the', rank 1; second most common word is 'of', rank 2), the distribution can be approximated roughly with a power law. The same applies for cities (most populated city in a country ranks first), earthquakes, metabolism, the Internet, and dozens of other phenomena. We recently proposed ``rank diversity'' to measure how ranks change in time, using the Google Books Ngram dataset. Studying six languages between 1800 and 2009, we found that the rank diversity curves of languages are universal, adjusted with a sigmoid on log-normal scale. We are studying several other datasets (sports, economies, social systems, urban systems, earthquakes, artificial life). Rank diversity seems to be universal, independently of the shape of the rank distribution. I will present our work in progress towards a general description of the features of rank change in time, along with simple models which reproduce it

  10. Refining dermatology journal impact factors using PageRank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dellavalle, Robert P; Schilling, Lisa M; Rodriguez, Marko A; Van de Sompel, Herbert; Bollen, Johan

    2007-07-01

    Thomson Institute for Scientific Information's journal impact factor, the most common measure of journal status, is based on crude citation counts that do not account for the quality of the journals where the citations originate. This study examines how accounting for citation origin affects the impact factor ranking of dermatology journals. The 2003 impact factors of dermatology journals were adjusted by a weighted PageRank algorithm that assigned greater weight to citations originating in more frequently cited journals. Adjusting for citation origin moved the rank of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology higher than that of the Archives of Dermatology (third to second) but did not affect the ranking of the highest impact dermatology journal, the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The dermatology journals most positively affected by adjusting for citation origin were Contact Dermatitis (moving from 22nd to 7th in rankings) and Burns (21st to 10th). Dermatology journals most negatively affected were Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery (5th to 14th), the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery (19th to 27th), and the Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings (26th to 34th). Current measures of dermatology journal status do not incorporate survey data from dermatologists regarding which journals dermatologists esteem most. Adjusting for citation origin provides a more refined measure of journal status and changes relative dermatology journal rankings.

  11. PageRank tracker: from ranking to tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Chen; Fu, Keren; Loza, Artur; Wu, Qiang; Liu, Jia; Yang, Jie

    2014-06-01

    Video object tracking is widely used in many real-world applications, and it has been extensively studied for over two decades. However, tracking robustness is still an issue in most existing methods, due to the difficulties with adaptation to environmental or target changes. In order to improve adaptability, this paper formulates the tracking process as a ranking problem, and the PageRank algorithm, which is a well-known webpage ranking algorithm used by Google, is applied. Labeled and unlabeled samples in tracking application are analogous to query webpages and the webpages to be ranked, respectively. Therefore, determining the target is equivalent to finding the unlabeled sample that is the most associated with existing labeled set. We modify the conventional PageRank algorithm in three aspects for tracking application, including graph construction, PageRank vector acquisition and target filtering. Our simulations with the use of various challenging public-domain video sequences reveal that the proposed PageRank tracker outperforms mean-shift tracker, co-tracker, semiboosting and beyond semiboosting trackers in terms of accuracy, robustness and stability.

  12. A Hybrid Model Ranking Search Result for Research Paper Searching on Social Bookmarking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    pijitra jomsri

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Social bookmarking and publication sharing systems are essential tools for web resource discovery. The performance and capabilities of search results from research paper bookmarking system are vital. Many researchers use social bookmarking for searching papers related to their topics of interest. This paper proposes a combination of similarity based indexing “tag title and abstract” and static ranking to improve search results. In this particular study, the year of the published paper and type of research paper publication are combined with similarity ranking called (HybridRank. Different weighting scores are employed. The retrieval performance of these weighted combination rankings are evaluated using mean values of NDCG. The results suggest that HybridRank and similarity rank with weight 75:25 has the highest NDCG scores. From the preliminary result of experiment, the combination ranking technique provide more relevant research paper search results. Furthermore the chosen heuristic ranking can improve the efficiency of research paper searching on social bookmarking websites.

  13. iPad Use in Seventh Grade Math: Parent and Student Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corbett, Robin

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative research study was to compare student and parental perceptions of mobile technology use, specifically iPads, in seventh grade math classrooms and at home. How students and parents perceive the use of iPads within the seventh grade math classroom and how students and parents perceive the influence of iPad use at home…

  14. Creating an Opera with Seventh Graders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hower, Eileen

    1999-01-01

    Discusses the collaboration between an art and a music teacher whose seventh grade students wrote an opera based on the children's story "The Egyptian Cinderella." Addresses familiarizing students with composing music, student roles, and writing the compositions. Provides helpful hints and considers the benefits of this project. (CMK)

  15. Construction Industry Related Mathematics: Seventh Grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mundell, Scott

    The field tested construction industry-related mathematics unit is intended to familiarize seventh grade students with various facets of the construction industry, including the various occupations available and the mathematical abilities and other skills and training necessary to pursue an occupation in the industry. The final set of activities…

  16. Feature ranking and rank aggregation for automatic sleep stage classification: a comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najdi, Shirin; Gharbali, Ali Abdollahi; Fonseca, José Manuel

    2017-08-18

    Nowadays, sleep quality is one of the most important measures of healthy life, especially considering the huge number of sleep-related disorders. Identifying sleep stages using polysomnographic (PSG) signals is the traditional way of assessing sleep quality. However, the manual process of sleep stage classification is time-consuming, subjective and costly. Therefore, in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the sleep stage classification, researchers have been trying to develop automatic classification algorithms. Automatic sleep stage classification mainly consists of three steps: pre-processing, feature extraction and classification. Since classification accuracy is deeply affected by the extracted features, a poor feature vector will adversely affect the classifier and eventually lead to low classification accuracy. Therefore, special attention should be given to the feature extraction and selection process. In this paper the performance of seven feature selection methods, as well as two feature rank aggregation methods, were compared. Pz-Oz EEG, horizontal EOG and submental chin EMG recordings of 22 healthy males and females were used. A comprehensive feature set including 49 features was extracted from these recordings. The extracted features are among the most common and effective features used in sleep stage classification from temporal, spectral, entropy-based and nonlinear categories. The feature selection methods were evaluated and compared using three criteria: classification accuracy, stability, and similarity. Simulation results show that MRMR-MID achieves the highest classification performance while Fisher method provides the most stable ranking. In our simulations, the performance of the aggregation methods was in the average level, although they are known to generate more stable results and better accuracy. The Borda and RRA rank aggregation methods could not outperform significantly the conventional feature ranking methods. Among

  17. Hybrid layer difference between sixth and seventh generation bonding agent

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grace Syavira Suryabrata

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Since etching is completed at the same stage as priming and bonding, when applying the sixth and seventh generation bonding, the exposed smear layers are constantly surrounded by primer and bonding and cannot collapse. The smear layer and the depth of penetration of resin bonding in dentinal tubules are completely integrated into hybrid layer. The purpose of this laboratory research was to study the penetration depth of two self etching adhesive. Fourteen samples of human extracted teeth were divided into two groups. Each groups consisted of seven samples, each of them was treated with sixth generation bonding agent and the other was treated with seventh generation bonding agent. The results disclosed that the penetration into dentinal tubules of seventh generation bonding agent was deeper than sixth generation bonding agent. Conclusion: bond strength will improve due to the increasing of penetration depth of resin bonding in dentinal tubules.

  18. Multimodal biometric system using rank-level fusion approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monwar, Md Maruf; Gavrilova, Marina L

    2009-08-01

    In many real-world applications, unimodal biometric systems often face significant limitations due to sensitivity to noise, intraclass variability, data quality, nonuniversality, and other factors. Attempting to improve the performance of individual matchers in such situations may not prove to be highly effective. Multibiometric systems seek to alleviate some of these problems by providing multiple pieces of evidence of the same identity. These systems help achieve an increase in performance that may not be possible using a single-biometric indicator. This paper presents an effective fusion scheme that combines information presented by multiple domain experts based on the rank-level fusion integration method. The developed multimodal biometric system possesses a number of unique qualities, starting from utilizing principal component analysis and Fisher's linear discriminant methods for individual matchers (face, ear, and signature) identity authentication and utilizing the novel rank-level fusion method in order to consolidate the results obtained from different biometric matchers. The ranks of individual matchers are combined using the highest rank, Borda count, and logistic regression approaches. The results indicate that fusion of individual modalities can improve the overall performance of the biometric system, even in the presence of low quality data. Insights on multibiometric design using rank-level fusion and its performance on a variety of biometric databases are discussed in the concluding section.

  19. [Lack of interest in general practice during the National Ranking Examination in 2005].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanson, Yves

    2006-03-01

    The second national ranking test took place in 2005 in the same conditions as the year before. Analysis of the results permits us to assess whether the objectives of this reform have been met so far. Data crossing of the results provided by the national testing center allowed us to rank: 1) the appeal of specializations for each geographic subdivision, 2) the candidates by medical school, and 3) the appeal of each subdivision by candidate rank. 66% of the students were classified high enough to be able to choose any specialization. Trends observed from the first examination, in 2004, were confirmed, with the clear desirability of medical specializations and a certain lack of interest in occupational medicine and public health. All the surgery posts were filled, even though the number of posts had increased enormously since the first examination. After adjustment for the number of posts available, the specializations in decreasing order of popularity were: medical, surgical, pediatrics, anesthesiology, gynecology-obstetrics, general medicine, psychiatry, and biology. Approximately 1000 posts in general medicine were not filled. The medical schools whose students ranked highest were Paris Pitié, Paris V, Paris West, Lyon North, Grenoble, and Aix-Marseille. Some medical schools did less well than previously: Marseille very slightly and Angers substantially. Strasbourg, Nancy Amiens and Bobigny were at the bottom of the list. The cities most desired for internships were Paris, Toulouse, Lyon, and Aix-Marseille, while Brest, Nancy, Limoges and the West Indies were ranked lowest, although each was chosen by highly ranked candidate. Two thirds of the students were ranked high enough to allow them a free choice of specializations. All the specializations except public health and occupational medicine had very highly ranked students. Medical specializations are the most desired, but surgery remains highly demanded, despite a substantial increase in the number of posts. All

  20. PageRank and rank-reversal dependence on the damping factor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, S.-W.; Christensen, C.; Grassberger, P.; Paczuski, M.

    2012-12-01

    PageRank (PR) is an algorithm originally developed by Google to evaluate the importance of web pages. Considering how deeply rooted Google's PR algorithm is to gathering relevant information or to the success of modern businesses, the question of rank stability and choice of the damping factor (a parameter in the algorithm) is clearly important. We investigate PR as a function of the damping factor d on a network obtained from a domain of the World Wide Web, finding that rank reversal happens frequently over a broad range of PR (and of d). We use three different correlation measures, Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall, to study rank reversal as d changes, and we show that the correlation of PR vectors drops rapidly as d changes from its frequently cited value, d0=0.85. Rank reversal is also observed by measuring the Spearman and Kendall rank correlation, which evaluate relative ranks rather than absolute PR. Rank reversal happens not only in directed networks containing rank sinks but also in a single strongly connected component, which by definition does not contain any sinks. We relate rank reversals to rank pockets and bottlenecks in the directed network structure. For the network studied, the relative rank is more stable by our measures around d=0.65 than at d=d0.

  1. PageRank and rank-reversal dependence on the damping factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, S-W; Christensen, C; Grassberger, P; Paczuski, M

    2012-12-01

    PageRank (PR) is an algorithm originally developed by Google to evaluate the importance of web pages. Considering how deeply rooted Google's PR algorithm is to gathering relevant information or to the success of modern businesses, the question of rank stability and choice of the damping factor (a parameter in the algorithm) is clearly important. We investigate PR as a function of the damping factor d on a network obtained from a domain of the World Wide Web, finding that rank reversal happens frequently over a broad range of PR (and of d). We use three different correlation measures, Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall, to study rank reversal as d changes, and we show that the correlation of PR vectors drops rapidly as d changes from its frequently cited value, d_{0}=0.85. Rank reversal is also observed by measuring the Spearman and Kendall rank correlation, which evaluate relative ranks rather than absolute PR. Rank reversal happens not only in directed networks containing rank sinks but also in a single strongly connected component, which by definition does not contain any sinks. We relate rank reversals to rank pockets and bottlenecks in the directed network structure. For the network studied, the relative rank is more stable by our measures around d=0.65 than at d=d_{0}.

  2. Cancer incidence among Danish Seventh-day Adventists and Baptists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Hvidt, Niels Christian; Hansen, Helle Ploug; Hoff, Andreas; Ross, Lone; Johansen, Christoffer

    2012-12-01

    American Seventh-day Adventists have been reported to have lower cancer mortality and incidence than the general population. Adventists do not consume tobacco, alcohol or pork, and many adhere to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian lifestyle. Baptists discourage excessive use of alcohol and tobacco. In this study, we investigated whether the incidence of cancer in a large cohort of Danish Adventists and Baptists was different compared to the general Danish population. We followed 11,580 Danish Adventists and Baptists in the nationwide Danish Cancer Registry, which contains information on cases of cancer for 1943-2008. Cancer incidence in the cohort was compared with that in the general Danish population as standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and within-cohort comparisons were made with a Cox model. Lower cancer incidences were observed for both Seventh-day Adventist men (SIR, 66; 95% CI, 60-72) and women (85; 80-91). The same result was observed for Baptists although not as low. The differences were most pronounced for smoking-related cancers such as those of the buccal cavity and lung (SIR, 20; 13-30 for Seventh-day Adventist men and 33; 22-49 for Seventh-day Adventist women). The incidences of other lifestyle-related cancers, such as of stomach, rectum, liver and cervix, were also decreased. In general, the SIRs were lower for men than for women, and Adventists had lower hazard rates than Baptists. Our findings point to the benefits of compliance with public health recommendations and indicate that lifestyle changes in the population might change the cancer risks of individuals. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Dietary risk ranking for residual antibiotics in cultured aquatic products around Tai Lake, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Chao; Li, Le; Zhang, Cong; Qiu, Liping; Fan, Limin; Wu, Wei; Meng, Shunlong; Hu, Gengdong; Chen, Jiazhang; Liu, Ying; Mao, Aimin

    2017-10-01

    Antibiotics are widely used in aquaculture and therefore may be present as a dietary risk in cultured aquatic products. Using the Tai Lake Basin as a study area, we assessed the presence of 15 antibiotics in 5 widely cultured aquatic species using a newly developed dietary risk ranking approach. By assigning scores to each factor involved in the ranking matrices, the scores of dietary risks per antibiotic and per aquatic species were calculated. The results indicated that fluoroquinolone antibiotics posed the highest dietary risk in all aquatic species. Then, the total scores per aquatic species were summed by all 15 antibiotic scores of antibiotics, it was found that Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) had the highest dietary risks. Finally, the most concerned antibiotic category and aquatic species were selected. This study highlighted the importance of dietary risk ranking in the production and consumption of cultured aquatic products around Tai Lake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Ranking structures and rank-rank correlations of countries: The FIFA and UEFA cases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ausloos, Marcel; Cloots, Rudi; Gadomski, Adam; Vitanov, Nikolay K.

    2014-04-01

    Ranking of agents competing with each other in complex systems may lead to paradoxes according to the pre-chosen different measures. A discussion is presented on such rank-rank, similar or not, correlations based on the case of European countries ranked by UEFA and FIFA from different soccer competitions. The first question to be answered is whether an empirical and simple law is obtained for such (self-) organizations of complex sociological systems with such different measuring schemes. It is found that the power law form is not the best description contrary to many modern expectations. The stretched exponential is much more adequate. Moreover, it is found that the measuring rules lead to some inner structures in both cases.

  5. Role of life-style and dietary habits in risk of cancer among seventh-day adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, R L

    1975-11-01

    The Seventh-Day Adventist population abstains from smoking and drinking; about 50% follow a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet; and most avoid the use of coffee, tea, hot condiments, and spices. Existing data on cancer mortality in Seventh-Day Adventists clearly document mortality rates that are 50 to 70% of general population rates for most cancer sites that are unrelated to smoking and drinking. Several approaches to determining whether this reduced risk is due to the unique Seventh-Day Adventist life-style or selective factors related to who choses to become and remain a Seventh-Day Adventist are described. A comparison of the mortality experience of Seventh-Day Adventist and non-Seventh-Day Adventist physicians shows equal cancer mortality, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the apparent reduced risk of cancer death in all Adventists may be due to selective factors. However, the results of a small case-control study of colon and breast cancer among Adventists show statistically significant relative risks for colon cancer of 2.8 for past use of meat. For current food use, the significant relative risks are 2.3 for beef, 2.7 for lamb, and 2.1 for a combined group og highly saturated fat foods. This strongly suggests that the lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet may protect against colon cancer. However, the evidence linking diet to breast cancer is less clear. Because of the marked variability in dietary habits within the Seventh-Day Adventist population, they will be a productive group for further study of diet and cancer.

  6. Assessing the Relation between Seventh-Grade Students' Engagement and Mathematical Problem Solving Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lein, Amy E.; Jitendra, Asha K.; Starosta, Kristin M.; Dupuis, Danielle N.; Hughes-Reid, Cheyenne L.; Star, Jon R.

    2016-01-01

    In this study, the authors assessed the contribution of engagement (on-task behavior) to the mathematics problem-solving performance of seventh-grade students after accounting for prior mathematics achievement. A subsample of seventh-grade students in four mathematics classrooms (one high-, two average-, and one low-achieving) from a larger…

  7. Assessing the Relation between Seventh-Grade Students' Engagement and Proportional Problem Solving Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lein, Amy E.; Jitendra, Asha K.; Starosta, Kristin M.; Dupuis, Danielle N.; Hughes-Reid, Cheyenne L.; Star, John R.

    2016-01-01

    In this study, the authors assessed the contribution of engagement (on-task behavior) to the mathematics problem-solving performance of seventh-grade students after accounting for prior mathematics achievement. A subsample of seventh-grade students in four mathematics classrooms (one high-, two average-, and one low-achieving) from a larger…

  8. Seventh annual report of RADMIL 1991/92

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    RADMIL began its programme of monitoring of radiation and radioactivity in Lancashire in 1985. This is RADMIL's seventh annual report and thirteenth report in a series of reports on the Lancashire environment. Two [1,2] are specific to the consequences of the Chernobyl accident on Lancashire, six annual reports [3,4,5,6,7,8] detail the results of programmed radiation and radioactivity monitoring in Lancashire, two reports are specific to radon in Lancashire homes [9,10]. One reports on external dose-rates in the intertidal areas of the rivers Lune, Ribble and Wyre [11] and one report describes monitoring of the Ribble up to November 1991 [12]. This seventh report follows the established presentation, except that RADMIL's sixth annual report (1990/91) described in one section the monitoring of the Rivers Ribble and Wyre. The corresponding section of the seventh annual report concentrates on the River Ribble only. Both rivers are affected by Sellafield effluents, but only the Ribble is affected to any significant extent by Springfields effluents. RADMIL monitoring of Wyre was increased during 1990/91 and in the light of the conclusions reached, the monitoring has been decreased in 1991/92. However, to gain more information about the River Ribble, that area of monitoring has increased in 1991/92 and is described in a section with the River Ribble only. Because of the increased concern about contamination of the river, the report also includes the period 31/3/92 (year end) to 31/8/92 (the time of report production). In this respect the report is current and presents RADMIL's up-to-date' description of River Ribble contamination. (Author)

  9. SibRank: Signed bipartite network analysis for neighbor-based collaborative ranking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shams, Bita; Haratizadeh, Saman

    2016-09-01

    Collaborative ranking is an emerging field of recommender systems that utilizes users' preference data rather than rating values. Unfortunately, neighbor-based collaborative ranking has gained little attention despite its more flexibility and justifiability. This paper proposes a novel framework, called SibRank that seeks to improve the state of the art neighbor-based collaborative ranking methods. SibRank represents users' preferences as a signed bipartite network, and finds similar users, through a novel personalized ranking algorithm in signed networks.

  10. Ranking nodes in growing networks: When PageRank fails.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariani, Manuel Sebastian; Medo, Matúš; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

    2015-11-10

    PageRank is arguably the most popular ranking algorithm which is being applied in real systems ranging from information to biological and infrastructure networks. Despite its outstanding popularity and broad use in different areas of science, the relation between the algorithm's efficacy and properties of the network on which it acts has not yet been fully understood. We study here PageRank's performance on a network model supported by real data, and show that realistic temporal effects make PageRank fail in individuating the most valuable nodes for a broad range of model parameters. Results on real data are in qualitative agreement with our model-based findings. This failure of PageRank reveals that the static approach to information filtering is inappropriate for a broad class of growing systems, and suggest that time-dependent algorithms that are based on the temporal linking patterns of these systems are needed to better rank the nodes.

  11. Reduced Rank Regression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Søren

    2008-01-01

    The reduced rank regression model is a multivariate regression model with a coefficient matrix with reduced rank. The reduced rank regression algorithm is an estimation procedure, which estimates the reduced rank regression model. It is related to canonical correlations and involves calculating...

  12. Modified Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT) for Uncertainty Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gol-Mohamad, Mohammad P.; Modarres, Mohammad; Mosleh, Ali

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes a methodology of characterizing important phenomena, which is also part of a broader research by the authors called 'Modified PIRT'. The methodology provides robust process of phenomena identification and ranking process for more precise quantification of uncertainty. It is a two-step process of identifying and ranking methodology based on thermal-hydraulics (TH) importance as well as uncertainty importance. Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) has been used for as a formal approach for TH identification and ranking. Formal uncertainty importance technique is used to estimate the degree of credibility of the TH model(s) used to represent the important phenomena. This part uses subjective justification by evaluating available information and data from experiments, and code predictions. The proposed methodology was demonstrated by developing a PIRT for large break loss of coolant accident LBLOCA for the LOFT integral facility with highest core power (test LB-1). (authors)

  13. RankProdIt: A web-interactive Rank Products analysis tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laing Emma

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The first objective of a DNA microarray experiment is typically to generate a list of genes or probes that are found to be differentially expressed or represented (in the case of comparative genomic hybridizations and/or copy number variation between two conditions or strains. Rank Products analysis comprises a robust algorithm for deriving such lists from microarray experiments that comprise small numbers of replicates, for example, less than the number required for the commonly used t-test. Currently, users wishing to apply Rank Products analysis to their own microarray data sets have been restricted to the use of command line-based software which can limit its usage within the biological community. Findings Here we have developed a web interface to existing Rank Products analysis tools allowing users to quickly process their data in an intuitive and step-wise manner to obtain the respective Rank Product or Rank Sum, probability of false prediction and p-values in a downloadable file. Conclusions The online interactive Rank Products analysis tool RankProdIt, for analysis of any data set containing measurements for multiple replicated conditions, is available at: http://strep-microarray.sbs.surrey.ac.uk/RankProducts

  14. Seventh-Grade Social Studies versus Social Meliorism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greiner, Jeff A.

    2016-01-01

    The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), in the state of North Carolina, has gone through considerable recent effort to revise, support, and assess their seventh-grade social studies curriculum in an effort to serve three goals: comply with the Common Core State Standards (Common Core), comply with the North Carolina Essential Standards…

  15. RankExplorer: Visualization of Ranking Changes in Large Time Series Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Conglei; Cui, Weiwei; Liu, Shixia; Xu, Panpan; Chen, Wei; Qu, Huamin

    2012-12-01

    For many applications involving time series data, people are often interested in the changes of item values over time as well as their ranking changes. For example, people search many words via search engines like Google and Bing every day. Analysts are interested in both the absolute searching number for each word as well as their relative rankings. Both sets of statistics may change over time. For very large time series data with thousands of items, how to visually present ranking changes is an interesting challenge. In this paper, we propose RankExplorer, a novel visualization method based on ThemeRiver to reveal the ranking changes. Our method consists of four major components: 1) a segmentation method which partitions a large set of time series curves into a manageable number of ranking categories; 2) an extended ThemeRiver view with embedded color bars and changing glyphs to show the evolution of aggregation values related to each ranking category over time as well as the content changes in each ranking category; 3) a trend curve to show the degree of ranking changes over time; 4) rich user interactions to support interactive exploration of ranking changes. We have applied our method to some real time series data and the case studies demonstrate that our method can reveal the underlying patterns related to ranking changes which might otherwise be obscured in traditional visualizations.

  16. The Increasing Trend in Global Ranking of Websites of Iranian Medical Universities during January 2012-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramezan Ghorbani, Nahid; Fakour, Yousef; Nojoumi, Seyed Ali

    2017-08-01

    Researchers and academic institutions need assessment and rating to measure their performance. The criteria are designed to evaluate quality and adequacy of research and welcome by most universities as an international process to increase monitoring academic achievements. The study aimed to evaluate the increasing trend in global ranking of Iranian medical universities websites emphasizing on comparative approach. This is a cross-sectional study involving websites of Iranian medical universities. Sampling was conducted by census selecting universities affiliated to the Ministry of Health in webometrics rating system. Web sites of Iranian medical universities were investigated based on the webometrics indicators, global ranking as well as the process of changing their rating. Universities of medical sciences were associated with improved ratings in seven periods from Jan 2012 until Jan 2015. The highest rank was in Jan 2014. Tehran University of Medical Sciences ranked the first in all periods. The highest ratings were about impact factor in universities of medical sciences reflecting the low level of this index in university websites. The least ranking was observed in type 1 universities. Despite the criticisms and weaknesses of these webometrics criteria, they are critical to this equation and should be checked for authenticity and suitability of goals. Therefore, localizing these criteria by the advantages model, ranking systems features, continuous development and medical universities evaluation based on these indicators provide new opportunities for the development of the country especially through online media.

  17. Cancer morbidity and mortality in USA Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grundmann, E

    1992-01-01

    Comparison of cancer morbidity and mortality rates between Mormons and Seventh-day-Adventists and the corresponding rates in the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States, reveals that mortality from malignant neoplasms in general is much lower in Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists than in the Federal Republic of Germany. The difference concerns in particular the tobacco-dependent tumors: compared to the rate of affected males in the Federal Republic of Germany, only some 25% of Mormon males are getting lung cancer. Similar patterns are found in laryngeal carcinoma. Tumors that are related to both alcohol and tobacco, such as carcinomas of tongue, pharynx and esophagus, are also significantly less frequent in Mormons. Malignant neoplasms of the female genital tract show distinct analogies: cervical carcinoma has a morbidity rate of only 26.7% of affected women in Germany. Accordingly, mortality rates of Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists show a significant lower level when compared with cancer data of lung, colon and rectum, and prostate from the best German cancer registry (Saarland). Some tumor rates are higher in Mormons, e.g. malignant melanoma, also all types of malignant lymphoma and myeloma. The life expectancy is generally elevated by 2-4 years in Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists. The association with the particular life style of both religious groups, especially the strict reduction of tobacco consumption, and factors of dietary and other habits is discussed.

  18. PageRank as a method to rank biomedical literature by importance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, Elliot J; Dixon, Louise C

    2015-01-01

    Optimal ranking of literature importance is vital in overcoming article overload. Existing ranking methods are typically based on raw citation counts, giving a sum of 'inbound' links with no consideration of citation importance. PageRank, an algorithm originally developed for ranking webpages at the search engine, Google, could potentially be adapted to bibliometrics to quantify the relative importance weightings of a citation network. This article seeks to validate such an approach on the freely available, PubMed Central open access subset (PMC-OAS) of biomedical literature. On-demand cloud computing infrastructure was used to extract a citation network from over 600,000 full-text PMC-OAS articles. PageRanks and citation counts were calculated for each node in this network. PageRank is highly correlated with citation count (R = 0.905, P PageRank can be trivially computed on commodity cluster hardware and is linearly correlated with citation count. Given its putative benefits in quantifying relative importance, we suggest it may enrich the citation network, thereby overcoming the existing inadequacy of citation counts alone. We thus suggest PageRank as a feasible supplement to, or replacement of, existing bibliometric ranking methods.

  19. The Experience Elicited by Hallucinogens Presents the Highest Similarity to Dreaming within a Large Database of Psychoactive Substance Reports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanz, Camila; Zamberlan, Federico; Erowid, Earth; Erowid, Fire; Tagliazucchi, Enzo

    2018-01-01

    Ever since the modern rediscovery of psychedelic substances by Western society, several authors have independently proposed that their effects bear a high resemblance to the dreams and dreamlike experiences occurring naturally during the sleep-wake cycle. Recent studies in humans have provided neurophysiological evidence supporting this hypothesis. However, a rigorous comparative analysis of the phenomenology (“what it feels like” to experience these states) is currently lacking. We investigated the semantic similarity between a large number of subjective reports of psychoactive substances and reports of high/low lucidity dreams, and found that the highest-ranking substance in terms of the similarity to high lucidity dreams was the serotonergic psychedelic lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), whereas the highest-ranking in terms of the similarity to dreams of low lucidity were plants of the Datura genus, rich in deliriant tropane alkaloids. Conversely, sedatives, stimulants, antipsychotics, and antidepressants comprised most of the lowest-ranking substances. An analysis of the most frequent words in the subjective reports of dreams and hallucinogens revealed that terms associated with perception (“see,” “visual,” “face,” “reality,” “color”), emotion (“fear”), setting (“outside,” “inside,” “street,” “front,” “behind”) and relatives (“mom,” “dad,” “brother,” “parent,” “family”) were the most prevalent across both experiences. In summary, we applied novel quantitative analyses to a large volume of empirical data to confirm the hypothesis that, among all psychoactive substances, hallucinogen drugs elicit experiences with the highest semantic similarity to those of dreams. Our results and the associated methodological developments open the way to study the comparative phenomenology of different altered states of consciousness and its relationship with non-invasive measurements of brain physiology. PMID

  20. The Experience Elicited by Hallucinogens Presents the Highest Similarity to Dreaming within a Large Database of Psychoactive Substance Reports

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camila Sanz

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Ever since the modern rediscovery of psychedelic substances by Western society, several authors have independently proposed that their effects bear a high resemblance to the dreams and dreamlike experiences occurring naturally during the sleep-wake cycle. Recent studies in humans have provided neurophysiological evidence supporting this hypothesis. However, a rigorous comparative analysis of the phenomenology (“what it feels like” to experience these states is currently lacking. We investigated the semantic similarity between a large number of subjective reports of psychoactive substances and reports of high/low lucidity dreams, and found that the highest-ranking substance in terms of the similarity to high lucidity dreams was the serotonergic psychedelic lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD, whereas the highest-ranking in terms of the similarity to dreams of low lucidity were plants of the Datura genus, rich in deliriant tropane alkaloids. Conversely, sedatives, stimulants, antipsychotics, and antidepressants comprised most of the lowest-ranking substances. An analysis of the most frequent words in the subjective reports of dreams and hallucinogens revealed that terms associated with perception (“see,” “visual,” “face,” “reality,” “color”, emotion (“fear”, setting (“outside,” “inside,” “street,” “front,” “behind” and relatives (“mom,” “dad,” “brother,” “parent,” “family” were the most prevalent across both experiences. In summary, we applied novel quantitative analyses to a large volume of empirical data to confirm the hypothesis that, among all psychoactive substances, hallucinogen drugs elicit experiences with the highest semantic similarity to those of dreams. Our results and the associated methodological developments open the way to study the comparative phenomenology of different altered states of consciousness and its relationship with non-invasive measurements of brain

  1. Effect of Adhesive Application on Sealant Success: A Clinical Study of Fifth and Seventh Generation Adhesive Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vaibhav Tandon

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the effect of fifth and seventh generation bonding agent on sealant success.Materials and Methods: Sixty-four school children aged six to nine years received sealants in four permanent molars in a split mouth design, such that each patient received sealant in the first permanent molar with fifth generation bonding agent in one arch and seventh generation bonding agent in the other arch; contra-lateral molars were sealed with sealant alone. The evaluation was carried out at baseline, three months, six months and 12 months, according to the criteria by Feigal et al, in 2000. Chi- square test was used to analyze data at P<0.05 level of significance.Results: Statistically significant differences were found for sealant retention between fifth generation and sealant group, and fifth generation and seventh generation groups; whereas, no significant difference was found for sealant retention between seventh generation and sealant group at three, six and 12 months.Conclusion: As separate etch and rinse steps are not required for seventh generation bonding agents, and almost similar results were obtained for both sealant and seventh generation groups, it can be concluded that application of sealant along with a seventh generation bonding agent may enhance sealant success and can be used for caries prevention in preventive programs.Key words:  Pit and Fissure Sealants; Dental Caries; Adhesives

  2. Health Risk Ranking of Lead Contaminated Sites in Bagega Community, Zamfara State, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alaba Olanreaju Clement

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The release of lead dust during the processing of lead-gold ore has become an environmental threat. Therefore the protection of miners’ health and their environment required remediation which can be achieved by ranking the risk posed by lead in order to prioritize the allocation of resources during remediation. Methods: Soil and water samples were collected at BRC, BRG, BVC, BPA and BFA; BWE, BBH and BPO using stratified random and grab sampling methods. Lead concentrations in the samples were determined using AAS while health risk index (HRI via ingestion was estimated using USEPA equations. The ranking of HRI was done using Detailed Quantitative Risk Assessment while the difference between the HRI and USEPA standard were determined using one sample t test. Results: The result showed that BRC/10, BRG/03, BVC/11, BPA/02 and BFA/08 were ranked highest in soil samples, while BWE/02, BBH/09 and BPO/04 were ranked highest in water samples as they posed elevated health risk effects to miners. One sample t test established that the BRC, BPA, BFA and BPO were significantly different from United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA standard. Conclusion: The study discovered that the users of both the lead contaminated soil and water were seriously exposed to potential health risk. It therefore suggested that decision makers should give priority in allocating resources to those sites with elevated lead concentrations during the remediation.

  3. Mortality in Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventists 1962-1986.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fønnebø, V

    1992-02-01

    The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was studied in Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventists, a religious group practising a life-style regarded as protective against cancer and cardiovascular disease. Persons converting before the age of 19 had a SMR of 69 (men) and 59 (women). This was both significantly lower than the general population and those converting at age 35 or above. The site mainly responsible for the low SMR in young converts was cardiovascular disease (men, 44; women, 52). Overall SMR in Seventh-Day Adventists compared to the general population was 82 (95% CI: 77-88, p less than 0.001) in men and 95 (95% CI: 91-100, NS) in women. SMR for cancer was significantly lower only in men before the age of 75 (SMR: 78, 95% CI: 61-99, p less than 0.05). Adopting a healthful lifestyle early in life seems to be of decisive importance with regard to mortality, later lifestyle changes have a smaller effect on death risk.

  4. RANK and RANK ligand expression in primary human osteosarcoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Branstetter

    2015-09-01

    Our results demonstrate RANKL expression was observed in the tumor element in 68% of human OS using IHC. However, the staining intensity was relatively low and only 37% (29/79 of samples exhibited≥10% RANKL positive tumor cells. RANK expression was not observed in OS tumor cells. In contrast, RANK expression was clearly observed in other cells within OS samples, including the myeloid osteoclast precursor compartment, osteoclasts and in giant osteoclast cells. The intensity and frequency of RANKL and RANK staining in OS samples were substantially less than that observed in GCTB samples. The observation that RANKL is expressed in OS cells themselves suggests that these tumors may mediate an osteoclastic response, and anti-RANKL therapy may potentially be protective against bone pathologies in OS. However, the absence of RANK expression in primary human OS cells suggests that any autocrine RANKL/RANK signaling in human OS tumor cells is not operative, and anti-RANKL therapy would not directly affect the tumor.

  5. Ranking nodes in growing networks: When PageRank fails

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariani, Manuel Sebastian; Medo, Matúš; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

    2015-11-01

    PageRank is arguably the most popular ranking algorithm which is being applied in real systems ranging from information to biological and infrastructure networks. Despite its outstanding popularity and broad use in different areas of science, the relation between the algorithm’s efficacy and properties of the network on which it acts has not yet been fully understood. We study here PageRank’s performance on a network model supported by real data, and show that realistic temporal effects make PageRank fail in individuating the most valuable nodes for a broad range of model parameters. Results on real data are in qualitative agreement with our model-based findings. This failure of PageRank reveals that the static approach to information filtering is inappropriate for a broad class of growing systems, and suggest that time-dependent algorithms that are based on the temporal linking patterns of these systems are needed to better rank the nodes.

  6. Citation analysis of mental health nursing journals: how should we rank thee?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunt, Glenn E; Happell, Brenda; Chan, Sally W-C; Cleary, Michelle

    2012-12-01

    The journal impact factor (JIF), and how best to rate the performance of a journal and the articles they contain, are areas of great debate. The aim of this paper was to assess various ranking methods of journal quality for mental health nursing journals, and to list the top 10 articles that have received the most number of citations to date. Seven mental health nursing journals were chosen for the analysis of citations they received in 2010, as well as their current impact factors from two sources, and other data for ranking purposes. There was very little difference in the top four mental health nursing journals and their overall rankings when combining various bibliometric indicators. That said, the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing is currently the highest ranked mental health nursing journal based on JIF, but publishes fewer articles per year compared to other journals. Overall, very few articles received 50 or more citations. This study shows that researchers need to consider more than one ranking method when deciding where to send or publish their research. © 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing © 2012 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  7. Cancer, coronary artery disease and smoking: a preliminary report on differences in incidence between Seventh-day Adventists and others.

    Science.gov (United States)

    WYNDER, E L; LEMON, F R

    1958-10-01

    A study was made of the incidence of certain types of disease among Seventh-day Adventists, a religious group of special interest because they refrain from smoking and drinking. Epidermoid cancer of the lung, previously shown to be related to smoking, was 10 times less common among Seventh-day Adventists than among the general population, even among those Seventh-day Adventists living in the Los Angeles area where all are exposed to smog. Similarly, cancers of the mouth, larynx, and esophagus, previously shown to be related not only to smoking but also to heavy drinking, were at least 10 times less common among Seventh-day Adventist men than among men of the general population. All other types of cancer, with the exception of cancer of the bladder and cervix, occurred among Seventh-day Adventists with the same frequency as in the general population. The latter occurred slightly less than in the general population. Myocardial infarction in Seventh-day Adventist males was less frequent and occurred at a later age than among males in the general population; while the age distribution of the disease among the Seventh-day Adventist females was similar to that of females in the general population.

  8. Reaching Agreement on Advisory Goals Using a Card Sorting and a Goal Ranking Approach: A Professional Development School Inquiry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galassi, John P.; Thornton, Beryl; Sheffield, Anne; Bryan, Michael; Oliver, Joyce

    1998-01-01

    Goal card sort and ranking task was given to middle school teachers and a sample of sixth- through eighth-grade students to generate data relevant to revising goals of an advisory program. Study categories included advocacy, community, skills, invigoration, academic and administrative. Community and advocacy goals received highest student ranking,…

  9. Summary record of the twenty-seventh meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, P.

    1990-01-01

    The topics presented and discussed at the twenty-seventh international meeting of the Nuclear Data Committee of the Nuclear Energy Agency are summarized. Relations with other committees and reports of data centers are analyzed. Problems concerning nuclear model codes are underlined. National evaluation efforts on data library and data file are reported. Reports from several laboratories and subcommittees are summarized

  10. RANK/RANK-Ligand/OPG: Ein neuer Therapieansatz in der Osteoporosebehandlung

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Preisinger E

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Die Erforschung der Kopplungsmechanismen zur Osteoklastogenese, Knochenresorption und Remodellierung eröffnete neue mögliche Therapieansätze in der Behandlung der Osteoporose. Eine Schlüsselrolle beim Knochenabbau spielt der RANK- ("receptor activator of nuclear factor (NF- κB"- Ligand (RANKL. Durch die Bindung von RANKL an den Rezeptor RANK wird die Knochenresorption eingeleitet. OPG (Osteoprotegerin sowie der für den klinischen Gebrauch entwickelte humane monoklonale Antikörper (IgG2 Denosumab blockieren die Bindung von RANK-Ligand an RANK und verhindern den Knochenabbau.

  11. Changing Use of Seventh Chords: A Replication of Mauch et al. (2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hubert Léveillé Gauvin

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Mauch, MacCallum, Levy, and Leroi (2015 carried out a large-scale study of changes in American popular music between 1960 and 2010. Using signal processing methods, they found evidence suggesting a decreasing use of the dominant seventh chord and increasing use of the minor-minor seventh chord. While signal analysis methods have improved substantially in recent years, the accuracy of signal-based analysis remains imperfect. Using a contrasting method and independent musical sample, this paper reports converging evidence replicating these findings.

  12. Abstracts of Presentations--Seventh Annual 4S Meeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    4S - Society for Social Studies of Science, 1982

    1982-01-01

    Presents abstracts of papers for the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Society for the Social Studies of Science. Topics include, among others, rhetoric of a scientific controversy; recombinant DNA; science and social justice; patent citation analysis; national need and peer-review process; and scientism, romanticism, and social realist images of…

  13. Ranking of Prokaryotic Genomes Based on Maximization of Sortedness of Gene Lengths.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolshoy, A; Salih, B; Cohen, I; Tatarinova, T

    How variations of gene lengths (some genes become longer than their predecessors, while other genes become shorter and the sizes of these factions are randomly different from organism to organism) depend on organismal evolution and adaptation is still an open question. We propose to rank the genomes according to lengths of their genes, and then find association between the genome rank and variousproperties, such as growth temperature, nucleotide composition, and pathogenicity. This approach reveals evolutionary driving factors. The main purpose of this study is to test effectiveness and robustness of several ranking methods. The selected method of evaluation is measuring of overall sortedness of the data. We have demonstrated that all considered methods give consistent results and Bubble Sort and Simulated Annealing achieve the highest sortedness. Also, Bubble Sort is considerably faster than the Simulated Annealing method.

  14. CANCER, CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND SMOKING—A Preliminary Report on Differences in Incidence Between Seventh-day Adventists and Others

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wynder, Ernst L.; Lemon, Frank R.

    1958-01-01

    A study was made of the incidence of certain types of disease among Seventh-day Adventists, a religious group of special interest because they refrain from smoking and drinking. Epidermoid cancer of the lung, previously shown to be related to smoking, was 10 times less common among Seventh-day Adventists than among the general population, even among those Seventh-day Adventists living in the Los Angeles area where all are exposed to smog. Similarly, cancers of the mouth, larynx, and esophagus, previously shown to be related not only to smoking but also to heavy drinking, were at least 10 times less common among Seventh-day Adventist men than among men of the general population. All other types of cancer, with the exception of cancer of the bladder and cervix, occurred among Seventh-day Adventists with the same frequency as in the general population. The latter occurred slightly less than in the general population. Myocardial infarction in Seventh-day Adventist males was less frequent and occurred at a later age than among males in the general population; while the age distribution of the disease among the Seventh-day Adventist females was similar to that of females in the general population. PMID:13585145

  15. Scheduling for Multiuser MIMO Downlink Channels with Ranking-Based Feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kountouris, Marios; Sälzer, Thomas; Gesbert, David

    2008-12-01

    We consider a multi-antenna broadcast channel with more single-antenna receivers than transmit antennas and partial channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT). We propose a novel type of CSIT representation for the purpose of user selection, coined as ranking-based feedback. Each user calculates and feeds back the rank, an integer between 1 and W + 1, of its instantaneous channel quality information (CQI) among a set of W past CQI measurements. Apart from reducing significantly the required feedback load, ranking-based feedback enables the transmitter to select users that are on the highest peak (quantile) with respect to their own channel distribution, independently of the distribution of other users. It can also be shown that this feedback metric can restore temporal fairness in heterogeneous networks, in which users' channels are not identically distributed and mobile terminals experience different average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The performance of a system that performs user selection using ranking-based CSIT in the context of random opportunistic beamforming is analyzed, and we provide design guidelines on the number of required past CSIT samples and the impact of finite W on average throughput. Simulation results show that feedback reduction of order of 40-50% can be achieved with negligible decrease in system throughput.

  16. Research of Subgraph Estimation Page Rank Algorithm for Web Page Rank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LI Lan-yin

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The traditional PageRank algorithm can not efficiently perform large data Webpage scheduling problem. This paper proposes an accelerated algorithm named topK-Rank,which is based on PageRank on the MapReduce platform. It can find top k nodes efficiently for a given graph without sacrificing accuracy. In order to identify top k nodes,topK-Rank algorithm prunes unnecessary nodes and edges in each iteration to dynamically construct subgraphs,and iteratively estimates lower/upper bounds of PageRank scores through subgraphs. Theoretical analysis shows that this method guarantees result exactness. Experiments show that topK-Rank algorithm can find k nodes much faster than the existing approaches.

  17. Evaluation of Probabilistic Reasoning Evidence from Seventh-Graders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdem, Emrullah; Gürbüz, Ramazan

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate probabilistic reasoning of seventh-grade students (N=167) studying at randomly selected three middle schools that served low and middle socioeconomic areas in a city of Turkey. "Probabilistic Reasoning Test (PRT)" was developed and used as a data collection tool. In analyzing the data,…

  18. Risk ranking of environmental contaminants in Xiaoqing River, a heavily polluted river along urbanizing Bohai Rim.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qifeng; Zhang, Yueqing; Lu, Yonglong; Wang, Pei; Suriyanarayanan, Sarvajayakesavalu; Meng, Jing; Zhou, Yunqiao; Liang, Ruoyu; Khan, Kifayatullah

    2018-08-01

    Xiaoqing River, located in the Laizhou Bay of Bohai Sea, is heavily polluted by various pollutants including heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), bisphenol A (BPA) and pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). The aim of this study is to identify the relative risks of such contaminants that currently affect the coastal ecosystem. The median and highest concentrations of PFAAs and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were 3.23 μg L -1 and 325.28 μg L -1 , and 0.173 μg L -1 and 276.24 μg L -1 , respectively, which were ranked higher when compared with global level concentrations. To assess the relative risk levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), PFOA, and other contaminants in the upstream and downstream of the Xiaoqing River and in its tributary, a risk ranking analysis was carried out. Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As) showed the highest risk values in the Xiaoqing River, while the relative risks of PFOA and PFOS differed across the various segments. The risk ranking of PFOA was the second highest in the tributary and the fourth highest in the downstream portion of the river, whereas the PFOS was found to be the lowest in all the segments. Heavy metals and PFOA are the main chemicals that should be controlled in the Xiaoqing River. The results of the present study provide a better understanding of the potential ecological risks of the contaminants in Xiaoqing River. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The magnificent seventh

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2010-01-01

    MoEDAL is the LHC’s newly approved seventh experiment. Unlike its general-purpose partners installed along the LHC ring, MoEDAL will search for very specific exotic objects such as the highly ionizing magnetic monopoles and massive, conventionally charged, supersymmetric particles. The experiment is relatively small, cheap and quick to install but its physics potential is huge and a true complement to the already wide exploration range of the LHC experiments.   MoEDAL collaborators install the first layers of plastic in the LHCb VELO cavern at LHC Point 8. In its final configuration, MoEDAL will consist of ten layers of plastic attached to the walls and ceiling of the cavern that houses the VELO detector of LHCb at Point 8 of the LHC ring. “When a heavily ionizing stable particle, such as a magnetic monopole or a massive stable super-symmetric particle, crosses the MoEDAL detectors, it produces damage in the plastic at the level of polymeric bounds in a small...

  20. The State of Washington's Children. [Seventh Annual Report].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marvinney, Sandy, Ed.

    This KIDS COUNT seventh annual report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Washington's children. The statistical portrait is based 24 key indicators of well-being: (1) teen birth rate; (2) teen pregnancy rate; (3) births to unmarried mothers; (4) divorces involving children; (5) family foster caseload; (6) average real wages; (7) per…

  1. Seventh international conference on time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dyer, R.B.; Martinez, M.A.D.; Shreve, A.; Woodruff, W.H. [comps.

    1997-04-01

    The International Conference on Time-Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy (TRVS) is widely recognized as the major international forum for the discussion of advances in this rapidly growing field. The 1995 conference was the seventh in a series that began at Lake Placid, New York, 1982. Santa Fe, New Mexico, was the site of the Seventh International Conference on Time-Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy, held from June 11 to 16, 1995. TRVS-7 was attended by 157 participants from 16 countries and 85 institutions, and research ranging across the full breadth of the field of time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy was presented. Advances in both experimental capabilities for time-resolved vibrational measurements and in theoretical descriptions of time-resolved vibrational methods continue to occur, and several sessions of the conference were devoted to discussion of these advances and the associated new directions in TRVS. Continuing the interdisciplinary tradition of the TRVS meetings, applications of time-resolved vibrational methods to problems in physics, biology, materials science, and chemistry comprised a large portion of the papers presented at the conference.

  2. Hilbert's seventh problem solutions and extensions

    CERN Document Server

    Tubbs, Robert

    2016-01-01

    This exposition is primarily a survey of the elementary yet subtle innovations of several mathematicians between 1929 and 1934 that led to partial and then complete solutions to Hilbert’s Seventh Problem (from the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris, 1900). This volume is suitable for both mathematics students, wishing to experience how different mathematical ideas can come together to establish results, and for research mathematicians interested in the fascinating progression of mathematical ideas that solved Hilbert’s problem and established a modern theory of transcendental numbers. .

  3. Seventh Scandinavian Conference on Artificial Intelligence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Henrik Hautop; Mayoh, Brian Henry; Perram, John

    2001-01-01

    The book covers the seventh Scandinavian Conference on Artificial Intelligence, held at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute for Production Technology at the University of Southern Denmark during the period 20-21 February, 2001. It continues the tradition established by SCAI of being one...... of the most important regional AI conferences in Europe, attracting high quality submissions from Scandinavia and the rest of the world, including the Baltic countries. The contents include robotics, sensor/motor intelligence, evolutionary robotics, behaviour-based systems, multi-agent systems, applications...

  4. VaRank: a simple and powerful tool for ranking genetic variants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Véronique Geoffroy

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background. Most genetic disorders are caused by single nucleotide variations (SNVs or small insertion/deletions (indels. High throughput sequencing has broadened the catalogue of human variation, including common polymorphisms, rare variations or disease causing mutations. However, identifying one variation among hundreds or thousands of others is still a complex task for biologists, geneticists and clinicians.Results. We have developed VaRank, a command-line tool for the ranking of genetic variants detected by high-throughput sequencing. VaRank scores and prioritizes variants annotated either by Alamut Batch or SnpEff. A barcode allows users to quickly view the presence/absence of variants (with homozygote/heterozygote status in analyzed samples. VaRank supports the commonly used VCF input format for variants analysis thus allowing it to be easily integrated into NGS bioinformatics analysis pipelines. VaRank has been successfully applied to disease-gene identification as well as to molecular diagnostics setup for several hundred patients.Conclusions. VaRank is implemented in Tcl/Tk, a scripting language which is platform-independent but has been tested only on Unix environment. The source code is available under the GNU GPL, and together with sample data and detailed documentation can be downloaded from http://www.lbgi.fr/VaRank/.

  5. Sparse structure regularized ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2014-04-17

    Learning ranking scores is critical for the multimedia database retrieval problem. In this paper, we propose a novel ranking score learning algorithm by exploring the sparse structure and using it to regularize ranking scores. To explore the sparse structure, we assume that each multimedia object could be represented as a sparse linear combination of all other objects, and combination coefficients are regarded as a similarity measure between objects and used to regularize their ranking scores. Moreover, we propose to learn the sparse combination coefficients and the ranking scores simultaneously. A unified objective function is constructed with regard to both the combination coefficients and the ranking scores, and is optimized by an iterative algorithm. Experiments on two multimedia database retrieval data sets demonstrate the significant improvements of the propose algorithm over state-of-the-art ranking score learning algorithms.

  6. Low-rank coal research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weber, G. F.; Laudal, D. L.

    1989-01-01

    This work is a compilation of reports on ongoing research at the University of North Dakota. Topics include: Control Technology and Coal Preparation Research (SO{sub x}/NO{sub x} control, waste management), Advanced Research and Technology Development (turbine combustion phenomena, combustion inorganic transformation, coal/char reactivity, liquefaction reactivity of low-rank coals, gasification ash and slag characterization, fine particulate emissions), Combustion Research (fluidized bed combustion, beneficiation of low-rank coals, combustion characterization of low-rank coal fuels, diesel utilization of low-rank coals), Liquefaction Research (low-rank coal direct liquefaction), and Gasification Research (hydrogen production from low-rank coals, advanced wastewater treatment, mild gasification, color and residual COD removal from Synfuel wastewaters, Great Plains Gasification Plant, gasifier optimization).

  7. Test Scores, Class Rank and College Performance: Lessons for Broadening Access and Promoting Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Sunny X; Tienda, Marta

    2012-04-01

    Using administrative data for five Texas universities that differ in selectivity, this study evaluates the relative influence of two key indicators for college success-high school class rank and standardized tests. Empirical results show that class rank is the superior predictor of college performance and that test score advantages do not insulate lower ranked students from academic underperformance. Using the UT-Austin campus as a test case, we conduct a simulation to evaluate the consequences of capping students admitted automatically using both achievement metrics. We find that using class rank to cap the number of students eligible for automatic admission would have roughly uniform impacts across high schools, but imposing a minimum test score threshold on all students would have highly unequal consequences by greatly reduce the admission eligibility of the highest performing students who attend poor high schools while not jeopardizing admissibility of students who attend affluent high schools. We discuss the implications of the Texas admissions experiment for higher education in Europe.

  8. Advances in food composition tables in Japan-Standard Tables Of Food Composition in Japan - 2015 - (Seventh Revised Edition).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Tomoko; Kawai, Ryoko

    2018-01-01

    The latest version of the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan-2015- comprises the main food composition table (Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan-2015-[Seventh revised Edition)) and three supplementary books. The supplementary books are Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan - 2015 - (Seventh Revised Edition) - Amino Acids -, Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan - 2015 - (Seventh Revised Edition) - Fatty Acids - and Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan - 2015 - (Seventh Revised Edition) - Available Carbohydrates, Polyols and Organic Acids-. We believe understanding these food composition tables can give greater insight into Japan's gastronomic culture and changes in eating habits. We expect them to play important roles as part of the East Asia food composition tables. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Cancer incidence among Danish Seventh-day Adventists and Baptists

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Hvidt, Niels Christian; Hansen, Helle Ploug

    2012-01-01

    American Seventh-day Adventists have been reported to have lower cancer mortality and incidence than the general population. Adventists do not consume tobacco, alcohol or pork, and many adhere to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian lifestyle. Baptists discourage excessive use of alcohol and tobacco. In this s...

  10. Ranking agility factors affecting hospitals in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Abdi Talarposht

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Agility is an effective response to the changing and unpredictable environment and using these changes as opportunities for organizational improvement. Objective: The aim of the present study was to rank the factors affecting agile supply chain of hospitals of Iran. Methods: This applied study was conducted by cross sectional-descriptive method at some point of 2015 for one year. The research population included managers, administrators, faculty members and experts were selected hospitals. A total of 260 people were selected as sample from the health centers. The construct validity of the questionnaire was approved by confirmatory factor analysis test and its reliability was approved by Cronbach's alpha (α=0.97. All data were analyzed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Chi-square and Friedman tests. Findings: The development of staff skills, the use of information technology, the integration of processes, appropriate planning, and customer satisfaction and product quality had a significant impact on the agility of public hospitals of Iran (P<0.001. New product introductions had earned the highest ranking and the development of staff skills earned the lowest ranking. Conclusion: The new product introduction, market responsiveness and sensitivity, reduce costs, and the integration of organizational processes, ratings better to have acquired agility hospitals in Iran. Therefore, planners and officials of hospitals have to, through the promotion quality and variety of services customer-oriented, providing a basis for investing in the hospital and etc to apply for agility supply chain public hospitals of Iran.

  11. Profitability as a business goal: the multicriteria approach to the ranking of the five largest Croatian banks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Višnja Vojvodić Rosenzweig

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The ranking of commercial banks is usually based on using a single criterion, the size of assets or income. A multicriteria approach allows a more complex analysis of their business efficiency. Objectives: This paper proposes the ranking of banks based on six financial criteria using a multicriteria approach implementing a goal programming model. The criteria are classified into three basic groups: profitability, credit risk and solvency. Methods/Approach: Business performance is evaluated using a score for each bank, calculated as the weighted sum of relative values of individual indicators. Results: In the process of solving the corresponding goal programming problem, the weights are calculated. It is assumed that the goal of each bank is the highest profitability. Because of the market competition among banks, the weights of indicators depend on the performance of each bank. This method is applied to the five biggest Croatian banks (ZABA, PBZ, ERSTE, RBA and HYPO. Conclusion: For the observed period (2010, the highest priority is given to profitability and then to credit risk. The ranking is achieved by using a multicriteria model.

  12. Dietary status of Seventh-day Adventists and nonvegetarians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shultz, T D; Leklem, J E

    1983-07-01

    The dietary intakes of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) vegetarians and nonvegetarians, as well as of non-SDA nonvegetarians, were generally adequate. However, even though iron and vitamin B6 intakes exceeded 100% and 90% of the RDAs for all men, 26% and 19% of the women were consuming less than 60% of the RDAs for iron and vitamin B6.

  13. How restudy decisions affect overall comprehension for seventh-grade students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiede, Keith W; Redford, Joshua S; Wiley, Jennifer; Griffin, Thomas D

    2017-12-01

    Self-regulated learning requires accurate monitoring and effective regulation of study. Little is known about how effectively younger readers regulate their study. We examined how decisions about which text to restudy affect overall comprehension for seventh-grade students. In addition to a Participant's Choice condition where students were allowed to pick texts for restudy on their own, we compared learning gains in two other conditions in which texts were selected for them. The Test-Based Restudy condition determined text selection using initial test performance - presenting the text with the lowest initial test performance for restudy, thereby circumventing potential problems associated with inaccurate monitoring and ineffective regulation. The Judgement-Based Restudy condition determined text selection using metacognitive judgements of comprehension - presenting the text with the lowest judgement of comprehension, thereby circumventing potential problems associated with ineffective regulation. Four hundred and eighty seventh-grade students participated. Students were randomly assigned to conditions in an experimental design. Gains in comprehension following restudy were larger for the Test-Based Restudy condition than for the Judgement-Based Restudy condition or the Participant's Choice condition. No differences in comprehension were seen between the Judgement-Based Restudy and Participant's Choice conditions. These results suggest seventh graders can systematically use their monitoring to make decisions about what to restudy. However, the results highlight how inaccurate monitoring is one reason why younger students fail to benefit from self-regulated study opportunities. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

  14. How to Rank Journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradshaw, Corey J A; Brook, Barry W

    2016-01-01

    There are now many methods available to assess the relative citation performance of peer-reviewed journals. Regardless of their individual faults and advantages, citation-based metrics are used by researchers to maximize the citation potential of their articles, and by employers to rank academic track records. The absolute value of any particular index is arguably meaningless unless compared to other journals, and different metrics result in divergent rankings. To provide a simple yet more objective way to rank journals within and among disciplines, we developed a κ-resampled composite journal rank incorporating five popular citation indices: Impact Factor, Immediacy Index, Source-Normalized Impact Per Paper, SCImago Journal Rank and Google 5-year h-index; this approach provides an index of relative rank uncertainty. We applied the approach to six sample sets of scientific journals from Ecology (n = 100 journals), Medicine (n = 100), Multidisciplinary (n = 50); Ecology + Multidisciplinary (n = 25), Obstetrics & Gynaecology (n = 25) and Marine Biology & Fisheries (n = 25). We then cross-compared the κ-resampled ranking for the Ecology + Multidisciplinary journal set to the results of a survey of 188 publishing ecologists who were asked to rank the same journals, and found a 0.68-0.84 Spearman's ρ correlation between the two rankings datasets. Our composite index approach therefore approximates relative journal reputation, at least for that discipline. Agglomerative and divisive clustering and multi-dimensional scaling techniques applied to the Ecology + Multidisciplinary journal set identified specific clusters of similarly ranked journals, with only Nature & Science separating out from the others. When comparing a selection of journals within or among disciplines, we recommend collecting multiple citation-based metrics for a sample of relevant and realistic journals to calculate the composite rankings and their relative uncertainty windows.

  15. Cancer incidence in Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventists 1961 to 1986. Is the cancer-life-style association overestimated?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fønnebø, V; Helseth, A

    1991-08-01

    Standardized incidence ratio for cancer in Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventists compared with the general population was not significantly different from unity (men 91, women 97). Persons converting late in life had a higher incidence than those converting at an earlier age. Respiratory cancers (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] 59, 95% CI = 36 to 91) and cancers with an unspecified site (SIR 53, 95% CI = 25 to 97) were rarer and cancer of the uterine corpus (SIR 164, 95% CI = 109 to 237) was more common in Seventh-Day Adventists before the age of 75 years. Inclusion of all registered Seventh-Day Adventists regardless of religious activity and the relatively low cancer incidence rates in the Norwegian population could contribute to the nonsignificant result with regard to total cancer. Main etiologic factors in cancer development in Norway should be sought in areas where Seventh-Day Adventists do not differ from the general population.

  16. Thalamo-Sensorimotor Functional Connectivity Correlates with World Ranking of Olympic, Elite, and High Performance Athletes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zirui Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Brain plasticity studies have shown functional reorganization in participants with outstanding motor expertise. Little is known about neural plasticity associated with exceptionally long motor training or of its predictive value for motor performance excellence. The present study utilised resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI in a unique sample of world-class athletes: Olympic, elite, and internationally ranked swimmers (n=30. Their world ranking ranged from 1st to 250th: each had prepared for participation in the Olympic Games. Combining rs-fMRI graph-theoretical and seed-based functional connectivity analyses, it was discovered that the thalamus has its strongest connections with the sensorimotor network in elite swimmers with the highest world rankings (career best rank: 1–35. Strikingly, thalamo-sensorimotor functional connections were highly correlated with the swimmers’ motor performance excellence, that is, accounting for 41% of the individual variance in best world ranking. Our findings shed light on neural correlates of long-term athletic performance involving thalamo-sensorimotor functional circuits.

  17. Determinants of ischemic heart disease in Seventh-day Adventists: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, G E

    1988-09-01

    Most data from several countries shows Seventh-day Adventist men to have lower rates of ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality. Similar data for women are somewhat conflicting. There is clear evidence that Adventists have lower serum total cholesterol and lower serum HDL cholesterol with the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol being similar to that of non-Adventists. The risk relationships of this ratio may differ in different populations. There is a certain amount of evidence that vegetarians may have lower blood pressures but this is not clearly supported by data from Seventh-day Adventists. The lower risk for IHD in Adventist men, at least, is probably related to their dietary habits, nonsmoking status, possibly their better exercise habits, and greater social support.

  18. Operation of the ISO-DALT system: Seventh edition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tollaksen, S.L.; Anderson, N.L.; Anderson, N.G.

    1984-05-01

    The ISO-DALT system of two-dimensional electrophoresis was developed as a series of modifications of the original technique of O'Farrell. We have written a series of recipes and more detailed laboratory procedures that incorporate refinements and ''tricks of the trade'' as they have developed during our use of the system. The present collection is the seventh version in this series and represents the state of art as of May 1984. The seventh edition has been prepared to incorporate the changes that we have found helpful, as well as to add a few new sections such as silver staining, transfer gels, ACIDOs, and BASOs. Although these directions are specific for our laboratory, we hope that they will be helpful in other laboratories as well. Although some disagreement still exists, we recommend that gel patterns be oriented with acid isoelectric points (pIs) to the left and high sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) molecular weights at the top. This results in a system of pI and molecular weight values that run according to the Cartesian convention and facilitates the use of the charge and molecular weight standards described herein. 67 refs., 14 figs

  19. Evaluation of the osteoclastogenic process associated with RANK / RANK-L / OPG in odontogenic myxomas

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Galván, María del Carmen; Mosqueda-Taylor, Adalberto; Bologna-Molina, Ronell; Setien-Olarra, Amaia; Marichalar-Mendia, Xabier; Aguirre-Urizar, José-Manuel

    2018-01-01

    Background Odontogenic myxoma (OM) is a benign intraosseous neoplasm that exhibits local aggressiveness and high recurrence rates. Osteoclastogenesis is an important phenomenon in the tumor growth of maxillary neoplasms. RANK (Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor κappa B) is the signaling receptor of RANK-L (Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand) that activates the osteoclasts. OPG (osteoprotegerin) is a decoy receptor for RANK-L that inhibits pro-osteoclastogenesis. The RANK / RANKL / OPG system participates in the regulation of osteolytic activity under normal conditions, and its alteration has been associated with greater bone destruction, and also with tumor growth. Objectives To analyze the immunohistochemical expression of OPG, RANK and RANK-L proteins in odontogenic myxomas (OMs) and their relationship with the tumor size. Material and Methods Eighteen OMs, 4 small ( 3cm) and 18 dental follicles (DF) that were included as control were studied by means of standard immunohistochemical procedure with RANK, RANKL and OPG antibodies. For the evaluation, 5 fields (40x) of representative areas of OM and DF were selected where the expression of each antibody was determined. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed with the obtained data. Results There are significant differences in the expression of RANK in OM samples as compared to DF (p = 0.022) and among the OMSs and OMLs (p = 0.032). Also a strong association is recognized in the expression of RANK-L and OPG in OM samples. Conclusions Activation of the RANK / RANK-L / OPG triad seems to be involved in the mechanisms of bone balance and destruction, as well as associated with tumor growth in odontogenic myxomas. Key words:Odontogenic myxoma, dental follicle, RANK, RANK-L, OPG, osteoclastogenesis. PMID:29680857

  20. Sparse structure regularized ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Sun, Yijun; Gao, Xin

    2014-01-01

    Learning ranking scores is critical for the multimedia database retrieval problem. In this paper, we propose a novel ranking score learning algorithm by exploring the sparse structure and using it to regularize ranking scores. To explore the sparse

  1. Seventh Grade Students' Mental Models of the Greenhouse Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepardson, Daniel P.; Choi, Soyoung; Niyogi, Dev; Charusombat, Umarporn

    2011-01-01

    This constructivist study investigates 225 student drawings and explanations from three different schools in the midwest in the US, to identify seventh grade students' mental models of the greenhouse effect. Five distinct mental models were derived from an inductive analysis of the content of the students' drawings and explanations: Model 1, a…

  2. Variable importance analysis based on rank aggregation with applications in metabolomics for biomarker discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Yong-Huan; Deng, Bai-Chuan; Cao, Dong-Sheng; Wang, Wei-Ting; Liang, Yi-Zeng

    2016-03-10

    Biomarker discovery is one important goal in metabolomics, which is typically modeled as selecting the most discriminating metabolites for classification and often referred to as variable importance analysis or variable selection. Until now, a number of variable importance analysis methods to discover biomarkers in the metabolomics studies have been proposed. However, different methods are mostly likely to generate different variable ranking results due to their different principles. Each method generates a variable ranking list just as an expert presents an opinion. The problem of inconsistency between different variable ranking methods is often ignored. To address this problem, a simple and ideal solution is that every ranking should be taken into account. In this study, a strategy, called rank aggregation, was employed. It is an indispensable tool for merging individual ranking lists into a single "super"-list reflective of the overall preference or importance within the population. This "super"-list is regarded as the final ranking for biomarker discovery. Finally, it was used for biomarkers discovery and selecting the best variable subset with the highest predictive classification accuracy. Nine methods were used, including three univariate filtering and six multivariate methods. When applied to two metabolic datasets (Childhood overweight dataset and Tubulointerstitial lesions dataset), the results show that the performance of rank aggregation has improved greatly with higher prediction accuracy compared with using all variables. Moreover, it is also better than penalized method, least absolute shrinkage and selectionator operator (LASSO), with higher prediction accuracy or less number of selected variables which are more interpretable. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Time evolution of Wikipedia network ranking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Young-Ho; Frahm, Klaus M.; Benczúr, András; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2013-12-01

    We study the time evolution of ranking and spectral properties of the Google matrix of English Wikipedia hyperlink network during years 2003-2011. The statistical properties of ranking of Wikipedia articles via PageRank and CheiRank probabilities, as well as the matrix spectrum, are shown to be stabilized for 2007-2011. A special emphasis is done on ranking of Wikipedia personalities and universities. We show that PageRank selection is dominated by politicians while 2DRank, which combines PageRank and CheiRank, gives more accent on personalities of arts. The Wikipedia PageRank of universities recovers 80% of top universities of Shanghai ranking during the considered time period.

  4. Why do some countries publish more than others? An international comparison of research funding, English proficiency and publication output in highly ranked general medical journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Man, Jonathan P; Weinkauf, Justin G; Tsang, Monica; Sin, Don D

    2004-01-01

    National factor(s) influencing publication output in the highest ranked medical journals are largely unknown. We sought to examine the relationship between national research funding and English proficiency on publication output. We identified all original research articles appearing in the five highest ranked general medical journals between 1997 and 2001. Using the country of the corresponding author as the source nation for each article, we determined a standardized publication rate across developed nations. We used multiple regression techniques to determine the influence of national expenditures on research and scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a surrogate for English proficiency, on publication output. There was a significant relationship of national spending on research and TOEFL scores to publication output of developed countries (p = 0.04; p < 0.01, respectively). These two variables explained approximately 71.5% of the variation in publication rate across developed nations around the world (R = 0.85; p < 0.01). Normalized for population size, English-speaking nations and certain northern European countries such as Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden had the highest rate of publication in the five highest ranked general medical journals, while Asian countries had generally low rates of publication. Research spending and English proficiency were strongly associated with publication output in the highest ranked general medical journals. While these data cannot be considered definitive due to their observational nature, they do suggest that for English-language medical journals, research funding and English proficiency may be important determinants of publication.

  5. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Bensmail, Halima; Gao, Xin

    2012-11-19

    Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications.

  6. Multiplex PageRank.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arda Halu

    Full Text Available Many complex systems can be described as multiplex networks in which the same nodes can interact with one another in different layers, thus forming a set of interacting and co-evolving networks. Examples of such multiplex systems are social networks where people are involved in different types of relationships and interact through various forms of communication media. The ranking of nodes in multiplex networks is one of the most pressing and challenging tasks that research on complex networks is currently facing. When pairs of nodes can be connected through multiple links and in multiple layers, the ranking of nodes should necessarily reflect the importance of nodes in one layer as well as their importance in other interdependent layers. In this paper, we draw on the idea of biased random walks to define the Multiplex PageRank centrality measure in which the effects of the interplay between networks on the centrality of nodes are directly taken into account. In particular, depending on the intensity of the interaction between layers, we define the Additive, Multiplicative, Combined, and Neutral versions of Multiplex PageRank, and show how each version reflects the extent to which the importance of a node in one layer affects the importance the node can gain in another layer. We discuss these measures and apply them to an online multiplex social network. Findings indicate that taking the multiplex nature of the network into account helps uncover the emergence of rankings of nodes that differ from the rankings obtained from one single layer. Results provide support in favor of the salience of multiplex centrality measures, like Multiplex PageRank, for assessing the prominence of nodes embedded in multiple interacting networks, and for shedding a new light on structural properties that would otherwise remain undetected if each of the interacting networks were analyzed in isolation.

  7. Multiplex PageRank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halu, Arda; Mondragón, Raúl J; Panzarasa, Pietro; Bianconi, Ginestra

    2013-01-01

    Many complex systems can be described as multiplex networks in which the same nodes can interact with one another in different layers, thus forming a set of interacting and co-evolving networks. Examples of such multiplex systems are social networks where people are involved in different types of relationships and interact through various forms of communication media. The ranking of nodes in multiplex networks is one of the most pressing and challenging tasks that research on complex networks is currently facing. When pairs of nodes can be connected through multiple links and in multiple layers, the ranking of nodes should necessarily reflect the importance of nodes in one layer as well as their importance in other interdependent layers. In this paper, we draw on the idea of biased random walks to define the Multiplex PageRank centrality measure in which the effects of the interplay between networks on the centrality of nodes are directly taken into account. In particular, depending on the intensity of the interaction between layers, we define the Additive, Multiplicative, Combined, and Neutral versions of Multiplex PageRank, and show how each version reflects the extent to which the importance of a node in one layer affects the importance the node can gain in another layer. We discuss these measures and apply them to an online multiplex social network. Findings indicate that taking the multiplex nature of the network into account helps uncover the emergence of rankings of nodes that differ from the rankings obtained from one single layer. Results provide support in favor of the salience of multiplex centrality measures, like Multiplex PageRank, for assessing the prominence of nodes embedded in multiple interacting networks, and for shedding a new light on structural properties that would otherwise remain undetected if each of the interacting networks were analyzed in isolation.

  8. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2012-11-19

    Background: Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods.Results: To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods.Conclusion: The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications. 2012 Wang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  9. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Bensmail, Halima; Gao, Xin

    2012-01-01

    Background: Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods.Results: To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods.Conclusion: The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications. 2012 Wang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  10. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Jim

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. Results To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. Conclusion The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications.

  11. Improving Ranking Using Quantum Probability

    OpenAIRE

    Melucci, Massimo

    2011-01-01

    The paper shows that ranking information units by quantum probability differs from ranking them by classical probability provided the same data used for parameter estimation. As probability of detection (also known as recall or power) and probability of false alarm (also known as fallout or size) measure the quality of ranking, we point out and show that ranking by quantum probability yields higher probability of detection than ranking by classical probability provided a given probability of ...

  12. Serum cholesterol levels of Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, C B; Allen, E S; Mikkelson, B; Kang-Jey, H

    1976-10-01

    Serum cholesterol levels and dietary habits were surveyed in 27 male and 34 female Seventh-day Adventist. All subjects studied were lacto-ovo-vegetarians and a few consumed some meat products. Their serum cholesterol levels, significantly lower than those of the United States general population, showed no sex difference but increased with age and were higher in overweight males. Their levels, however, were much higher than those of true vegetarians which was most likely attributable to their consumption, even though to a limited acount, of dairy foods.

  13. How Many Alternatives Can Be Ranked? A Comparison of the Paired Comparison and Ranking Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ock, Minsu; Yi, Nari; Ahn, Jeonghoon; Jo, Min-Woo

    2016-01-01

    To determine the feasibility of converting ranking data into paired comparison (PC) data and suggest the number of alternatives that can be ranked by comparing a PC and a ranking method. Using a total of 222 health states, a household survey was conducted in a sample of 300 individuals from the general population. Each respondent performed a PC 15 times and a ranking method 6 times (two attempts of ranking three, four, and five health states, respectively). The health states of the PC and the ranking method were constructed to overlap each other. We converted the ranked data into PC data and examined the consistency of the response rate. Applying probit regression, we obtained the predicted probability of each method. Pearson correlation coefficients were determined between the predicted probabilities of those methods. The mean absolute error was also assessed between the observed and the predicted values. The overall consistency of the response rate was 82.8%. The Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.789, 0.852, and 0.893 for ranking three, four, and five health states, respectively. The lowest mean absolute error was 0.082 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.074-0.090) in ranking five health states, followed by 0.123 (95% CI 0.111-0.135) in ranking four health states and 0.126 (95% CI 0.113-0.138) in ranking three health states. After empirically examining the consistency of the response rate between a PC and a ranking method, we suggest that using five alternatives in the ranking method may be superior to using three or four alternatives. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Is renal medullary carcinoma the seventh nephropathy in sickle cell ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Introduction: Previous studies had enlisted renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) as the seventh nephropathy in sickle cell disease (SCD). Clinical experience has contradicted this claim and this study is targeted at refuting or supporting this assumption. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of RMC and describe other renal ...

  15. Neophilia Ranking of Scientific Journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Packalen, Mikko; Bhattacharya, Jay

    2017-01-01

    The ranking of scientific journals is important because of the signal it sends to scientists about what is considered most vital for scientific progress. Existing ranking systems focus on measuring the influence of a scientific paper (citations)-these rankings do not reward journals for publishing innovative work that builds on new ideas. We propose an alternative ranking based on the proclivity of journals to publish papers that build on new ideas, and we implement this ranking via a text-based analysis of all published biomedical papers dating back to 1946. In addition, we compare our neophilia ranking to citation-based (impact factor) rankings; this comparison shows that the two ranking approaches are distinct. Prior theoretical work suggests an active role for our neophilia index in science policy. Absent an explicit incentive to pursue novel science, scientists underinvest in innovative work because of a coordination problem: for work on a new idea to flourish, many scientists must decide to adopt it in their work. Rankings that are based purely on influence thus do not provide sufficient incentives for publishing innovative work. By contrast, adoption of the neophilia index as part of journal-ranking procedures by funding agencies and university administrators would provide an explicit incentive for journals to publish innovative work and thus help solve the coordination problem by increasing scientists' incentives to pursue innovative work.

  16. Hierarchical partial order ranking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlsen, Lars

    2008-01-01

    Assessing the potential impact on environmental and human health from the production and use of chemicals or from polluted sites involves a multi-criteria evaluation scheme. A priori several parameters are to address, e.g., production tonnage, specific release scenarios, geographical and site-specific factors in addition to various substance dependent parameters. Further socio-economic factors may be taken into consideration. The number of parameters to be included may well appear to be prohibitive for developing a sensible model. The study introduces hierarchical partial order ranking (HPOR) that remedies this problem. By HPOR the original parameters are initially grouped based on their mutual connection and a set of meta-descriptors is derived representing the ranking corresponding to the single groups of descriptors, respectively. A second partial order ranking is carried out based on the meta-descriptors, the final ranking being disclosed though average ranks. An illustrative example on the prioritisation of polluted sites is given. - Hierarchical partial order ranking of polluted sites has been developed for prioritization based on a large number of parameters

  17. Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, G E

    1999-09-01

    Results associating diet with chronic disease in a cohort of 34192 California Seventh-day Adventists are summarized. Most Seventh-day Adventists do not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, and there is a wide range of dietary exposures within the population. About 50% of those studied ate meat products or =3 times/wk compared with vegetarians], significant protective associations between nut consumption and fatal and nonfatal IHD in both sexes (RR approximately 0.5 for subjects who ate nuts > or =5 times/wk compared with those who ate nuts Seventh-day Adventists have lower risks of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and arthritis than nonvegetarians. Thus, among Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarians are healthier than nonvegetarians but this cannot be ascribed only to the absence of meat.

  18. A Survey on PageRank Computing

    OpenAIRE

    Berkhin, Pavel

    2005-01-01

    This survey reviews the research related to PageRank computing. Components of a PageRank vector serve as authority weights for web pages independent of their textual content, solely based on the hyperlink structure of the web. PageRank is typically used as a web search ranking component. This defines the importance of the model and the data structures that underly PageRank processing. Computing even a single PageRank is a difficult computational task. Computing many PageRanks is a much mor...

  19. 75 FR 69921 - Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure, Seventh Edition

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-16

    ... applications. The seventh edition incorporates USPTO trademark practice and relevant case law reported prior to September 1, 2010. The policies stated in this revision supersede any previous policies stated in prior editions, examination guides, or any other statement of USPTO policy, to the extent that there is any...

  20. Ranking harbours in the Maritime provinces of Canada for potential to contaminate American lobster (Homarus americanus) with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prouse, N.J. [Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Halifax, NS (Canada). Biological Sciences Branch

    1997-05-01

    The sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination within selected harbors in the Maritime provinces of Canada were evaluated by assessing point sources, population, industrial and commercial activity, international and domestic ship traffic, and the number of commercial fishing vessels. Results showed that Sydney ranked as the highest potential for PAH contamination. Ranking of the other Maritime harbors was also presented. The lobster contamination with PAHs was reviewed.

  1. Ranking metrics in gene set enrichment analysis: do they matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zyla, Joanna; Marczyk, Michal; Weiner, January; Polanska, Joanna

    2017-05-12

    There exist many methods for describing the complex relation between changes of gene expression in molecular pathways or gene ontologies under different experimental conditions. Among them, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis seems to be one of the most commonly used (over 10,000 citations). An important parameter, which could affect the final result, is the choice of a metric for the ranking of genes. Applying a default ranking metric may lead to poor results. In this work 28 benchmark data sets were used to evaluate the sensitivity and false positive rate of gene set analysis for 16 different ranking metrics including new proposals. Furthermore, the robustness of the chosen methods to sample size was tested. Using k-means clustering algorithm a group of four metrics with the highest performance in terms of overall sensitivity, overall false positive rate and computational load was established i.e. absolute value of Moderated Welch Test statistic, Minimum Significant Difference, absolute value of Signal-To-Noise ratio and Baumgartner-Weiss-Schindler test statistic. In case of false positive rate estimation, all selected ranking metrics were robust with respect to sample size. In case of sensitivity, the absolute value of Moderated Welch Test statistic and absolute value of Signal-To-Noise ratio gave stable results, while Baumgartner-Weiss-Schindler and Minimum Significant Difference showed better results for larger sample size. Finally, the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis method with all tested ranking metrics was parallelised and implemented in MATLAB, and is available at https://github.com/ZAEDPolSl/MrGSEA . Choosing a ranking metric in Gene Set Enrichment Analysis has critical impact on results of pathway enrichment analysis. The absolute value of Moderated Welch Test has the best overall sensitivity and Minimum Significant Difference has the best overall specificity of gene set analysis. When the number of non-normally distributed genes is high, using Baumgartner

  2. Wikipedia ranking of world universities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lages, José; Patt, Antoine; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2016-03-01

    We use the directed networks between articles of 24 Wikipedia language editions for producing the wikipedia ranking of world Universities (WRWU) using PageRank, 2DRank and CheiRank algorithms. This approach allows to incorporate various cultural views on world universities using the mathematical statistical analysis independent of cultural preferences. The Wikipedia ranking of top 100 universities provides about 60% overlap with the Shanghai university ranking demonstrating the reliable features of this approach. At the same time WRWU incorporates all knowledge accumulated at 24 Wikipedia editions giving stronger highlights for historically important universities leading to a different estimation of efficiency of world countries in university education. The historical development of university ranking is analyzed during ten centuries of their history.

  3. An alternative approach to risk rank chemicals on the threat they pose to the aquatic environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Andrew C; Donnachie, Rachel L; Sumpter, John P; Jürgens, Monika D; Moeckel, Claudia; Pereira, M Gloria

    2017-12-01

    This work presents a new and unbiased method of risk ranking chemicals based on the threat they pose to the aquatic environment. The study ranked 12 metals, 23 pesticides, 11 other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), 13 pharmaceuticals, 10 surfactants and similar compounds and 2 nanoparticles (total of 71) of concern against one another by comparing their median UK river water and median ecotoxicity effect concentrations. To complement this, by giving an assessment on potential wildlife impacts, risk ranking was also carried out by comparing the lowest 10th percentile of the effects data with the highest 90th percentile of the exposure data. In other words, risk was pared down to just toxicity versus exposure. Further modifications included incorporating bioconcentration factors, using only recent water measurements and excluding either lethal or sub-lethal effects. The top ten chemicals, based on the medians, which emerged as having the highest risk to organisms in UK surface waters using all the ecotoxicity data were copper, aluminium, zinc, ethinylestradiol (EE2), linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), triclosan, manganese, iron, methomyl and chlorpyrifos. By way of contrast, using current UK environmental quality standards as the comparator to median UK river water concentrations would have selected 6 different chemicals in the top ten. This approach revealed big differences in relative risk; for example, zinc presented a million times greater risk then metoprolol and LAS 550 times greater risk than nanosilver. With the exception of EE2, most pharmaceuticals were ranked as having a relatively low risk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Proceedings of the seventh Northern region paediatric colloquium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkla, Xanthe; Kaplan, Carole

    2014-01-01

    Ethical and legal dilemmas frequently arise in paediatric practice. Given the nature of the speciality, these issues are relevant to both the medical and legal professions. To this end, senior figures from the medical and legal professions in the Northern region have met on a regular basis in order to discuss anonymised case material. We report on the proceedings of the seventh such meeting. Six cases are described and key points arising from the subsequent discussion are presented.

  5. University Rankings and Social Science

    OpenAIRE

    Marginson, S.

    2014-01-01

    University rankings widely affect the behaviours of prospective students and their families, university executive leaders, academic faculty, governments and investors in higher education. Yet the social science foundations of global rankings receive little scrutiny. Rankings that simply recycle reputation without any necessary connection to real outputs are of no common value. It is necessary that rankings be soundly based in scientific terms if a virtuous relationship between performance and...

  6. 24 CFR 599.401 - Ranking of applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ranking of applications. 599.401... Communities § 599.401 Ranking of applications. (a) Ranking order. Rural and urban applications will be ranked... applications ranked first. (b) Separate ranking categories. After initial ranking, both rural and urban...

  7. On Page Rank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoede, C.

    In this paper the concept of page rank for the world wide web is discussed. The possibility of describing the distribution of page rank by an exponential law is considered. It is shown that the concept is essentially equal to that of status score, a centrality measure discussed already in 1953 by

  8. Citation graph based ranking in Invenio

    CERN Document Server

    Marian, Ludmila; Rajman, Martin; Vesely, Martin

    2010-01-01

    Invenio is the web-based integrated digital library system developed at CERN. Within this framework, we present four types of ranking models based on the citation graph that complement the simple approach based on citation counts: time-dependent citation counts, a relevancy ranking which extends the PageRank model, a time-dependent ranking which combines the freshness of citations with PageRank and a ranking that takes into consideration the external citations. We present our analysis and results obtained on two main data sets: Inspire and CERN Document Server. Our main contributions are: (i) a study of the currently available ranking methods based on the citation graph; (ii) the development of new ranking methods that correct some of the identified limitations of the current methods such as treating all citations of equal importance, not taking time into account or considering the citation graph complete; (iii) a detailed study of the key parameters for these ranking methods. (The original publication is ava...

  9. The nutritional health of New Zealand vegetarian and non-vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists: selected vitamin, mineral and lipid levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harman, S K; Parnell, W R

    1998-03-27

    To determine whether adult non-vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists differ in selected nutrition related health aspects from adult vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists. One hundred and forty-one Seventh-day Adventist church members responded to a general health questionnaire. Forty-seven sex and age matched subjects (23 non-vegetarians and 24 vegetarians) were selected for further investigation. Blood lipids, serum vitamin B12, folate, haemoglobin and ferritin levels were measured along with stature, weight and blood pressure. A quantitative 7-day diet record was also completed. Body mass index was similar between the non-vegetarian and vegetarian groups but diastolic blood pressure was higher for non-vegetarian than vegetarian males. Even though the dietary vitamin B12 intake was significantly lower (p Seventh-day Adventists appear likely to enjoy a lower risk of nutrition related chronic degenerative disease than the average New Zealander and have a satisfactory iron and vitamin B12 status.

  10. When sparse coding meets ranking: a joint framework for learning sparse codes and ranking scores

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2017-06-28

    Sparse coding, which represents a data point as a sparse reconstruction code with regard to a dictionary, has been a popular data representation method. Meanwhile, in database retrieval problems, learning the ranking scores from data points plays an important role. Up to now, these two problems have always been considered separately, assuming that data coding and ranking are two independent and irrelevant problems. However, is there any internal relationship between sparse coding and ranking score learning? If yes, how to explore and make use of this internal relationship? In this paper, we try to answer these questions by developing the first joint sparse coding and ranking score learning algorithm. To explore the local distribution in the sparse code space, and also to bridge coding and ranking problems, we assume that in the neighborhood of each data point, the ranking scores can be approximated from the corresponding sparse codes by a local linear function. By considering the local approximation error of ranking scores, the reconstruction error and sparsity of sparse coding, and the query information provided by the user, we construct a unified objective function for learning of sparse codes, the dictionary and ranking scores. We further develop an iterative algorithm to solve this optimization problem.

  11. University Rankings: The Web Ranking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguillo, Isidro F.

    2012-01-01

    The publication in 2003 of the Ranking of Universities by Jiao Tong University of Shanghai has revolutionized not only academic studies on Higher Education, but has also had an important impact on the national policies and the individual strategies of the sector. The work gathers the main characteristics of this and other global university…

  12. Information ranks highest: Expectations of female adolescents with a rare genital malformation towards health care services.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabeth Simoes

    Full Text Available Access to highly specialized health care services and support to meet the patient's specific needs is critical for health outcome, especially during age-related transitions within the health care system such as with adolescents entering adult medicine. Being affected by an orphan disease complicates the situation in several important respects. Long distances to dedicated institutions and scarcity of knowledge, even among medical doctors, may present major obstacles for proper access to health care services and health chances. This study is part of the BMBF funded TransCareO project examining in a mixed-method design health care provisional deficits, preferences, and barriers in health care access as perceived by female adolescents affected by the Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS, a rare (orphan genital malformation.Prior to a communicative validation workshop, critical elements of MRKHS related care and support (items were identified in interviews with MRKHS patients. During the subsequent workshop, 87 persons involved in health care and support for MRKHS were asked to rate the items using a 7-point Likert scale (7, strongly agree; 1, strongly disagree as to 1 the elements' potential importance (i.e., health care expected to be "best practice", or priority and 2 the presently experienced care. A gap score between the two was computed highlighting fields of action. Items were arranged into ten separate questionnaires representing domains of care and support (e.g., online-portal, patient participation. Within each domain, several items addressed various aspects of "information" and "access". Here, we present the outcome of items' evaluation by patients (attended, NPAT = 35; respondents, NRESP = 19.Highest priority scores occurred for domains "Online-Portal", "Patient participation", and "Tailored informational offers", characterizing them as extremely important for the perception as best practice. Highest gap scores yielded domains

  13. Ranking Specific Sets of Objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maly, Jan; Woltran, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    Ranking sets of objects based on an order between the single elements has been thoroughly studied in the literature. In particular, it has been shown that it is in general impossible to find a total ranking - jointly satisfying properties as dominance and independence - on the whole power set of objects. However, in many applications certain elements from the entire power set might not be required and can be neglected in the ranking process. For instance, certain sets might be ruled out due to hard constraints or are not satisfying some background theory. In this paper, we treat the computational problem whether an order on a given subset of the power set of elements satisfying different variants of dominance and independence can be found, given a ranking on the elements. We show that this problem is tractable for partial rankings and NP-complete for total rankings.

  14. PageRank of integers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frahm, K M; Shepelyansky, D L; Chepelianskii, A D

    2012-01-01

    We up a directed network tracing links from a given integer to its divisors and analyze the properties of the Google matrix of this network. The PageRank vector of this matrix is computed numerically and it is shown that its probability is approximately inversely proportional to the PageRank index thus being similar to the Zipf law and the dependence established for the World Wide Web. The spectrum of the Google matrix of integers is characterized by a large gap and a relatively small number of nonzero eigenvalues. A simple semi-analytical expression for the PageRank of integers is derived that allows us to find this vector for matrices of billion size. This network provides a new PageRank order of integers. (paper)

  15. Ranking Support Vector Machine with Kernel Approximation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kai; Li, Rongchun; Dou, Yong; Liang, Zhengfa; Lv, Qi

    2017-01-01

    Learning to rank algorithm has become important in recent years due to its successful application in information retrieval, recommender system, and computational biology, and so forth. Ranking support vector machine (RankSVM) is one of the state-of-art ranking models and has been favorably used. Nonlinear RankSVM (RankSVM with nonlinear kernels) can give higher accuracy than linear RankSVM (RankSVM with a linear kernel) for complex nonlinear ranking problem. However, the learning methods for nonlinear RankSVM are still time-consuming because of the calculation of kernel matrix. In this paper, we propose a fast ranking algorithm based on kernel approximation to avoid computing the kernel matrix. We explore two types of kernel approximation methods, namely, the Nyström method and random Fourier features. Primal truncated Newton method is used to optimize the pairwise L2-loss (squared Hinge-loss) objective function of the ranking model after the nonlinear kernel approximation. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method gets a much faster training speed than kernel RankSVM and achieves comparable or better performance over state-of-the-art ranking algorithms.

  16. Ranking Support Vector Machine with Kernel Approximation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Chen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Learning to rank algorithm has become important in recent years due to its successful application in information retrieval, recommender system, and computational biology, and so forth. Ranking support vector machine (RankSVM is one of the state-of-art ranking models and has been favorably used. Nonlinear RankSVM (RankSVM with nonlinear kernels can give higher accuracy than linear RankSVM (RankSVM with a linear kernel for complex nonlinear ranking problem. However, the learning methods for nonlinear RankSVM are still time-consuming because of the calculation of kernel matrix. In this paper, we propose a fast ranking algorithm based on kernel approximation to avoid computing the kernel matrix. We explore two types of kernel approximation methods, namely, the Nyström method and random Fourier features. Primal truncated Newton method is used to optimize the pairwise L2-loss (squared Hinge-loss objective function of the ranking model after the nonlinear kernel approximation. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method gets a much faster training speed than kernel RankSVM and achieves comparable or better performance over state-of-the-art ranking algorithms.

  17. University Rankings and Social Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marginson, Simon

    2014-01-01

    University rankings widely affect the behaviours of prospective students and their families, university executive leaders, academic faculty, governments and investors in higher education. Yet the social science foundations of global rankings receive little scrutiny. Rankings that simply recycle reputation without any necessary connection to real…

  18. Fuzzy ranking based non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II for network overload alleviation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pandiarajan K.

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an effective method of network overload management in power systems. The three competing objectives 1 generation cost 2 transmission line overload and 3 real power loss are optimized to provide pareto-optimal solutions. A fuzzy ranking based non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II is used to solve this complex nonlinear optimization problem. The minimization of competing objectives is done by generation rescheduling. Fuzzy ranking method is employed to extract the best compromise solution out of the available non-dominated solutions depending upon its highest rank. N-1 contingency analysis is carried out to identify the most severe lines and those lines are selected for outage. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated for different contingency cases in IEEE 30 and IEEE 118 bus systems with smooth cost functions and their results are compared with other single objective evolutionary algorithms like Particle swarm optimization (PSO and Differential evolution (DE. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach to generate well distributed pareto-optimal non-dominated solutions of multi-objective problem

  19. Two-dimensional ranking of Wikipedia articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhirov, A. O.; Zhirov, O. V.; Shepelyansky, D. L.

    2010-10-01

    The Library of Babel, described by Jorge Luis Borges, stores an enormous amount of information. The Library exists ab aeterno. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopaedia, becomes a modern analogue of such a Library. Information retrieval and ranking of Wikipedia articles become the challenge of modern society. While PageRank highlights very well known nodes with many ingoing links, CheiRank highlights very communicative nodes with many outgoing links. In this way the ranking becomes two-dimensional. Using CheiRank and PageRank we analyze the properties of two-dimensional ranking of all Wikipedia English articles and show that it gives their reliable classification with rich and nontrivial features. Detailed studies are done for countries, universities, personalities, physicists, chess players, Dow-Jones companies and other categories.

  20. Seventh-Day Adventist Adolescents—Life-style Patterns and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Richard; Allen, Arline; Goldberg, Ronald; Trevisan, Maurizio; Horn, Linda Van; Liu, Kiang; Steinhauer, Michael; Rubenstein, Arthur; Stamler, Jeremiah

    1984-01-01

    The life-style of adolescents attending a Seventh-Day Adventist boarding school was evaluated as it related to cardiovascular risk factors. The diet contained 34% calories as fat, with 11% derived from saturated fat. Total serum cholesterol levels were low (mean, standard deviation=138±15 mg per dl), and apolipoprotein B level was low as well (46±9 mg per dl). The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was within the usual range (52.4±13.3 mg per dl). Mean blood pressures were also low (systolic, 104.1±9.6 mm of mercury; diastolic, 65.7±9.7 mm of mercury). There was no self-reported use of cigarettes. If this life-style were to continue through adulthood, the incidence of premature atherosclerotic disease, particularly coronary artery disease, for this group might well be reduced, compared with other North Americans, as suggested by findings from previous studies of adult Seventh-Day Adventists. PMID:6710991

  1. Seventh Grade Social Studies. A Program in Sociology and American History.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clancy, Patricia; And Others

    GRADES OR AGES: Seventh grade. SUBJECT MATTER: Sociology and American history. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide covers five units: "Biological Basis of Human Behavior,""How We Become Human,""The Family and Other Socializing Institutions,""Man's Behavior in Groups and Crowds," and "Minority Group Problems." The presentation of the…

  2. 14 CFR 1214.1105 - Final ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Final ranking. 1214.1105 Section 1214.1105... Recruitment and Selection Program § 1214.1105 Final ranking. Final rankings will be based on a combination of... preference will be included in this final ranking in accordance with applicable regulations. ...

  3. Performance evaluation and ranking of participation Asian countries in 2012 London Olympic Games through Data Envelopment Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi Shirouyehzad

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The Olympic Games ranking is done through lexicographic multi criteria method in each period. According to this method, the country receiving the most gold medals will have the highest score, and in case of having equal silver medals, comparison will be done according to bronze ones. The problem of this method is to pay the most attention merely to gold medals. Using data envelopment analysis, some studies have recently suggested various ranking for the Olympic Games. The present research uses DEA to rank the participating Asian countries in London Olympic that have at least won one medal. As an output-oriented BCC model, this one considers the number of male and female athletes, received medals in two previous Olympic as well as the number of their presence in the Olympic games as the inputs. Gold, silver and bronze medals are the only output of the model. This model is solved in two forms of female and male athlete combination and their separation. Solving this model makes this opportunity to present a new rankings model for participating Asian countries in the Olympic Games that can be compared with the ranking used by Olympic committee.

  4. Rank-based Tests of the Cointegrating Rank in Semiparametric Error Correction Models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hallin, M.; van den Akker, R.; Werker, B.J.M.

    2012-01-01

    Abstract: This paper introduces rank-based tests for the cointegrating rank in an Error Correction Model with i.i.d. elliptical innovations. The tests are asymptotically distribution-free, and their validity does not depend on the actual distribution of the innovations. This result holds despite the

  5. Minkowski metrics in creating universal ranking algorithms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrzej Ameljańczyk

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a general procedure for creating the rankings of a set of objects, while the relation of preference based on any ranking function. The analysis was possible to use the ranking functions began by showing the fundamental drawbacks of commonly used functions in the form of a weighted sum. As a special case of the ranking procedure in the space of a relation, the procedure based on the notion of an ideal element and generalized Minkowski distance from the element was proposed. This procedure, presented as universal ranking algorithm, eliminates most of the disadvantages of ranking functions in the form of a weighted sum.[b]Keywords[/b]: ranking functions, preference relation, ranking clusters, categories, ideal point, universal ranking algorithm

  6. Recurrent fuzzy ranking methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajjari, Tayebeh

    2012-11-01

    With the increasing development of fuzzy set theory in various scientific fields and the need to compare fuzzy numbers in different areas. Therefore, Ranking of fuzzy numbers plays a very important role in linguistic decision-making, engineering, business and some other fuzzy application systems. Several strategies have been proposed for ranking of fuzzy numbers. Each of these techniques has been shown to produce non-intuitive results in certain case. In this paper, we reviewed some recent ranking methods, which will be useful for the researchers who are interested in this area.

  7. Jordanian Seventh- And Eleventh-Grade Students' Views on Citizenship Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alazzi, Khaled

    2017-01-01

    Using a mixed methods approach, this study was conducted in Jordanian schools to determine the perceptions of seventh- and eleventh-grade students toward citizenship. Specifically, the study determined what students believe are the attributes of a good citizen, what activities they participate in that are related to good citizenship, and what…

  8. Ranking Operations Management conferences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steenhuis, H.J.; de Bruijn, E.J.; Gupta, Sushil; Laptaned, U

    2007-01-01

    Several publications have appeared in the field of Operations Management which rank Operations Management related journals. Several ranking systems exist for journals based on , for example, perceived relevance and quality, citation, and author affiliation. Many academics also publish at conferences

  9. Change in ranking order of prescribing patterns by age and sex standardization of the practice population--audit may be misleading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olesen, Frede; Vedsted, Peter; Nielsen, Jørgen Nørskov

    1996-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate whether standardization of practice populations by age and sex changes the internal prescription ranking order of a group of practices. DESIGN: Data on the prescribing of cardiovascular drugs in a group of practices were obtained from a county-based database. Information...... on the age, sex, and numbers of patients per practice was also obtained. The direct standardization method was used to adjust practice populations for age and sex. SETTING: The town of Randers, Aarhus County, Denmark. SUBJECTS: 35 practices, 41 GPs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ranking of the 35 practices...... of the practices. Only four practices did not change ranking position, while four moved more than ten places. The slope between highest and lowest ranked practice did not diminish after standardization. CONCLUSION: Care should be taken when comparing peer prescribing patterns from crude utilization data, and we...

  10. Social rank and social cooperation: Impact of social comparison processes on cooperative decision-making.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Gong

    Full Text Available Successful navigation of our complex social world requires the capability to recognize and judge the relative status of others. Hence, social comparison processes are of great importance in our interactions, informing us of our relative standing and in turn potentially motivating our behavior. However, so far few studies have examined in detail how social comparison can influence interpersonal decision-making. One aspect of social decision-making that is of particular importance is cooperative behavior, and identifying means of maintaining and promoting cooperation in the provision of public goods is of vital interest to society. Here, we manipulated social comparison by grading performance rankings on a reaction time task, and then measured cooperative decisions via a modified Public Goods Game (PGG. Findings revealed that individuals ranked highest tended to be more cooperative as compared to those who placed in the bottom rank. Interestingly, this effect was regardless of whether the comparison group members were the subsequent players in the PGG or not, and this effect was stronger in those with higher social orientation. In summary, the present research shows how different social comparison processes (assessed via social rankings can operate in our daily interaction with others, demonstrating an important effect on cooperative behavior.

  11. Accelerated cardiac cine MRI using locally low rank and finite difference constraints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, Xin; Lingala, Sajan Goud; Guo, Yi; Jao, Terrence; Usman, Muhammad; Prieto, Claudia; Nayak, Krishna S

    2016-07-01

    To evaluate the potential value of combining multiple constraints for highly accelerated cardiac cine MRI. A locally low rank (LLR) constraint and a temporal finite difference (FD) constraint were combined to reconstruct cardiac cine data from highly undersampled measurements. Retrospectively undersampled 2D Cartesian reconstructions were quantitatively evaluated against fully-sampled data using normalized root mean square error, structural similarity index (SSIM) and high frequency error norm (HFEN). This method was also applied to 2D golden-angle radial real-time imaging to facilitate single breath-hold whole-heart cine (12 short-axis slices, 9-13s single breath hold). Reconstruction was compared against state-of-the-art constrained reconstruction methods: LLR, FD, and k-t SLR. At 10 to 60 spokes/frame, LLR+FD better preserved fine structures and depicted myocardial motion with reduced spatio-temporal blurring in comparison to existing methods. LLR yielded higher SSIM ranking than FD; FD had higher HFEN ranking than LLR. LLR+FD combined the complimentary advantages of the two, and ranked the highest in all metrics for all retrospective undersampled cases. Single breath-hold multi-slice cardiac cine with prospective undersampling was enabled with in-plane spatio-temporal resolutions of 2×2mm(2) and 40ms. Highly accelerated cardiac cine is enabled by the combination of 2D undersampling and the synergistic use of LLR and FD constraints. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Teachers' and students' perceptions of seventh- and eighth-grade science education in a selected Seventh-day Adventist Union Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sargeant, Marcel Andre Almont

    Problem. Science education has long been a great concern in the United States, where less than one-third of the students perform at or above the proficient level. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of the science program in a selected Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist school system. Specifically, this study investigated the perceptions of teachers and students regarding the extent to which the science program meets the criteria of the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st century and to what extent these criteria are related to academic performance as indicated by Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) science scores. Method. Two questionnaires designed by the researcher were used to get responses from 424 students in seventh and eighth grades and 68 teachers to see how this school system compares to the criteria of National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21 st century. Three classroom configurations were investigated in this study, namely: (a) multigrade, (b) two-grade, and (c) single-grade. Crosstabulation, one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, and linear regression were used to analyze the four research questions of this study. Results. The single-grade classroom configuration received a better rating for the science criteria (p century. Conclusions. The differences in teaching practices explained the discrepancies in the three classroom configurations. Schools can therefore develop policies and strategies to improve the practices in the teaching and learning process in science education that were identified as being deficient by the criteria of National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st century.

  13. The oldest example of compound interest in Sumer: Seventh power of four-thirds

    OpenAIRE

    Muroi, Kazuo

    2015-01-01

    In the present paper I shall clarify that the origin of compound interest goes back 4400 years to Sumer by showing the Sumerian scribe of Enmetena Foundation Cone calculated seventh power of four-thirds.

  14. Country-specific determinants of world university rankings

    OpenAIRE

    Pietrucha, Jacek

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines country-specific factors that affect the three most influential world university rankings (the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the QS World University Ranking, and the Times Higher Education World University Ranking). We run a cross sectional regression that covers 42–71 countries (depending on the ranking and data availability). We show that the position of universities from a country in the ranking is determined by the following country-specific variables: econom...

  15. Ranking of psychosocial and traditional risk factors by importance for coronary heart disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schnohr, Peter; Marott, Jacob L; Kristensen, Tage S.

    2015-01-01

    .001] and systolic blood pressure (≥160 mmHg or blood pressure medication vs. never smoker; HR 1.74; 95% CI, 1.43-2.11; P ...-statistics and net reclassification improvement. During the follow-up, 1731 non-fatal and fatal coronary events were registered. In men, the highest ranking risk factors for coronary heart disease were vital exhaustion [high vs. low; hazard ratio (HR) 2.36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.70-3.26; P

  16. Lowest cost due to highest productivity and highest quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenk, Daniel

    2003-03-01

    Since global purchasing in the automotive industry has been taken up all around the world there is one main key factor that makes a TB-supplier today successful: Producing highest quality at lowest cost. The fact that Tailored Blanks, which today may reach up to 1/3 of a car body weight, are purchased on the free market but from different steel suppliers, especially in Europe and NAFTA, the philosophy on OEM side has been changing gradually towards tough evaluation criteria. "No risk at the stamping side" calls for top quality Tailored- or Tubular Blank products. Outsourcing Tailored Blanks has been starting in Japan but up to now without any quality request from the OEM side like ISO 13919-1B (welding quality standard in Europe and USA). Increased competition will automatically push the quality level and the ongoing approach to combine high strength steel with Tailored- and Tubular Blanks will ask for even more reliable system concepts which enables to weld narrow seams at highest speed. Beside producing quality, which is the key to reduce one of the most important cost driver "material scrap," in-line quality systems with true and reliable evaluation is going to be a "must" on all weld systems. Traceability of all process related data submitted to interfaces according to customer request in combination with ghost-shift-operation of TB systems are tomorrow's state-of-the-art solutions of Tailored Blank-facilities.

  17. AptRank: an adaptive PageRank model for protein function prediction on   bi-relational graphs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Biaobin; Kloster, Kyle; Gleich, David F; Gribskov, Michael

    2017-06-15

    Diffusion-based network models are widely used for protein function prediction using protein network data and have been shown to outperform neighborhood-based and module-based methods. Recent studies have shown that integrating the hierarchical structure of the Gene Ontology (GO) data dramatically improves prediction accuracy. However, previous methods usually either used the GO hierarchy to refine the prediction results of multiple classifiers, or flattened the hierarchy into a function-function similarity kernel. No study has taken the GO hierarchy into account together with the protein network as a two-layer network model. We first construct a Bi-relational graph (Birg) model comprised of both protein-protein association and function-function hierarchical networks. We then propose two diffusion-based methods, BirgRank and AptRank, both of which use PageRank to diffuse information on this two-layer graph model. BirgRank is a direct application of traditional PageRank with fixed decay parameters. In contrast, AptRank utilizes an adaptive diffusion mechanism to improve the performance of BirgRank. We evaluate the ability of both methods to predict protein function on yeast, fly and human protein datasets, and compare with four previous methods: GeneMANIA, TMC, ProteinRank and clusDCA. We design four different validation strategies: missing function prediction, de novo function prediction, guided function prediction and newly discovered function prediction to comprehensively evaluate predictability of all six methods. We find that both BirgRank and AptRank outperform the previous methods, especially in missing function prediction when using only 10% of the data for training. The MATLAB code is available at https://github.rcac.purdue.edu/mgribsko/aptrank . gribskov@purdue.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  18. Is the Use of Information and Communication Technology Related to Performance in Working Memory Tasks? Evidence from Seventh-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Lucy; Nussbaum, Miguel; Preiss, David D.

    2011-01-01

    The main purpose of this study was to assess whether seventh-grade students use of information and communication technology (ICT) was related to performance on working memory tasks. In addition, the study tested whether the relationship between ICT use and performance on working memory tasks interacted with seventh-grade students' socioeconomic…

  19. Universal emergence of PageRank

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frahm, K M; Georgeot, B; Shepelyansky, D L, E-mail: frahm@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr, E-mail: georgeot@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr, E-mail: dima@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr [Laboratoire de Physique Theorique du CNRS, IRSAMC, Universite de Toulouse, UPS, 31062 Toulouse (France)

    2011-11-18

    The PageRank algorithm enables us to rank the nodes of a network through a specific eigenvector of the Google matrix, using a damping parameter {alpha} Element-Of ]0, 1[. Using extensive numerical simulations of large web networks, with a special accent on British University networks, we determine numerically and analytically the universal features of the PageRank vector at its emergence when {alpha} {yields} 1. The whole network can be divided into a core part and a group of invariant subspaces. For {alpha} {yields} 1, PageRank converges to a universal power-law distribution on the invariant subspaces whose size distribution also follows a universal power law. The convergence of PageRank at {alpha} {yields} 1 is controlled by eigenvalues of the core part of the Google matrix, which are extremely close to unity, leading to large relaxation times as, for example, in spin glasses. (paper)

  20. Universal emergence of PageRank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frahm, K M; Georgeot, B; Shepelyansky, D L

    2011-01-01

    The PageRank algorithm enables us to rank the nodes of a network through a specific eigenvector of the Google matrix, using a damping parameter α ∈ ]0, 1[. Using extensive numerical simulations of large web networks, with a special accent on British University networks, we determine numerically and analytically the universal features of the PageRank vector at its emergence when α → 1. The whole network can be divided into a core part and a group of invariant subspaces. For α → 1, PageRank converges to a universal power-law distribution on the invariant subspaces whose size distribution also follows a universal power law. The convergence of PageRank at α → 1 is controlled by eigenvalues of the core part of the Google matrix, which are extremely close to unity, leading to large relaxation times as, for example, in spin glasses. (paper)

  1. Fecal hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities in vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists, control subjects, and bowel cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macdonald, I A; Webb, G R; Mahony, D E

    1978-10-01

    Cell-free extracts were prepared from mixed fecal anaerobic bacteria grown from stools of 14 vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists, 16 omnivorous control subjects, and eight patients recently diagnosed with cancer of the large bowel. Preparations were assayed for NAD- and NADP-dependent 3alpha-, 7alpha- and 12alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases with bile salts and androsterone as substrates (eight substrate-cofactor combinations were tested). A significant intergroup difference was observed in the amounts of NAD- and NADP-dependent 7alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase produced: bowel cancer patients exceeded controls, and controls exceeded Seventh-Day Adventists. Other enzyme activity comparisons were not significant. The pH values of the stools were significantly higher in cancer patients compared to Seventh-Day Adventists; values were 7.03 +/- 0.60 and 6.46 +/- 0.58 respectively. The pH value for controls was 6.66 +/- 0.62. A plot of pH value versus NADP-dependent 7alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase tended to separate the cancer patients from the other groups. Comparative data suggest that much of the 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase active against bile salt is also active against androsterone.

  2. Ranking REACH registered neutral, ionizable and ionic organic chemicals based on their aquatic persistency and mobility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arp, H P H; Brown, T N; Berger, U; Hale, S E

    2017-07-19

    The contaminants that have the greatest chances of appearing in drinking water are those that are mobile enough in the aquatic environment to enter drinking water sources and persistent enough to survive treatment processes. Herein a screening procedure to rank neutral, ionizable and ionic organic compounds for being persistent and mobile organic compounds (PMOCs) is presented and applied to the list of industrial substances registered under the EU REACH legislation as of December 2014. This comprised 5155 identifiable, unique organic structures. The minimum cut-off criteria considered for PMOC classification herein are a freshwater half-life >40 days, which is consistent with the REACH definition of freshwater persistency, and a log D oc water distribution coefficient). Experimental data were given the highest priority, followed by data from an array of available quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), and as a third resort, an original Iterative Fragment Selection (IFS) QSAR. In total, 52% of the unique REACH structures made the minimum criteria to be considered a PMOC, and 21% achieved the highest PMOC ranking (half-life > 40 days, log D oc freshwater persistency, which was also the parameter that QSARs performed the most poorly at predicting. Several prioritized drinking water contaminants in the EU and USA, and other contaminants of concern, were identified as PMOCs. This identification and ranking procedure for PMOCs can be part of a strategy to better identify contaminants that pose a threat to drinking water sources.

  3. A Ranking Approach to Genomic Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blondel, Mathieu; Onogi, Akio; Iwata, Hiroyoshi; Ueda, Naonori

    2015-01-01

    Genomic selection (GS) is a recent selective breeding method which uses predictive models based on whole-genome molecular markers. Until now, existing studies formulated GS as the problem of modeling an individual's breeding value for a particular trait of interest, i.e., as a regression problem. To assess predictive accuracy of the model, the Pearson correlation between observed and predicted trait values was used. In this paper, we propose to formulate GS as the problem of ranking individuals according to their breeding value. Our proposed framework allows us to employ machine learning methods for ranking which had previously not been considered in the GS literature. To assess ranking accuracy of a model, we introduce a new measure originating from the information retrieval literature called normalized discounted cumulative gain (NDCG). NDCG rewards more strongly models which assign a high rank to individuals with high breeding value. Therefore, NDCG reflects a prerequisite objective in selective breeding: accurate selection of individuals with high breeding value. We conducted a comparison of 10 existing regression methods and 3 new ranking methods on 6 datasets, consisting of 4 plant species and 25 traits. Our experimental results suggest that tree-based ensemble methods including McRank, Random Forests and Gradient Boosting Regression Trees achieve excellent ranking accuracy. RKHS regression and RankSVM also achieve good accuracy when used with an RBF kernel. Traditional regression methods such as Bayesian lasso, wBSR and BayesC were found less suitable for ranking. Pearson correlation was found to correlate poorly with NDCG. Our study suggests two important messages. First, ranking methods are a promising research direction in GS. Second, NDCG can be a useful evaluation measure for GS.

  4. A statistical approach to rank multiple priorities in Environmental Epidemiology: an example from high-risk areas in Sardinia, Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolores Catelan

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available In Environmental Epidemiology, long lists of relative risk estimates from exposed populations are compared to a reference to scrutinize the dataset for extremes. Here, inference on disease profiles for given areas, or for fixed disease population signatures, are of interest and summaries can be obtained averaging over areas or diseases. We have developed a multivariate hierarchical Bayesian approach to estimate posterior rank distributions and we show how to produce league tables of ranks with credibility intervals useful to address the above mentioned inferential problems. Applying the procedure to a real dataset from the report “Environment and Health in Sardinia (Italy” we selected 18 areas characterized by high environmental pressure for industrial, mining or military activities investigated for 29 causes of deaths among male residents. Ranking diseases highlighted the increased burdens of neoplastic (cancerous, and non-neoplastic respiratory diseases in the heavily polluted area of Portoscuso. The averaged ranks by disease over areas showed lung cancer among the three highest positions.

  5. Dynamic Matrix Rank

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Gudmund Skovbjerg; Frandsen, Peter Frands

    2009-01-01

    We consider maintaining information about the rank of a matrix under changes of the entries. For n×n matrices, we show an upper bound of O(n1.575) arithmetic operations and a lower bound of Ω(n) arithmetic operations per element change. The upper bound is valid when changing up to O(n0.575) entries...... in a single column of the matrix. We also give an algorithm that maintains the rank using O(n2) arithmetic operations per rank one update. These bounds appear to be the first nontrivial bounds for the problem. The upper bounds are valid for arbitrary fields, whereas the lower bound is valid for algebraically...... closed fields. The upper bound for element updates uses fast rectangular matrix multiplication, and the lower bound involves further development of an earlier technique for proving lower bounds for dynamic computation of rational functions....

  6. Statistical methods for ranking data

    CERN Document Server

    Alvo, Mayer

    2014-01-01

    This book introduces advanced undergraduate, graduate students and practitioners to statistical methods for ranking data. An important aspect of nonparametric statistics is oriented towards the use of ranking data. Rank correlation is defined through the notion of distance functions and the notion of compatibility is introduced to deal with incomplete data. Ranking data are also modeled using a variety of modern tools such as CART, MCMC, EM algorithm and factor analysis. This book deals with statistical methods used for analyzing such data and provides a novel and unifying approach for hypotheses testing. The techniques described in the book are illustrated with examples and the statistical software is provided on the authors’ website.

  7. Ranking of Palliative Care Development in the Countries of the European Union.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woitha, Kathrin; Garralda, Eduardo; Martin-Moreno, Jose María; Clark, David; Centeno, Carlos

    2016-09-01

    There is growing interest in monitoring palliative care (PC) development internationally. One aspect of this is the ranking of such development for comparative purposes. To generate a ranking classification and to compare scores for PC development in the countries of the European Union, 2007 and 2013. PC "development" in this study is understood as a combination of the existence of relevant services in a country ("resources") plus the capacity to develop further resources in the future ("vitality"). "Resources" comprise indicators of three types of PC services per population (inpatient palliative care units and inpatient hospices, hospital support teams, and home care teams). "Vitality" of PC is estimated by numerical scores for the existence of a national association, a directory of services, physician accreditation, attendances at a key European conference and volume of publications on PC development. The leading country (by raw score) is then considered as the reference point against which all other countries are measured. Different weightings are applied to resources (75%) and vitality (25%). From this, an overall ranking is constructed. The U.K. achieved the highest level of development (86% of the maximum possible score), followed by Belgium and overall The Netherlands (81%), and Sweden (80%). In the resources domain, Luxembourg, the U.K., and Belgium were leading. The top countries in vitality were Germany and the U.K. In comparison to 2007, The Netherlands, Malta, and Portugal showed the biggest improvements, whereas the positions of Spain, France, and Greece deteriorated. The ranking method permitted a comparison of palliative care development between countries and shows changes over time. Recommendations for improving the ranking include improvements to the methodology and greater explanation of the levels and changes it reveals. Copyright © 2016 Universidad Navarra. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Hitting the Rankings Jackpot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, David W.

    2008-01-01

    Recently, Samford University was ranked 27th in the nation in a report released by "Forbes" magazine. In this article, the author relates how the people working at Samford University were surprised at its ranking. Although Samford is the largest privately institution in Alabama, its distinguished academic achievements aren't even…

  9. Religious Social Support and Hypertension Among Older North American Seventh-Day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlemagne-Badal, Sherma J; Lee, Jerry W

    2016-04-01

    Seventh-day Adventists have been noted for their unique lifestyle, religious practices and longevity. However, we know little about how religion is directly related to health in this group. Specifically, we know nothing about how religious social support is related to hypertension. Using data from the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study, we carried out a cross-sectional study of 9581 and a prospective study of 5720 North American Seventh-day Adventists examining new 534 cases of hypertension occurring up to 4 years later. We used binary logistic regression analyses to examine study hypotheses. Of the religious social support variables, in both the cross-sectional and prospective study only anticipated support significantly predicted hypertension, but the relationship was mediated by BMI. There were no significant race or gender differences. The favorable relationships between anticipated support and hypertension appear to be mediated by BMI and are an indication of how this dimension of religion combined with lifestyle promotes good health, specifically, reduced risk of hypertension.

  10. Ranking of concern, based on environmental indexes, for pharmaceutical and personal care products: an application to the Spanish case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz de García, Sheyla; Pinto, Gilberto Pinto; García-Encina, Pedro A; Irusta Mata, Rubén I

    2013-11-15

    A wide range of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are present in the environment, and many of their adverse effects are unknown. The emergence of new compounds or changes in regulations have led to dynamical studies of occurrence, impact and treatment, which consider geographical areas and trends in consumption and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. A Quantitative study of Structure-Activity Relationship ((Q)SAR) was performed to assess the possible adverse effects of ninety six PPCPs and metabolites with negligible experimental data and establish a ranking of concern, which was supported by the EPA EPI Suite™ interface. The environmental and toxicological indexes, the persistence (P), the bioaccumulation (B), the toxicity (T) (extensive) and the occurrence in Spanish aquatic environments (O) (intensive) were evaluated. The most hazardous characteristics in the largest number of compounds were generated by the P index, followed by the T and B indexes. A high number of metabolites has a concern score equal to or greater than their parent compounds. Three PBT and OPBT rankings of concern were proposed using the total and partial ranking method (supported by a Hasse diagram) by the Decision Analysis by Ranking Techniques (DART) tool, which was recently recommended by the European Commission. An analysis of the sensibility of the relative weights of these indexes has been conducted. Hormones, antidepressants (and their metabolites), blood lipid regulators and all of the personal care products considered in this study were at the highest levels of risk according to the PBT and OPBT total rankings. Furthermore, when the OPBT partial ranking was performed, X-ray contrast media, H2 blockers and some antibiotics were included at the highest level of concern. It is important to improve and incorporate useful indexes for the predicted environmental impact of PPCPs and metabolites and thus focus experimental analysis on the compounds that require

  11. Abundances of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 14 chinese and american coals and their relation to coal rank and weathering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, R.; Liu, Gaisheng; Zhang, Jiahua; Chou, C.-L.; Liu, J.

    2010-01-01

    The abundances of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the priority list of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) have been determined in 14 Chinese and American coals. The ranks of the samples range from lignite, bituminous coal, anthracite, to natural coke. Soxhlet extraction was conducted on each coal for 48 h. The extract was analyzed on a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The results show that the total PAH content ranged from 0.31 to 57.6 ??g/g of coal (on a dry basis). It varied with coal rank and is highest in the maturity range of bituminous coal rank. High-molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs are predominant in low-rank coals, but low-molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs are predominant in high-rank coals. The low-sulfur coals have a higher PAH content than high-sulfur coals. It may be explained by an increasing connection between disulfide bonds and PAHs in high-sulfur coal. In addition, it leads us to conclude that the PAH content of coals may be related to the depositional environment. ?? 2010 American Chemical Society.

  12. 76 FR 72240 - Twenty-Seventh Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 206: Aeronautical Information and Meteorological...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Twenty-Seventh Meeting: RTCA Special... Administration (FAA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special Committee 206..., 2011 FRAC OSED [[Page 72241

  13. A tilting approach to ranking influence

    KAUST Repository

    Genton, Marc G.

    2014-12-01

    We suggest a new approach, which is applicable for general statistics computed from random samples of univariate or vector-valued or functional data, to assessing the influence that individual data have on the value of a statistic, and to ranking the data in terms of that influence. Our method is based on, first, perturbing the value of the statistic by ‘tilting’, or reweighting, each data value, where the total amount of tilt is constrained to be the least possible, subject to achieving a given small perturbation of the statistic, and, then, taking the ranking of the influence of data values to be that which corresponds to ranking the changes in data weights. It is shown, both theoretically and numerically, that this ranking does not depend on the size of the perturbation, provided that the perturbation is sufficiently small. That simple result leads directly to an elegant geometric interpretation of the ranks; they are the ranks of the lengths of projections of the weights onto a ‘line’ determined by the first empirical principal component function in a generalized measure of covariance. To illustrate the generality of the method we introduce and explore it in the case of functional data, where (for example) it leads to generalized boxplots. The method has the advantage of providing an interpretable ranking that depends on the statistic under consideration. For example, the ranking of data, in terms of their influence on the value of a statistic, is different for a measure of location and for a measure of scale. This is as it should be; a ranking of data in terms of their influence should depend on the manner in which the data are used. Additionally, the ranking recognizes, rather than ignores, sign, and in particular can identify left- and right-hand ‘tails’ of the distribution of a random function or vector.

  14. International Drug Discovery Science and Technology--BIT's Seventh Annual Congress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodovitz, Steven

    2010-01-01

    BIT's Seventh Annual International Drug Discovery Science and Technology Congress, held in Shanghai, included topics covering new therapeutic and technological developments in the field of drug discovery. This conference report highlights selected presentations on open-access approaches to R&D, novel and multifactorial targets, and technologies that assist drug discovery. Investigational drugs discussed include the anticancer agents astuprotimut-r (GlaxoSmithKline plc) and AS-1411 (Antisoma plc).

  15. Ranking adverse drug reactions with crowdsourcing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottlieb, Assaf; Hoehndorf, Robert; Dumontier, Michel; Altman, Russ B

    2015-03-23

    There is no publicly available resource that provides the relative severity of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Such a resource would be useful for several applications, including assessment of the risks and benefits of drugs and improvement of patient-centered care. It could also be used to triage predictions of drug adverse events. The intent of the study was to rank ADRs according to severity. We used Internet-based crowdsourcing to rank ADRs according to severity. We assigned 126,512 pairwise comparisons of ADRs to 2589 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers and used these comparisons to rank order 2929 ADRs. There is good correlation (rho=.53) between the mortality rates associated with ADRs and their rank. Our ranking highlights severe drug-ADR predictions, such as cardiovascular ADRs for raloxifene and celecoxib. It also triages genes associated with severe ADRs such as epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR), associated with glioblastoma multiforme, and SCN1A, associated with epilepsy. ADR ranking lays a first stepping stone in personalized drug risk assessment. Ranking of ADRs using crowdsourcing may have useful clinical and financial implications, and should be further investigated in the context of health care decision making.

  16. Ranking Adverse Drug Reactions With Crowdsourcing

    KAUST Repository

    Gottlieb, Assaf

    2015-03-23

    Background: There is no publicly available resource that provides the relative severity of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Such a resource would be useful for several applications, including assessment of the risks and benefits of drugs and improvement of patient-centered care. It could also be used to triage predictions of drug adverse events. Objective: The intent of the study was to rank ADRs according to severity. Methods: We used Internet-based crowdsourcing to rank ADRs according to severity. We assigned 126,512 pairwise comparisons of ADRs to 2589 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers and used these comparisons to rank order 2929 ADRs. Results: There is good correlation (rho=.53) between the mortality rates associated with ADRs and their rank. Our ranking highlights severe drug-ADR predictions, such as cardiovascular ADRs for raloxifene and celecoxib. It also triages genes associated with severe ADRs such as epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR), associated with glioblastoma multiforme, and SCN1A, associated with epilepsy. Conclusions: ADR ranking lays a first stepping stone in personalized drug risk assessment. Ranking of ADRs using crowdsourcing may have useful clinical and financial implications, and should be further investigated in the context of health care decision making.

  17. Ranking scientific publications: the effect of nonlinearity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Liyang; Wei, Tian; Zeng, An; Fan, Ying; di, Zengru

    2014-10-01

    Ranking the significance of scientific publications is a long-standing challenge. The network-based analysis is a natural and common approach for evaluating the scientific credit of papers. Although the number of citations has been widely used as a metric to rank papers, recently some iterative processes such as the well-known PageRank algorithm have been applied to the citation networks to address this problem. In this paper, we introduce nonlinearity to the PageRank algorithm when aggregating resources from different nodes to further enhance the effect of important papers. The validation of our method is performed on the data of American Physical Society (APS) journals. The results indicate that the nonlinearity improves the performance of the PageRank algorithm in terms of ranking effectiveness, as well as robustness against malicious manipulations. Although the nonlinearity analysis is based on the PageRank algorithm, it can be easily extended to other iterative ranking algorithms and similar improvements are expected.

  18. Ranking scientific publications: the effect of nonlinearity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Liyang; Wei, Tian; Zeng, An; Fan, Ying; Di, Zengru

    2014-10-17

    Ranking the significance of scientific publications is a long-standing challenge. The network-based analysis is a natural and common approach for evaluating the scientific credit of papers. Although the number of citations has been widely used as a metric to rank papers, recently some iterative processes such as the well-known PageRank algorithm have been applied to the citation networks to address this problem. In this paper, we introduce nonlinearity to the PageRank algorithm when aggregating resources from different nodes to further enhance the effect of important papers. The validation of our method is performed on the data of American Physical Society (APS) journals. The results indicate that the nonlinearity improves the performance of the PageRank algorithm in terms of ranking effectiveness, as well as robustness against malicious manipulations. Although the nonlinearity analysis is based on the PageRank algorithm, it can be easily extended to other iterative ranking algorithms and similar improvements are expected.

  19. Statistical Optimality in Multipartite Ranking and Ordinal Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uematsu, Kazuki; Lee, Yoonkyung

    2015-05-01

    Statistical optimality in multipartite ranking is investigated as an extension of bipartite ranking. We consider the optimality of ranking algorithms through minimization of the theoretical risk which combines pairwise ranking errors of ordinal categories with differential ranking costs. The extension shows that for a certain class of convex loss functions including exponential loss, the optimal ranking function can be represented as a ratio of weighted conditional probability of upper categories to lower categories, where the weights are given by the misranking costs. This result also bridges traditional ranking methods such as proportional odds model in statistics with various ranking algorithms in machine learning. Further, the analysis of multipartite ranking with different costs provides a new perspective on non-smooth list-wise ranking measures such as the discounted cumulative gain and preference learning. We illustrate our findings with simulation study and real data analysis.

  20. Country-specific determinants of world university rankings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietrucha, Jacek

    2018-01-01

    This paper examines country-specific factors that affect the three most influential world university rankings (the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the QS World University Ranking, and the Times Higher Education World University Ranking). We run a cross sectional regression that covers 42-71 countries (depending on the ranking and data availability). We show that the position of universities from a country in the ranking is determined by the following country-specific variables: economic potential of the country, research and development expenditure, long-term political stability (freedom from war, occupation, coups and major changes in the political system), and institutional variables, including government effectiveness.

  1. Ranking in evolving complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Hao; Mariani, Manuel Sebastian; Medo, Matúš; Zhang, Yi-Cheng; Zhou, Ming-Yang

    2017-05-01

    Complex networks have emerged as a simple yet powerful framework to represent and analyze a wide range of complex systems. The problem of ranking the nodes and the edges in complex networks is critical for a broad range of real-world problems because it affects how we access online information and products, how success and talent are evaluated in human activities, and how scarce resources are allocated by companies and policymakers, among others. This calls for a deep understanding of how existing ranking algorithms perform, and which are their possible biases that may impair their effectiveness. Many popular ranking algorithms (such as Google's PageRank) are static in nature and, as a consequence, they exhibit important shortcomings when applied to real networks that rapidly evolve in time. At the same time, recent advances in the understanding and modeling of evolving networks have enabled the development of a wide and diverse range of ranking algorithms that take the temporal dimension into account. The aim of this review is to survey the existing ranking algorithms, both static and time-aware, and their applications to evolving networks. We emphasize both the impact of network evolution on well-established static algorithms and the benefits from including the temporal dimension for tasks such as prediction of network traffic, prediction of future links, and identification of significant nodes.

  2. The Effect of Project Based Learning on Seventh Grade Students' Academic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kizkapan, Oktay; Bektas, Oktay

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a significant effect of project based learning approach on seventh grade students' academic achievement in the structure and properties of matter. In the study, according to the characteristics of quantitative research methods, pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design was…

  3. Groundwater contaminant plume ranking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-08-01

    Containment plumes at Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project sites were ranked to assist in Subpart B (i.e., restoration requirements of 40 CFR Part 192) compliance strategies for each site, to prioritize aquifer restoration, and to budget future requests and allocations. The rankings roughly estimate hazards to the environment and human health, and thus assist in determining for which sites cleanup, if appropriate, will provide the greatest benefits for funds available. The rankings are based on the scores that were obtained using the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Modified Hazard Ranking System (MHRS). The MHRS and HRS consider and score three hazard modes for a site: migration, fire and explosion, and direct contact. The migration hazard mode score reflects the potential for harm to humans or the environment from migration of a hazardous substance off a site by groundwater, surface water, and air; it is a composite of separate scores for each of these routes. For ranking the containment plumes at UMTRA Project sites, it was assumed that each site had been remediated in compliance with the EPA standards and that relict contaminant plumes were present. Therefore, only the groundwater route was scored, and the surface water and air routes were not considered. Section 2.0 of this document describes the assumptions and procedures used to score the groundwater route, and Section 3.0 provides the resulting scores for each site. 40 tabs

  4. Nutrient intake and hormonal status of premenopausal vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists and premenopausal nonvegetarians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shultz, T D; Leklem, J E

    1983-01-01

    The relationship between dietary nutrients and plasma estrone, estradiol-17 beta, estriol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and prolactin levels was investigated in 14 premenopausal Seventh-day Adventist vegetarian (SV) women and 9 premenopausal non-Seventh-day Adventist nonvegetarian (NV) women. The SV subjects consumed less fat, especially saturated fat, and used significantly less fried food than the NV subjects. Plasma levels of estrone and estradiol-17 beta in the SV subjects were significantly lower than in the NV subjects. SV estradiol-17 beta and estriol levels were positively correlated with linoleic acid and protein intake, while NV prolactin levels were significantly correlated with intakes of oleic and linoleic acids and total fat. The data suggest that specific dietary nutrients were related to the hormonal milieu of these SV and NV subjects.

  5. Inhibition of osteoclastogenesis by RNA interference targeting RANK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ma Ruofan

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Osteoclasts and osteoblasts regulate bone resorption and formation to allow bone remodeling and homeostasis. The balance between bone resorption and formation is disturbed by abnormal recruitment of osteoclasts. Osteoclast differentiation is dependent on the receptor activator of nuclear factor NF-kappa B (RANK ligand (RANKL as well as the macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF. The RANKL/RANK system and RANK signaling induce osteoclast formation mediated by various cytokines. The RANK/RANKL pathway has been primarily implicated in metabolic, degenerative and neoplastic bone disorders or osteolysis. The central role of RANK/RANKL interaction in osteoclastogenesis makes RANK an attractive target for potential therapies in treatment of osteolysis. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of inhibition of RANK expression in mouse bone marrow macrophages on osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. Methods Three pairs of short hairpin RNAs (shRNA targeting RANK were designed and synthesized. The optimal shRNA was selected among three pairs of shRNAs by RANK expression analyzed by Western blot and Real-time PCR. We investigated suppression of osteoclastogenesis of mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMMs using the optimal shRNA by targeting RANK. Results Among the three shRANKs examined, shRANK-3 significantly suppressed [88.3%] the RANK expression (p Conclusions These findings suggest that retrovirus-mediated shRNA targeting RANK inhibits osteoclast differentiation and osteolysis. It may appear an attractive target for preventing osteolysis in humans with a potential clinical application.

  6. Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Seventh-Day Adventists and other groups in Maryland. Lack of association with diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, R J; Russell, R G; O'Donnoghue, J M; Wasserman, S S; Lefkowitz, A; Morris, J G

    1990-11-01

    To evaluate the possible role of diet in the transmission of Helicobacter pylori, we compared H pylori seroprevalence among Seventh-Day Adventists (who are vegetarian and abstain from alcohol, caffeine, and meat; n = 94) and two non-Seventh-Day Adventist control groups (n = 168). With the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay H pylori antigen prepared in a French pressure cell, we found no difference in seroprevalence among these groups; however, seropositivity strongly correlated with age and black race.

  7. On Rank and Nullity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobbs, David E.

    2012-01-01

    This note explains how Emil Artin's proof that row rank equals column rank for a matrix with entries in a field leads naturally to the formula for the nullity of a matrix and also to an algorithm for solving any system of linear equations in any number of variables. This material could be used in any course on matrix theory or linear algebra.

  8. Ranking economic history journals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Vaio, Gianfranco; Weisdorf, Jacob Louis

    2010-01-01

    This study ranks-for the first time-12 international academic journals that have economic history as their main topic. The ranking is based on data collected for the year 2007. Journals are ranked using standard citation analysis where we adjust for age, size and self-citation of journals. We also...... compare the leading economic history journals with the leading journals in economics in order to measure the influence on economics of economic history, and vice versa. With a few exceptions, our results confirm the general idea about what economic history journals are the most influential for economic...... history, and that, although economic history is quite independent from economics as a whole, knowledge exchange between the two fields is indeed going on....

  9. Ranking Economic History Journals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Vaio, Gianfranco; Weisdorf, Jacob Louis

    This study ranks - for the first time - 12 international academic journals that have economic history as their main topic. The ranking is based on data collected for the year 2007. Journals are ranked using standard citation analysis where we adjust for age, size and self-citation of journals. We...... also compare the leading economic history journals with the leading journals in economics in order to measure the influence on economics of economic history, and vice versa. With a few exceptions, our results confirm the general idea about what economic history journals are the most influential...... for economic history, and that, although economic history is quite independent from economics as a whole, knowledge exchange between the two fields is indeed going on....

  10. A Universal Rank-Size Law

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    A mere hyperbolic law, like the Zipf’s law power function, is often inadequate to describe rank-size relationships. An alternative theoretical distribution is proposed based on theoretical physics arguments starting from the Yule-Simon distribution. A modeling is proposed leading to a universal form. A theoretical suggestion for the “best (or optimal) distribution”, is provided through an entropy argument. The ranking of areas through the number of cities in various countries and some sport competition ranking serves for the present illustrations. PMID:27812192

  11. AIDS Risk Among Students Attending Seventh-day Adventist Schools in North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, Gary L.; Hopp, Joyce W.; Marshak, Helen P. Hopp; Neish, Christine; Rhoads, Gayle

    1998-01-01

    Surveys of students attending Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) high schools assessed sexual and drug-use behaviors that placed them at risk for contracting or transmitting HIV. Comparison of the results with data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicated that SDA students had lower rates of sexual intercourse and substance use. Parental…

  12. Identifying Factors That Affect Higher Educational Achievements of Jamaican Seventh-Day Adventists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Samuel P.

    2011-01-01

    This mixed-method explanatory research examined factors that influenced Jamaican Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) members to pursue higher education. It sought to investigate whether the source of the motivation is tied to the Church's general philosophy on education or to its overall programs as experienced by the membership at large. The question of…

  13. Identification and ranking of environmental threats with ecosystem vulnerability distributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zijp, Michiel C; Huijbregts, Mark A J; Schipper, Aafke M; Mulder, Christian; Posthuma, Leo

    2017-08-24

    Responses of ecosystems to human-induced stress vary in space and time, because both stressors and ecosystem vulnerabilities vary in space and time. Presently, ecosystem impact assessments mainly take into account variation in stressors, without considering variation in ecosystem vulnerability. We developed a method to address ecosystem vulnerability variation by quantifying ecosystem vulnerability distributions (EVDs) based on monitoring data of local species compositions and environmental conditions. The method incorporates spatial variation of both abiotic and biotic variables to quantify variation in responses among species and ecosystems. We show that EVDs can be derived based on a selection of locations, existing monitoring data and a selected impact boundary, and can be used in stressor identification and ranking for a region. A case study on Ohio's freshwater ecosystems, with freshwater fish as target species group, showed that physical habitat impairment and nutrient loads ranked highest as current stressors, with species losses higher than 5% for at least 6% of the locations. EVDs complement existing approaches of stressor assessment and management, which typically account only for variability in stressors, by accounting for variation in the vulnerability of the responding ecosystems.

  14. Impact factor analysis: combining prediction with parameter ranking to reveal the impact of behavior on health outcome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doryab, Afsaneh; Frost, Mads; Faurholt-Jepsen, Maria

    2015-01-01

    An increasing number of healthcare systems allow people to monitor behavior and provide feedback on health and wellness. Most applications, however, only offer feedback on behavior in form of visualization and data summaries. This paper presents a different approach—called impact factor analysis—...... in monitoring and control of mental illness, and we argue that the impact factor analysis can be useful in the design of other health and wellness systems....... ten bipolar patients, in which we were able to estimate mood values with an average mean absolute error of 0.5. This was used to rank the behavior parameters whose variations indicate changes in the mental state. The rankings acquired from our algorithms correspond to the patients’ rankings......, identifying physical activity and sleep as the highest impact parameters. These results revealed the feasibility of identifying behavioral impact factors. This data analysis motivated us to design an impact factor inference engine as part of the MONARCA system. To our knowledge, this is a novel approach...

  15. On the ranking of chemicals based on their PBT characteristics: comparison of different ranking methodologies using selected POPs as an illustrative example.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sailaukhanuly, Yerbolat; Zhakupbekova, Arai; Amutova, Farida; Carlsen, Lars

    2013-01-01

    Knowledge of the environmental behavior of chemicals is a fundamental part of the risk assessment process. The present paper discusses various methods of ranking of a series of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) according to the persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity (PBT) characteristics. Traditionally ranking has been done as an absolute (total) ranking applying various multicriteria data analysis methods like simple additive ranking (SAR) or various utility functions (UFs) based rankings. An attractive alternative to these ranking methodologies appears to be partial order ranking (POR). The present paper compares different ranking methods like SAR, UF and POR. Significant discrepancies between the rankings are noted and it is concluded that partial order ranking, as a method without any pre-assumptions concerning possible relation between the single parameters, appears as the most attractive ranking methodology. In addition to the initial ranking partial order methodology offers a wide variety of analytical tools to elucidate the interplay between the objects to be ranked and the ranking parameters. In the present study is included an analysis of the relative importance of the single P, B and T parameters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Are Quantitative Measures of Academic Productivity Correlated with Academic Rank in Plastic Surgery? A National Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susarla, Srinivas M; Lopez, Joseph; Swanson, Edward W; Miller, Devin; O'Brien-Coon, Devin; Zins, James E; Serletti, Joseph M; Yaremchuk, Michael J; Manson, Paul N; Gordon, Chad R

    2015-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between quantitative measures of academic productivity and academic rank among full-time academic plastic surgeons. Bibliometric indices were computed for all full-time academic plastic surgeons in the United States. The primary study variable was academic rank. Bibliometric predictors included the Hirsch index, I-10 index, number of publications, number of citations, and highest number of citations for a single publication. Descriptive, bivariate, and correlation analyses were computed. Multiple comparisons testing was used to calculate adjusted associations for subgroups. For all analyses, a value of p productivity. Although academic promotion is the result of success in multiple different areas, bibliometric measures may be useful adjuncts for assessment of research productivity.

  17. Block models and personalized PageRank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kloumann, Isabel M; Ugander, Johan; Kleinberg, Jon

    2017-01-03

    Methods for ranking the importance of nodes in a network have a rich history in machine learning and across domains that analyze structured data. Recent work has evaluated these methods through the "seed set expansion problem": given a subset [Formula: see text] of nodes from a community of interest in an underlying graph, can we reliably identify the rest of the community? We start from the observation that the most widely used techniques for this problem, personalized PageRank and heat kernel methods, operate in the space of "landing probabilities" of a random walk rooted at the seed set, ranking nodes according to weighted sums of landing probabilities of different length walks. Both schemes, however, lack an a priori relationship to the seed set objective. In this work, we develop a principled framework for evaluating ranking methods by studying seed set expansion applied to the stochastic block model. We derive the optimal gradient for separating the landing probabilities of two classes in a stochastic block model and find, surprisingly, that under reasonable assumptions the gradient is asymptotically equivalent to personalized PageRank for a specific choice of the PageRank parameter [Formula: see text] that depends on the block model parameters. This connection provides a formal motivation for the success of personalized PageRank in seed set expansion and node ranking generally. We use this connection to propose more advanced techniques incorporating higher moments of landing probabilities; our advanced methods exhibit greatly improved performance, despite being simple linear classification rules, and are even competitive with belief propagation.

  18. Adiabatic quantum algorithm for search engine ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garnerone, Silvano; Zanardi, Paolo; Lidar, Daniel A

    2012-06-08

    We propose an adiabatic quantum algorithm for generating a quantum pure state encoding of the PageRank vector, the most widely used tool in ranking the relative importance of internet pages. We present extensive numerical simulations which provide evidence that this algorithm can prepare the quantum PageRank state in a time which, on average, scales polylogarithmically in the number of web pages. We argue that the main topological feature of the underlying web graph allowing for such a scaling is the out-degree distribution. The top-ranked log(n) entries of the quantum PageRank state can then be estimated with a polynomial quantum speed-up. Moreover, the quantum PageRank state can be used in "q-sampling" protocols for testing properties of distributions, which require exponentially fewer measurements than all classical schemes designed for the same task. This can be used to decide whether to run a classical update of the PageRank.

  19. Comparing classical and quantum PageRanks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loke, T.; Tang, J. W.; Rodriguez, J.; Small, M.; Wang, J. B.

    2017-01-01

    Following recent developments in quantum PageRanking, we present a comparative analysis of discrete-time and continuous-time quantum-walk-based PageRank algorithms. Relative to classical PageRank and to different extents, the quantum measures better highlight secondary hubs and resolve ranking degeneracy among peripheral nodes for all networks we studied in this paper. For the discrete-time case, we investigated the periodic nature of the walker's probability distribution for a wide range of networks and found that the dominant period does not grow with the size of these networks. Based on this observation, we introduce a new quantum measure using the maximum probabilities of the associated walker during the first couple of periods. This is particularly important, since it leads to a quantum PageRanking scheme that is scalable with respect to network size.

  20. IAEA research contracts. Seventh annual report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1967-01-01

    This volume is the seventh annual report and presents full summaries of 52 final reports from contracts, sponsored under the Agency's Research Contract Programme, which were completed during 1966. Including these, a total of 188 summaries have been published in the various fields in which support is provided under the IAEA Research contract program. In every case the summary of the contractor's final report has been prepared by that member of the Agency's scientific staff who has been most closely connected with the particular branch of research concerned. The scientific data are the responsibility of the contractor, though the Agency is responsible for any additional observations. The reports presented are related to research in the field of radioactive waste management and environmental sciences; health physics and radiation protection; radiobiology; safeguards methods; nuclear reactors physics and nuclear fuels; radioisotope applications in agriculture, medicine and hydrology, food preservation by irradiation

  1. IAEA research contracts. Seventh annual report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1967-05-01

    This volume is the seventh annual report and presents full summaries of 52 final reports from contracts, sponsored under the Agency's Research Contract Programme, which were completed during 1966. Including these, a total of 188 summaries have been published in the various fields in which support is provided under the IAEA Research contract program. In every case the summary of the contractor's final report has been prepared by that member of the Agency's scientific staff who has been most closely connected with the particular branch of research concerned. The scientific data are the responsibility of the contractor, though the Agency is responsible for any additional observations. The reports presented are related to research in the field of radioactive waste management and environmental sciences; health physics and radiation protection; radiobiology; safeguards methods; nuclear reactors physics and nuclear fuels; radioisotope applications in agriculture, medicine and hydrology, food preservation by irradiation.

  2. Ranking Iranian biomedical research centers according to H-variants (G, M, A, R) in Scopus and Web of Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmudi, Zoleikha; Tahamtan, Iman; Sedghi, Shahram; Roudbari, Masoud

    2015-01-01

    We conducted a comprehensive bibliometrics analysis to calculate the H, G, M, A and R indicators for all Iranian biomedical research centers (IBRCs) from the output of ISI Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus between 1991 and 2010. We compared the research performance of the research centers according to these indicators. This was a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study, conducted on 104 Iranian biomedical research centers between August and September 2011. We collected our data through Scopus and WoS. Pearson correlation coefficient between the scientometrics indicators was calculated using SPSS, version 16. The mean values of all indicators were higher in Scopus than in WoS. Drug Applied Research Center of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences had the highest number of publications in both WoS and Scopus databases. This research center along with Royan Institute received the highest number of citations in both Scopus and WoS, respectively. The highest correlation was seen between G and R (.998) in WoS and between G and R (.990) in Scopus. Furthermore, the highest overlap of the 10 top IBRCs was between G and H in WoS (100%) and between G-R (90%) and H-R (90%) in Scopus. Research centers affiliated to the top ranked Iranian medical universities obtained a better position with respect to the studied scientometrics indicators. All aforementioned indicators are important for ranking bibliometrics studies as they refer to different attributes of scientific output and citation aspects.

  3. Error analysis of stochastic gradient descent ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hong; Tang, Yi; Li, Luoqing; Yuan, Yuan; Li, Xuelong; Tang, Yuanyan

    2013-06-01

    Ranking is always an important task in machine learning and information retrieval, e.g., collaborative filtering, recommender systems, drug discovery, etc. A kernel-based stochastic gradient descent algorithm with the least squares loss is proposed for ranking in this paper. The implementation of this algorithm is simple, and an expression of the solution is derived via a sampling operator and an integral operator. An explicit convergence rate for leaning a ranking function is given in terms of the suitable choices of the step size and the regularization parameter. The analysis technique used here is capacity independent and is novel in error analysis of ranking learning. Experimental results on real-world data have shown the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in ranking tasks, which verifies the theoretical analysis in ranking error.

  4. Contests with rank-order spillovers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.R. Baye (Michael); D. Kovenock (Dan); C.G. de Vries (Casper)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractThis paper presents a unified framework for characterizing symmetric equilibrium in simultaneous move, two-player, rank-order contests with complete information, in which each player's strategy generates direct or indirect affine "spillover" effects that depend on the rank-order of her

  5. Rank distributions: A panoramic macroscopic outlook

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eliazar, Iddo I.; Cohen, Morrel H.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a panoramic macroscopic outlook of rank distributions. We establish a general framework for the analysis of rank distributions, which classifies them into five macroscopic "socioeconomic" states: monarchy, oligarchy-feudalism, criticality, socialism-capitalism, and communism. Oligarchy-feudalism is shown to be characterized by discrete macroscopic rank distributions, and socialism-capitalism is shown to be characterized by continuous macroscopic size distributions. Criticality is a transition state between oligarchy-feudalism and socialism-capitalism, which can manifest allometric scaling with multifractal spectra. Monarchy and communism are extreme forms of oligarchy-feudalism and socialism-capitalism, respectively, in which the intrinsic randomness vanishes. The general framework is applied to three different models of rank distributions—top-down, bottom-up, and global—and unveils each model's macroscopic universality and versatility. The global model yields a macroscopic classification of the generalized Zipf law, an omnipresent form of rank distributions observed across the sciences. An amalgamation of the three models establishes a universal rank-distribution explanation for the macroscopic emergence of a prevalent class of continuous size distributions, ones governed by unimodal densities with both Pareto and inverse-Pareto power-law tails.

  6. Importance of intrinsic and non-network contribution in PageRank centrality and its effect on PageRank localization

    OpenAIRE

    Deyasi, Krishanu

    2016-01-01

    PageRank centrality is used by Google for ranking web-pages to present search result for a user query. Here, we have shown that PageRank value of a vertex also depends on its intrinsic, non-network contribution. If the intrinsic, non-network contributions of the vertices are proportional to their degrees or zeros, then their PageRank centralities become proportion to their degrees. Some simulations and empirical data are used to support our study. In addition, we have shown that localization ...

  7. Ranking as parameter estimation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kárný, Miroslav; Guy, Tatiana Valentine

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 4, č. 2 (2009), s. 142-158 ISSN 1745-7645 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 2C06001; GA AV ČR 1ET100750401; GA MŠk 1M0572 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : ranking * Bayesian estimation * negotiation * modelling Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2009/AS/karny- ranking as parameter estimation.pdf

  8. Diversifying customer review rankings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krestel, Ralf; Dokoohaki, Nima

    2015-06-01

    E-commerce Web sites owe much of their popularity to consumer reviews accompanying product descriptions. On-line customers spend hours and hours going through heaps of textual reviews to decide which products to buy. At the same time, each popular product has thousands of user-generated reviews, making it impossible for a buyer to read everything. Current approaches to display reviews to users or recommend an individual review for a product are based on the recency or helpfulness of each review. In this paper, we present a framework to rank product reviews by optimizing the coverage of the ranking with respect to sentiment or aspects, or by summarizing all reviews with the top-K reviews in the ranking. To accomplish this, we make use of the assigned star rating for a product as an indicator for a review's sentiment polarity and compare bag-of-words (language model) with topic models (latent Dirichlet allocation) as a mean to represent aspects. Our evaluation on manually annotated review data from a commercial review Web site demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach, outperforming plain recency ranking by 30% and obtaining best results by combining language and topic model representations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Utilizing Marzano's Summarizing and Note Taking Strategies on Seventh Grade Students' Mathematics Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanmarie-Gardner, Charmaine

    2013-01-01

    A quasi-experimental research study was conducted that investigated the academic impact of utilizing Marzano's summarizing and note taking strategies on mathematic achievement. A sample of seventh graders from a middle school located on Long Island's North Shore was tested to determine whether significant differences existed in mathematic test…

  10. Women in Engineering Program Advocates Network (WEPAN): Evaluation of the seventh annual conference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brainard, S.G.

    1996-08-01

    The primary goals of the 1996 WEPAN Conference were to: (1) Conduct technical and programmatic seminars for institutions desiring to initiate, replicate, or expand women in engineering programs; (2) Provide assistance in fundraising and grant writing; (3) Profile women in engineering programs of excellence; (4) Sponsor inspiring, knowledgeable and motivational keynote speakers; and, (5) Offer a series of workshops focused on topics such as: establishing partnerships with industry, current research findings, retention strategies, issues affecting special populations, and early intervention techniques. In an effort to provide greater access for women to engineering careers, women in engineering program directors at Purdue University, Stevens Institute of Technology and the University of Washington joined together in 1990 to establish WEPAN, a national network of individuals interested in the recruitment, admission, retention, and graduation of women engineering students. This is the seventh year of operation. Success of this effort has been reflected in numerous ways: increased membership in the organization; increased number of women in engineering programs; increased number of women graduating in engineering; and grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, and many other corporations to carry out the goals of WEPAN. The Seventh Annual Women in Engineering Conference entitled, Capitalizing on Today`s Challenges, was held in Denver, Colorado on June 1-4, 1996 at the Hyatt Regency. The conference brought together representatives from academia, government, and industry and examined current issues and initiatives for women in technology, science, and education. Building on the successes of the previous conferences, the seventh conference offered a new variety of speakers and topics.

  11. RANKL/RANK/OPG cytokine receptor system: mRNA expression pattern in BPH, primary and metastatic prostate cancer disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christoph, Frank; König, Frank; Lebentrau, Steffen; Jandrig, Burkhard; Krause, Hans; Strenziok, Romy; Schostak, Martin

    2018-02-01

    The cytokine system RANKL (receptor activator of NF-κB ligand), its receptor RANK and the antagonist OPG (osteoprotegerin) play a critical role in bone turnover. Our investigation was conducted to describe the gene expression at primary tumour site in prostate cancer patients and correlate the results with Gleason Score and PSA level. Seventy-one samples were obtained from prostate cancer patients at the time of radical prostatectomy and palliative prostate resection (n = 71). Patients with benign prostate hyperplasia served as controls (n = 60). We performed real-time RT-PCR after microdissection of the samples. The mRNA expression of RANK was highest in tumour tissue from patients with bone metastases (p BPH or locally confined tumours, also shown in clinical subgroups distinguished by Gleason Score (BPH tissue but did not exceed as much as in the tumour tissue. We demonstrated that RANK, RANKL and OPG are directly expressed by prostate cancer cells at the primary tumour site and showed a clear correlation with Gleason Score, serum PSA level and advanced disease. In BPH, mRNA expression is also detectable, but RANK expression does not exceed as much as compared to tumour tissue.

  12. Journal Rankings by Health Management Faculty Members: Are There Differences by Rank, Leadership Status, or Area of Expertise?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menachemi, Nir; Hogan, Tory H; DelliFraine, Jami L

    2015-01-01

    Health administration (HA) faculty members publish in a variety of journals, including journals focused on management, economics, policy, and information technology. HA faculty members are evaluated on the basis of the quality and quantity of their journal publications. However, it is unclear how perceptions of these journals vary by subdiscipline, department leadership role, or faculty rank. It is also not clear how perceptions of journals may have changed over the past decade since the last evaluation of journal rankings in the field was published. The purpose of the current study is to examine how respondents rank journals in the field of HA, as well as the variation in perception by academic rank, department leadership status, and area of expertise. Data were drawn from a survey of HA faculty members at U.S. universities, which was completed in 2012. Different journal ranking patterns were noted for faculty members of different subdisciplines. The health management-oriented journals (Health Care Management Review and Journal of Healthcare Management) were ranked higher than in previous research, suggesting that journal ranking perceptions may have changed over the intervening decade. Few differences in perceptions were noted by academic rank, but we found that department chairs were more likely than others to select Health Affairs in their top three most prestigious journals (β = 0.768; p journal prestige varied between a department chair and untenured faculty in different disciplines, and this perceived difference could have implications for promotion and tenure decisions.

  13. Associations of relative deprivation and income rank with depressive symptoms among older adults in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gero, Krisztina; Kondo, Katsunori; Kondo, Naoki; Shirai, Kokoro; Kawachi, Ichiro

    2017-09-01

    Income is hypothesized to affect health not just through material pathways (i.e., the ability to purchase health-enhancing goods) but also through psychosocial pathways (e.g., social comparisons with others). Two concepts relevant to the psychosocial effects of income are: relative deprivation (for example expressed by the Yitzhaki Index, measuring the magnitude of difference in income among individuals) and Income Rank. This study examined whether higher relative deprivation and lower income rank are associated with depressive symptoms in an older population independently of absolute income. Using cross-sectional data of 83,100 participants (40,038 men and 43,062 women) in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), this study applied multiple logistic regression models to calculate the odds ratios (OR) of depression associated with relative deprivation/Income Rank. The Japanese Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) was used to assess depressive symptoms, and subjects with a score of ≥5 were categorized as depressed. Reference groups for calculating the Yitzhaki Index and income rank were constructed based on same gender, age-group, and municipality of residence. The findings indicated that after controlling for demographic factors, each 100,000 yen increase in relative deprivation and 0.1 unit decrease in relative rank was associated with a 1.07 (95% CI = 1.07, 1.08) and a 1.15 (95% CI = 1.14, 1.16) times higher odds of depression, respectively, in men. The corresponding ORs in women were 1.05 (95% CI = 1.05, 1.06) and 1.12 (95% CI = 1.11, 1.13), respectively. After adjustment for other covariates and stratification by income quartiles, the results remained statistically significant. Women in the highest income quartile appeared to be more susceptible to the adverse mental health effects of low income rank, while among men the associations were reversed. Low income rank appeared to be more toxic for the poor. Concepts of relative income appear to

  14. A LDA-based approach to promoting ranking diversity for genomics information retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yan; Yin, Xiaoshi; Li, Zhoujun; Hu, Xiaohua; Huang, Jimmy Xiangji

    2012-06-11

    In the biomedical domain, there are immense data and tremendous increase of genomics and biomedical relevant publications. The wealth of information has led to an increasing amount of interest in and need for applying information retrieval techniques to access the scientific literature in genomics and related biomedical disciplines. In many cases, the desired information of a query asked by biologists is a list of a certain type of entities covering different aspects that are related to the question, such as cells, genes, diseases, proteins, mutations, etc. Hence, it is important of a biomedical IR system to be able to provide relevant and diverse answers to fulfill biologists' information needs. However traditional IR model only concerns with the relevance between retrieved documents and user query, but does not take redundancy between retrieved documents into account. This will lead to high redundancy and low diversity in the retrieval ranked lists. In this paper, we propose an approach which employs a topic generative model called Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to promoting ranking diversity for biomedical information retrieval. Different from other approaches or models which consider aspects on word level, our approach assumes that aspects should be identified by the topics of retrieved documents. We present LDA model to discover topic distribution of retrieval passages and word distribution of each topic dimension, and then re-rank retrieval results with topic distribution similarity between passages based on N-size slide window. We perform our approach on TREC 2007 Genomics collection and two distinctive IR baseline runs, which can achieve 8% improvement over the highest Aspect MAP reported in TREC 2007 Genomics track. The proposed method is the first study of adopting topic model to genomics information retrieval, and demonstrates its effectiveness in promoting ranking diversity as well as in improving relevance of ranked lists of genomics search

  15. Algebraic and computational aspects of real tensor ranks

    CERN Document Server

    Sakata, Toshio; Miyazaki, Mitsuhiro

    2016-01-01

    This book provides comprehensive summaries of theoretical (algebraic) and computational aspects of tensor ranks, maximal ranks, and typical ranks, over the real number field. Although tensor ranks have been often argued in the complex number field, it should be emphasized that this book treats real tensor ranks, which have direct applications in statistics. The book provides several interesting ideas, including determinant polynomials, determinantal ideals, absolutely nonsingular tensors, absolutely full column rank tensors, and their connection to bilinear maps and Hurwitz-Radon numbers. In addition to reviews of methods to determine real tensor ranks in details, global theories such as the Jacobian method are also reviewed in details. The book includes as well an accessible and comprehensive introduction of mathematical backgrounds, with basics of positive polynomials and calculations by using the Groebner basis. Furthermore, this book provides insights into numerical methods of finding tensor ranks through...

  16. An application of multiple criteria decision-making techniques for ranking different national Iranian oil refining and distribution companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibrahim Nazari

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Performance measurement plays an essential role on management of governmental agencies especially when profitability is not the primary concern and we need to consider other important factors than profitability such as customer satisfaction, etc. In this paper, we propose a multi-criteria decision making method to rank different national Iranian oil refining and distribution companies. The proposed study of this paper uses six factors including per capita supply, energy cost, physical productivity of labor, staff participation, quality control inspection of stations and education per capita. The proposed study uses Entropy to find the relative importance of each criterion and TOPSIS to rank 37 alternatives based on cities and three regions. The results of the implementation of our method indicate that central regions close to capital city of the country maintains the highest ranking (0.9122 while southern regions maintains the lowest comes in the lowest priority (0.0569 and the northern region is in the middle (0.7635.

  17. Co-integration Rank Testing under Conditional Heteroskedasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, Guiseppe; Rahbæk, Anders; Taylor, A.M. Robert

    null distributions of the rank statistics coincide with those derived by previous authors who assume either i.i.d. or (strict and covariance) stationary martingale difference innovations. We then propose wild bootstrap implementations of the co-integrating rank tests and demonstrate that the associated...... bootstrap rank statistics replicate the first-order asymptotic null distributions of the rank statistics. We show the same is also true of the corresponding rank tests based on the i.i.d. bootstrap of Swensen (2006). The wild bootstrap, however, has the important property that, unlike the i.i.d. bootstrap......, it preserves in the re-sampled data the pattern of heteroskedasticity present in the original shocks. Consistent with this, numerical evidence sug- gests that, relative to tests based on the asymptotic critical values or the i.i.d. bootstrap, the wild bootstrap rank tests perform very well in small samples un...

  18. Augmenting the Deliberative Method for Ranking Risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susel, Irving; Lasley, Trace; Montezemolo, Mark; Piper, Joel

    2016-01-01

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) characterized and prioritized the physical cross-border threats and hazards to the nation stemming from terrorism, market-driven illicit flows of people and goods (illegal immigration, narcotics, funds, counterfeits, and weaponry), and other nonmarket concerns (movement of diseases, pests, and invasive species). These threats and hazards pose a wide diversity of consequences with very different combinations of magnitudes and likelihoods, making it very challenging to prioritize them. This article presents the approach that was used at DHS to arrive at a consensus regarding the threats and hazards that stand out from the rest based on the overall risk they pose. Due to time constraints for the decision analysis, it was not feasible to apply multiattribute methodologies like multiattribute utility theory or the analytic hierarchy process. Using a holistic approach was considered, such as the deliberative method for ranking risks first published in this journal. However, an ordinal ranking alone does not indicate relative or absolute magnitude differences among the risks. Therefore, the use of the deliberative method for ranking risks is not sufficient for deciding whether there is a material difference between the top-ranked and bottom-ranked risks, let alone deciding what the stand-out risks are. To address this limitation of ordinal rankings, the deliberative method for ranking risks was augmented by adding an additional step to transform the ordinal ranking into a ratio scale ranking. This additional step enabled the selection of stand-out risks to help prioritize further analysis. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  19. Model of Decision Making through Consensus in Ranking Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarigan, Gim; Darnius, Open

    2018-01-01

    The basic problem to determine ranking consensus is a problem to combine some rankings those are decided by two or more Decision Maker (DM) into ranking consensus. DM is frequently asked to present their preferences over a group of objects in terms of ranks, for example to determine a new project, new product, a candidate in a election, and so on. The problem in ranking can be classified into two major categories; namely, cardinal and ordinal rankings. The objective of the study is to obtin the ranking consensus by appying some algorithms and methods. The algorithms and methods used in this study were partial algorithm, optimal ranking consensus, BAK (Borde-Kendal)Model. A method proposed as an alternative in ranking conssensus is a Weighted Distance Forward-Backward (WDFB) method, which gave a little difference i ranking consensus result compare to the result oethe example solved by Cook, et.al (2005).

  20. The Privilege of Ranking: Google Plays Ball.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiggins, Richard

    2003-01-01

    Discussion of ranking systems used in various settings, including college football and academic admissions, focuses on the Google search engine. Explains the PageRank mathematical formula that scores Web pages by connecting the number of links; limitations, including authenticity and accuracy of ranked Web pages; relevancy; adjusting algorithms;…

  1. Willingness to Participate in Organ Donation among Black Seventh-Day Adventist College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cort, Malcolm; Cort, David

    2008-01-01

    Objective and Participants: The authors studied a group of black and white Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) college students (N = 334) to compare the power of religious socialization with racial socialization. Methods: The authors compared the levels of willingness to donate organs between black and nonblack students in an availability sample. Results:…

  2. The Effect of the 5E Instructional Model Enriched with Cooperative Learning and Animations on Seventh-Grade Students' Academic Achievement and Scientific Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasdemir, Ikramettin

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this research is to determine the effect of the different teaching methods, on seventh-grade students' academic achievement and scientific attitudes. The research was carried out using quasi-experimental methods. The research sample consisted of 84 seventh grade students studying in three different classes. One of these classes an…

  3. Probabilistic relation between In-Degree and PageRank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Litvak, Nelli; Scheinhardt, Willem R.W.; Volkovich, Y.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents a novel stochastic model that explains the relation between power laws of In-Degree and PageRank. PageRank is a popularity measure designed by Google to rank Web pages. We model the relation between PageRank and In-Degree through a stochastic equation, which is inspired by the

  4. CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chung, S.; Espin, C.A.; Stevenson, C.E.

    The technical adequacy of CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade secondary-school students was examined. Participants were 452 Dutch students who completed weekly maze measures over a period of 23 weeks. Criterion measures were school level, dyslexia status,

  5. PageRank, HITS and a unified framework for link analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding, Chris; He, Xiaofeng; Husbands, Parry; Zha, Hongyuan; Simon, Horst

    2001-10-01

    Two popular webpage ranking algorithms are HITS and PageRank. HITS emphasizes mutual reinforcement between authority and hub webpages, while PageRank emphasizes hyperlink weight normalization and web surfing based on random walk models. We systematically generalize/combine these concepts into a unified framework. The ranking framework contains a large algorithm space; HITS and PageRank are two extreme ends in this space. We study several normalized ranking algorithms which are intermediate between HITS and PageRank, and obtain closed-form solutions. We show that, to first order approximation, all ranking algorithms in this framework, including PageRank and HITS, lead to same ranking which is highly correlated with ranking by indegree. These results support the notion that in web resource ranking indegree and outdegree are of fundamental importance. Rankings of webgraphs of different sizes and queries are presented to illustrate our analysis.

  6. Generalized PageRank on Directed Configuration Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chen, Ningyuan; Litvak, Nelli; Olvera-Cravioto, Mariana

    2017-01-01

    Note: formula is not displayed correctly. This paper studies the distribution of a family of rankings, which includes Google’s PageRank, on a directed configuration model. In particular, it is shown that the distribution of the rank of a randomly chosen node in the graph converges in distribution to

  7. Proceedings of Twenty-Seventh Annual Institute on Mining Health, Safety and Research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bockosh, G.R. [ed.] [Pittsburgh Research Center, US Dept. of Energy (United States); Langton, J. [ed.] [Mine Safety and Health Administration, US Dept. of Labor (United States); Karmis, M. [ed.] [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dept. of Mining and Minerals Engineering, Blacksburg (United States)

    1996-12-31

    This Proceedings contains the presentations made during the program of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Institute on Mining Health, Safety and Research held at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, on August 26-28, 1996. The Twenty-Seventh Annual Institute on Mining, Health, Safety and Research was the latest in a series of conferences held at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, cosponsored by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, United States Department of Labor, and the Pittsburgh Research Center, United States Department of Energy (formerly part of the Bureau of Mines, U. S. Department of Interior). The Institute provides an information forum for mine operators, managers, superintendents, safety directors, engineers, inspectors, researchers, teachers, state agency officials, and others with a responsible interest in the important field of mining health, safety and research. In particular, the Institute is designed to help mine operating personnel gain a broader knowledge and understanding of the various aspects of mining health and safety, and to present them with methods of control and solutions developed through research. Selected papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology database.

  8. OutRank

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Müller, Emmanuel; Assent, Ira; Steinhausen, Uwe

    2008-01-01

    Outlier detection is an important data mining task for consistency checks, fraud detection, etc. Binary decision making on whether or not an object is an outlier is not appropriate in many applications and moreover hard to parametrize. Thus, recently, methods for outlier ranking have been proposed...

  9. Ranking Theory and Conditional Reasoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skovgaard-Olsen, Niels

    2016-05-01

    Ranking theory is a formal epistemology that has been developed in over 600 pages in Spohn's recent book The Laws of Belief, which aims to provide a normative account of the dynamics of beliefs that presents an alternative to current probabilistic approaches. It has long been received in the AI community, but it has not yet found application in experimental psychology. The purpose of this paper is to derive clear, quantitative predictions by exploiting a parallel between ranking theory and a statistical model called logistic regression. This approach is illustrated by the development of a model for the conditional inference task using Spohn's (2013) ranking theoretic approach to conditionals. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  10. The structure of completely positive matrices according to their CP-rank and CP-plus-rank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dickinson, Peter James Clair; Bomze, Immanuel M.; Still, Georg J.

    2015-01-01

    We study the topological properties of the cp-rank operator $\\mathrm{cp}(A)$ and the related cp-plus-rank operator $\\mathrm{cp}^+(A)$ (which is introduced in this paper) in the set $\\mathcal{S}^n$ of symmetric $n\\times n$-matrices. For the set of completely positive matrices, $\\mathcal{CP}^n$, we

  11. Communities in Large Networks: Identification and Ranking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Martin

    2008-01-01

    We study the problem of identifying and ranking the members of a community in a very large network with link analysis only, given a set of representatives of the community. We define the concept of a community justified by a formal analysis of a simple model of the evolution of a directed graph. ...... and its immediate surroundings. The members are ranked with a “local” variant of the PageRank algorithm. Results are reported from successful experiments on identifying and ranking Danish Computer Science sites and Danish Chess pages using only a few representatives....

  12. Nominal versus Attained Weights in Universitas 21 Ranking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soh, Kaycheng

    2014-01-01

    Universitas 21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems (U21 Ranking) is one of the three new ranking systems appearing in 2012. In contrast with the other systems, U21 Ranking uses countries as the unit of analysis. It has several features which lend it with greater trustworthiness, but it also shared some methodological issues with the other…

  13. A Comprehensive Analysis of Marketing Journal Rankings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steward, Michelle D.; Lewis, Bruce R.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to offer a comprehensive assessment of journal standings in Marketing from two perspectives. The discipline perspective of rankings is obtained from a collection of published journal ranking studies during the past 15 years. The studies in the published ranking stream are assessed for reliability by examining internal…

  14. An Analysis of Global Problems Issues in Sixth and Seventh Grade Science Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamm, Mary; Adams, Dennis

    The study examines the extent to which the global issues of population growth, world hunger, air quality and atmosphere, and water resources were treated in sixth and seventh grade science textbooks. Ten textbooks were examined by five raters to determine the amount of content presented by different textbooks on global issues, the number of pages…

  15. The BiPublishers ranking: Main results and methodological problems when constructing rankings of academic publishers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Torres-Salinas, Daniel

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We present the results of the Bibliometric Indicators for Publishers project (also known as BiPublishers. This project represents the first attempt to systematically develop bibliometric publisher rankings. The data for this project was derived from the Book Citation Index and the study time period was 2009-2013. We have developed 42 rankings: 4 by fields and 38 by disciplines. We display six indicators for publishers divided into three types: output, impact and publisher’s profile. The aim is to capture different characteristics of the research performance of publishers. 254 publishers were processed and classified according to publisher type: commercial publishers and university presses. We present the main publishers by field and then discuss the principal challenges presented when developing this type of tool. The BiPublishers ranking is an on-going project which aims to develop and explore new data sources and indicators to better capture and define the research impact of publishers.Presentamos los resultados del proyecto Bibliometric Indicators for Publishers (BiPublishers. Es el primer proyecto que desarrolla de manera sistemática rankings bibliométricos de editoriales. La fuente de datos empleada es el Book Citation Index y el periodo de análisis 2009-2013. Se presentan 42 rankings: 4 por áreas y 38 por disciplinas. Mostramos seis indicadores por editorial divididos según su tipología: producción, impacto y características editoriales. Se procesaron 254 editoriales y se clasificaron según el tipo: comerciales y universitarias. Se presentan las principales editoriales por áreas. Después, se discuten los principales retos a superar en el desarrollo de este tipo de herramientas. El ranking Bipublishers es un proyecto en desarrollo que persigue analizar y explorar nuevas fuentes de datos e indicadores para captar y definir el impacto de las editoriales académicas.

  16. PageRank in scale-free random graphs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chen, Ningyuan; Litvak, Nelli; Olvera-Cravioto, Mariana; Bonata, Anthony; Chung, Fan; Pralat, Paweł

    2014-01-01

    We analyze the distribution of PageRank on a directed configuration model and show that as the size of the graph grows to infinity, the PageRank of a randomly chosen node can be closely approximated by the PageRank of the root node of an appropriately constructed tree. This tree approximation is in

  17. 46 CFR 282.11 - Ranking of flags.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Ranking of flags. 282.11 Section 282.11 Shipping... COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES Foreign-Flag Competition § 282.11 Ranking of flags. The operators under each... priority of costs which are representative of the flag. For liner cargo vessels, the ranking of operators...

  18. Low-ranking female Japanese macaques make efforts for social grooming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurihara, Yosuke

    2016-04-01

    Grooming is essential to build social relationships in primates. Its importance is universal among animals from different ranks; however, rank-related differences in feeding patterns can lead to conflicts between feeding and grooming in low-ranking animals. Unifying the effects of dominance rank on feeding and grooming behaviors contributes to revealing the importance of grooming. Here, I tested whether the grooming behavior of low-ranking females were similar to that of high-ranking females despite differences in their feeding patterns. I followed 9 Japanese macaques Macaca fuscata fuscata adult females from the Arashiyama group, and analyzed the feeding patterns and grooming behaviors of low- and high-ranking females. Low-ranking females fed on natural foods away from the provisioning site, whereas high-ranking females obtained more provisioned food at the site. Due to these differences in feeding patterns, low-ranking females spent less time grooming than high-ranking females. However, both low- and high-ranking females performed grooming around the provisioning site, which was linked to the number of neighboring individuals for low-ranking females and feeding on provisioned foods at the site for high-ranking females. The similarity in grooming area led to a range and diversity of grooming partners that did not differ with rank. Thus, low-ranking females can obtain small amounts of provisioned foods and perform grooming with as many partners around the provisioning site as high-ranking females. These results highlight the efforts made by low-ranking females to perform grooming and suggest the importance of grooming behavior in group-living primates.

  19. Low-ranking female Japanese macaques make efforts for social grooming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurihara, Yosuke

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Grooming is essential to build social relationships in primates. Its importance is universal among animals from different ranks; however, rank-related differences in feeding patterns can lead to conflicts between feeding and grooming in low-ranking animals. Unifying the effects of dominance rank on feeding and grooming behaviors contributes to revealing the importance of grooming. Here, I tested whether the grooming behavior of low-ranking females were similar to that of high-ranking females despite differences in their feeding patterns. I followed 9 Japanese macaques Macaca fuscata fuscata adult females from the Arashiyama group, and analyzed the feeding patterns and grooming behaviors of low- and high-ranking females. Low-ranking females fed on natural foods away from the provisioning site, whereas high-ranking females obtained more provisioned food at the site. Due to these differences in feeding patterns, low-ranking females spent less time grooming than high-ranking females. However, both low- and high-ranking females performed grooming around the provisioning site, which was linked to the number of neighboring individuals for low-ranking females and feeding on provisioned foods at the site for high-ranking females. The similarity in grooming area led to a range and diversity of grooming partners that did not differ with rank. Thus, low-ranking females can obtain small amounts of provisioned foods and perform grooming with as many partners around the provisioning site as high-ranking females. These results highlight the efforts made by low-ranking females to perform grooming and suggest the importance of grooming behavior in group-living primates. PMID:29491896

  20. Ranking Entities in Networks via Lefschetz Duality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aabrandt, Andreas; Hansen, Vagn Lundsgaard; Poulsen, Bjarne

    2014-01-01

    then be ranked according to how essential their positions are in the network by considering the effect of their respective absences. Defining a ranking of a network which takes the individual position of each entity into account has the purpose of assigning different roles to the entities, e.g. agents......, in the network. In this paper it is shown that the topology of a given network induces a ranking of the entities in the network. Further, it is demonstrated how to calculate this ranking and thus how to identify weak sub-networks in any given network....

  1. A Hybrid Distance-Based Ideal-Seeking Consensus Ranking Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madjid Tavana

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Ordinal consensus ranking problems have received much attention in the management science literature. A problem arises in situations where a group of k decision makers (DMs is asked to rank order n alternatives. The question is how to combine the DM rankings into one consensus ranking. Several different approaches have been suggested to aggregate DM responses into a compromise or consensus ranking; however, the similarity of consensus rankings generated by the different algorithms is largely unknown. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid distance-based ideal-seeking consensus ranking model (DCM. The proposed hybrid model combines parts of the two commonly used consensus ranking techniques of Beck and Lin (1983 and Cook and Kress (1985 into an intuitive and computationally simple model. We illustrate our method and then run a Monte Carlo simulation across a range of k and n to compare the similarity of the consensus rankings generated by our method with the best-known method of Borda and Kendall (Kendall 1962 and the two methods proposed by Beck and Lin (1983 and Cook and Kress (1985. DCM and Beck and Lin's method yielded the most similar consensus rankings, whereas the Cook-Kress method and the Borda-Kendall method yielded the least similar consensus rankings.

  2. Catching the Highest Energy Neutrinos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanev, Todor [Bartol Research Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)

    2011-08-15

    We briefly discuss the possible sources of ultrahigh energy neutrinos and the methods for their detection. Then we present the results obtained by different experiments for detection of the highest energy neutrinos.

  3. Fitness, fatness, and academic performance in seventh-grade elementary school students

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background In addition to the benefits on physical and mental health, cardiorespiratory fitness has shown to have positive effects on cognition. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and body weight status on academic performance among seventh-grade students. Methods Participants included 1531 grade 7 students (787 male, 744 female), ranging in age from 12 to 14 years (Mage = 12.3 ± 0.60), from 3 different cohorts. Academic performance was measured using the marks students had, at the end of their academic year, in mathematics, language (Portuguese), foreign language (English), and sciences. To assess cardiorespiratory fitness the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run, from Fitnessgram, was used as the test battery. The relationship between academic achievement and the independent and combined association of cardiorespiratory fitness/weight status was analysed, using multinomial logistic regression. Results Cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status were independently related with academic achievement. Fit students, compared with unfit students had significantly higher odds for having high academic achievement (OR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.48-3.55, p academic achievement (OR = 3.65, 95% CI: 1.82-7.34, p academic achievement in seventh-grade students independent of the different cohorts, providing further support that aerobically fit and normal weight students are more likely to have better performance at school regardless of the year that they were born. PMID:25001376

  4. Fair ranking of researchers and research teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vavryčuk, Václav

    2018-01-01

    The main drawback of ranking of researchers by the number of papers, citations or by the Hirsch index is ignoring the problem of distributing authorship among authors in multi-author publications. So far, the single-author or multi-author publications contribute to the publication record of a researcher equally. This full counting scheme is apparently unfair and causes unjust disproportions, in particular, if ranked researchers have distinctly different collaboration profiles. These disproportions are removed by less common fractional or authorship-weighted counting schemes, which can distribute the authorship credit more properly and suppress a tendency to unjustified inflation of co-authors. The urgent need of widely adopting a fair ranking scheme in practise is exemplified by analysing citation profiles of several highly-cited astronomers and astrophysicists. While the full counting scheme often leads to completely incorrect and misleading ranking, the fractional or authorship-weighted schemes are more accurate and applicable to ranking of researchers as well as research teams. In addition, they suppress differences in ranking among scientific disciplines. These more appropriate schemes should urgently be adopted by scientific publication databases as the Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) or the Scopus (Elsevier).

  5. Treatment plan ranking using physical and biological indices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebert, M. A.; University of Western Asutralia, WA

    2001-01-01

    Full text: The ranking of dose distributions is of importance in several areas such as i) comparing rival treatment plans, ii) comparing iterations in an optimisation routine, and iii) dose-assessment of clinical trial data. This study aimed to investigate the influence of choice of objective function in ranking tumour dose distributions. A series of physical (mean, maximum, minimum, standard deviation of dose) dose-volume histogram (DVH) reduction indices and biologically-based (tumour-control probability - TCP; equivalent uniform dose -EUD) indices were used to rank a series of hypothetical DVHs, as well as DVHs obtained from a series of 18 prostate patients. The distribution in ranking and change in distribution with change in indice parameters were investigated. It is found that not only is the ranking of DVHs dependent on the actual model used to perform the DVH reduction, it is also found to depend on the inherent characteristics of each model (i.e., selected parameters). The adjacent figure shows an example where the 18 prostate patients are ranked (grey-scale from black to white) by EUD when an α value of 0.8 Gy -1 is used in the model. The change of ranking as α varies is evident. Conclusion: This study has shown that the characteristics of the model selected in plan optimisation or DVH ranking will have an impact on the ranking obtained. Copyright (2001) Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine

  6. Rank diversity of languages: generic behavior in computational linguistics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cocho, Germinal; Flores, Jorge; Gershenson, Carlos; Pineda, Carlos; Sánchez, Sergio

    2015-01-01

    Statistical studies of languages have focused on the rank-frequency distribution of words. Instead, we introduce here a measure of how word ranks change in time and call this distribution rank diversity. We calculate this diversity for books published in six European languages since 1800, and find that it follows a universal lognormal distribution. Based on the mean and standard deviation associated with the lognormal distribution, we define three different word regimes of languages: "heads" consist of words which almost do not change their rank in time, "bodies" are words of general use, while "tails" are comprised by context-specific words and vary their rank considerably in time. The heads and bodies reflect the size of language cores identified by linguists for basic communication. We propose a Gaussian random walk model which reproduces the rank variation of words in time and thus the diversity. Rank diversity of words can be understood as the result of random variations in rank, where the size of the variation depends on the rank itself. We find that the core size is similar for all languages studied.

  7. Evaluation of treatment effects by ranking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halekoh, U; Kristensen, K

    2008-01-01

    In crop experiments measurements are often made by a judge evaluating the crops' conditions after treatment. In the present paper an analysis is proposed for experiments where plots of crops treated differently are mutually ranked. In the experimental layout the crops are treated on consecutive...... plots usually placed side by side in one or more rows. In the proposed method a judge ranks several neighbouring plots, say three, by ranking them from best to worst. For the next observation the judge moves on by no more than two plots, such that up to two plots will be re-evaluated again...... in a comparison with the new plot(s). Data from studies using this set-up were analysed by a Thurstonian random utility model, which assumed that the judge's rankings were obtained by comparing latent continuous utilities or treatment effects. For the latent utilities a variance component model was considered...

  8. Ranking the Online Documents Based on Relative Credibility Measures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Dahlan

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Information searching is the most popular activity in Internet. Usually the search engine provides the search results ranked by the relevance. However, for a certain purpose that concerns with information credibility, particularly citing information for scientific works, another approach of ranking the search engine results is required. This paper presents a study on developing a new ranking method based on the credibility of information. The method is built up upon two well-known algorithms, PageRank and Citation Analysis. The result of the experiment that used Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient to compare the proposed rank (generated by the method with the standard rank (generated manually by a group of experts showed that the average Spearman 0 < rS < critical value. It means that the correlation was proven but it was not significant. Hence the proposed rank does not satisfy the standard but the performance could be improved.

  9. Ranking the Online Documents Based on Relative Credibility Measures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Dahlan

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Information searching is the most popular activity in Internet. Usually the search engine provides the search results ranked by the relevance. However, for a certain purpose that concerns with information credibility, particularly citing information for scientific works, another approach of ranking the search engine results is required. This paper presents a study on developing a new ranking method based on the credibility of information. The method is built up upon two well-known algorithms, PageRank and Citation Analysis. The result of the experiment that used Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient to compare the proposed rank (generated by the method with the standard rank (generated manually by a group of experts showed that the average Spearman 0 < rS < critical value. It means that the correlation was proven but it was not significant. Hence the proposed rank does not satisfy the standard but the performance could be improved.

  10. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Seventh-day Adventist African American and Caucasian college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawlak, Roman; Sovyanhadi, Marta

    2009-01-01

    All age, sex, and racial groups are affected by the obesity epidemic in the United States, although disparities exist among these groups. The Seventh-day Adventists are a religious group of people who are believed to live longer and healthier lives than do their non-Adventist counterparts because they do not smoke or drink alcohol and they eat a healthier diet. This study assessed the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Seventh-day Adventist college students attending 2 private universities in the southern United States. Most students' body mass index (65.8%) was within the normal weight category, 3.7% were underweight, 20.6% were overweight, and 9.9% were obese. Body mass index > or = 25 kg/m2 was more prevalent among men and African Americans. In all ethnic subgroups, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was lower than that among non-Adventist students reported in other studies.

  11. Generalized Reduced Rank Tests using the Singular Value Decomposition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F.R. Kleibergen (Frank); R. Paap (Richard)

    2003-01-01

    textabstractWe propose a novel statistic to test the rank of a matrix. The rank statistic overcomes deficiencies of existing rank statistics, like: necessity of a Kronecker covariance matrix for the canonical correlation rank statistic of Anderson (1951), sensitivity to the ordering of the variables

  12. Beyond Low Rank: A Data-Adaptive Tensor Completion Method

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Lei; Wei, Wei; Shi, Qinfeng; Shen, Chunhua; Hengel, Anton van den; Zhang, Yanning

    2017-01-01

    Low rank tensor representation underpins much of recent progress in tensor completion. In real applications, however, this approach is confronted with two challenging problems, namely (1) tensor rank determination; (2) handling real tensor data which only approximately fulfils the low-rank requirement. To address these two issues, we develop a data-adaptive tensor completion model which explicitly represents both the low-rank and non-low-rank structures in a latent tensor. Representing the no...

  13. Generalized reduced rank tests using the singular value decomposition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleibergen, F.R.; Paap, R.

    2002-01-01

    We propose a novel statistic to test the rank of a matrix. The rank statistic overcomes deficiencies of existing rank statistics, like: necessity of a Kronecker covariance matrix for the canonical correlation rank statistic of Anderson (1951), sensitivity to the ordering of the variables for the LDU

  14. Trachomatous Scar Ranking: A Novel Outcome for Trachoma Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Angela; Ryner, Alexander M; Tadesse, Zerihun; Shiferaw, Ayalew; Callahan, Kelly; Fry, Dionna M; Zhou, Zhaoxia; Lietman, Thomas M; Keenan, Jeremy D

    2017-06-01

    AbstractWe evaluated a new trachoma scarring ranking system with potential use in clinical research. The upper right tarsal conjunctivas of 427 individuals from Ethiopian villages with hyperendemic trachoma were photographed. An expert grader first assigned a scar grade to each photograph using the 1981 World Health Organization (WHO) grading system. Then, all photographs were ranked from least (rank = 1) to most scarring (rank = 427). Photographic grading found 79 (18.5%) conjunctivae without scarring (C0), 191 (44.7%) with minimal scarring (C1), 105 (24.6%) with moderate scarring (C2), and 52 (12.2%) with severe scarring (C3). The ranking method demonstrated good internal validity, exhibiting a monotonic increase in the median rank across the levels of the 1981 WHO grading system. Intrarater repeatability was better for the ranking method (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.74-0.94). Exhibiting better internal and external validity, this ranking method may be useful for evaluating the difference in scarring between groups of individuals.

  15. CNN-based ranking for biomedical entity normalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Haodi; Chen, Qingcai; Tang, Buzhou; Wang, Xiaolong; Xu, Hua; Wang, Baohua; Huang, Dong

    2017-10-03

    Most state-of-the-art biomedical entity normalization systems, such as rule-based systems, merely rely on morphological information of entity mentions, but rarely consider their semantic information. In this paper, we introduce a novel convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture that regards biomedical entity normalization as a ranking problem and benefits from semantic information of biomedical entities. The CNN-based ranking method first generates candidates using handcrafted rules, and then ranks the candidates according to their semantic information modeled by CNN as well as their morphological information. Experiments on two benchmark datasets for biomedical entity normalization show that our proposed CNN-based ranking method outperforms traditional rule-based method with state-of-the-art performance. We propose a CNN architecture that regards biomedical entity normalization as a ranking problem. Comparison results show that semantic information is beneficial to biomedical entity normalization and can be well combined with morphological information in our CNN architecture for further improvement.

  16. RANK und RANKL - Vom Knochen zum Mammakarzinom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sigl V

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available RANK („Receptor Activator of NF-κB“ und sein Ligand RANKL sind Schlüsselmoleküle im Knochenmetabolismus und spielen eine essenzielle Rolle in der Entstehung von pathologischen Knochenveränderungen. Die Deregulation des RANK/RANKL-Systems ist zum Beispiel ein Hauptgrund für das Auftreten von postmenopausaler Osteoporose bei Frauen. Eine weitere wesentliche Funktion von RANK und RANKL liegt in der Entwicklung von milchsekretierenden Drüsen während der Schwangerschaft. Dabei regulieren Sexualhormone, wie zum Beispiel Progesteron, die Expression von RANKL und induzieren dadurch die Proliferation von epithelialen Zellen der Brust. Seit Längerem war schon bekannt, dass RANK und RANKL in der Metastasenbildung von Brustkrebszellen im Knochengewebe beteiligt sind. Wir konnten nun das RANK/RANKLSystem auch als essenziellen Mechanismus in der Entstehung von hormonellem Brustkrebs identifizieren. In diesem Beitrag werden wir daher den neuesten Erkenntnissen besondere Aufmerksamkeit schenken und diese kritisch in Bezug auf Brustkrebsentwicklung betrachten.

  17. Using incomplete citation data for MEDLINE results ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herskovic, Jorge R; Bernstam, Elmer V

    2005-01-01

    Information overload is a significant problem for modern medicine. Searching MEDLINE for common topics often retrieves more relevant documents than users can review. Therefore, we must identify documents that are not only relevant, but also important. Our system ranks articles using citation counts and the PageRank algorithm, incorporating data from the Science Citation Index. However, citation data is usually incomplete. Therefore, we explore the relationship between the quantity of citation information available to the system and the quality of the result ranking. Specifically, we test the ability of citation count and PageRank to identify "important articles" as defined by experts from large result sets with decreasing citation information. We found that PageRank performs better than simple citation counts, but both algorithms are surprisingly robust to information loss. We conclude that even an incomplete citation database is likely to be effective for importance ranking.

  18. A STUDY ON RANKING METHOD IN RETRIEVING WEB PAGES BASED ON CONTENT AND LINK ANALYSIS: COMBINATION OF FOURIER DOMAIN SCORING AND PAGERANK SCORING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Purwitasari

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Ranking module is an important component of search process which sorts through relevant pages. Since collection of Web pages has additional information inherent in the hyperlink structure of the Web, it can be represented as link score and then combined with the usual information retrieval techniques of content score. In this paper we report our studies about ranking score of Web pages combined from link analysis, PageRank Scoring, and content analysis, Fourier Domain Scoring. Our experiments use collection of Web pages relate to Statistic subject from Wikipedia with objectives to check correctness and performance evaluation of combination ranking method. Evaluation of PageRank Scoring show that the highest score does not always relate to Statistic. Since the links within Wikipedia articles exists so that users are always one click away from more information on any point that has a link attached, it it possible that unrelated topics to Statistic are most likely frequently mentioned in the collection. While the combination method show link score which is given proportional weight to content score of Web pages does effect the retrieval results.

  19. Physical and Social Contexts of Physical Activity Behaviors of Fifth and Seventh Grade Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, Ruth P.; Dowda, Marsha; Mciver, Kerry; McDonald, Samantha M.; Pate, Russell R.

    2018-01-01

    Background: The purpose of this study was to characterize the temporal, social, and physical contexts for physical activities commonly reported in a diverse cohort of 753 boys and girls from fifth to seventh grade. Methods: Data were obtained from a multilevel longitudinal study, the Transitions and Activity Changes in Kids. The Physical Activity…

  20. Using centrality to rank web snippets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jijkoun, V.; de Rijke, M.; Peters, C.; Jijkoun, V.; Mandl, T.; Müller, H.; Oard, D.W.; Peñas, A.; Petras, V.; Santos, D.

    2008-01-01

    We describe our participation in the WebCLEF 2007 task, targeted at snippet retrieval from web data. Our system ranks snippets based on a simple similarity-based centrality, inspired by the web page ranking algorithms. We experimented with retrieval units (sentences and paragraphs) and with the

  1. Neural Ranking Models with Weak Supervision

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dehghani, M.; Zamani, H.; Severyn, A.; Kamps, J.; Croft, W.B.

    2017-01-01

    Despite the impressive improvements achieved by unsupervised deep neural networks in computer vision and NLP tasks, such improvements have not yet been observed in ranking for information retrieval. The reason may be the complexity of the ranking problem, as it is not obvious how to learn from

  2. Generalization Performance of Regularized Ranking With Multiscale Kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yicong; Chen, Hong; Lan, Rushi; Pan, Zhibin

    2016-05-01

    The regularized kernel method for the ranking problem has attracted increasing attentions in machine learning. The previous regularized ranking algorithms are usually based on reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces with a single kernel. In this paper, we go beyond this framework by investigating the generalization performance of the regularized ranking with multiscale kernels. A novel ranking algorithm with multiscale kernels is proposed and its representer theorem is proved. We establish the upper bound of the generalization error in terms of the complexity of hypothesis spaces. It shows that the multiscale ranking algorithm can achieve satisfactory learning rates under mild conditions. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for drug discovery and recommendation tasks.

  3. Scalable Faceted Ranking in Tagging Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orlicki, José I.; Alvarez-Hamelin, J. Ignacio; Fierens, Pablo I.

    Nowadays, web collaborative tagging systems which allow users to upload, comment on and recommend contents, are growing. Such systems can be represented as graphs where nodes correspond to users and tagged-links to recommendations. In this paper we analyze the problem of computing a ranking of users with respect to a facet described as a set of tags. A straightforward solution is to compute a PageRank-like algorithm on a facet-related graph, but it is not feasible for online computation. We propose an alternative: (i) a ranking for each tag is computed offline on the basis of tag-related subgraphs; (ii) a faceted order is generated online by merging rankings corresponding to all the tags in the facet. Based on the graph analysis of YouTube and Flickr, we show that step (i) is scalable. We also present efficient algorithms for step (ii), which are evaluated by comparing their results with two gold standards.

  4. Rank Diversity of Languages: Generic Behavior in Computational Linguistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cocho, Germinal; Flores, Jorge; Gershenson, Carlos; Pineda, Carlos; Sánchez, Sergio

    2015-01-01

    Statistical studies of languages have focused on the rank-frequency distribution of words. Instead, we introduce here a measure of how word ranks change in time and call this distribution rank diversity. We calculate this diversity for books published in six European languages since 1800, and find that it follows a universal lognormal distribution. Based on the mean and standard deviation associated with the lognormal distribution, we define three different word regimes of languages: “heads” consist of words which almost do not change their rank in time, “bodies” are words of general use, while “tails” are comprised by context-specific words and vary their rank considerably in time. The heads and bodies reflect the size of language cores identified by linguists for basic communication. We propose a Gaussian random walk model which reproduces the rank variation of words in time and thus the diversity. Rank diversity of words can be understood as the result of random variations in rank, where the size of the variation depends on the rank itself. We find that the core size is similar for all languages studied. PMID:25849150

  5. Differential invariants for higher-rank tensors. A progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tapial, V.

    2004-07-01

    We outline the construction of differential invariants for higher-rank tensors. In section 2 we outline the general method for the construction of differential invariants. A first result is that the simplest tensor differential invariant contains derivatives of the same order as the rank of the tensor. In section 3 we review the construction for the first-rank tensors (vectors) and second-rank tensors (metrics). In section 4 we outline the same construction for higher-rank tensors. (author)

  6. On Rank Driven Dynamical Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veerman, J. J. P.; Prieto, F. J.

    2014-08-01

    We investigate a class of models related to the Bak-Sneppen (BS) model, initially proposed to study evolution. The BS model is extremely simple and yet captures some forms of "complex behavior" such as self-organized criticality that is often observed in physical and biological systems. In this model, random fitnesses in are associated to agents located at the vertices of a graph . Their fitnesses are ranked from worst (0) to best (1). At every time-step the agent with the worst fitness and some others with a priori given rank probabilities are replaced by new agents with random fitnesses. We consider two cases: The exogenous case where the new fitnesses are taken from an a priori fixed distribution, and the endogenous case where the new fitnesses are taken from the current distribution as it evolves. We approximate the dynamics by making a simplifying independence assumption. We use Order Statistics and Dynamical Systems to define a rank-driven dynamical system that approximates the evolution of the distribution of the fitnesses in these rank-driven models, as well as in the BS model. For this simplified model we can find the limiting marginal distribution as a function of the initial conditions. Agreement with experimental results of the BS model is excellent.

  7. Citation ranking versus peer evaluation of senior faculty research performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meho, Lokman I.; Sonnenwald, Diane H.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between citation ranking and peer evaluation in assessing senior faculty research performance. Other studies typically derive their peer evaluation data directly from referees, often in the form of ranking. This study uses two additional...... indicator of research performance of senior faculty members? Citation data, book reviews, and peer ranking were compiled and examined for faculty members specializing in Kurdish studies. Analysis shows that normalized citation ranking and citation content analysis data yield identical ranking results....... Analysis also shows that normalized citation ranking and citation content analysis, book reviews, and peer ranking perform similarly (i.e., are highly correlated) for high-ranked and low-ranked senior scholars. Additional evaluation methods and measures that take into account the context and content...

  8. Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furman, W; Buhrmester, D

    1992-02-01

    In this study, 549 youths in the fourth grade, seventh grade, tenth grade, and college completed Network of Relationship Inventories assessing their perceptions of their relationships with significant others. The findings were largely consistent with 7 propositions derived from major theories of the developmental courses of personal relationships. In particular, mothers and fathers were seen as the most frequent providers of support in the fourth grade. Same-sex friends were perceived to be as supportive as parents in the seventh grade, and were the most frequent providers of support in the tenth grade. Romantic partners moved up in rank with age until college, where they, along with friends and mothers, received the highest ratings for support. Age differences were also observed in perceptions of relationships with grandparents, teachers, and siblings. Finally, age differences in perceived conflict, punishment, and relative power suggested that there was a peak in tension in parent-child relationships in early and middle adolescence. Discussion centers around the role various relationships are perceived as playing at different points in development.

  9. University rankings in computer science

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ehret, Philip; Zuccala, Alesia Ann; Gipp, Bela

    2017-01-01

    This is a research-in-progress paper concerning two types of institutional rankings, the Leiden and QS World ranking, and their relationship to a list of universities’ ‘geo-based’ impact scores, and Computing Research and Education Conference (CORE) participation scores in the field of computer...... science. A ‘geo-based’ impact measure examines the geographical distribution of incoming citations to a particular university’s journal articles for a specific period of time. It takes into account both the number of citations and the geographical variability in these citations. The CORE participation...... score is calculated on the basis of the number of weighted proceedings papers that a university has contributed to either an A*, A, B, or C conference as ranked by the Computing Research and Education Association of Australasia. In addition to calculating the correlations between the distinct university...

  10. Adaptive distributional extensions to DFR ranking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Casper; Simonsen, Jakob Grue; Järvelin, Kalervo

    2016-01-01

    -fitting distribution. We call this model Adaptive Distributional Ranking (ADR) because it adapts the ranking to the statistics of the specific dataset being processed each time. Experiments on TREC data show ADR to outperform DFR models (and their extensions) and be comparable in performance to a query likelihood...

  11. Discovering author impact: A PageRank perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Yan, Erjia; Ding, Ying

    2010-01-01

    This article provides an alternative perspective for measuring author impact by applying PageRank algorithm to a coauthorship network. A weighted PageRank algorithm considering citation and coauthorship network topology is proposed. We test this algorithm under different damping factors by evaluating author impact in the informetrics research community. In addition, we also compare this weighted PageRank with the h-index, citation, and program committee (PC) membership of the International So...

  12. Social class rank, threat vigilance, and hostile reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraus, Michael W; Horberg, E J; Goetz, Jennifer L; Keltner, Dacher

    2011-10-01

    Lower-class individuals, because of their lower rank in society, are theorized to be more vigilant to social threats relative to their high-ranking upper-class counterparts. This class-related vigilance to threat, the authors predicted, would shape the emotional content of social interactions in systematic ways. In Study 1, participants engaged in a teasing interaction with a close friend. Lower-class participants--measured in terms of social class rank in society and within the friendship--more accurately tracked the hostile emotions of their friend. As a result, lower-class individuals experienced more hostile emotion contagion relative to upper-class participants. In Study 2, lower-class participants manipulated to experience lower subjective socioeconomic rank showed more hostile reactivity to ambiguous social scenarios relative to upper-class participants and to lower-class participants experiencing elevated socioeconomic rank. The results suggest that class affects expectations, perception, and experience of hostile emotion, particularly in situations in which lower-class individuals perceive their subordinate rank.

  13. Are university rankings useful to improve research? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vernon, Marlo M; Balas, E Andrew; Momani, Shaher

    2018-01-01

    Concerns about reproducibility and impact of research urge improvement initiatives. Current university ranking systems evaluate and compare universities on measures of academic and research performance. Although often useful for marketing purposes, the value of ranking systems when examining quality and outcomes is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate usefulness of ranking systems and identify opportunities to support research quality and performance improvement. A systematic review of university ranking systems was conducted to investigate research performance and academic quality measures. Eligibility requirements included: inclusion of at least 100 doctoral granting institutions, be currently produced on an ongoing basis and include both global and US universities, publish rank calculation methodology in English and independently calculate ranks. Ranking systems must also include some measures of research outcomes. Indicators were abstracted and contrasted with basic quality improvement requirements. Exploration of aggregation methods, validity of research and academic quality indicators, and suitability for quality improvement within ranking systems were also conducted. A total of 24 ranking systems were identified and 13 eligible ranking systems were evaluated. Six of the 13 rankings are 100% focused on research performance. For those reporting weighting, 76% of the total ranks are attributed to research indicators, with 24% attributed to academic or teaching quality. Seven systems rely on reputation surveys and/or faculty and alumni awards. Rankings influence academic choice yet research performance measures are the most weighted indicators. There are no generally accepted academic quality indicators in ranking systems. No single ranking system provides a comprehensive evaluation of research and academic quality. Utilizing a combined approach of the Leiden, Thomson Reuters Most Innovative Universities, and the SCImago ranking systems may provide

  14. Animal product consumption and subsequent fatal breast cancer risk among Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, P K; Annegers, J F; Phillips, R L

    1988-03-01

    Seventh-day Adventist women experience lower mortality rates from breast cancer than other white females in the United States. To evaluate the role of diet in relation to breast cancer within this unique population (more than one-half of all Adventist women are lacto-ovo-vegetarians), a nested case-control study was conducted including 142 cases of fatal breast cancer and 852 matched controls among California Seventh-day Adventist women in 1960-1980. No significant relations between the consumption of animal products (meat, milk, cheese, and eggs) and breast cancer were evident. Odds ratios of 1.00, 1.22, and 1.03 were observed for meat consumption categories of none or occasional, 1-3 days/week, and 4+ days/week, respectively. However, among those women who experienced a relatively early age at natural menopause (less than or equal to 48 years), a suggestive though nonsignificant, positive association between meat consumption and risk was noted. These relations remained unchanged after simultaneously controlling for the effects of other covariates (menstrual characteristics and obesity) via conditional logistic regression analysis. Risk was not related to age at first exposure to the vegetarian lifestyle nor to duration of exposure to the vegetarian lifestyle.

  15. Freudenthal ranks: GHZ versus W

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borsten, L

    2013-01-01

    The Hilbert space of three-qubit pure states may be identified with a Freudenthal triple system. Every state has an unique Freudenthal rank ranging from 1 to 4, which is determined by a set of automorphism group covariants. It is shown here that the optimal success rates for winning a three-player non-local game, varying over all local strategies, are strictly ordered by the Freudenthal rank of the shared three-qubit resource. (paper)

  16. Ranking U-Sapiens 2010-2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos-Roberto Peña-Barrera

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Los principales objetivos de esta investigación son los siguientes: (1 que la comunidad científica nacional e internacional y la sociedad en general co-nozcan los resultados del Ranking U-Sapiens Colombia 2010_2, el cual clasifica a cada institución de educación superior colombiana según puntaje, posición y cuartil; (2 destacar los movimientos más importantes al comparar los resultados del ranking 2010_1 con los del 2010_2; (3 publicar las respuestas de algunos actores de la academia nacional con respecto a la dinámica de la investigación en el país; (4 reconocer algunas instituciones, medios de comunicación e investigadores que se han interesado a modo de reflexión, referenciación o citación por esta investigación; y (5 dar a conocer el «Sello Ranking U-Sapiens Colombia» para las IES clasificadas. El alcance de este estudio en cuanto a actores abordó todas y cada una de las IES nacionales (aunque solo algunas lograran entrar al ranking y en cuanto a tiempo, un periodo referido al primer semestre de 2010 con respecto a: (1 los resultados 2010-1 de revistas indexadas en Publindex, (2 los programas de maestrías y doctorados activos durante 2010-1 según el Ministerio de Educación Nacional, y (3 los resultados de grupos de investigación clasificados para 2010 según Colciencias. El método empleado para esta investigación es el mismo que para el ranking 2010_1, salvo por una especificación aún más detallada en uno de los pasos del modelo (las variables α, β, γ; es completamente cuantitativo y los datos de las variables que fundamentan sus resultados provienen de Colciencias y el Ministerio de Educación Nacional; y en esta ocasión se darán a conocer los resultados por variable para 2010_1 y 2010_2. Los resultados más relevantes son estos: (1 entraron 8 IES al ranking y salieron 3; (2 las 3 primeras IES son públicas; (3 en total hay 6 instituciones universitarias en el ranking; (4 7 de las 10 primeras IES son

  17. CBM Maze-Scores as Indicators of Reading Level and Growth for Seventh-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Siuman; Espin, Christine A.; Stevenson, Claire E.

    2018-01-01

    The technical adequacy of CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade secondary-school students was examined. Participants were 452 Dutch students who completed weekly maze measures over a period of 23 weeks. Criterion measures were school level, dyslexia status, scores and growth on a standardized reading test.…

  18. Patterns of Vaginal, Oral, and Anal Sexual Intercourse in an Urban Seventh-Grade Population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markham, Christine M.; Peskin, Melissa Fleschler; Addy, Robert C.; Baumler, Elizabeth R.; Tortolero, Susan R.

    2009-01-01

    Background: This study examines the prevalence of vaginal, oral, and anal intercourse among a population of urban, public middle school students, the characteristics of early sexual initiators, and the sequence of sexual initiation. Such data are limited for early adolescents. Methods: A total of 1279 seventh-grade students (57.3% female, 43.6%…

  19. Ranking Quality in Higher Education: Guiding or Misleading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergseth, Brita; Petocz, Peter; Abrandt Dahlgren, Madeleine

    2014-01-01

    The study examines two different models of measuring, assessing and ranking quality in higher education. Do different systems of quality assessment lead to equivalent conclusions about the quality of education? This comparative study is based on the rankings of 24 Swedish higher education institutions. Two ranking actors have independently…

  20. Blind Reduced-Rank MMSE Detector for DS-CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaodong Cai

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available We first develop a reduced-rank minimum mean squared error (MMSE detector for direct-sequence (DS code division multiple access (CDMA by forcing the linear MMSE detector to lie in a signal subspace of a reduced dimension. While a reduced-rank MMSE detector has lower complexity, it cannot outperform the full-rank MMSE detector. We then concentrate on the blind reduced-rank MMSE detector which is obtained from an estimated covariance matrix. Our analysis and simulation results show that when the desired user′s signal is in a low-dimensional subspace, there exists an optimal subspace so that the blind reduced-rank MMSE detector lying in this subspace has the best performance. By properly choosing a subsspace, we guarantee that the optimal blind reduced-rank MMSE detector is obtained. An adaptive blind reduced-rank MMSE detector, based on a subspace tracking algorithm, is developed. The adaptive blind reduced-rank MMSE detector exhibits superior steady-state performance and fast convergence speed.

  1. An R package for analyzing and modeling ranking data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Paul H; Yu, Philip L H

    2013-05-14

    In medical informatics, psychology, market research and many other fields, researchers often need to analyze and model ranking data. However, there is no statistical software that provides tools for the comprehensive analysis of ranking data. Here, we present pmr, an R package for analyzing and modeling ranking data with a bundle of tools. The pmr package enables descriptive statistics (mean rank, pairwise frequencies, and marginal matrix), Analytic Hierarchy Process models (with Saaty's and Koczkodaj's inconsistencies), probability models (Luce model, distance-based model, and rank-ordered logit model), and the visualization of ranking data with multidimensional preference analysis. Examples of the use of package pmr are given using a real ranking dataset from medical informatics, in which 566 Hong Kong physicians ranked the top five incentives (1: competitive pressures; 2: increased savings; 3: government regulation; 4: improved efficiency; 5: improved quality care; 6: patient demand; 7: financial incentives) to the computerization of clinical practice. The mean rank showed that item 4 is the most preferred item and item 3 is the least preferred item, and significance difference was found between physicians' preferences with respect to their monthly income. A multidimensional preference analysis identified two dimensions that explain 42% of the total variance. The first can be interpreted as the overall preference of the seven items (labeled as "internal/external"), and the second dimension can be interpreted as their overall variance of (labeled as "push/pull factors"). Various statistical models were fitted, and the best were found to be weighted distance-based models with Spearman's footrule distance. In this paper, we presented the R package pmr, the first package for analyzing and modeling ranking data. The package provides insight to users through descriptive statistics of ranking data. Users can also visualize ranking data by applying a thought

  2. Hyper-local, directions-based ranking of places

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Venetis, Petros; Gonzalez, Hector; Jensen, Christian S.

    2011-01-01

    they are numerous and contain precise locations. Specifically, the paper proposes a framework that takes a user location and a collection of near-by places as arguments, producing a ranking of the places. The framework enables a range of aspects of directions queries to be exploited for the ranking of places......, including the frequency with which places have been referred to in directions queries. Next, the paper proposes an algorithm and accompanying data structures capable of ranking places in response to hyper-local web queries. Finally, an empirical study with very large directions query logs offers insight...... into the potential of directions queries for the ranking of places and suggests that the proposed algorithm is suitable for use in real web search engines....

  3. Reduced-Rank Adaptive Filtering Using Krylov Subspace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergueï Burykh

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available A unified view of several recently introduced reduced-rank adaptive filters is presented. As all considered methods use Krylov subspace for rank reduction, the approach taken in this work is inspired from Krylov subspace methods for iterative solutions of linear systems. The alternative interpretation so obtained is used to study the properties of each considered technique and to relate one reduced-rank method to another as well as to algorithms used in computational linear algebra. Practical issues are discussed and low-complexity versions are also included in our study. It is believed that the insight developed in this paper can be further used to improve existing reduced-rank methods according to known results in the domain of Krylov subspace methods.

  4. Global network centrality of university rankings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Weisi; Del Vecchio, Marco; Pogrebna, Ganna

    2017-10-01

    Universities and higher education institutions form an integral part of the national infrastructure and prestige. As academic research benefits increasingly from international exchange and cooperation, many universities have increased investment in improving and enabling their global connectivity. Yet, the relationship of university performance and its global physical connectedness has not been explored in detail. We conduct, to our knowledge, the first large-scale data-driven analysis into whether there is a correlation between university relative ranking performance and its global connectivity via the air transport network. The results show that local access to global hubs (as measured by air transport network betweenness) strongly and positively correlates with the ranking growth (statistical significance in different models ranges between 5% and 1% level). We also found that the local airport's aggregate flight paths (degree) and capacity (weighted degree) has no effect on university ranking, further showing that global connectivity distance is more important than the capacity of flight connections. We also examined the effect of local city economic development as a confounding variable and no effect was observed suggesting that access to global transportation hubs outweighs economic performance as a determinant of university ranking. The impact of this research is that we have determined the importance of the centrality of global connectivity and, hence, established initial evidence for further exploring potential connections between university ranking and regional investment policies on improving global connectivity.

  5. The effect of new links on Google PageRank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, Konstatin; Litvak, Nelli

    2004-01-01

    PageRank is one of the principle criteria according to which Google ranks Web pages. PageRank can be interpreted as a frequency of visiting a Web page by a random surfer and thus it reflects the popularity of a Web page. We study the effect of newly created links on Google PageRank. We discuss to

  6. Quantum probability ranking principle for ligand-based virtual screening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Dabbagh, Mohammed Mumtaz; Salim, Naomie; Himmat, Mubarak; Ahmed, Ali; Saeed, Faisal

    2017-04-01

    Chemical libraries contain thousands of compounds that need screening, which increases the need for computational methods that can rank or prioritize compounds. The tools of virtual screening are widely exploited to enhance the cost effectiveness of lead drug discovery programs by ranking chemical compounds databases in decreasing probability of biological activity based upon probability ranking principle (PRP). In this paper, we developed a novel ranking approach for molecular compounds inspired by quantum mechanics, called quantum probability ranking principle (QPRP). The QPRP ranking criteria would make an attempt to draw an analogy between the physical experiment and molecular structure ranking process for 2D fingerprints in ligand based virtual screening (LBVS). The development of QPRP criteria in LBVS has employed the concepts of quantum at three different levels, firstly at representation level, this model makes an effort to develop a new framework of molecular representation by connecting the molecular compounds with mathematical quantum space. Secondly, estimate the similarity between chemical libraries and references based on quantum-based similarity searching method. Finally, rank the molecules using QPRP approach. Simulated virtual screening experiments with MDL drug data report (MDDR) data sets showed that QPRP outperformed the classical ranking principle (PRP) for molecular chemical compounds.

  7. Quantum probability ranking principle for ligand-based virtual screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Dabbagh, Mohammed Mumtaz; Salim, Naomie; Himmat, Mubarak; Ahmed, Ali; Saeed, Faisal

    2017-04-01

    Chemical libraries contain thousands of compounds that need screening, which increases the need for computational methods that can rank or prioritize compounds. The tools of virtual screening are widely exploited to enhance the cost effectiveness of lead drug discovery programs by ranking chemical compounds databases in decreasing probability of biological activity based upon probability ranking principle (PRP). In this paper, we developed a novel ranking approach for molecular compounds inspired by quantum mechanics, called quantum probability ranking principle (QPRP). The QPRP ranking criteria would make an attempt to draw an analogy between the physical experiment and molecular structure ranking process for 2D fingerprints in ligand based virtual screening (LBVS). The development of QPRP criteria in LBVS has employed the concepts of quantum at three different levels, firstly at representation level, this model makes an effort to develop a new framework of molecular representation by connecting the molecular compounds with mathematical quantum space. Secondly, estimate the similarity between chemical libraries and references based on quantum-based similarity searching method. Finally, rank the molecules using QPRP approach. Simulated virtual screening experiments with MDL drug data report (MDDR) data sets showed that QPRP outperformed the classical ranking principle (PRP) for molecular chemical compounds.

  8. A novel three-stage distance-based consensus ranking method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghayi, Nazila; Tavana, Madjid

    2018-05-01

    In this study, we propose a three-stage weighted sum method for identifying the group ranks of alternatives. In the first stage, a rank matrix, similar to the cross-efficiency matrix, is obtained by computing the individual rank position of each alternative based on importance weights. In the second stage, a secondary goal is defined to limit the vector of weights since the vector of weights obtained in the first stage is not unique. Finally, in the third stage, the group rank position of alternatives is obtained based on a distance of individual rank positions. The third stage determines a consensus solution for the group so that the ranks obtained have a minimum distance from the ranks acquired by each alternative in the previous stage. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the applicability and exhibit the efficacy of the proposed method and algorithms.

  9. Learning to rank figures within a biomedical article.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feifan Liu

    Full Text Available Hundreds of millions of figures are available in biomedical literature, representing important biomedical experimental evidence. This ever-increasing sheer volume has made it difficult for scientists to effectively and accurately access figures of their interest, the process of which is crucial for validating research facts and for formulating or testing novel research hypotheses. Current figure search applications can't fully meet this challenge as the "bag of figures" assumption doesn't take into account the relationship among figures. In our previous study, hundreds of biomedical researchers have annotated articles in which they serve as corresponding authors. They ranked each figure in their paper based on a figure's importance at their discretion, referred to as "figure ranking". Using this collection of annotated data, we investigated computational approaches to automatically rank figures. We exploited and extended the state-of-the-art listwise learning-to-rank algorithms and developed a new supervised-learning model BioFigRank. The cross-validation results show that BioFigRank yielded the best performance compared with other state-of-the-art computational models, and the greedy feature selection can further boost the ranking performance significantly. Furthermore, we carry out the evaluation by comparing BioFigRank with three-level competitive domain-specific human experts: (1 First Author, (2 Non-Author-In-Domain-Expert who is not the author nor co-author of an article but who works in the same field of the corresponding author of the article, and (3 Non-Author-Out-Domain-Expert who is not the author nor co-author of an article and who may or may not work in the same field of the corresponding author of an article. Our results show that BioFigRank outperforms Non-Author-Out-Domain-Expert and performs as well as Non-Author-In-Domain-Expert. Although BioFigRank underperforms First Author, since most biomedical researchers are either in- or

  10. Learning to rank figures within a biomedical article.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feifan; Yu, Hong

    2014-01-01

    Hundreds of millions of figures are available in biomedical literature, representing important biomedical experimental evidence. This ever-increasing sheer volume has made it difficult for scientists to effectively and accurately access figures of their interest, the process of which is crucial for validating research facts and for formulating or testing novel research hypotheses. Current figure search applications can't fully meet this challenge as the "bag of figures" assumption doesn't take into account the relationship among figures. In our previous study, hundreds of biomedical researchers have annotated articles in which they serve as corresponding authors. They ranked each figure in their paper based on a figure's importance at their discretion, referred to as "figure ranking". Using this collection of annotated data, we investigated computational approaches to automatically rank figures. We exploited and extended the state-of-the-art listwise learning-to-rank algorithms and developed a new supervised-learning model BioFigRank. The cross-validation results show that BioFigRank yielded the best performance compared with other state-of-the-art computational models, and the greedy feature selection can further boost the ranking performance significantly. Furthermore, we carry out the evaluation by comparing BioFigRank with three-level competitive domain-specific human experts: (1) First Author, (2) Non-Author-In-Domain-Expert who is not the author nor co-author of an article but who works in the same field of the corresponding author of the article, and (3) Non-Author-Out-Domain-Expert who is not the author nor co-author of an article and who may or may not work in the same field of the corresponding author of an article. Our results show that BioFigRank outperforms Non-Author-Out-Domain-Expert and performs as well as Non-Author-In-Domain-Expert. Although BioFigRank underperforms First Author, since most biomedical researchers are either in- or out

  11. Diversity rankings among bacterial lineages in soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youssef, Noha H; Elshahed, Mostafa S

    2009-03-01

    We used rarefaction curve analysis and diversity ordering-based approaches to rank the 11 most frequently encountered bacterial lineages in soil according to diversity in 5 previously reported 16S rRNA gene clone libraries derived from agricultural, undisturbed tall grass prairie and forest soils (n=26,140, 28 328, 31 818, 13 001 and 53 533). The Planctomycetes, Firmicutes and the delta-Proteobacteria were consistently ranked among the most diverse lineages in all data sets, whereas the Verrucomicrobia, Gemmatimonadetes and beta-Proteobacteria were consistently ranked among the least diverse. On the other hand, the rankings of alpha-Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Chloroflexi varied widely in different soil clone libraries. In general, lineages exhibiting largest differences in diversity rankings also exhibited the largest difference in relative abundance in the data sets examined. Within these lineages, a positive correlation between relative abundance and diversity was observed within the Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and Chloroflexi, and a negative diversity-abundance correlation was observed within the Bacteroidetes. The ecological and evolutionary implications of these results are discussed.

  12. Social class rank, essentialism, and punitive judgment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraus, Michael W; Keltner, Dacher

    2013-08-01

    Recent evidence suggests that perceptions of social class rank influence a variety of social cognitive tendencies, from patterns of causal attribution to moral judgment. In the present studies we tested the hypotheses that upper-class rank individuals would be more likely to endorse essentialist lay theories of social class categories (i.e., that social class is founded in genetically based, biological differences) than would lower-class rank individuals and that these beliefs would decrease support for restorative justice--which seeks to rehabilitate offenders, rather than punish unlawful action. Across studies, higher social class rank was associated with increased essentialism of social class categories (Studies 1, 2, and 4) and decreased support for restorative justice (Study 4). Moreover, manipulated essentialist beliefs decreased preferences for restorative justice (Study 3), and the association between social class rank and class-based essentialist theories was explained by the tendency to endorse beliefs in a just world (Study 2). Implications for how class-based essentialist beliefs potentially constrain social opportunity and mobility are discussed.

  13. Low-Rank Sparse Coding for Image Classification

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Tianzhu; Ghanem, Bernard; Liu, Si; Xu, Changsheng; Ahuja, Narendra

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a low-rank sparse coding (LRSC) method that exploits local structure information among features in an image for the purpose of image-level classification. LRSC represents densely sampled SIFT descriptors, in a spatial neighborhood, collectively as low-rank, sparse linear combinations of code words. As such, it casts the feature coding problem as a low-rank matrix learning problem, which is different from previous methods that encode features independently. This LRSC has a number of attractive properties. (1) It encourages sparsity in feature codes, locality in codebook construction, and low-rankness for spatial consistency. (2) LRSC encodes local features jointly by considering their low-rank structure information, and is computationally attractive. We evaluate the LRSC by comparing its performance on a set of challenging benchmarks with that of 7 popular coding and other state-of-the-art methods. Our experiments show that by representing local features jointly, LRSC not only outperforms the state-of-the-art in classification accuracy but also improves the time complexity of methods that use a similar sparse linear representation model for feature coding.

  14. Low-Rank Sparse Coding for Image Classification

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Tianzhu

    2013-12-01

    In this paper, we propose a low-rank sparse coding (LRSC) method that exploits local structure information among features in an image for the purpose of image-level classification. LRSC represents densely sampled SIFT descriptors, in a spatial neighborhood, collectively as low-rank, sparse linear combinations of code words. As such, it casts the feature coding problem as a low-rank matrix learning problem, which is different from previous methods that encode features independently. This LRSC has a number of attractive properties. (1) It encourages sparsity in feature codes, locality in codebook construction, and low-rankness for spatial consistency. (2) LRSC encodes local features jointly by considering their low-rank structure information, and is computationally attractive. We evaluate the LRSC by comparing its performance on a set of challenging benchmarks with that of 7 popular coding and other state-of-the-art methods. Our experiments show that by representing local features jointly, LRSC not only outperforms the state-of-the-art in classification accuracy but also improves the time complexity of methods that use a similar sparse linear representation model for feature coding.

  15. Image Re-Ranking Based on Topic Diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Xueming; Lu, Dan; Wang, Yaxiong; Zhu, Li; Tang, Yuan Yan; Wang, Meng

    2017-08-01

    Social media sharing Websites allow users to annotate images with free tags, which significantly contribute to the development of the web image retrieval. Tag-based image search is an important method to find images shared by users in social networks. However, how to make the top ranked result relevant and with diversity is challenging. In this paper, we propose a topic diverse ranking approach for tag-based image retrieval with the consideration of promoting the topic coverage performance. First, we construct a tag graph based on the similarity between each tag. Then, the community detection method is conducted to mine the topic community of each tag. After that, inter-community and intra-community ranking are introduced to obtain the final retrieved results. In the inter-community ranking process, an adaptive random walk model is employed to rank the community based on the multi-information of each topic community. Besides, we build an inverted index structure for images to accelerate the searching process. Experimental results on Flickr data set and NUS-Wide data sets show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  16. Classification of rank 2 cluster varieties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mandel, Travis

    We classify rank 2 cluster varieties (those whose corresponding skew-form has rank 2) according to the deformation type of a generic fiber U of their X-spaces, as defined by Fock and Goncharov. Our approach is based on the work of Gross, Hacking, and Keel for cluster varieties and log Calabi...

  17. Ranking species in mutualistic networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domínguez-García, Virginia; Muñoz, Miguel A.

    2015-02-01

    Understanding the architectural subtleties of ecological networks, believed to confer them enhanced stability and robustness, is a subject of outmost relevance. Mutualistic interactions have been profusely studied and their corresponding bipartite networks, such as plant-pollinator networks, have been reported to exhibit a characteristic ``nested'' structure. Assessing the importance of any given species in mutualistic networks is a key task when evaluating extinction risks and possible cascade effects. Inspired in a recently introduced algorithm -similar in spirit to Google's PageRank but with a built-in non-linearity- here we propose a method which -by exploiting their nested architecture- allows us to derive a sound ranking of species importance in mutualistic networks. This method clearly outperforms other existing ranking schemes and can become very useful for ecosystem management and biodiversity preservation, where decisions on what aspects of ecosystems to explicitly protect need to be made.

  18. Comparison of Writing Anxiety and Writing Dispositions of Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berk, Rifat Ramazan; Ünal, Emre

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine sixth, seventh and eighth grade students' writing anxiety and dispositions and to examine to what extent they predict each other. The basis of this study is to determine whether writing disposition is the significant predictor of writing anxiety or not and whether students' grade levels and genders are…

  19. Sign rank versus Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alon, N.; Moran, Sh; Yehudayoff, A.

    2017-12-01

    This work studies the maximum possible sign rank of sign (N × N)-matrices with a given Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension d. For d=1, this maximum is three. For d=2, this maximum is \\widetilde{\\Theta}(N1/2). For d >2, similar but slightly less accurate statements hold. The lower bounds improve on previous ones by Ben-David et al., and the upper bounds are novel. The lower bounds are obtained by probabilistic constructions, using a theorem of Warren in real algebraic topology. The upper bounds are obtained using a result of Welzl about spanning trees with low stabbing number, and using the moment curve. The upper bound technique is also used to: (i) provide estimates on the number of classes of a given Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension, and the number of maximum classes of a given Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension--answering a question of Frankl from 1989, and (ii) design an efficient algorithm that provides an O(N/log(N)) multiplicative approximation for the sign rank. We also observe a general connection between sign rank and spectral gaps which is based on Forster's argument. Consider the adjacency (N × N)-matrix of a Δ-regular graph with a second eigenvalue of absolute value λ and Δ ≤ N/2. We show that the sign rank of the signed version of this matrix is at least Δ/λ. We use this connection to prove the existence of a maximum class C\\subseteq\\{+/- 1\\}^N with Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension 2 and sign rank \\widetilde{\\Theta}(N1/2). This answers a question of Ben-David et al. regarding the sign rank of large Vapnik-Chervonenkis classes. We also describe limitations of this approach, in the spirit of the Alon-Boppana theorem. We further describe connections to communication complexity, geometry, learning theory, and combinatorics. Bibliography: 69 titles.

  20. The Rankings Game: Who's Playing Whom?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burness, John F.

    2008-01-01

    This summer, Forbes magazine published its new rankings of "America's Best Colleges," implying that it had developed a methodology that would give the public the information that it needed to choose a college wisely. "U.S. News & World Report," which in 1983 published the first annual ranking, just announced its latest ratings last week--including…

  1. Specifics of nursing care for members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church

    OpenAIRE

    VOTRUBOVÁ, Veronika

    2016-01-01

    Seventh Day Adventist Church was established in the United States in the 19th century and belongs among the Protestant churches. Adventists are characterized by the fact that they expect the second coming of Jesus Christ and hold Saturday holy for celebration of God. The theoretical part deals with the definition of multicultural nursing, nursing and describes the nursing process. It is focused on nursing models Leininger and Giger with Davidhizar. Another part of the theoretical work deals w...

  2. Evaluating ranking methods on heterogeneous digital library collections

    CERN Document Server

    Canévet, Olivier; Marian, Ludmila; Chonavel, Thierry

    In the frame of research in particle physics, CERN has been developing its own web-based software /Invenio/ to run the digital library of all the documents related to CERN and fundamental physics. The documents (articles, photos, news, thesis, ...) can be retrieved through a search engine. The results matching the query of the user can be displayed in several ways: sorted by latest first, author, title and also ranked by word similarity. The purpose of this project is to study and implement a new ranking method in Invenio: distributed-ranking (D-Rank). This method aims at aggregating several ranking scores coming from different ranking methods into a new score. In addition to query-related scores such as word similarity, the goal of the work is to take into account non-query-related scores such as citations, journal impact factor and in particular scores related to the document access frequency in the database. The idea is that for two equally query-relevant documents, if one has been more downloaded for inst...

  3. Ranking spreaders by decomposing complex networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, An; Zhang, Cheng-Jun

    2013-01-01

    Ranking the nodes' ability of spreading in networks is crucial for designing efficient strategies to hinder spreading in the case of diseases or accelerate spreading in the case of information dissemination. In the well-known k-shell method, nodes are ranked only according to the links between the remaining nodes (residual links) while the links connecting to the removed nodes (exhausted links) are entirely ignored. In this Letter, we propose a mixed degree decomposition (MDD) procedure in which both the residual degree and the exhausted degree are considered. By simulating the epidemic spreading process on real networks, we show that the MDD method can outperform the k-shell and degree methods in ranking spreaders.

  4. The ranking of negative-cost emissions reduction measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Simon

    2012-01-01

    A flaw has been identified in the calculation of the cost-effectiveness in marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs). The problem affects “negative-cost” emissions reduction measures—those that produce a return on investment. The resulting ranking sometimes favours measures that produce low emissions savings and is therefore unreliable. The issue is important because incorrect ranking means a potential failure to achieve the best-value outcome. A simple mathematical analysis shows that not only is the standard cost-effectiveness calculation inadequate for ranking negative-cost measures, but there is no possible replacement that satisfies reasonable requirements. Furthermore, the concept of negative cost-effectiveness is found to be unsound and its use should be avoided. Among other things, this means that MACCs are unsuitable for ranking negative-cost measures. As a result, MACCs produced by a range of organizations including UK government departments may need to be revised. An alternative partial ranking method has been devised by making use of Pareto optimization. The outcome can be presented as a stacked bar chart that indicates both the preferred ordering and the total emissions saving available for each measure without specifying a cost-effectiveness. - Highlights: ► Marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) are used to rank emission reduction measures. ► There is a flaw in the standard ranking method for negative-cost measures. ► Negative values of cost-effectiveness (in £/tC or equivalent) are invalid. ► There may be errors in published MACCs. ► A method based on Pareto principles provides an alternative ranking method.

  5. Ranking Queries on Uncertain Data

    CERN Document Server

    Hua, Ming

    2011-01-01

    Uncertain data is inherent in many important applications, such as environmental surveillance, market analysis, and quantitative economics research. Due to the importance of those applications and rapidly increasing amounts of uncertain data collected and accumulated, analyzing large collections of uncertain data has become an important task. Ranking queries (also known as top-k queries) are often natural and useful in analyzing uncertain data. Ranking Queries on Uncertain Data discusses the motivations/applications, challenging problems, the fundamental principles, and the evaluation algorith

  6. Subtracting a best rank-1 approximation may increase tensor rank

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stegeman, Alwin; Comon, Pierre

    2010-01-01

    It has been shown that a best rank-R approximation of an order-k tensor may not exist when R >= 2 and k >= 3. This poses a serious problem to data analysts using tensor decompositions it has been observed numerically that, generally, this issue cannot be solved by consecutively computing and

  7. Hadron Spectroscopy: Seventh International Conference. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, S.; Willutzki, H.J.

    1998-01-01

    These proceedings represent papers presented at the Seventh International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy (HADRON close-quote 97) held in Upton, New York in August, 1997. The Conference provided a wonderful opportunity for practitioners of hadron spectroscopy to discuss and exchange the latest information on both theoretical and experimental progress. A wide range of topics was covered at the Conference, including proton-antiproton interactions, glueballs, quantum chromodynamics, quarkonium hybrid meson, long-lived exotic particles and gluon degrees of freedom in meson spectroscopy. The Conference represents results from various collaborations including the Fermilab E690 and E835, Crystal Barrel, the H1 and ZEUS, etc. The facilities represented included CERN-SPS, Fermilab-Main Injector, BNL-RHIC, KEK-JHF, BNL-AGS, Julich-COSY, Uppsala-CELSIUS, SLAC-PEPII and Cornell-CESR, Frascati-DAΦNE, Beijing-BEPC, Bonn-ELSA and CEBAF backslash TJNAF. The papers described the existing capabilities and active research programs at these facilities. The conference was supported by BNL and the U.S. Department of Energy. There were 155 presented, and out of these, 33 have been abstracted for the Energy Science and Technology database

  8. Resolutions and other decisions of the General Conference. Thirty-seventh regular session. 27 September - 1 October 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-05-01

    The document reproduces the twenty-seven resolutions adopted and the fourteen other decisions taken by the IAEA General Conference at its thirty-seventh (1993) regular session. The resolutions are preceded by the agenda for the session

  9. Using Power-Law Degree Distribution to Accelerate PageRank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaoyan Jin

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The PageRank vector of a network is very important, for it can reflect the importance of a Web page in the World Wide Web, or of a people in a social network. However, with the growth of the World Wide Web and social networks, it needs more and more time to compute the PageRank vector of a network. In many real-world applications, the degree and PageRank distributions of these complex networks conform to the Power-Law distribution. This paper utilizes the degree distribution of a network to initialize its PageRank vector, and presents a Power-Law degree distribution accelerating algorithm of PageRank computation. Experiments on four real-world datasets show that the proposed algorithm converges more quickly than the original PageRank algorithm.

  10. A Case-Based Reasoning Method with Rank Aggregation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jinhua; Du, Jiao; Hu, Jian

    2018-03-01

    In order to improve the accuracy of case-based reasoning (CBR), this paper addresses a new CBR framework with the basic principle of rank aggregation. First, the ranking methods are put forward in each attribute subspace of case. The ordering relation between cases on each attribute is got between cases. Then, a sorting matrix is got. Second, the similar case retrieval process from ranking matrix is transformed into a rank aggregation optimal problem, which uses the Kemeny optimal. On the basis, a rank aggregation case-based reasoning algorithm, named RA-CBR, is designed. The experiment result on UCI data sets shows that case retrieval accuracy of RA-CBR algorithm is higher than euclidean distance CBR and mahalanobis distance CBR testing.So we can get the conclusion that RA-CBR method can increase the performance and efficiency of CBR.

  11. Nursing ethics in the seventh-day adventist religious tradition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Elizabeth Johnston; Carr, Mark F

    2009-11-01

    Nurses' religious beliefs influence their motivations and perspectives, including their practice of ethics in nursing care. When the impact of these beliefs is not recognized, great potential for unethical nursing care exists. Thus, this article examines how the theology of one religious tradition, Seventh-day Adventism (SDA), could affect nurses. An overview of SDA history and beliefs is presented, which explains why 'medical missionary' work is central to SDAs. Theological foundations that would permeate an SDA nurse's view of the nursing metaparadigm concepts of person, health, environment (i.e. community), and nursing (i.e. service) are presented. The ethical principles guiding SDA nurses (i.e. principled, case-based, and care ethics) and the implications of these theological foundations for nurses are noted in a case study.

  12. Power-law and exponential rank distributions: A panoramic Gibbsian perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eliazar, Iddo

    2015-01-01

    Rank distributions are collections of positive sizes ordered either increasingly or decreasingly. Many decreasing rank distributions, formed by the collective collaboration of human actions, follow an inverse power-law relation between ranks and sizes. This remarkable empirical fact is termed Zipf’s law, and one of its quintessential manifestations is the demography of human settlements — which exhibits a harmonic relation between ranks and sizes. In this paper we present a comprehensive statistical-physics analysis of rank distributions, establish that power-law and exponential rank distributions stand out as optimal in various entropy-based senses, and unveil the special role of the harmonic relation between ranks and sizes. Our results extend the contemporary entropy-maximization view of Zipf’s law to a broader, panoramic, Gibbsian perspective of increasing and decreasing power-law and exponential rank distributions — of which Zipf’s law is one out of four pillars

  13. Power-law and exponential rank distributions: A panoramic Gibbsian perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eliazar, Iddo, E-mail: eliazar@post.tau.ac.il

    2015-04-15

    Rank distributions are collections of positive sizes ordered either increasingly or decreasingly. Many decreasing rank distributions, formed by the collective collaboration of human actions, follow an inverse power-law relation between ranks and sizes. This remarkable empirical fact is termed Zipf’s law, and one of its quintessential manifestations is the demography of human settlements — which exhibits a harmonic relation between ranks and sizes. In this paper we present a comprehensive statistical-physics analysis of rank distributions, establish that power-law and exponential rank distributions stand out as optimal in various entropy-based senses, and unveil the special role of the harmonic relation between ranks and sizes. Our results extend the contemporary entropy-maximization view of Zipf’s law to a broader, panoramic, Gibbsian perspective of increasing and decreasing power-law and exponential rank distributions — of which Zipf’s law is one out of four pillars.

  14. Communities in Large Networks: Identification and Ranking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Martin

    2008-01-01

    show that the problem of deciding whether a non trivial community exists is NP complete. Nevertheless, experiments show that a very simple greedy approach can identify members of a community in the Danish part of the web graph with time complexity only dependent on the size of the found community...... and its immediate surroundings. The members are ranked with a “local” variant of the PageRank algorithm. Results are reported from successful experiments on identifying and ranking Danish Computer Science sites and Danish Chess pages using only a few representatives....

  15. Functional Multiplex PageRank

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iacovacci, Jacopo; Rahmede, Christoph; Arenas, Alex; Bianconi, Ginestra

    2016-10-01

    Recently it has been recognized that many complex social, technological and biological networks have a multilayer nature and can be described by multiplex networks. Multiplex networks are formed by a set of nodes connected by links having different connotations forming the different layers of the multiplex. Characterizing the centrality of the nodes in a multiplex network is a challenging task since the centrality of the node naturally depends on the importance associated to links of a certain type. Here we propose to assign to each node of a multiplex network a centrality called Functional Multiplex PageRank that is a function of the weights given to every different pattern of connections (multilinks) existent in the multiplex network between any two nodes. Since multilinks distinguish all the possible ways in which the links in different layers can overlap, the Functional Multiplex PageRank can describe important non-linear effects when large relevance or small relevance is assigned to multilinks with overlap. Here we apply the Functional Page Rank to the multiplex airport networks, to the neuronal network of the nematode C. elegans, and to social collaboration and citation networks between scientists. This analysis reveals important differences existing between the most central nodes of these networks, and the correlations between their so-called pattern to success.

  16. A cross-benchmark comparison of 87 learning to rank methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tax, N.; Bockting, S.; Hiemstra, D.

    2015-01-01

    Learning to rank is an increasingly important scientific field that comprises the use of machine learning for the ranking task. New learning to rank methods are generally evaluated on benchmark test collections. However, comparison of learning to rank methods based on evaluation results is hindered

  17. Improving the Study Skills of Discrepant Achieving Seventh Grade Students. Research and Development Report 30.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Roger G.; Pappas, James P.

    Three approaches to the problem of helping underachieving seventh grade boys improve their study habits are compared: (1) behavior modification; (2) group counseling; and (3) didactic instruction. A pre-post criteria format sought to measure change in terms of: (1) academic achievement as measured by grade point average; and (2) study habits and…

  18. Rank Two Affine Manifolds in Genus 3

    OpenAIRE

    Aulicino, David; Nguyen, Duc-Manh

    2016-01-01

    We complete the classification of rank two affine manifolds in the moduli space of translation surfaces in genus three. Combined with a recent result of Mirzakhani and Wright, this completes the classification of higher rank affine manifolds in genus three.

  19. Sensitivity ranking for freshwater invertebrates towards hydrocarbon contaminants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerner, Nadine V; Cailleaud, Kevin; Bassères, Anne; Liess, Matthias; Beketov, Mikhail A

    2017-11-01

    Hydrocarbons have an utmost economical importance but may also cause substantial ecological impacts due to accidents or inadequate transportation and use. Currently, freshwater biomonitoring methods lack an indicator that can unequivocally reflect the impacts caused by hydrocarbons while being independent from effects of other stressors. The aim of the present study was to develop a sensitivity ranking for freshwater invertebrates towards hydrocarbon contaminants, which can be used in hydrocarbon-specific bioindicators. We employed the Relative Sensitivity method and developed the sensitivity ranking S hydrocarbons based on literature ecotoxicological data supplemented with rapid and mesocosm test results. A first validation of the sensitivity ranking based on an earlier field study has been conducted and revealed the S hydrocarbons ranking to be promising for application in sensitivity based indicators. Thus, the first results indicate that the ranking can serve as the core component of future hydrocarbon-specific and sensitivity trait based bioindicators.

  20. Tensor rank of the tripartite state |W>xn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Nengkun; Guo Cheng; Duan Runyao; Chitambar, Eric

    2010-01-01

    Tensor rank refers to the number of product states needed to express a given multipartite quantum state. Its nonadditivity as an entanglement measure has recently been observed. In this Brief Report, we estimate the tensor rank of multiple copies of the tripartite state |W>=(1/√(3))(|100>+|010>+|001>). Both an upper bound and a lower bound of this rank are derived. In particular, it is proven that the rank of |W> x 2 is 7, thus resolving a previously open problem. Some implications of this result are discussed in terms of transformation rates between |W> xn and multiple copies of the state |GHZ>=(1/√(2))(|000>+|111>).

  1. Low-Rank Matrix Factorization With Adaptive Graph Regularizer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Gui-Fu; Wang, Yong; Zou, Jian

    2016-05-01

    In this paper, we present a novel low-rank matrix factorization algorithm with adaptive graph regularizer (LMFAGR). We extend the recently proposed low-rank matrix with manifold regularization (MMF) method with an adaptive regularizer. Different from MMF, which constructs an affinity graph in advance, LMFAGR can simultaneously seek graph weight matrix and low-dimensional representations of data. That is, graph construction and low-rank matrix factorization are incorporated into a unified framework, which results in an automatically updated graph rather than a predefined one. The experimental results on some data sets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art low-rank matrix factorization methods.

  2. Dominance-based ranking functions for interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Liang-Hsuan; Tu, Chien-Cheng

    2014-08-01

    The ranking of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IvIFSs) is difficult since they include the interval values of membership and nonmembership. This paper proposes ranking functions for IvIFSs based on the dominance concept. The proposed ranking functions consider the degree to which an IvIFS dominates and is not dominated by other IvIFSs. Based on the bivariate framework and the dominance concept, the functions incorporate not only the boundary values of membership and nonmembership, but also the relative relations among IvIFSs in comparisons. The dominance-based ranking functions include bipolar evaluations with a parameter that allows the decision-maker to reflect his actual attitude in allocating the various kinds of dominance. The relationship for two IvIFSs that satisfy the dual couple is defined based on four proposed ranking functions. Importantly, the proposed ranking functions can achieve a full ranking for all IvIFSs. Two examples are used to demonstrate the applicability and distinctiveness of the proposed ranking functions.

  3. DEVELOPING SIGNS AND SONGS MATERIALS DEALING WITH THE 2013 CURRICULUM FOR THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS IN MTSN BALANG-BALANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mardiana

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to develop Signs and Songs Materials based on 2013 curriculum for the Seventh Grade Student at MTsN. BalangBalang, Gowa. It was Research and Development (R&D applied ADDIE model standing for Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. The procedures were; 1 analyzing materials needed by students; 2designing the blueprint; 3 developing the materials through the syllabus of 2013 Curriculum; 4 implementing the product (try-out product; and 5 evaluating the product. The product was tried out to the seventh grade students at MTsN Balang-balang. Type of data obtained in this study was qualitative. The instruments used in this study were questionnaire and rubrics for teacher and expert. Then, the teacher and expert were involved in order to validate the product. They validated three systematic aspects of the product, namely; the organization of the Materials, English Teaching strategies or method, and the content of the materials. Finally, based on the teacher and expert judgment as well as try-out design result, it was found that the developed materials were applicable to be taught for the Seventh Grade of Junior High School as additional learning and teaching materials which help both students and teachers in learning process based on 2013 Curriculum.

  4. Ranking of Unwarranted Variations in Healthcare Treatments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moes, Herry; Brekelmans, Ruud; Hamers, Herbert; Hasaart, F.

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce a framework designed to identify and rank possible unwarranted variation of treatments in healthcare. The innovative aspect of this framework is a ranking procedure that aims to identify healthcare institutions where unwarranted variation is most severe, and diagnosis

  5. Who's bigger? where historical figures really rank

    CERN Document Server

    Skiena, Steven

    2014-01-01

    Is Hitler bigger than Napoleon? Washington bigger than Lincoln? Picasso bigger than Einstein? Quantitative analysts are rapidly finding homes in social and cultural domains, from finance to politics. What about history? In this fascinating book, Steve Skiena and Charles Ward bring quantitative analysis to bear on ranking and comparing historical reputations. They evaluate each person by aggregating the traces of millions of opinions, just as Google ranks webpages. The book includes a technical discussion for readers interested in the details of the methods, but no mathematical or computational background is necessary to understand the rankings or conclusions. Along the way, the authors present the rankings of more than one thousand of history's most significant people in science, politics, entertainment, and all areas of human endeavor. Anyone interested in history or biography can see where their favorite figures place in the grand scheme of things.

  6. Low-rank coal research. Quarterly report, January--March 1990

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-08-01

    This document contains several quarterly progress reports for low-rank coal research that was performed from January-March 1990. Reports in Control Technology and Coal Preparation Research are in Flue Gas Cleanup, Waste Management, and Regional Energy Policy Program for the Northern Great Plains. Reports in Advanced Research and Technology Development are presented in Turbine Combustion Phenomena, Combustion Inorganic Transformation (two sections), Liquefaction Reactivity of Low-Rank Coals, Gasification Ash and Slag Characterization, and Coal Science. Reports in Combustion Research cover Fluidized-Bed Combustion, Beneficiation of Low-Rank Coals, Combustion Characterization of Low-Rank Coal Fuels, Diesel Utilization of Low-Rank Coals, and Produce and Characterize HWD (hot-water drying) Fuels for Heat Engine Applications. Liquefaction Research is reported in Low-Rank Coal Direct Liquefaction. Gasification Research progress is discussed for Production of Hydrogen and By-Products from Coal and for Chemistry of Sulfur Removal in Mild Gas.

  7. Level-rank duality of untwisted and twisted D-branes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naculich, Stephen G.; Schnitzer, Howard J.

    2006-01-01

    Level-rank duality of untwisted and twisted D-branes of WZW models is explored. We derive the relation between D0-brane charges of level-rank dual untwisted D-branes of su-bar (N) K and sp-bar (n) k , and of level-rank dual twisted D-branes of su-bar (2n+1) 2k+1 . The analysis of level-rank duality of twisted D-branes of su-bar (2n+1) 2k+1 is facilitated by their close relation to untwisted D-branes of sp-bar (n) k . We also demonstrate level-rank duality of the spectrum of an open string stretched between untwisted or twisted D-branes in each of these cases

  8. UTV Expansion Pack: Special-Purpose Rank-Revealing Algorithms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fierro, Ricardo D.; Hansen, Per Christian

    2005-01-01

    This collection of Matlab 7.0 software supplements and complements the package UTV Tools from 1999, and includes implementations of special-purpose rank-revealing algorithms developed since the publication of the original package. We provide algorithms for computing and modifying symmetric rank-r...... values of a sparse or structured matrix. These new algorithms have applications in signal processing, optimization and LSI information retrieval.......This collection of Matlab 7.0 software supplements and complements the package UTV Tools from 1999, and includes implementations of special-purpose rank-revealing algorithms developed since the publication of the original package. We provide algorithms for computing and modifying symmetric rank......-revealing VSV decompositions, we expand the algorithms for the ULLV decomposition of a matrix pair to handle interference-type problems with a rank-deficient covariance matrix, and we provide a robust and reliable Lanczos algorithm which - despite its simplicity - is able to capture all the dominant singular...

  9. Rank 2 fusion rings are complete intersections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Troels Bak

    We give a non-constructive proof that fusion rings attached to a simple complex Lie algebra of rank 2 are complete intersections.......We give a non-constructive proof that fusion rings attached to a simple complex Lie algebra of rank 2 are complete intersections....

  10. Entity Ranking using Wikipedia as a Pivot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R. Kaptein; P. Serdyukov; A.P. de Vries (Arjen); J. Kamps

    2010-01-01

    htmlabstractIn this paper we investigate the task of Entity Ranking on the Web. Searchers looking for entities are arguably better served by presenting a ranked list of entities directly, rather than a list of web pages with relevant but also potentially redundant information about

  11. The design and content of orthodontic practise websites in the UK is suboptimal and does not correlate with search ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Annika; Cobourne, Martyn T

    2015-08-01

    This study investigated standards of ethical advertising; design and content; and information quality associated with UK dental practice websites offering orthodontic treatment. The World Wide Web was searched from a UK-based computer using the Google search engine combined with the term 'orthodontic braces'. The first 100 UK-based dental practice websites were pooled and saved following duplicate removal. Websites were evaluated for compliance with current General Dental Council ethical advertising guidelines; accessibility, usability, and reliability using the LIDA instrument (a validated outcome tool for healthcare website design and content evaluation); and quality of information using the DISCERN toolkit (a validated method of quality assessment for online written patient information). Nine per cent of websites demonstrated full compliance with current guidelines on ethical advertising. Mean total LIDA score was 110/144 (76%) [range: 51-135; 35-94%]. Eleven websites reached a gold standard of 90% or more for total LIDA score. Mean total DISCERN score was 48/75 (64%) [range: 19-73; 25-97%]. Five websites achieved a total DISCERN score above 90%. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients demonstrated no significant correlations between LIDA (0.1669; P = 0.4252, confidence interval [CI]: -0.2560 to 0.5362) or DISCERN (0.3572; P = 0.0796, CI: -0.0565 to 0.663) score and ranking amongst the 25 highest ranked websites. Most UK websites offering orthodontic services are not fully compliant with national guidelines relating to ethical advertising. Validated measures of website design (LIDA) and information quality (DISCERN) showed wide variation amongst sites. No correlation existed between ranking amongst the highest 25 sites and either of these measures. This investigation was limited to a subsample of UK-only websites; and whilst not representative of European-wide sites, it does suggest that in the UK at least website quality can be improved. © The Author 2014

  12. Low Rank Approximation Algorithms, Implementation, Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Markovsky, Ivan

    2012-01-01

    Matrix low-rank approximation is intimately related to data modelling; a problem that arises frequently in many different fields. Low Rank Approximation: Algorithms, Implementation, Applications is a comprehensive exposition of the theory, algorithms, and applications of structured low-rank approximation. Local optimization methods and effective suboptimal convex relaxations for Toeplitz, Hankel, and Sylvester structured problems are presented. A major part of the text is devoted to application of the theory. Applications described include: system and control theory: approximate realization, model reduction, output error, and errors-in-variables identification; signal processing: harmonic retrieval, sum-of-damped exponentials, finite impulse response modeling, and array processing; machine learning: multidimensional scaling and recommender system; computer vision: algebraic curve fitting and fundamental matrix estimation; bioinformatics for microarray data analysis; chemometrics for multivariate calibration; ...

  13. Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Site Identification and Ranking Methodology Part I: Wave Energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilcher, Levi [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Thresher, Robert [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-10-01

    , Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest (northern California, Oregon, and Washington) rank at the top of the lists. Hawaii ranks highest in the near-term scenario because it has high energy costs. In the long-term scenario, Oregon ranks highest because it has a large market and an energetic resource. Several East Coast states and Puerto Rico are also identified as potential wave energy deployment sites if technological innovations make it possible to efficiently generate electricity from the modest resource there. There are also several small-market sites in Alaska and U.S. Pacific Islands that rank particularly well in the near-term analysis due to their high energy prices. These locations may represent opportunities to demonstrate economical wave energy conversion as a stepping-stone to larger markets. Several factors that will affect wave project costs and siting have not been considered here -- including permitting constraints, conflicting use, seasonal resource variability, extreme event likelihood, and distance to ports -- because consistent data are unavailable or technology-independent scoring could not be identified. As the industry continues to mature and converge around a subset of device archetypes with well-defined costs, more precise investigations of project siting that include these factors will be possible. For now, these results provide a high-level guide pointing to the regions where markets and resource will one day support commercial wave energy projects.

  14. Paired comparisons analysis: an axiomatic approach to ranking methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gonzalez-Diaz, J.; Hendrickx, Ruud; Lohmann, E.R.M.A.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we present an axiomatic analysis of several ranking methods for general tournaments. We find that the ranking method obtained by applying maximum likelihood to the (Zermelo-)Bradley-Terry model, the most common method in statistics and psychology, is one of the ranking methods that

  15. LogDet Rank Minimization with Application to Subspace Clustering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao Kang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Low-rank matrix is desired in many machine learning and computer vision problems. Most of the recent studies use the nuclear norm as a convex surrogate of the rank operator. However, all singular values are simply added together by the nuclear norm, and thus the rank may not be well approximated in practical problems. In this paper, we propose using a log-determinant (LogDet function as a smooth and closer, though nonconvex, approximation to rank for obtaining a low-rank representation in subspace clustering. Augmented Lagrange multipliers strategy is applied to iteratively optimize the LogDet-based nonconvex objective function on potentially large-scale data. By making use of the angular information of principal directions of the resultant low-rank representation, an affinity graph matrix is constructed for spectral clustering. Experimental results on motion segmentation and face clustering data demonstrate that the proposed method often outperforms state-of-the-art subspace clustering algorithms.

  16. Seventh International Accelerator School for Linear Colliders

    CERN Document Server

    Organizers of the Seventh International Accelerator School for Linear Colliders

    2012-01-01

    We are pleased to announce the Seventh International Accelerator School for Linear Colliders. This school is a continuation of the series of schools which began six years ago.  The first school was held in 2006 in Sokendai, Japan, the second in 2007 in Erice, Italy, the third in 2008 in Oakbrook Hills, USA, the fourth in 2009 in Huairou, China, the fifth in 2010 in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, and the sixth in 2011 in Pacific Grove, USA.   The school is organized by the International Linear Collider (ILC) Global Design Effort (GDE), the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) and the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) Beam Dynamics Panel. The school this year will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Indore, India from November 27 to December 8, 2012. It is hosted by the Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology (RRCAT) and sponsored by a number of funding agencies and institutions around the world including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. National Science...

  17. Low rank magnetic resonance fingerprinting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazor, Gal; Weizman, Lior; Tal, Assaf; Eldar, Yonina C

    2016-08-01

    Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) is a relatively new approach that provides quantitative MRI using randomized acquisition. Extraction of physical quantitative tissue values is preformed off-line, based on acquisition with varying parameters and a dictionary generated according to the Bloch equations. MRF uses hundreds of radio frequency (RF) excitation pulses for acquisition, and therefore high under-sampling ratio in the sampling domain (k-space) is required. This under-sampling causes spatial artifacts that hamper the ability to accurately estimate the quantitative tissue values. In this work, we introduce a new approach for quantitative MRI using MRF, called Low Rank MRF. We exploit the low rank property of the temporal domain, on top of the well-known sparsity of the MRF signal in the generated dictionary domain. We present an iterative scheme that consists of a gradient step followed by a low rank projection using the singular value decomposition. Experiments on real MRI data demonstrate superior results compared to conventional implementation of compressed sensing for MRF at 15% sampling ratio.

  18. Two Ranking Methods of Single Valued Triangular Neutrosophic Numbers to Rank and Evaluate Information Systems Quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samah Ibrahim Abdel Aal

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The concept of neutrosophic can provide a generalization of fuzzy set and intuitionistic fuzzy set that make it is the best fit in representing indeterminacy and uncertainty. Single Valued Triangular Numbers (SVTrN-numbers is a special case of neutrosophic set that can handle ill-known quantity very difficult problems. This work intended to introduce a framework with two types of ranking methods. The results indicated that each ranking method has its own advantage. In this perspective, the weighted value and ambiguity based method gives more attention to uncertainty in ranking and evaluating ISQ as well as it takes into account cut sets of SVTrN numbers that can reflect the information on Truth-membership-membership degree, false membership-membership degree and Indeterminacy-membership degree. The value index and ambiguity index method can reflect the decision maker's subjectivity attitude to the SVTrN- numbers.

  19. Lerot: An Online Learning to Rank Framework

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schuth, A.; Hofmann, K.; Whiteson, S.; de Rijke, M.

    2013-01-01

    Online learning to rank methods for IR allow retrieval systems to optimize their own performance directly from interactions with users via click feedback. In the software package Lerot, presented in this paper, we have bundled all ingredients needed for experimenting with online learning to rank for

  20. Entity ranking using Wikipedia as a pivot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaptein, R.; Serdyukov, P.; de Vries, A.; Kamps, J.; Huang, X.J.; Jones, G.; Koudas, N.; Wu, X.; Collins-Thompson, K.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we investigate the task of Entity Ranking on the Web. Searchers looking for entities are arguably better served by presenting a ranked list of entities directly, rather than a list of web pages with relevant but also potentially redundant information about these entities. Since

  1. Teaching about Israel in the Seventh Grade: How It Relates to the History/Social Science Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Cecile

    1981-01-01

    Describes an eight-week unit on Israel for seventh graders and shows how the unit relates to the 1981 "California History/Social Science Framework." The unit introduces students to framework content goals in history and the humanities. Activities include journal writing, artifact building, archaeological simulations, and a geographical…

  2. Encoding of QC-LDPC Codes of Rank Deficient Parity Matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Kasim Mohammed Al-Haddad

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available the encoding of long low density parity check (LDPC codes presents a challenge compared to its decoding. The Quasi Cyclic (QC LDPC codes offer the advantage for reducing the complexity for both encoding and decoding due to its QC structure. Most QC-LDPC codes have rank deficient parity matrix and this introduces extra complexity over the codes with full rank parity matrix. In this paper an encoding scheme of QC-LDPC codes is presented that is suitable for codes with full rank parity matrix and rank deficient parity matrx. The extra effort required by the codes with rank deficient parity matrix over the codes of full rank parity matrix is investigated.

  3. 7 CFR 1491.6 - Ranking considerations and proposal selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ranking considerations and proposal selection. 1491.6... PROGRAM General Provisions § 1491.6 Ranking considerations and proposal selection. (a) Before the State.... The national ranking criteria will be established by the Chief and the State criteria will be...

  4. Extracting Rankings for Spatial Keyword Queries from GPS Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Keles, Ilkcan; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard; Saltenis, Simonas

    2018-01-01

    Studies suggest that many search engine queries have local intent. We consider the evaluation of ranking functions important for such queries. The key challenge is to be able to determine the “best” ranking for a query, as this enables evaluation of the results of ranking functions. We propose...

  5. Revisiting the Relationship between Institutional Rank and Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zilvinskis, John; Louis Rocconi

    2018-01-01

    College rankings dominate the conversation regarding quality in postsecondary education. However, the criteria used to rank institutions often have nothing to do with the quality of education students receive. A decade ago, Pike (2004) demonstrated that institutional rank had little association with student involvement in educational activities.…

  6. Rank of quantized universal enveloping algebras and modular functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majid, S.; Soibelman, Ya.S.

    1991-01-01

    We compute an intrinsic rank invariant for quasitriangular Hopf algebras in the case of general quantum groups U q (g). As a function of q the rank has remarkable number theoretic properties connected with modular covariance and Galois theory. A number of examples are treated in detail, including rank (U q (su(3)) and rank (U q (e 8 )). We briefly indicate a physical interpretation as relating Chern-Simons theory with the theory of a quantum particle confined to an alcove of g. (orig.)

  7. Seventh International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul B. Tchounwou

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is dedicated to the publication of selected papers presented at the Seventh International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research. The Symposium was organized by Jackson State University (JSU from September 12–15, 2010 at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi. It was built upon the overwhelming success of previous symposia hosted by JSU and co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH RCMI-Center for Environmental Health, the U.S. Department of Education Title III Graduate Education Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the JSU Office of Academic Affairs, and the JSU Office of Research and Federal Relations. [...

  8. Ranking Music Data by Relevance and Importance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruxanda, Maria Magdalena; Nanopoulos, Alexandros; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard

    2008-01-01

    Due to the rapidly increasing availability of audio files on the Web, it is relevant to augment search engines with advanced audio search functionality. In this context, the ranking of the retrieved music is an important issue. This paper proposes a music ranking method capable of flexibly fusing...

  9. Academic Ranking--From Its Genesis to Its International Expansion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieira, Rosilene C.; Lima, Manolita C.

    2015-01-01

    Given the visibility and popularity of rankings that encompass the measurement of quality of post-graduate courses, for instance, the MBA (Master of Business Administration) or graduate studies program (MSc and PhD) as do global academic rankings--Academic Ranking of World Universities-ARWU, Times Higher/Thomson Reuters World University Ranking…

  10. RANK/RANKL/OPG Signalization Implication in Periodontitis: New Evidence from a RANK Transgenic Mouse Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bouchra Sojod

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Periodontitis is based on a complex inflammatory over-response combined with possible genetic predisposition factors. The RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling pathway is implicated in bone resorption through its key function in osteoclast differentiation and activation, as well as in the inflammatory response. This central element of osteo-immunology has been suggested to be perturbed in several diseases, including periodontitis, as it is a predisposing factor for this disease. The aim of the present study was to validate this hypothesis using a transgenic mouse line, which over-expresses RANK (RTg and develops a periodontitis-like phenotype at 5 months of age. RTg mice exhibited severe alveolar bone loss, an increased number of TRAP positive cells, and disorganization of periodontal ligaments. This phenotype was more pronounced in females. We also observed dental root resorption lacunas. Hyperplasia of the gingival epithelium, including Malassez epithelial rests, was visible as early as 25 days, preceding any other symptoms. These results demonstrate that perturbations of the RANKL/RANK/OPG system constitute a core element of periodontitis, and more globally, osteo-immune diseases.

  11. RANK/RANKL/OPG Signalization Implication in Periodontitis: New Evidence from a RANK Transgenic Mouse Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sojod, Bouchra; Chateau, Danielle; Mueller, Christopher G.; Babajko, Sylvie; Berdal, Ariane; Lézot, Frédéric; Castaneda, Beatriz

    2017-01-01

    Periodontitis is based on a complex inflammatory over-response combined with possible genetic predisposition factors. The RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling pathway is implicated in bone resorption through its key function in osteoclast differentiation and activation, as well as in the inflammatory response. This central element of osteo-immunology has been suggested to be perturbed in several diseases, including periodontitis, as it is a predisposing factor for this disease. The aim of the present study was to validate this hypothesis using a transgenic mouse line, which over-expresses RANK (RTg) and develops a periodontitis-like phenotype at 5 months of age. RTg mice exhibited severe alveolar bone loss, an increased number of TRAP positive cells, and disorganization of periodontal ligaments. This phenotype was more pronounced in females. We also observed dental root resorption lacunas. Hyperplasia of the gingival epithelium, including Malassez epithelial rests, was visible as early as 25 days, preceding any other symptoms. These results demonstrate that perturbations of the RANKL/RANK/OPG system constitute a core element of periodontitis, and more globally, osteo-immune diseases. PMID:28596739

  12. Consistent ranking of volatility models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Peter Reinhard; Lunde, Asger

    2006-01-01

    We show that the empirical ranking of volatility models can be inconsistent for the true ranking if the evaluation is based on a proxy for the population measure of volatility. For example, the substitution of a squared return for the conditional variance in the evaluation of ARCH-type models can...... variance in out-of-sample evaluations rather than the squared return. We derive the theoretical results in a general framework that is not specific to the comparison of volatility models. Similar problems can arise in comparisons of forecasting models whenever the predicted variable is a latent variable....

  13. An Adaptive Reordered Method for Computing PageRank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Ming Bu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose an adaptive reordered method to deal with the PageRank problem. It has been shown that one can reorder the hyperlink matrix of PageRank problem to calculate a reduced system and get the full PageRank vector through forward substitutions. This method can provide a speedup for calculating the PageRank vector. We observe that in the existing reordered method, the cost of the recursively reordering procedure could offset the computational reduction brought by minimizing the dimension of linear system. With this observation, we introduce an adaptive reordered method to accelerate the total calculation, in which we terminate the reordering procedure appropriately instead of reordering to the end. Numerical experiments show the effectiveness of this adaptive reordered method.

  14. A Note on the PageRank of Undirected Graphs

    OpenAIRE

    Grolmusz, Vince

    2012-01-01

    The PageRank is a widely used scoring function of networks in general and of the World Wide Web graph in particular. The PageRank is defined for directed graphs, but in some special cases applications for undirected graphs occur. In the literature it is widely noted that the PageRank for undirected graphs are proportional to the degrees of the vertices of the graph. We prove that statement for a particular personalization vector in the definition of the PageRank, and we also show that in gene...

  15. Extreme learning machine for ranking: generalization analysis and applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hong; Peng, Jiangtao; Zhou, Yicong; Li, Luoqing; Pan, Zhibin

    2014-05-01

    The extreme learning machine (ELM) has attracted increasing attention recently with its successful applications in classification and regression. In this paper, we investigate the generalization performance of ELM-based ranking. A new regularized ranking algorithm is proposed based on the combinations of activation functions in ELM. The generalization analysis is established for the ELM-based ranking (ELMRank) in terms of the covering numbers of hypothesis space. Empirical results on the benchmark datasets show the competitive performance of the ELMRank over the state-of-the-art ranking methods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Multidimensional ranking the design and development of U-Multirank

    CERN Document Server

    Ziegele, Frank

    2012-01-01

    During the last decades ranking has become one of the most controversial issues in higher education and research. It is widely recognized now that, although some of the current rankings can be severely criticized, they seem to be here to stay. In addition, rankings appear to have a great impact on decision-makers at all levels of higher education and research systems worldwide, including in universities. Rankings reflect a growing international competition among universities for talent and resources; at the same time they reinforce competition by their very results. Yet major concerns remain a

  17. Is there a 'Mid-Rank Trap' for Universities'

    OpenAIRE

    Chang Da Wan

    2015-01-01

    The middle-income trap is an economic phenomenon to describe economies that have stagnated at the middle-income level and failed to progress into the high-income level. Inspired by this economic concept, this paper explores a hypothesis: is there a 'mid-rank trap' for universities in the exercise to rank universities globally' Using the rankings between 2004 and 2014 that were jointly and separately developed by Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds Company, this paper argues that t...

  18. A Citation-Based Ranking of Strategic Management Journals

    OpenAIRE

    Azar, Ofer H.; Brock, David M.

    2007-01-01

    Rankings of strategy journals are important for authors, readers, and promotion and tenure committees. We present several rankings, based either on the number of articles that cited the journal or the per-article impact. Our analyses cover various periods between 1991 and 2006, for most of which the Strategic Management Journal was in first place and Journal of Economics & Management Strategy (JEMS) second, although JEMS ranked first in certain instances. Long Range Planning and Technology An...

  19. A Rational Method for Ranking Engineering Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glower, Donald D.

    1980-01-01

    Compares two methods for ranking academic programs, the opinion poll v examination of career successes of the program's alumni. For the latter, "Who's Who in Engineering" and levels of research funding provided data. Tables display resulting data and compare rankings by the two methods for chemical engineering and civil engineering. (CS)

  20. Mining Feedback in Ranking and Recommendation Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, Ziming

    2009-01-01

    The amount of online information has grown exponentially over the past few decades, and users become more and more dependent on ranking and recommendation systems to address their information seeking needs. The advance in information technologies has enabled users to provide feedback on the utilities of the underlying ranking and recommendation…

  1. Monte Carlo methods of PageRank computation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Litvak, Nelli

    2004-01-01

    We describe and analyze an on-line Monte Carlo method of PageRank computation. The PageRank is being estimated basing on results of a large number of short independent simulation runs initiated from each page that contains outgoing hyperlinks. The method does not require any storage of the hyperlink

  2. Dynamic collective entity representations for entity ranking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Graus, D.; Tsagkias, M.; Weerkamp, W.; Meij, E.; de Rijke, M.

    2016-01-01

    Entity ranking, i.e., successfully positioning a relevant entity at the top of the ranking for a given query, is inherently difficult due to the potential mismatch between the entity's description in a knowledge base, and the way people refer to the entity when searching for it. To counter this

  3. Comparative Case Studies on Indonesian Higher Education Rankings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurniasih, Nuning; Hasyim, C.; Wulandari, A.; Setiawan, M. I.; Ahmar, A. S.

    2018-01-01

    The quality of the higher education is the result of a continuous process. There are many indicators that can be used to assess the quality of a higher education. The existence of different indicators makes the different result of university rankings. This research aims to find variables that can connect ranking indicators that are used by Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education with indicators that are used by international rankings by taking two kind of ranking systems i.e. Webometrics and 4icu. This research uses qualitative research method with comparative case studies approach. The result of the research shows that to bridge the indicators that are used by Indonesian Ministry or Research, Technology, and Higher Education with web-based ranking system like Webometrics and 4icu so that the Indonesian higher education institutions need to open access towards either scientific or non-scientific that are publicly used into web-based environment. One of the strategies that can be used to improve the openness and access towards scientific work of a university is by involving in open science and collaboration.

  4. Is there a 'Mid-Rank Trap' for Universities'

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang Da Wan

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The middle-income trap is an economic phenomenon to describe economies that have stagnated at the middle-income level and failed to progress into the high-income level. Inspired by this economic concept, this paper explores a hypothesis: is there a 'mid-rank trap' for universities in the exercise to rank universities globally' Using the rankings between 2004 and 2014 that were jointly and separately developed by Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds Company, this paper argues that there is indeed a phenomenon, which I term as 'mid-rank trap' whereby universities remain stagnant for a decade in a similar band of the rankings. Having established the hypothesis for universities, the paper examines policies and interventions that have been successfully carried out to elevate economies away from the middle-income trap, and importantly, to draw out the underlying principles of these economic policies and interventions that can be incorporated into policymaking and strategic planning for universities using the Malaysian higher education system as a case study.

  5. SNL-NUMO collaborative : development of a deterministic site characterization tool using multi-model ranking and inference.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grace, Matthew; Lowry, Thomas Stephen; Arnold, Bill Walter; James, Scott Carlton; Gray, Genetha Anne; Ahlmann, Michael

    2008-08-01

    Uncertainty in site characterization arises from a lack of data and knowledge about a site and includes uncertainty in the boundary conditions, uncertainty in the characteristics, location, and behavior of major features within an investigation area (e.g., major faults as barriers or conduits), uncertainty in the geologic structure, as well as differences in numerical implementation (e.g., 2-D versus 3-D, finite difference versus finite element, grid resolution, deterministic versus stochastic, etc.). Since the true condition at a site can never be known, selection of the best conceptual model is very difficult. In addition, limiting the understanding to a single conceptualization too early in the process, or before data can support that conceptualization, may lead to confidence in a characterization that is unwarranted as well as to data collection efforts and field investigations that are misdirected and/or redundant. Using a series of numerical modeling experiments, this project examined the application and use of information criteria within the site characterization process. The numerical experiments are based on models of varying complexity that were developed to represent one of two synthetically developed groundwater sites; (1) a fully hypothetical site that represented a complex, multi-layer, multi-faulted site, and (2) a site that was based on the Horonobe site in northern Japan. Each of the synthetic sites were modeled in detail to provide increasingly informative 'field' data over successive iterations to the representing numerical models. The representing numerical models were calibrated to the synthetic site data and then ranked and compared using several different information criteria approaches. Results show, that for the early phases of site characterization, low-parameterized models ranked highest while more complex models generally ranked lowest. In addition, predictive capabilities were also better with the low-parameterized models. For

  6. Econophysics of a ranked demand and supply resource allocation problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priel, Avner; Tamir, Boaz

    2018-01-01

    We present a two sided resource allocation problem, between demands and supplies, where both parties are ranked. For example, in Big Data problems where a set of different computational tasks is divided between a set of computers each with its own resources, or between employees and employers where both parties are ranked, the employees by their fitness and the employers by their package benefits. The allocation process can be viewed as a repeated game where in each iteration the strategy is decided by a meta-rule, based on the ranks of both parties and the results of the previous games. We show the existence of a phase transition between an absorbing state, where all demands are satisfied, and an active one where part of the demands are always left unsatisfied. The phase transition is governed by the ratio between supplies and demand. In a job allocation problem we find positive correlation between the rank of the workers and the rank of the factories; higher rank workers are usually allocated to higher ranked factories. These all suggest global emergent properties stemming from local variables. To demonstrate the global versus local relations, we introduce a local inertial force that increases the rank of employees in proportion to their persistence time in the same factory. We show that such a local force induces non trivial global effects, mostly to benefit the lower ranked employees.

  7. OPG/RANKL/RANK cytokine system in renal osteodystrophy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivica Avberšek-Lužnik

    2007-11-01

    consequently its serum levels.Conclusions: Our results support the outcomes of in vitro studies of PTH inhibitory action on OPG and PTH stimulatory action on RANKL synthesis. The highest OPG values were observed in the first tertile and RANKL levels in the third PTH tertile. In HD patients with high bone turnover, PTH action leads to disbalance in OPG/RANKL/RANK and consequently to accelerated bone resorption. We proved the role of the OPG/RANKL/RANK system in the pathogenesis of renal osteodystrophy.

  8. 10 CFR 455.131 - State ranking of grant applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false State ranking of grant applications. 455.131 Section 455... State ranking of grant applications. (a) Except as provided by § 455.92 of this part, all eligible... audit or energy use evaluation pursuant to § 455.20(k). Each State shall develop separate rankings for...

  9. Tutorial: Calculating Percentile Rank and Percentile Norms Using SPSS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgartner, Ted A.

    2009-01-01

    Practitioners can benefit from using norms, but they often have to develop their own percentile rank and percentile norms. This article is a tutorial on how to quickly and easily calculate percentile rank and percentile norms using SPSS, and this information is presented for a data set. Some issues in calculating percentile rank and percentile…

  10. A new measure of output ranking performance in automatic document retrieval systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebinuma, Yukio

    1987-01-01

    A new measure of output ranking performance is proposed on the basis of recall-precision pairs corresponding to ranks of relevant documents when documents are arranged in decreasing order of their scores given by a ranking function. This measure is constructed to take a single value in starting from the area under a recall-precision graph for a ranked output and to distinguish meaningful ranking with a positive value between 0 and 1 from meaningless ranking with a negative value. It is clarified too that the measure must be useful in practice to evaluate the ranking performance made by various ranking function models and to choose the best ranking models among them. (author)

  11. Consequence ranking of radionuclides in Hanford tank waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmittroth, F.A.; De Lorenzo, T.H.

    1995-09-01

    Radionuclides in the Hanford tank waste are ranked relative to their consequences for the Low-Level Tank Waste program. The ranking identifies key radionuclides where further study is merited. In addition to potential consequences for intrude and drinking-water scenarios supporting low-level waste activities, a ranking based on shielding criteria is provided. The radionuclide production inventories are based on a new and independent ORIGEN2 calculation representing the operation of all Hanford single-pass reactors and the N Reactor

  12. Reduced Rank Adaptive Filtering in Impulsive Noise Environments

    KAUST Repository

    Soury, Hamza

    2014-01-06

    An impulsive noise environment is used in this paper. A new aspect of signal truncation is deployed to reduce the harmful effect of the impulsive noise to the signal. A full rank direct solution is derived followed by an iterative solution. The reduced rank adaptive filter is presented in this environment by using two methods for rank reduction. The minimized objective function is defined using the Lp norm. The results are presented and the efficiency of each algorithm is discussed.

  13. Reduced Rank Adaptive Filtering in Impulsive Noise Environments

    KAUST Repository

    Soury, Hamza; Abed-Meraim, Karim; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2014-01-01

    An impulsive noise environment is used in this paper. A new aspect of signal truncation is deployed to reduce the harmful effect of the impulsive noise to the signal. A full rank direct solution is derived followed by an iterative solution. The reduced rank adaptive filter is presented in this environment by using two methods for rank reduction. The minimized objective function is defined using the Lp norm. The results are presented and the efficiency of each algorithm is discussed.

  14. Increasing participation and improving the quality of discussions in seventh-grade social studies classes

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, Burleigh M.; Schumaker, Jean B.; Schaeffer, Janae; Sherman, James A.

    1982-01-01

    An experiment was conducted to evaluate procedures to improve classroom discussions in seventh-grade social studies classes. An increased number of students participated in discussions when rules were stated for discussions, students were praised for their contributions, the teacher restated or paraphrased students' contributions aloud or on the blackboard, the teacher planned an outline of discussion questions, student contributions to discussions were recorded and were used to determine par...

  15. Proceedings of the sixteenth biennial low-rank fuels symposium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    Low-rank coals represent a major energy resource for the world. The Low-Rank Fuels Symposium, building on the traditions established by the Lignite Symposium, focuses on the key opportunities for this resource. This conference offers a forum for leaders from industry, government, and academia to gather to share current information on the opportunities represented by low-rank coals. In the United States and throughout the world, the utility industry is the primary user of low-rank coals. As such, current experiences and future opportunities for new technologies in this industry were the primary focuses of the symposium

  16. Proceedings of the sixteenth biennial low-rank fuels symposium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-01-01

    Low-rank coals represent a major energy resource for the world. The Low-Rank Fuels Symposium, building on the traditions established by the Lignite Symposium, focuses on the key opportunities for this resource. This conference offers a forum for leaders from industry, government, and academia to gather to share current information on the opportunities represented by low-rank coals. In the United States and throughout the world, the utility industry is the primary user of low-rank coals. As such, current experiences and future opportunities for new technologies in this industry were the primary focuses of the symposium.

  17. Maximising information recovery from rank-order codes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, B.; Furber, S.

    2007-04-01

    The central nervous system encodes information in sequences of asynchronously generated voltage spikes, but the precise details of this encoding are not well understood. Thorpe proposed rank-order codes as an explanation of the observed speed of information processing in the human visual system. The work described in this paper is inspired by the performance of SpikeNET, a biologically inspired neural architecture using rank-order codes for information processing, and is based on the retinal model developed by VanRullen and Thorpe. This model mimics retinal information processing by passing an input image through a bank of Difference of Gaussian (DoG) filters and then encoding the resulting coefficients in rank-order. To test the effectiveness of this encoding in capturing the information content of an image, the rank-order representation is decoded to reconstruct an image that can be compared with the original. The reconstruction uses a look-up table to infer the filter coefficients from their rank in the encoded image. Since the DoG filters are approximately orthogonal functions, they are treated as their own inverses in the reconstruction process. We obtained a quantitative measure of the perceptually important information retained in the reconstructed image relative to the original using a slightly modified version of an objective metric proposed by Petrovic. It is observed that around 75% of the perceptually important information is retained in the reconstruction. In the present work we reconstruct the input using a pseudo-inverse of the DoG filter-bank with the aim of improving the reconstruction and thereby extracting more information from the rank-order encoded stimulus. We observe that there is an increase of 10 - 15% in the information retrieved from a reconstructed stimulus as a result of inverting the filter-bank.

  18. A Ranking Method for Evaluating Constructed Responses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attali, Yigal

    2014-01-01

    This article presents a comparative judgment approach for holistically scored constructed response tasks. In this approach, the grader rank orders (rather than rate) the quality of a small set of responses. A prior automated evaluation of responses guides both set formation and scaling of rankings. Sets are formed to have similar prior scores and…

  19. Enhancing the Ranking of a Web Page in the Ocean of Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hitesh KUMAR SHARMA

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In today's world, web is considered as ocean of data and information (like text, videos, multimedia etc. consisting of millions and millions of web pages in which web pages are linked with each other like a tree. It is often argued that, especially considering the dynamic of the internet, too much time has passed since the scientific work on PageRank, as that it still could be the basis for the ranking methods of the Google search engine. There is no doubt that within the past years most likely many changes, adjustments and modifications regarding the ranking methods of Google have taken place, but PageRank was absolutely crucial for Google's success, so that at least the fundamental concept behind PageRank should still be constitutive. This paper describes the components which affects the ranking of the web pages and helps in increasing the popularity of web site. By adapting these factors website developers can increase their site's page rank and within the PageRank concept, considering the rank of a document is given by the rank of those documents which link to it. Their rank again is given by the rank of documents which link to them. The PageRank of a document is always determined recursively by the PageRank of other documents.

  20. Ranking beta sheet topologies of proteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fonseca, Rasmus; Helles, Glennie; Winter, Pawel

    2010-01-01

    One of the challenges of protein structure prediction is to identify long-range interactions between amino acids. To reliably predict such interactions, we enumerate, score and rank all beta-topologies (partitions of beta-strands into sheets, orderings of strands within sheets and orientations...... of paired strands) of a given protein. We show that the beta-topology corresponding to the native structure is, with high probability, among the top-ranked. Since full enumeration is very time-consuming, we also suggest a method to deal with proteins with many beta-strands. The results reported...... in this paper are highly relevant for ab initio protein structure prediction methods based on decoy generation. The top-ranked beta-topologies can be used to find initial conformations from which conformational searches can be started. They can also be used to filter decoys by removing those with poorly...

  1. Feasibility study of component risk ranking for plant maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ushijima, Koji; Yonebayashi, Kenji; Narumiya, Yoshiyuki; Sakata, Kaoru; Kumano, Tetsuji

    1999-01-01

    Nuclear power is the base load electricity source in Japan, and reduction of operation and maintenance cost maintaining or improving plant safety is one of the major issues. Recently, Risk Informed Management (RIM) is focused as a solution. In this paper, the outline regarding feasibility study of component risk ranking for plant maintenance for a typical Japanese PWR plant is described. A feasibility study of component risk raking for plant maintenance optimization is performed on check valves and motor-operated valves. Risk ranking is performed in two steps using probabilistic analysis (quantitative method) for risk ranking of components, and deterministic examination (qualitative method) for component review. In this study, plant components are ranked from the viewpoint of plant safety / reliability, and the applicability for maintenance is assessed. As a result, distribution of maintenance resources using risk ranking is considered effective. (author)

  2. Reduced rank adaptive filtering in impulsive noise environments

    KAUST Repository

    Soury, Hamza

    2014-11-01

    An impulsive noise environment is considered in this paper. A new aspect of signal truncation is deployed to reduce the harmful effect of the impulsive noise to the signal. A full rank direct solution is derived followed by an iterative solution. The reduced rank adaptive filter is presented in this environment by using two methods for rank reduction, while the minimized objective function is defined using the Lp norm. The results are presented and the efficiency of each method is discussed. © 2014 IEEE.

  3. Seventh Semiannual Report of the Commission to the Congress: Atomic Energy and the Physical Sciences, January 1950

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lilienthal, David E.

    1950-01-01

    The document represents the seventh semiannual Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) report to Congress. The report sums up briefly the major activities and developments in the national atomic energy program in Part I. Part II focuses on research in the physical sciences and progress in atomic energy.

  4. Highlighting Entanglement of Cultures via Ranking of Multilingual Wikipedia Articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Young-Ho; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2013-01-01

    How different cultures evaluate a person? Is an important person in one culture is also important in the other culture? We address these questions via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles. With three ranking algorithms based on network structure of Wikipedia, we assign ranking to all articles in 9 multilingual editions of Wikipedia and investigate general ranking structure of PageRank, CheiRank and 2DRank. In particular, we focus on articles related to persons, identify top 30 persons for each rank among different editions and analyze distinctions of their distributions over activity fields such as politics, art, science, religion, sport for each edition. We find that local heroes are dominant but also global heroes exist and create an effective network representing entanglement of cultures. The Google matrix analysis of network of cultures shows signs of the Zipf law distribution. This approach allows to examine diversity and shared characteristics of knowledge organization between cultures. The developed computational, data driven approach highlights cultural interconnections in a new perspective. Dated: June 26, 2013 PMID:24098338

  5. Highlighting entanglement of cultures via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Ho Eom

    Full Text Available How different cultures evaluate a person? Is an important person in one culture is also important in the other culture? We address these questions via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles. With three ranking algorithms based on network structure of Wikipedia, we assign ranking to all articles in 9 multilingual editions of Wikipedia and investigate general ranking structure of PageRank, CheiRank and 2DRank. In particular, we focus on articles related to persons, identify top 30 persons for each rank among different editions and analyze distinctions of their distributions over activity fields such as politics, art, science, religion, sport for each edition. We find that local heroes are dominant but also global heroes exist and create an effective network representing entanglement of cultures. The Google matrix analysis of network of cultures shows signs of the Zipf law distribution. This approach allows to examine diversity and shared characteristics of knowledge organization between cultures. The developed computational, data driven approach highlights cultural interconnections in a new perspective. Dated: June 26, 2013.

  6. Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and vegetarian status among Seventh-Day Adventists in Barbados: preliminary results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brathwaite, Noel; Fraser, Henry S; Modeste, Naomi; Broome, Hedy; King, Rosaline

    2003-01-01

    A population-based sample of Seventh-Day Adventists was studied to determine the relationship between vegetarian status, body mass index (BMI), obesity, diabetes mellitus (DM), and hypertension, in order to gain a better understanding of factors influencing chronic diseases in Barbados. A systematic sampling from a random start technique was used to select participants for the study. A standard questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic and lifestyle characteristics, to record anthropometrics and blood pressure measurements, and to ascertain the hypertension and diabetes status of participants. The sample population consisted of 407 Barbadian Seventh-Day Adventists (SDAs), who ranged in age from 25 to 74 years. One hundred fifty-three (37.6%) participants were male, and 254 (62.4%) were female, and 43.5% were vegetarians. The prevalence rates of diabetes and hypertension were lower among long-term vegetarians, compared to non-vegetarians, and long-term vegetarians were, on average, leaner than non-vegetarians within the same cohort. A significant association was observed between a vegetarian diet and obesity (vegetarian by definition P=.04, self-reported vegetarian P=.009) in this population. Other components of the study population lifestyle should be further analyzed to determine the roles they may plan in lessening the prevalence rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

  7. Podium: Ranking Data Using Mixed-Initiative Visual Analytics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, Emily; Das, Subhajit; Chawla, Ravish; Kalidindi, Bharath; Brown, Eli T; Endert, Alex

    2018-01-01

    People often rank and order data points as a vital part of making decisions. Multi-attribute ranking systems are a common tool used to make these data-driven decisions. Such systems often take the form of a table-based visualization in which users assign weights to the attributes representing the quantifiable importance of each attribute to a decision, which the system then uses to compute a ranking of the data. However, these systems assume that users are able to quantify their conceptual understanding of how important particular attributes are to a decision. This is not always easy or even possible for users to do. Rather, people often have a more holistic understanding of the data. They form opinions that data point A is better than data point B but do not necessarily know which attributes are important. To address these challenges, we present a visual analytic application to help people rank multi-variate data points. We developed a prototype system, Podium, that allows users to drag rows in the table to rank order data points based on their perception of the relative value of the data. Podium then infers a weighting model using Ranking SVM that satisfies the user's data preferences as closely as possible. Whereas past systems help users understand the relationships between data points based on changes to attribute weights, our approach helps users to understand the attributes that might inform their understanding of the data. We present two usage scenarios to describe some of the potential uses of our proposed technique: (1) understanding which attributes contribute to a user's subjective preferences for data, and (2) deconstructing attributes of importance for existing rankings. Our proposed approach makes powerful machine learning techniques more usable to those who may not have expertise in these areas.

  8. Diabetes risk assessment among squatter settlements in Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aiesha Ishaque

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Diabetes mellitus (DM has evolved as a major public health concern worldwide, as its prevalence is increasing exponentially. Pakistan now ranks seventh among the countries with the highest burden of DM. It is expected to become one of the major causes of morbidity within the next 25 years. Therefore, finding an effective way to identify individuals at risk of developing diabetes is a necessity. The Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC has proved to be an effective noninvasive screening tool for identifying individuals at risk for developing diabetes. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of individuals who are at risk for developing DM and their risk of developing DM over the next 10 years using the FINDRISC tool.

  9. Block models and personalized PageRank

    OpenAIRE

    Kloumann, Isabel M.; Ugander, Johan; Kleinberg, Jon

    2016-01-01

    Methods for ranking the importance of nodes in a network have a rich history in machine learning and across domains that analyze structured data. Recent work has evaluated these methods though the seed set expansion problem: given a subset $S$ of nodes from a community of interest in an underlying graph, can we reliably identify the rest of the community? We start from the observation that the most widely used techniques for this problem, personalized PageRank and heat kernel methods, operate...

  10. Highest national honour for CSIR President - (SABC Morning Live Interview)

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Sibisi, S

    2007-09-26

    Full Text Available . This is the tenth time that our free people have had occasion to salute in humble gratitude such distinguished men and women who are, indeed, the stars on our firmament. Today, they are admitted into the ranks of those who belong to the esteemed National Orders...

  11. A model-based approach to operational event groups ranking

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simic, Zdenko [European Commission Joint Research Centre, Petten (Netherlands). Inst. for Energy and Transport; Maqua, Michael [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH (GRS), Koeln (Germany); Wattrelos, Didier [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)

    2014-04-15

    The operational experience (OE) feedback provides improvements in all industrial activities. Identification of the most important and valuable groups of events within accumulated experience is important in order to focus on a detailed investigation of events. The paper describes the new ranking method and compares it with three others. Methods have been described and applied to OE events utilised by nuclear power plants in France and Germany for twenty years. The results show that different ranking methods only roughly agree on which of the event groups are the most important ones. In the new ranking method the analytical hierarchy process is applied in order to assure consistent and comprehensive weighting determination for ranking indexes. The proposed method allows a transparent and flexible event groups ranking and identification of the most important OE for further more detailed investigation in order to complete the feedback. (orig.)

  12. Data envelopment analysis of randomized ranks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sant'Anna Annibal P.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Probabilities and odds, derived from vectors of ranks, are here compared as measures of efficiency of decision-making units (DMUs. These measures are computed with the goal of providing preliminary information before starting a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA or the application of any other evaluation or composition of preferences methodology. Preferences, quality and productivity evaluations are usually measured with errors or subject to influence of other random disturbances. Reducing evaluations to ranks and treating the ranks as estimates of location parameters of random variables, we are able to compute the probability of each DMU being classified as the best according to the consumption of each input and the production of each output. Employing the probabilities of being the best as efficiency measures, we stretch distances between the most efficient units. We combine these partial probabilities in a global efficiency score determined in terms of proximity to the efficiency frontier.

  13. Ranking benchmarks of top 100 players in men's professional tennis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Machar; Morris, Craig

    2013-01-01

    In men's professional tennis, players aspire to hold the top ranking position. On the way to the top spot, reaching the top 100 can be seen as a significant career milestone. National Federations undertake extensive efforts to assist their players to reach the top 100. However, objective data considering reasonable ranking yardsticks for top 100 success in men's professional tennis are lacking. Therefore, it is difficult for National Federations and those involved in player development to give empirical programming advice to young players. By taking a closer look at the ranking history of professional male tennis players, this article tries to provide those involved in player development a more objective basis for decision-making. The 100 names, countries, birthdates and ranking histories of the top 100 players listed in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) at 31 December 2009 were recorded from websites in the public domain. Descriptive statistics were reported for the ranking milestones of interest. Results confirmed the merits of the International Tennis Federation's junior tour with 91% of the top 100 professionals earning a junior ranking, the mean peak of which was 94.1, s=148.9. On average, top 100 professionals achieved their best junior rankings and earned their first ATP point at similar ages, suggesting that players compete on both the junior and professional tours during their transition. Once professionally ranked, players took an average 4.5, s=2.1 years to reach the ATP top 100 at the mean age of 21.5, s=2.6 years, which contrasts with the mean current age of the top 100 of 26.8, s=3.2. The best professional rankings of players born in 1982 or earlier were positively related to the ages at which players earned their first ATP point and then entered the top 100, suggesting that the ages associated with these ranking milestones may have some forecasting potential. Future work should focus on the change in top 100 demographics over time as well

  14. Comparison of bandage contact lens removal on the fourth versus seventh postoperative day after photorefractive keratectomy: A randomized clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrdad Mohammadpour

    2017-06-01

    Conclusion: Following PRK surgery, BCL removal on the seventh postoperative day yields faster visual rehabilitation and lower rate of postoperative complications with no increase in eye pain, discomfort or infection.

  15. Social Rank, Stress, Fitness, and Life Expectancy in Wild Rabbits

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Holst, Dietrich; Hutzelmeyer, Hans; Kaetzke, Paul; Khaschei, Martin; Schönheiter, Ronald

    Wild rabbits of the two sexes have separate linear rank orders, which are established and maintained by intensive fights. The social rank of individuals strongly influence their fitness: males and females that gain a high social rank, at least at the outset of their second breeding season, have a much higher lifetime fitness than subordinate individuals. This is because of two separate factors: a much higher fecundity and annual reproductive success and a 50% longer reproductive life span. These results are in contrast to the view in evolutionary biology that current reproduction can be increased only at the expense of future survival and/or fecundity. These concepts entail higher physiological costs in high-ranking mammals, which is not supported by our data: In wild rabbits the physiological costs of social positions are caused predominantly by differential psychosocial stress responses that are much lower in high-ranking than in low-ranking individuals.

  16. Seventh edition (2010) of the AJCC/UICC staging system for gastric adenocarcinoma: is there room for improvement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Manali I; Rhoads, Kim F; Ma, Yifei; Ford, James M; Visser, Brendan C; Kunz, Pamela L; Fisher, George A; Chang, Daniel T; Koong, Albert; Norton, Jeffrey A; Poultsides, George A

    2013-05-01

    The gastric cancer AJCC/UICC staging system recently underwent significant revisions, but studies on Asian patients have reported a lack of adequate discrimination between various consecutive stages. We sought to validate the new system on a U.S. population database. California Cancer Registry data linked to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development discharge abstracts were used to identify patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (esophagogastric junction and gastric cardia tumors excluded) who underwent curative-intent surgical resection in California from 2002 to 2006. AJCC/UICC stage was recalculated based on the latest seventh edition. Overall survival probabilities were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Of 1905 patients analyzed, 54 % were males with a median age of 70 years. Median number of pathologically examined lymph nodes was 12 (range, 1-90); 40 % of patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, and 31 % received adjuvant radiotherapy. The seventh edition AJCC/UICC system did not distinguish outcome adequately between stages IB and IIA (P = 0.40), or IIB and IIIA (P = 0.34). By merging stage II into 1 category and moving T2N1 to stage IB and T2N2, T1N3 to stage IIIA, we propose a new grouping system with improved discriminatory ability In this first study validating the new seventh edition AJCC/UICC staging system for gastric cancer on a U.S. population with a relatively limited number of lymph nodes examined, we found stages IB and IIA, as well as IIB and IIIA to perform similarly. We propose a revised stage grouping for the AJCC/UICC staging system that better discriminates between outcomes.

  17. Tensor completion and low-n-rank tensor recovery via convex optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gandy, Silvia; Yamada, Isao; Recht, Benjamin

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we consider sparsity on a tensor level, as given by the n-rank of a tensor. In an important sparse-vector approximation problem (compressed sensing) and the low-rank matrix recovery problem, using a convex relaxation technique proved to be a valuable solution strategy. Here, we will adapt these techniques to the tensor setting. We use the n-rank of a tensor as a sparsity measure and consider the low-n-rank tensor recovery problem, i.e. the problem of finding the tensor of the lowest n-rank that fulfills some linear constraints. We introduce a tractable convex relaxation of the n-rank and propose efficient algorithms to solve the low-n-rank tensor recovery problem numerically. The algorithms are based on the Douglas–Rachford splitting technique and its dual variant, the alternating direction method of multipliers

  18. A Fast Algorithm for Generating Permutation Distribution of Ranks in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... function of the distribution of the ranks. This further gives insight into the permutation distribution of a rank statistics. The algorithm is implemented with the aid of the computer algebra system Mathematica. Key words: Combinatorics, generating function, permutation distribution, rank statistics, partitions, computer algebra.

  19. Variation in rank abundance replicate samples and impact of clustering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neuteboom, J.H.; Struik, P.C.

    2005-01-01

    Calculating a single-sample rank abundance curve by using the negative-binomial distribution provides a way to investigate the variability within rank abundance replicate samples and yields a measure of the degree of heterogeneity of the sampled community. The calculation of the single-sample rank

  20. How Prospective Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Trainees Rank Residency Training Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auriemma, Michael J; Whitehair, Curtis L

    2018-03-01

    Since the inception of the National Resident Matching Program, multiple studies have investigated the factors applicants consider important to ranking prospective residency programs. However, only 2 previous studies focused on prospective physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) trainees, and the most recent of these studies was published in 1993. It is unknown whether these previous studies are reflective of current prospective PM&R residents. To assess various factors that contribute to prospective PM&R residents' decision making in choosing a residency program and compare these findings with previous studies. An anonymous, voluntary questionnaire. A single PM&R residency program. All applicants to a single PM&R residency program. All applicants to our PM&R residency program were invited to participate in a 44-item, 5-point Likert-based questionnaire. Applicants were asked to rate the importance of various factors as they related to constructing their residency rank list. Means and standard deviations were calculated for items included in the survey. A response rate of 26% was obtained, with the responses of 98 applicants (20%) ultimately analyzed. The highest rated factors included "perceived happiness of current residents," "opportunities for hands-on procedure training," "perceived camaraderie among current residents," "perceived camaraderie among faculty and current residents," "perceived quality of current residents," and "perceived work/life balance among current residents." Although male and female respondents demonstrated similar ranking preferences, an apparent difference was detected between how genders rated the importance of "whether the program projects a favorable environment for women" and "whether the program projects a favorable environment for minorities." As compared with previous PM&R applicants, current prospective trainees seem to place greater importance on skill acquisition over didactic teaching. Prospective PM&R residents highly value

  1. Cointegration rank testing under conditional heteroskedasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaliere, Giuseppe; Rahbek, Anders Christian; Taylor, Robert M.

    2010-01-01

    We analyze the properties of the conventional Gaussian-based cointegrating rank tests of Johansen (1996, Likelihood-Based Inference in Cointegrated Vector Autoregressive Models) in the case where the vector of series under test is driven by globally stationary, conditionally heteroskedastic......, relative to tests based on the asymptotic critical values or the i.i.d. bootstrap, the wild bootstrap rank tests perform very well in small samples under a variety of conditionally heteroskedastic innovation processes. An empirical application to the term structure of interest rates is given....

  2. VisualRank: applying PageRank to large-scale image search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing, Yushi; Baluja, Shumeet

    2008-11-01

    Because of the relative ease in understanding and processing text, commercial image-search systems often rely on techniques that are largely indistinguishable from text-search. Recently, academic studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of employing image-based features to provide alternative or additional signals. However, it remains uncertain whether such techniques will generalize to a large number of popular web queries, and whether the potential improvement to search quality warrants the additional computational cost. In this work, we cast the image-ranking problem into the task of identifying "authority" nodes on an inferred visual similarity graph and propose VisualRank to analyze the visual link structures among images. The images found to be "authorities" are chosen as those that answer the image-queries well. To understand the performance of such an approach in a real system, we conducted a series of large-scale experiments based on the task of retrieving images for 2000 of the most popular products queries. Our experimental results show significant improvement, in terms of user satisfaction and relevancy, in comparison to the most recent Google Image Search results. Maintaining modest computational cost is vital to ensuring that this procedure can be used in practice; we describe the techniques required to make this system practical for large scale deployment in commercial search engines.

  3. SRS: Site ranking system for hazardous chemical and radioactive waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rechard, R.P.; Chu, M.S.Y.; Brown, S.L.

    1988-05-01

    This report describes the rationale and presents instructions for a site ranking system (SRS). SRS ranks hazardous chemical and radioactive waste sites by scoring important and readily available factors that influence risk to human health. Using SRS, sites can be ranked for purposes of detailed site investigations. SRS evaluates the relative risk as a combination of potentially exposed population, chemical toxicity, and potential exposure of release from a waste site; hence, SRS uses the same concepts found in a detailed assessment of health risk. Basing SRS on the concepts of risk assessment tends to reduce the distortion of results found in other ranking schemes. More importantly, a clear logic helps ensure the successful application of the ranking procedure and increases its versatility when modifications are necessary for unique situations. Although one can rank sites using a detailed risk assessment, it is potentially costly because of data and resources required. SRS is an efficient approach to provide an order-of-magnitude ranking, requiring only readily available data (often only descriptive) and hand calculations. Worksheets are included to make the system easier to understand and use. 88 refs., 19 figs., 58 tabs

  4. Cell adhesion signaling regulates RANK expression in osteoclast precursors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayako Mochizuki

    Full Text Available Cells with monocyte/macrophage lineage expressing receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK differentiate into osteoclasts following stimulation with the RANK ligand (RANKL. Cell adhesion signaling is also required for osteoclast differentiation from precursors. However, details of the mechanism by which cell adhesion signals induce osteoclast differentiation have not been fully elucidated. To investigate the participation of cell adhesion signaling in osteoclast differentiation, mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs were used as osteoclast precursors, and cultured on either plastic cell culture dishes (adherent condition or the top surface of semisolid methylcellulose gel loaded in culture tubes (non-adherent condition. BMMs cultured under the adherent condition differentiated into osteoclasts in response to RANKL stimulation. However, under the non-adherent condition, the efficiency of osteoclast differentiation was markedly reduced even in the presence of RANKL. These BMMs retained macrophage characteristics including phagocytic function and gene expression profile. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS and tumor necrosis factor -αTNF-α activated the NF-κB-mediated signaling pathways under both the adherent and non-adherent conditions, while RANKL activated the pathways only under the adherent condition. BMMs highly expressed RANK mRNA and protein under the adherent condition as compared to the non-adherent condition. Also, BMMs transferred from the adherent to non-adherent condition showed downregulated RANK expression within 24 hours. In contrast, transferring those from the non-adherent to adherent condition significantly increased the level of RANK expression. Moreover, interruption of cell adhesion signaling by echistatin, an RGD-containing disintegrin, decreased RANK expression in BMMs, while forced expression of either RANK or TNFR-associated factor 6 (TRAF6 in BMMs induced their differentiation into osteoclasts even under the non

  5. Discriminative Multi-View Interactive Image Re-Ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jun; Xu, Chang; Yang, Wankou; Sun, Changyin; Tao, Dacheng

    2017-07-01

    Given an unreliable visual patterns and insufficient query information, content-based image retrieval is often suboptimal and requires image re-ranking using auxiliary information. In this paper, we propose a discriminative multi-view interactive image re-ranking (DMINTIR), which integrates user relevance feedback capturing users' intentions and multiple features that sufficiently describe the images. In DMINTIR, heterogeneous property features are incorporated in the multi-view learning scheme to exploit their complementarities. In addition, a discriminatively learned weight vector is obtained to reassign updated scores and target images for re-ranking. Compared with other multi-view learning techniques, our scheme not only generates a compact representation in the latent space from the redundant multi-view features but also maximally preserves the discriminative information in feature encoding by the large-margin principle. Furthermore, the generalization error bound of the proposed algorithm is theoretically analyzed and shown to be improved by the interactions between the latent space and discriminant function learning. Experimental results on two benchmark data sets demonstrate that our approach boosts baseline retrieval quality and is competitive with the other state-of-the-art re-ranking strategies.

  6. Texture Repairing by Unified Low Rank Optimization

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Xiao Liang; Xiang Ren; Zhengdong Zhang; Yi Ma

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we show how to harness both low-rank and sparse structures in regular or near-regular textures for image completion. Our method is based on a unified formulation for both random and contiguous corruption. In addition to the low rank property of texture, the algorithm also uses the sparse assumption of the natural image: because the natural image is piecewise smooth, it is sparse in certain transformed domain (such as Fourier or wavelet transform). We combine low-rank and sparsity properties of the texture image together in the proposed algorithm. Our algorithm based on convex optimization can automatically and correctly repair the global structure of a corrupted texture, even without precise information about the regions to be completed. This algorithm integrates texture rectification and repairing into one optimization problem. Through extensive simulations, we show our method can complete and repair textures corrupted by errors with both random and contiguous supports better than existing low-rank matrix recovery methods. Our method demonstrates significant advantage over local patch based texture synthesis techniques in dealing with large corruption, non-uniform texture, and large perspective deformation.

  7. Transverse Slicing of the Sixth-Seventh Costal Cartilaginous Junction: A Novel Technique to Prevent Warping in Nasal Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teshima, Tara Lynn; Cheng, Homan; Pakdel, Amir; Kiss, Alex; Fialkov, Jeffrey A

    2016-01-01

    Costal cartilage is an important reconstructive tissue for correcting nasal deformities. Warping of costal cartilage, a recognized complication, can lead to significant functional and aesthetic problems. The authors present a technique to prevent warping that involves transverse slicing of the sixth-seventh costal cartilaginous junction, that when sliced perpendicular to the long axis of the rib, provides multiple long, narrow, clinically useful grafts with balanced cross-sections. The aim was to measure differences in cartilage warp between this technique (TJS) and traditional carving techniques. Costal cartilage was obtained from human subjects and cut to clinically relevant dimensions using a custom cutting jig. The sixth-seventh costal cartilaginous junction was sliced transversely leaving the outer surface intact. The adjacent sixth rib cartilage was carved concentrically and eccentrically. The samples were incubated and standardized serial photography was performed over time up to 4 weeks. Warp was quantified by measuring nonlinearity of the grafts using least-squares regression and compared between carving techniques. TJS grafts (n = 10) resulted in significantly less warp than both eccentrically (n = 3) and concentrically carved grafts (n = 3) (P < 0.0001). Warp was significantly higher with eccentric carving compared with concentric carving (P < 0.0001). Warp increased significantly with time for both eccentric (P = 0002) and concentric (P = 0.0007) techniques while TJS warp did not (P = 0.56). The technique of transverse slicing costal cartilage from the sixth-seventh junction minimizes warp compared with traditional carving methods providing ample grafts of adequate length and versatility for reconstructive requirements.

  8. A Ranking Approach on Large-Scale Graph With Multidimensional Heterogeneous Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Wei; Gao, Bin; Liu, Tie-Yan; Wang, Taifeng; Li, Guohui; Li, Hang

    2016-04-01

    Graph-based ranking has been extensively studied and frequently applied in many applications, such as webpage ranking. It aims at mining potentially valuable information from the raw graph-structured data. Recently, with the proliferation of rich heterogeneous information (e.g., node/edge features and prior knowledge) available in many real-world graphs, how to effectively and efficiently leverage all information to improve the ranking performance becomes a new challenging problem. Previous methods only utilize part of such information and attempt to rank graph nodes according to link-based methods, of which the ranking performances are severely affected by several well-known issues, e.g., over-fitting or high computational complexity, especially when the scale of graph is very large. In this paper, we address the large-scale graph-based ranking problem and focus on how to effectively exploit rich heterogeneous information of the graph to improve the ranking performance. Specifically, we propose an innovative and effective semi-supervised PageRank (SSP) approach to parameterize the derived information within a unified semi-supervised learning framework (SSLF-GR), then simultaneously optimize the parameters and the ranking scores of graph nodes. Experiments on the real-world large-scale graphs demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms the algorithms that consider such graph information only partially.

  9. Influence of selection versus lifestyle on risk of fatal cancer and cardiovascular disease among Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, R L; Kuzma, J W; Beeson, W L; Lotz, T

    1980-08-01

    The authors examine the influence of selection versus life-style on mortality from various causes for a population of 23,000 California Seventh-Day Adventists. The data are compared with data from a control group of 112,726 other Californians. The selective factors considered include education, occupation, and marital status

  10. Fourth-rank gravity and cosmology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marrakchi, A.L.; Tapia, V.

    1992-07-01

    We consider the consequences of describing the metric properties of space-time through a quartic line element. The associated ''metric'' is a fourth-rank tensor G μυλπ . In order to recover a Riemannian behaviour of the geometry it is necessary to have G μυλπ = g (μυ g λπ) . We construct a theory for the gravitational field based on the fourth-rank metric G μυλπ . In the absence of matter the fourth-rank metric becomes separable and the theory coincides with General Relativity. In the presence of matter we can maintain Riemmanianicity, but now gravitation couples, as compared to General Relativity, in a different way to matter. We develop a simple cosmological model based on a FRW metric with matter described by a perfect fluid. For the present time the field equations are compatible with k OBS = O and Ω OBS t CLAS approx. 10 20 t PLANCK approx. 10 -23 s. Our final and most important result is the fact that the entropy is an increasing function of time. When interpreted at the light of General Relativity the treatment is shown to be almost equivalent to that of the standard model of cosmology combined with the inflationary scenario. (author). 16 refs, 1 fig

  11. Ranking production units according to marginal efficiency contribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ghiyasi, Mojtaba; Hougaard, Jens Leth

    League tables associated with various forms of service activities from schools to hospitals illustrate the public need for ranking institutions by their productive performance. We present a new method for ranking production units which is based on each units marginal contribution to the technical...

  12. The Distribution of the Sum of Signed Ranks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albright, Brian

    2012-01-01

    We describe the calculation of the distribution of the sum of signed ranks and develop an exact recursive algorithm for the distribution as well as an approximation of the distribution using the normal. The results have applications to the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

  13. Identifying the Academic Rising Stars via Pairwise Citation Increment Ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Chuxu

    2017-08-02

    Predicting the fast-rising young researchers (the Academic Rising Stars) in the future provides useful guidance to the research community, e.g., offering competitive candidates to university for young faculty hiring as they are expected to have success academic careers. In this work, given a set of young researchers who have published the first first-author paper recently, we solve the problem of how to effectively predict the top k% researchers who achieve the highest citation increment in Δt years. We explore a series of factors that can drive an author to be fast-rising and design a novel pairwise citation increment ranking (PCIR) method that leverages those factors to predict the academic rising stars. Experimental results on the large ArnetMiner dataset with over 1.7 million authors demonstrate the effectiveness of PCIR. Specifically, it outperforms all given benchmark methods, with over 8% average improvement. Further analysis demonstrates that temporal features are the best indicators for rising stars prediction, while venue features are less relevant.

  14. Who's #1? The Science of Rating and Ranking

    CERN Document Server

    Langville, Amy N

    2012-01-01

    A website's ranking on Google can spell the difference between success and failure for a new business. NCAA football ratings determine which schools get to play for the big money in postseason bowl games. Product ratings influence everything from the clothes we wear to the movies we select on Netflix. Ratings and rankings are everywhere, but how exactly do they work? Who's #1? offers an engaging and accessible account of how scientific rating and ranking methods are created and applied to a variety of uses. Amy Langville and Carl Meyer provide the first comprehensive overview of the mathemat

  15. A cautionary note on the rank product statistic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koziol, James A

    2016-06-01

    The rank product method introduced by Breitling R et al. [2004, FEBS Letters 573, 83-92] has rapidly generated popularity in practical settings, in particular, detecting differential expression of genes in microarray experiments. The purpose of this note is to point out a particular property of the rank product method, namely, its differential sensitivity to over- and underexpression. It turns out that overexpression is less likely to be detected than underexpression with the rank product statistic. We have conducted both empirical and exact power studies that demonstrate this phenomenon, and summarize these findings in this note. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  16. Rank Dynamics of Word Usage at Multiple Scales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José A. Morales

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The recent dramatic increase in online data availability has allowed researchers to explore human culture with unprecedented detail, such as the growth and diversification of language. In particular, it provides statistical tools to explore whether word use is similar across languages, and if so, whether these generic features appear at different scales of language structure. Here we use the Google Books N-grams dataset to analyze the temporal evolution of word usage in several languages. We apply measures proposed recently to study rank dynamics, such as the diversity of N-grams in a given rank, the probability that an N-gram changes rank between successive time intervals, the rank entropy, and the rank complexity. Using different methods, results show that there are generic properties for different languages at different scales, such as a core of words necessary to minimally understand a language. We also propose a null model to explore the relevance of linguistic structure across multiple scales, concluding that N-gram statistics cannot be reduced to word statistics. We expect our results to be useful in improving text prediction algorithms, as well as in shedding light on the large-scale features of language use, beyond linguistic and cultural differences across human populations.

  17. Bias and Stability of Single Variable Classifiers for Feature Ranking and Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fakhraei, Shobeir; Soltanian-Zadeh, Hamid; Fotouhi, Farshad

    2014-11-01

    Feature rankings are often used for supervised dimension reduction especially when discriminating power of each feature is of interest, dimensionality of dataset is extremely high, or computational power is limited to perform more complicated methods. In practice, it is recommended to start dimension reduction via simple methods such as feature rankings before applying more complex approaches. Single Variable Classifier (SVC) ranking is a feature ranking based on the predictive performance of a classifier built using only a single feature. While benefiting from capabilities of classifiers, this ranking method is not as computationally intensive as wrappers. In this paper, we report the results of an extensive study on the bias and stability of such feature ranking method. We study whether the classifiers influence the SVC rankings or the discriminative power of features themselves has a dominant impact on the final rankings. We show the common intuition of using the same classifier for feature ranking and final classification does not always result in the best prediction performance. We then study if heterogeneous classifiers ensemble approaches provide more unbiased rankings and if they improve final classification performance. Furthermore, we calculate an empirical prediction performance loss for using the same classifier in SVC feature ranking and final classification from the optimal choices.

  18. Learning to rank for information retrieval

    CERN Document Server

    Liu, Tie-Yan

    2011-01-01

    Due to the fast growth of the Web and the difficulties in finding desired information, efficient and effective information retrieval systems have become more important than ever, and the search engine has become an essential tool for many people. The ranker, a central component in every search engine, is responsible for the matching between processed queries and indexed documents. Because of its central role, great attention has been paid to the research and development of ranking technologies. In addition, ranking is also pivotal for many other information retrieval applications, such as coll

  19. Ranking mutual funds using Sortino method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khosro Faghani Makrani

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available One of the primary concerns on most business activities is to determine an efficient method for ranking mutual funds. This paper performs an empirical investigation to rank 42 mutual funds listed on Tehran Stock Exchange using Sortino method over the period 2011-2012. The results of survey have been compared with market return and the results have confirmed that there were some positive and meaningful relationships between Sortino return and market return. In addition, there were some positive and meaningful relationship between two Sortino methods.

  20. The relationship between self-complexity and depressive symptoms in third and seventh grade children: a short-term longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abela, John R Z; Véronneau-McArdle, Marie-Hélène

    2002-04-01

    The goal of this study was to test the diathesis-stress component of Linville's and Morgan and Janoff-Bulman's models of the relationship between self-complexity and depressive symptoms in a sample of third and seventh grade children (P. W. Linville, 1985, 1987; H. J. Morgan & Janoff-Bulman, 1994). The procedure involved an initial assessment of self-complexity and depressive symptoms. The procedure also involved a follow-up assessment, 10 weeks later, in which depressive symptoms and the occurrence of negative events were assessed. Contrary to hypotheses, neither high levels of total nor positive self-complexity served as a buffer against the onset of depressive symptoms following the occurrence of negative events. In line with hypotheses, however, high levels of negative self-complexity interacted with the occurrence of negative events to predict increases in depressive symptoms in seventh but not third grade children.

  1. Reducing the rank of gauge groups in orbifold compactification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Hikaru

    1989-01-01

    The report introduces general twisted boundary conditions on fermionic string variables and shows that a non-Abelian embedding is possible when background gauge field is introduced on orbifold. This leads to reduction of the rank of the gauge group. The report presents a procedure to obtain the lower-rank gauge groups by the use of non-Abelian Wilson lines. The unbroken gauge group is essentially determined by the eigen vector which should obey the level-matching conditions. The gauge symmetry is determined by certain conditions. In a particular application, it is not necessary to introduce explicit form of the non-Abelian Wilson lines. The procedure starts with introduction of desired eigen vectors which are supposed to be obtained by diagonalization of the boundary conditions with the appropriate transformation matrix. The rank is reduced by one by using the Wilson lines which transform as 3 of SU(2) R or SU(2) in SU(4). A possible way of reducing the rank by two is to use the Wilson lines from SU(2) R x SU(2) or SU(3) in SU(4). The rank is reduced by three by means of the Wilson lines which transform as SU(4) or SU(2) R SU(3). Finally the rank is reduced by four when the Wilson lines with full symmetry of SU(2) R x SU(4) are used. The report tabulates the possible lower-rank gauge groups obtained by the proposed method. Massless fermions corresponding to the eigen vectors are also listed. (N.K.)

  2. Resolution of ranking hierarchies in directed networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barucca, Paolo; Lillo, Fabrizio

    2018-01-01

    Identifying hierarchies and rankings of nodes in directed graphs is fundamental in many applications such as social network analysis, biology, economics, and finance. A recently proposed method identifies the hierarchy by finding the ordered partition of nodes which minimises a score function, termed agony. This function penalises the links violating the hierarchy in a way depending on the strength of the violation. To investigate the resolution of ranking hierarchies we introduce an ensemble of random graphs, the Ranked Stochastic Block Model. We find that agony may fail to identify hierarchies when the structure is not strong enough and the size of the classes is small with respect to the whole network. We analytically characterise the resolution threshold and we show that an iterated version of agony can partly overcome this resolution limit. PMID:29394278

  3. Development and first application of an operating events ranking tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Šimić, Zdenko; Zerger, Benoit; Banov, Reni

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A method using analitycal hierarchy process for ranking operating events is developed and tested. • The method is applied for 5 years of U.S. NRC Licensee Event Reports (1453 events). • Uncertainty and sensitivity of the ranking results are evaluated. • Real events assessment shows potential of the method for operating experience feedback. - Abstract: The operating experience feedback is important for maintaining and improving safety and availability in nuclear power plants. Detailed investigation of all events is challenging since it requires excessive resources, especially in case of large event databases. This paper presents an event groups ranking method to complement the analysis of individual operating events. The basis for the method is the use of an internationally accepted events characterization scheme that allows different ways of events grouping and ranking. The ranking method itself consists of implementing the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) by means of a custom developed tool which allows events ranking based on ranking indexes pre-determined by expert judgment. Following the development phase, the tool was applied to analyze a complete set of 5 years of real nuclear power plants operating events (1453 events). The paper presents the potential of this ranking method to identify possible patterns throughout the event database and therefore to give additional insights into the events as well as to give quantitative input for the prioritization of further more detailed investigation of selected event groups

  4. Ranking Exponential Trapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers by Median Value

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Rezvani

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we want represented a method for ranking of two exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. A median value is proposed for the ranking of exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. For the validation the results of the proposed approach are compared with different existing approaches.

  5. Automatic figure ranking and user interfacing for intelligent figure search.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Yu

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Figures are important experimental results that are typically reported in full-text bioscience articles. Bioscience researchers need to access figures to validate research facts and to formulate or to test novel research hypotheses. On the other hand, the sheer volume of bioscience literature has made it difficult to access figures. Therefore, we are developing an intelligent figure search engine (http://figuresearch.askhermes.org. Existing research in figure search treats each figure equally, but we introduce a novel concept of "figure ranking": figures appearing in a full-text biomedical article can be ranked by their contribution to the knowledge discovery.We empirically validated the hypothesis of figure ranking with over 100 bioscience researchers, and then developed unsupervised natural language processing (NLP approaches to automatically rank figures. Evaluating on a collection of 202 full-text articles in which authors have ranked the figures based on importance, our best system achieved a weighted error rate of 0.2, which is significantly better than several other baseline systems we explored. We further explored a user interfacing application in which we built novel user interfaces (UIs incorporating figure ranking, allowing bioscience researchers to efficiently access important figures. Our evaluation results show that 92% of the bioscience researchers prefer as the top two choices the user interfaces in which the most important figures are enlarged. With our automatic figure ranking NLP system, bioscience researchers preferred the UIs in which the most important figures were predicted by our NLP system than the UIs in which the most important figures were randomly assigned. In addition, our results show that there was no statistical difference in bioscience researchers' preference in the UIs generated by automatic figure ranking and UIs by human ranking annotation.The evaluation results conclude that automatic figure ranking and user

  6. Ranking Scientific Publications Based on Their Citation Graph

    CERN Document Server

    Marian, L; Rajman, M

    2009-01-01

    CDS Invenio is the web-based integrated digital library system developed at CERN. It is a suite of applications which provides the framework and tools for building and managing an autonomous digital library server. Within this framework, the goal of this project is to implement new ranking methods based on the bibliographic citation graph extracted from the CDS Invenio database. As a first step, we implemented the Citation Count as a baseline ranking method. The major disadvantage of this method is that all citations are treated equally, disregarding their importance and their publication date. To overcome this drawback, we consider two different approaches: a link-based approach which extends the PageRank model to the bibliographic citation graph and a time-dependent approach which takes into account time in the citation counts. In addition, we also combined these two approaches in a hybrid model based on a time-dependent PageRank. In the present document, we describe the conceptual background behind our new...

  7. Discrepancies between multicriteria decision analysis-based ranking and intuitive ranking for pharmaceutical benefit-risk profiles in a hypothetical setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoshikawa, K; Ono, S

    2017-02-01

    Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been generally considered a promising decision-making methodology for the assessment of drug benefit-risk profiles. There have been many discussions in both public and private sectors on its feasibility and applicability, but it has not been employed in official decision-makings. For the purpose of examining to what extent MCDA would reflect the first-hand, intuitive preference of evaluators in practical pharmaceutical assessments, we conducted a questionnaire survey involving the participation of employees of pharmaceutical companies. Showing profiles of the efficacy and safety of four hypothetical drugs, each respondent was asked to rank them following the standard MCDA process and then to rank them intuitively (i.e. without applying any analytical framework). These two approaches resulted in substantially different ranking patterns from the same individuals, and the concordance rate was surprisingly low (17%). Although many respondents intuitively showed a preference for mild, balanced risk-benefit profiles over profiles with a conspicuous advantage in either risk or benefit, the ranking orders based on MCDA scores did not reflect the intuitive preference. Observed discrepancies between the rankings seemed to be primarily attributed to the structural characteristics of MCDA, which assumes that evaluation on each benefit and risk component should have monotonic impact on final scores. It would be difficult for MCDA to reflect commonly observed non-monotonic preferences for risk and benefit profiles. Possible drawbacks of MCDA should be further investigated prior to the real-world application of its benefit-risk assessment. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Learning to rank for information retrieval and natural language processing

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Hang

    2014-01-01

    Learning to rank refers to machine learning techniques for training a model in a ranking task. Learning to rank is useful for many applications in information retrieval, natural language processing, and data mining. Intensive studies have been conducted on its problems recently, and significant progress has been made. This lecture gives an introduction to the area including the fundamental problems, major approaches, theories, applications, and future work.The author begins by showing that various ranking problems in information retrieval and natural language processing can be formalized as tw

  9. Implications of Deployed and Nondeployed Fathers on Seventh Graders' California Achievement Test Scores during a Military Crisis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pisano, Mark C.

    The differences in California Achievement Test (CAT) scores from 1990 to 1991 in seventh graders, currently enrolled in Albritton Junior High School in the Fort Bragg Schools, of deployed and nondeployed fathers were analyzed. CAT percentile scores from 1990 and 1991 (1991 being the year of "Desert Storm") were obtained in reading, math…

  10. PageRank (II): Mathematics

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    maths/stats

    ... GAUSS SEIDEL'S. NUMERICAL ALGORITHMS IN PAGE RANK ANALYSIS. ... The convergence is guaranteed, if the absolute value of the largest eigen ... improved Gauss-Seidel iteration algorithm, based on the decomposition. U. L. D. M. +. +. = ..... This corresponds to determine the eigen vector of T with eigen value 1.

  11. Seventh Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Conference (MICCAI 2012)

    CERN Document Server

    Miller, Karol; Nielsen, Poul; Computational Biomechanics for Medicine : Models, Algorithms and Implementation

    2013-01-01

    One of the greatest challenges for mechanical engineers is to extend the success of computational mechanics to fields outside traditional engineering, in particular to biology, biomedical sciences, and medicine. This book is an opportunity for computational biomechanics specialists to present and exchange opinions on the opportunities of applying their techniques to computer-integrated medicine. Computational Biomechanics for Medicine: Models, Algorithms and Implementation collects the papers from the Seventh Computational Biomechanics for Medicine Workshop held in Nice in conjunction with the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention conference. The topics covered include: medical image analysis, image-guided surgery, surgical simulation, surgical intervention planning, disease prognosis and diagnostics, injury mechanism analysis, implant and prostheses design, and medical robotics.

  12. Universality in the tail of musical note rank distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beltrán del Río, M.; Cocho, G.; Naumis, G. G.

    2008-09-01

    Although power laws have been used to fit rank distributions in many different contexts, they usually fail at the tails. Languages as sequences of symbols have been a popular subject for ranking distributions, and for this purpose, music can be treated as such. Here we show that more than 1800 musical compositions are very well fitted by the first kind two parameter beta distribution, which arises in the ranking of multiplicative stochastic processes. The parameters a and b are obtained for classical, jazz and rock music, revealing interesting features. Specially, we have obtained a clear trend in the values of the parameters for major and minor tonal modes. Finally, we discuss the distribution of notes for each octave and its connection with the ranking of the notes.

  13. Time-Aware Service Ranking Prediction in the Internet of Things Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yuze; Huang, Jiwei; Cheng, Bo; He, Shuqing; Chen, Junliang

    2017-04-27

    With the rapid development of the Internet of things (IoT), building IoT systems with high quality of service (QoS) has become an urgent requirement in both academia and industry. During the procedures of building IoT systems, QoS-aware service selection is an important concern, which requires the ranking of a set of functionally similar services according to their QoS values. In reality, however, it is quite expensive and even impractical to evaluate all geographically-dispersed IoT services at a single client to obtain such a ranking. Nevertheless, distributed measurement and ranking aggregation have to deal with the high dynamics of QoS values and the inconsistency of partial rankings. To address these challenges, we propose a time-aware service ranking prediction approach named TSRPred for obtaining the global ranking from the collection of partial rankings. Specifically, a pairwise comparison model is constructed to describe the relationships between different services, where the partial rankings are obtained by time series forecasting on QoS values. The comparisons of IoT services are formulated by random walks, and thus, the global ranking can be obtained by sorting the steady-state probabilities of the underlying Markov chain. Finally, the efficacy of TSRPred is validated by simulation experiments based on large-scale real-world datasets.

  14. Time-Aware Service Ranking Prediction in the Internet of Things Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuze Huang

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available With the rapid development of the Internet of things (IoT, building IoT systems with high quality of service (QoS has become an urgent requirement in both academia and industry. During the procedures of building IoT systems, QoS-aware service selection is an important concern, which requires the ranking of a set of functionally similar services according to their QoS values. In reality, however, it is quite expensive and even impractical to evaluate all geographically-dispersed IoT services at a single client to obtain such a ranking. Nevertheless, distributed measurement and ranking aggregation have to deal with the high dynamics of QoS values and the inconsistency of partial rankings. To address these challenges, we propose a time-aware service ranking prediction approach named TSRPred for obtaining the global ranking from the collection of partial rankings. Specifically, a pairwise comparison model is constructed to describe the relationships between different services, where the partial rankings are obtained by time series forecasting on QoS values. The comparisons of IoT services are formulated by random walks, and thus, the global ranking can be obtained by sorting the steady-state probabilities of the underlying Markov chain. Finally, the efficacy of TSRPred is validated by simulation experiments based on large-scale real-world datasets.

  15. Ranking Regime and the Future of Vernacular Scholarship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishikawa, Mayumi

    2014-01-01

    World university rankings and their global popularity present a number of far-reaching impacts for vernacular scholarship. This article employs a multidimensional approach to analyze the ranking regime's threat to local scholarship and knowledge construction through a study of Japanese research universities. First, local conditions that have led…

  16. Seventh Graders' Academic Achievement, Creativity, and Ability to Construct a Cross-Domain Concept Map--A Brain Function Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Yu-Chu

    2004-01-01

    This study proposes an interactive model of "cross-domain" concept mapping with an emphasis on brain functions, and it further investigates the relationships between academic achievement, creative thinking, and cross-domain concept mapping. Sixty-nine seventh graders participated in this study which employed two 50-minute instructional…

  17. Expanding the landscape of N=2 rank 1 SCFTs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Argyres, Philip C.; Lotito, Matteo; Lü, Yongchao; Martone, Mario

    2016-01-01

    We refine our previous proposal http://arxiv.org/abs/1505.04814http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.00011P. Argyres, M. Lotito, Y. Lü and M. Martone, Geometric constraints on the space of N=2 SCFTs III: enhanced Coulomb branches and central charges, to appear. for systematically classifying 4d rank-1 N=2 SCFTs by constructing their possible Coulomb branch geometries. Four new recently discussed rank-1 theories http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/JHEP03(2016)083http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.02077, including novel N=3 SCFTs, sit beautifully in our refined classification framework. By arguing for the consistency of their RG flows we can make a strong case for the existence of at least four additional rank-1 SCFTs, nearly doubling the number of known rank-1 SCFTs. The refinement consists of relaxing the assumption that the flavor symmetries of the SCFTs have no discrete factors. This results in an enlarged (but finite) set of possible rank-1 SCFTs. Their existence can be further constrained using consistency of their central charges and RG flows.

  18. A Rank-Constrained Matrix Representation for Hypergraph-Based Subspace Clustering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yubao Sun

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel, rank-constrained matrix representation combined with hypergraph spectral analysis to enable the recovery of the original subspace structures of corrupted data. Real-world data are frequently corrupted with both sparse error and noise. Our matrix decomposition model separates the low-rank, sparse error, and noise components from the data in order to enhance robustness to the corruption. In order to obtain the desired rank representation of the data within a dictionary, our model directly utilizes rank constraints by restricting the upper bound of the rank range. An alternative projection algorithm is proposed to estimate the low-rank representation and separate the sparse error from the data matrix. To further capture the complex relationship between data distributed in multiple subspaces, we use hypergraph to represent the data by encapsulating multiple related samples into one hyperedge. The final clustering result is obtained by spectral decomposition of the hypergraph Laplacian matrix. Validation experiments on the Extended Yale Face Database B, AR, and Hopkins 155 datasets show that the proposed method is a promising tool for subspace clustering.

  19. Rank dependent expected utility models of tax evasion.

    OpenAIRE

    Erling Eide

    2001-01-01

    In this paper the rank-dependent expected utility theory is substituted for the expected utility theory in models of tax evasion. It is demonstrated that the comparative statics results of the expected utility, portfolio choice model of tax evasion carry over to the more general rank dependent expected utility model.

  20. Control by Numbers: New Managerialism and Ranking in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Kathleen

    2015-01-01

    This paper analyses the role of rankings as an instrument of new managerialism. It shows how rankings are reconstituting the purpose of universities, the role of academics and the definition of what it is to be a student. The paper opens by examining the forces that have facilitated the emergence of the ranking industry and the ideologies…

  1. Decomposition of the Google PageRank and Optimal Linking Strategy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, Konstatin; Litvak, Nelli

    We provide the analysis of the Google PageRank from the perspective of the Markov Chain Theory. First we study the Google PageRank for a Web that can be decomposed into several connected components which do not have any links to each other. We show that in order to determine the Google PageRank for

  2. Seventh report of the ten on the Swiss electrical economy: endangered supply in the next 20 years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1987-01-01

    The seventh report of the ten major companies in the Swiss electric industry is discussed. The report predicts that, even with the addition of the Kaiseraugst nuclear power station, there will be a deficit in the supply of electricity compared with demand of some 4 milliards kWh by the winter of 2004/2005

  3. The Effects of Using Concept Cartoons in Astronomy Subjects on Critical Thinking Skills among Seventh Grade Student

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demirci, Filiz; Özyürek, Cengiz

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study is to research the effects of using concept cartoons in the "Solar System and Beyond" unit, which is included in seventh grade science lessons, on students' critical thinking skills. The study group consisted of 58 students, selected using an appropriate sampling method, who were students in a state secondary…

  4. Highest energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikolskij, S.

    1984-01-01

    Primary particles of cosmic radiation with highest energies cannot in view of their low intensity be recorded directly but for this purpose the phenomenon is used that these particles interact with nuclei in the atmosphere and give rise to what are known as extensive air showers. It was found that 40% of primary particles with an energy of 10 15 to 10 16 eV consist of protons, 12 to 15% of helium nuclei, 15% of iron nuclei, the rest of nuclei of other elements. Radiation intensity with an energy of 10 18 to 10 19 eV depends on the direction of incoming particles. Maximum intensity is in the direction of the centre of the nearest clustre of galaxies, minimal in the direction of the central area of our galaxy. (Ha)

  5. Compressed Sensing with Rank Deficient Dictionaries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Thomas Lundgaard; Johansen, Daniel Højrup; Jørgensen, Peter Bjørn

    2012-01-01

    In compressed sensing it is generally assumed that the dictionary matrix constitutes a (possibly overcomplete) basis of the signal space. In this paper we consider dictionaries that do not span the signal space, i.e. rank deficient dictionaries. We show that in this case the signal-to-noise ratio...... (SNR) in the compressed samples can be increased by selecting the rows of the measurement matrix from the column space of the dictionary. As an example application of compressed sensing with a rank deficient dictionary, we present a case study of compressed sensing applied to the Coarse Acquisition (C...

  6. College Rankings. ERIC Digest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holub, Tamara

    The popularity of college ranking surveys published by "U.S. News and World Report" and other magazines is indisputable, but the methodologies used to measure the quality of higher education institutions have come under fire by scholars and college officials. Criticisms have focused on methodological flaws, such as failure to consider…

  7. Ranking Journals Using Social Choice Theory Methods: A Novel Approach in Bibliometrics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aleskerov, F.T.; Pislyakov, V.; Subochev, A.N.

    2016-07-01

    We use data on economic, management and political science journals to produce quantitative estimates of (in)consistency of evaluations based on seven popular bibliometric indica (impact factor, 5-year impact factor, immediacy index, article influence score, h-index, SNIP and SJR). We propose a new approach to aggregating journal rankings: since rank aggregation is a multicriteria decision problem, ordinal ranking methods from social choice theory may solve it. We apply either a direct ranking method based on majority rule (the Copeland rule, the Markovian method) or a sorting procedure based on a tournament solution, such as the uncovered set and the minimal externally stable set. We demonstrate that aggregate rankings reduce the number of contradictions and represent the set of single-indicator-based rankings better than any of the seven rankings themselves. (Author)

  8. Finite-rank potential that reproduces the Pade approximant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tani, S.

    1979-01-01

    If a scattering potential is of a finite rank, say N, the exact solution of the problem can be obtained from the Born series, if the potential strength is within the radius of convergence; the exact solution can be obtained from the analytical continuation of the formal Born series outside the radius of convergence. Beyond the first 2N terms of the Born series, an individual term of the Born series depends on the first 2N terms, and the [N/N] Pade approximant and the exact solution agree with each other. The above-mentioned features of a finite-rank problem are relevant to scattering theory in general, because most scattering problems may be handled as an extension of the rank-N problem, in which the rank N tends to infinity. The foregoing aspects of scattering theory will be studied in depth in the present paper, and in so doing we proceed in the opposite direction. Namely, given a potential, we calculate the first 2N terms of the Born series for the K matrix and the first N terms of the Born series for the wave function. Using these data, a special rank-N potential is constructed in such a way that it reproduces the [N/N] Pade approximant of the K matrix of the original scattering problem. One great advantage of obtaining such a rank-N potential is that the wave function of the system may be approximated in the same spirit as done for the K matrix; hence, we can introduce a new approximation method for dealing with an off-shell T matrix. A part of the mathematical work is incomplete, but the physical aspects are thoroughly discussed

  9. Charting taxonomic knowledge through ontologies and ranking algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Robert; Klump, Jens

    2009-04-01

    Since the inception of geology as a modern science, paleontologists have described a large number of fossil species. This makes fossilized organisms an important tool in the study of stratigraphy and past environments. Since taxonomic classifications of organisms, and thereby their names, change frequently, the correct application of this tool requires taxonomic expertise in finding correct synonyms for a given species name. Much of this taxonomic information has already been published in journals and books where it is compiled in carefully prepared synonymy lists. Because this information is scattered throughout the paleontological literature, it is difficult to find and sometimes not accessible. Also, taxonomic information in the literature is often difficult to interpret for non-taxonomists looking for taxonomic synonymies as part of their research. The highly formalized structure makes Open Nomenclature synonymy lists ideally suited for computer aided identification of taxonomic synonyms. Because a synonymy list is a list of citations related to a taxon name, its bibliographic nature allows the application of bibliometric techniques to calculate the impact of synonymies and taxonomic concepts. TaxonRank is a ranking algorithm based on bibliometric analysis and Internet page ranking algorithms. TaxonRank uses published synonymy list data stored in TaxonConcept, a taxonomic information system. The basic ranking algorithm has been modified to include a measure of confidence on species identification based on the Open Nomenclature notation used in synonymy list, as well as other synonymy specific criteria. The results of our experiments show that the output of the proposed ranking algorithm gives a good estimate of the impact a published taxonomic concept has on the taxonomic opinions in the geological community. Also, our results show that treating taxonomic synonymies as part of on an ontology is a way to record and manage taxonomic knowledge, and thus contribute

  10. [Analysis of phylogenetic criteria for estimation of the rank of taxa in methane-oxidizing bacteria].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanovskaia, V A; Rokitko, P V

    2011-01-01

    intraspecies relatedness of the family Methylococcaceae (97.5-99.3%). Coefficients of intraspecies relatedness of methanotrophs of the families Methylocystaceae and Beijerinckiaceae are sometimes equal to interspecies relatedness. Hence, taxa of various rank can have the identical level of genes divergence. Thus, methanotrophic taxons of the families Methylocystaceae and Beijerinckiaceae have not demonstrated precise phylogenetic criteria which could correspond both to the species rank, or the genus rank. At the same time, the criteria, being adequate to the rank of certain taxa, are revealed in methanotrophs of the family Methylococcaceae. The level of genotypic relatedness of strains of the same species is in the range of 97.5-99.3%, species of the same genus--94-98%, the highest levels of relatedness between genera of this family are 90-96%.

  11. Rank-Constrained Beamforming for MIMO Cognitive Interference Channel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duoying Zhang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers the spectrum sharing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO cognitive interference channel, in which multiple primary users (PUs coexist with multiple secondary users (SUs. Interference alignment (IA approach is introduced that guarantees that secondary users access the licensed spectrum without causing harmful interference to the PUs. A rank-constrained beamforming design is proposed where the rank of the interferences and the desired signals is concerned. The standard interferences metric for the primary link, that is, interference temperature, is investigated and redesigned. The work provides a further improvement that optimizes the dimension of the interferences in the cognitive interference channel, instead of the power of the interference leakage. Due to the nonconvexity of the rank, the developed optimization problems are further approximated as convex form and are solved via choosing the transmitter precoder and receiver subspace iteratively. Numerical results show that the proposed designs can improve the achievable degree of freedom (DoF of the primary links and provide the considerable sum rate for both secondary and primary transmissions under the rank constraints.

  12. Phenomena identification and ranking tables (PIRT) for LBLOCA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaw, R.A.; Dimenna, R.A.; Larson, T.K.; Wilson, G.E.

    1988-01-01

    The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is sponsoring a program to provide validated reactor safety computer codes with quantified uncertainties. The intent is to quantify the accuracy of the codes for use in best estimate licensing applications. One of the tasks required to complete this program involves the identification and ranking of thermal-hydraulic phenomena that occur during particular accidents. This paper provides detailed tables of phenomena and importance ranks for a PWR LBLOCA. The phenomena were identified and ranked according to perceived impact on peak cladding temperature. Two approaches were used to complete this task. First, a panel of experts identified the physical processes considered to be most important during LBLOCA. A second team of experienced analysts then, in parallel, assembled complete tables of all plausible LBLOCA phenomena, regardless of perceived importance. Each phenomenon was then ranked in importance against every other phenomenon associated with a given component. The results were placed in matrix format and solved for the principal eigenvector. The results as determined by each method are presented in this report

  13. Cancer incidence among California Seventh-Day Adventists, 1976-1982.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, P K; Beeson, W L; Phillips, R L; Fraser, G E

    1994-05-01

    Cancer incidence was monitored in a population of 34,000 Seventh-day Adventists in California. By religious belief, Adventists do not consume tobacco, alcohol, or pork and approximately one-half adhere to a lacto-ovovegetarian lifestyle. Only a small percentage are pure vegetarians. Comparisons of cancer-incidence rates in this population with an external reference population were completed by calculating standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) for all cancer sites. Also, within the population, relative risks were calculated by using data obtained from a detailed lifestyle questionnaire that members of the study population completed. For all cancer sites combined in males, the SMR was lower in the Adventists (SMR = 0.73). The SMR was also lower in males for most individual cancer sites. However, prostate cancer risk was higher. For females, the all-cancer SMR was lower but not significantly so (SMR = 92). Most site-specific SMRs were lower, although not as much as the male SMRs. The SMR for endometrial cancer was significantly higher in female Adventists.

  14. An Improved Approach to the PageRank Problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Xie

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We introduce a partition of the web pages particularly suited to the PageRank problems in which the web link graph has a nested block structure. Based on the partition of the web pages, dangling nodes, common nodes, and general nodes, the hyperlink matrix can be reordered to be a more simple block structure. Then based on the parallel computation method, we propose an algorithm for the PageRank problems. In this algorithm, the dimension of the linear system becomes smaller, and the vector for general nodes in each block can be calculated separately in every iteration. Numerical experiments show that this approach speeds up the computation of PageRank.

  15. Ranking network of a captive rhesus macaque society: a sophisticated corporative kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fushing, Hsieh; McAssey, Michael P; Beisner, Brianne; McCowan, Brenda

    2011-03-15

    We develop a three-step computing approach to explore a hierarchical ranking network for a society of captive rhesus macaques. The computed network is sufficiently informative to address the question: Is the ranking network for a rhesus macaque society more like a kingdom or a corporation? Our computations are based on a three-step approach. These steps are devised to deal with the tremendous challenges stemming from the transitivity of dominance as a necessary constraint on the ranking relations among all individual macaques, and the very high sampling heterogeneity in the behavioral conflict data. The first step simultaneously infers the ranking potentials among all network members, which requires accommodation of heterogeneous measurement error inherent in behavioral data. Our second step estimates the social rank for all individuals by minimizing the network-wide errors in the ranking potentials. The third step provides a way to compute confidence bounds for selected empirical features in the social ranking. We apply this approach to two sets of conflict data pertaining to two captive societies of adult rhesus macaques. The resultant ranking network for each society is found to be a sophisticated mixture of both a kingdom and a corporation. Also, for validation purposes, we reanalyze conflict data from twenty longhorn sheep and demonstrate that our three-step approach is capable of correctly computing a ranking network by eliminating all ranking error.

  16. Ranking network of a captive rhesus macaque society: a sophisticated corporative kingdom.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsieh Fushing

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available We develop a three-step computing approach to explore a hierarchical ranking network for a society of captive rhesus macaques. The computed network is sufficiently informative to address the question: Is the ranking network for a rhesus macaque society more like a kingdom or a corporation? Our computations are based on a three-step approach. These steps are devised to deal with the tremendous challenges stemming from the transitivity of dominance as a necessary constraint on the ranking relations among all individual macaques, and the very high sampling heterogeneity in the behavioral conflict data. The first step simultaneously infers the ranking potentials among all network members, which requires accommodation of heterogeneous measurement error inherent in behavioral data. Our second step estimates the social rank for all individuals by minimizing the network-wide errors in the ranking potentials. The third step provides a way to compute confidence bounds for selected empirical features in the social ranking. We apply this approach to two sets of conflict data pertaining to two captive societies of adult rhesus macaques. The resultant ranking network for each society is found to be a sophisticated mixture of both a kingdom and a corporation. Also, for validation purposes, we reanalyze conflict data from twenty longhorn sheep and demonstrate that our three-step approach is capable of correctly computing a ranking network by eliminating all ranking error.

  17. A new mutually reinforcing network node and link ranking algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhenghua; Dueñas-Osorio, Leonardo; Padgett, Jamie E

    2015-10-23

    This study proposes a novel Normalized Wide network Ranking algorithm (NWRank) that has the advantage of ranking nodes and links of a network simultaneously. This algorithm combines the mutual reinforcement feature of Hypertext Induced Topic Selection (HITS) and the weight normalization feature of PageRank. Relative weights are assigned to links based on the degree of the adjacent neighbors and the Betweenness Centrality instead of assigning the same weight to every link as assumed in PageRank. Numerical experiment results show that NWRank performs consistently better than HITS, PageRank, eigenvector centrality, and edge betweenness from the perspective of network connectivity and approximate network flow, which is also supported by comparisons with the expensive N-1 benchmark removal criteria based on network efficiency. Furthermore, it can avoid some problems, such as the Tightly Knit Community effect, which exists in HITS. NWRank provides a new inexpensive way to rank nodes and links of a network, which has practical applications, particularly to prioritize resource allocation for upgrade of hierarchical and distributed networks, as well as to support decision making in the design of networks, where node and link importance depend on a balance of local and global integrity.

  18. A new mutually reinforcing network node and link ranking algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhenghua; Dueñas-Osorio, Leonardo; Padgett, Jamie E.

    2015-10-01

    This study proposes a novel Normalized Wide network Ranking algorithm (NWRank) that has the advantage of ranking nodes and links of a network simultaneously. This algorithm combines the mutual reinforcement feature of Hypertext Induced Topic Selection (HITS) and the weight normalization feature of PageRank. Relative weights are assigned to links based on the degree of the adjacent neighbors and the Betweenness Centrality instead of assigning the same weight to every link as assumed in PageRank. Numerical experiment results show that NWRank performs consistently better than HITS, PageRank, eigenvector centrality, and edge betweenness from the perspective of network connectivity and approximate network flow, which is also supported by comparisons with the expensive N-1 benchmark removal criteria based on network efficiency. Furthermore, it can avoid some problems, such as the Tightly Knit Community effect, which exists in HITS. NWRank provides a new inexpensive way to rank nodes and links of a network, which has practical applications, particularly to prioritize resource allocation for upgrade of hierarchical and distributed networks, as well as to support decision making in the design of networks, where node and link importance depend on a balance of local and global integrity.

  19. A new mutually reinforcing network node and link ranking algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhenghua; Dueñas-Osorio, Leonardo; Padgett, Jamie E.

    2015-01-01

    This study proposes a novel Normalized Wide network Ranking algorithm (NWRank) that has the advantage of ranking nodes and links of a network simultaneously. This algorithm combines the mutual reinforcement feature of Hypertext Induced Topic Selection (HITS) and the weight normalization feature of PageRank. Relative weights are assigned to links based on the degree of the adjacent neighbors and the Betweenness Centrality instead of assigning the same weight to every link as assumed in PageRank. Numerical experiment results show that NWRank performs consistently better than HITS, PageRank, eigenvector centrality, and edge betweenness from the perspective of network connectivity and approximate network flow, which is also supported by comparisons with the expensive N-1 benchmark removal criteria based on network efficiency. Furthermore, it can avoid some problems, such as the Tightly Knit Community effect, which exists in HITS. NWRank provides a new inexpensive way to rank nodes and links of a network, which has practical applications, particularly to prioritize resource allocation for upgrade of hierarchical and distributed networks, as well as to support decision making in the design of networks, where node and link importance depend on a balance of local and global integrity. PMID:26492958

  20. Third-rank chromatic aberrations of electron lenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhixiong

    2018-02-01

    In this paper the third-rank chromatic aberration coefficients of round electron lenses are analytically derived and numerically calculated by Mathematica. Furthermore, the numerical results are cross-checked by the differential algebraic (DA) method, which verifies that all the formulas for the third-rank chromatic aberration coefficients are completely correct. It is hoped that this work would be helpful for further chromatic aberration correction in electron microscopy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Bayesian Plackett-Luce Mixture Models for Partially Ranked Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollica, Cristina; Tardella, Luca

    2017-06-01

    The elicitation of an ordinal judgment on multiple alternatives is often required in many psychological and behavioral experiments to investigate preference/choice orientation of a specific population. The Plackett-Luce model is one of the most popular and frequently applied parametric distributions to analyze rankings of a finite set of items. The present work introduces a Bayesian finite mixture of Plackett-Luce models to account for unobserved sample heterogeneity of partially ranked data. We describe an efficient way to incorporate the latent group structure in the data augmentation approach and the derivation of existing maximum likelihood procedures as special instances of the proposed Bayesian method. Inference can be conducted with the combination of the Expectation-Maximization algorithm for maximum a posteriori estimation and the Gibbs sampling iterative procedure. We additionally investigate several Bayesian criteria for selecting the optimal mixture configuration and describe diagnostic tools for assessing the fitness of ranking distributions conditionally and unconditionally on the number of ranked items. The utility of the novel Bayesian parametric Plackett-Luce mixture for characterizing sample heterogeneity is illustrated with several applications to simulated and real preference ranked data. We compare our method with the frequentist approach and a Bayesian nonparametric mixture model both assuming the Plackett-Luce model as a mixture component. Our analysis on real datasets reveals the importance of an accurate diagnostic check for an appropriate in-depth understanding of the heterogenous nature of the partial ranking data.

  2. Some relations between rank, chromatic number and energy of graphs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akbari, S.; Ghorbani, E.; Zare, S.

    2006-08-01

    The energy of a graph G is defined as the sum of the absolute values of all eigenvalues of G and denoted by E(G). Let G be a graph and rank(G) be the rank of the adjacency matrix of G. In this paper we characterize all the graphs with E(G) = rank(G). Among other results we show that apart from a few families of graphs, E(G) ≥ 2max(χ(G), n - χ(G--bar)), where G-bar and χ(G) are the complement and the chromatic number of G, respectively. Moreover some new lower bounds for E(G) in terms of rank(G) are given. (author)

  3. Analysis of the Financial Times ranking "master in management" with machine learning

    OpenAIRE

    Jansen, Arthur

    2017-01-01

    University rankings play nowadays a major role in the decision of many students with regards to their future schools. Nonetheless, these rankings often remain quite opaque: not all data are made available, the methodology behind the rankings is not well defined, etc. One of the main ranking centred on business schools is the "Master in Management" from the Financial Times. This work aims to study the relevance of this ranking and its possible flaws. Several techniques are conducted, as a robu...

  4. Ranking system for mixed radioactive and hazardous waste sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawley, K.A.; Napier, B.A.

    1985-01-01

    The Environmental Protection Agency's Hazard Ranking System (HRS) is a simplified management decision tool that provides a common basis for evaluating a multitude of hazardous waste sites. A deficiency in the HRS for application to Department of Energy mixed radioactive and hazardous waste sites is its inability to explicitly handle radioactive material. A modification to the basic HRS to add the capability to consider radioactivity is described. The HRS considers the exposure routes of direct contact, fire/explosion, atmospheric release, surface-water release, and ground-water release. Each exposure route is further divided into release, route, containment, waste, and target characteristics. To maintain the basic HRS structure, only the waste characteristics section of each exposure route was modified. A ranking system was developed, using radiation dose pathway analysis, to group radionuclides by dose factors. For mixed waste sites, the ranking factor derived for radionuclides is compared with the ranking factor obtained for hazardous chemicals and the most restrictive is used in the overall ranking. The modified HRS has the advantages of being compatible with the original HRS, has reasonable information requirements, and provides scientifically defensible conclusions. 17 references, 2 figures, 6 tables

  5. Complete hazard ranking to analyze right-censored data: An ALS survival study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zhengnan; Zhang, Hongjiu; Boss, Jonathan; Goutman, Stephen A; Mukherjee, Bhramar; Dinov, Ivo D; Guan, Yuanfang

    2017-12-01

    Survival analysis represents an important outcome measure in clinical research and clinical trials; further, survival ranking may offer additional advantages in clinical trials. In this study, we developed GuanRank, a non-parametric ranking-based technique to transform patients' survival data into a linear space of hazard ranks. The transformation enables the utilization of machine learning base-learners including Gaussian process regression, Lasso, and random forest on survival data. The method was submitted to the DREAM Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Stratification Challenge. Ranked first place, the model gave more accurate ranking predictions on the PRO-ACT ALS dataset in comparison to Cox proportional hazard model. By utilizing right-censored data in its training process, the method demonstrated its state-of-the-art predictive power in ALS survival ranking. Its feature selection identified multiple important factors, some of which conflicts with previous studies.

  6. Tensor rank is not multiplicative under the tensor product

    OpenAIRE

    Christandl, Matthias; Jensen, Asger Kjærulff; Zuiddam, Jeroen

    2017-01-01

    The tensor rank of a tensor t is the smallest number r such that t can be decomposed as a sum of r simple tensors. Let s be a k-tensor and let t be an l-tensor. The tensor product of s and t is a (k + l)-tensor. Tensor rank is sub-multiplicative under the tensor product. We revisit the connection between restrictions and degenerations. A result of our study is that tensor rank is not in general multiplicative under the tensor product. This answers a question of Draisma and Saptharishi. Specif...

  7. The THE-QS World University Rankings, 2004 – 2009

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Holmes

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the origin, development and demise of the Times Higher Education Supplement (now Times Higher Education – QS Quacquarelli Symonds (QS World University Rankings between 2004 and 2009. It describes the structure and methodology of the rankings, their public impact and various criticisms that have been made. It also analyses changes that were introduced between 2005 and 2009 and concludes by noting the development of two distinct ranking systems by the magazine Times Higher Education (THE and by its former partner, the consulting company Quacquarelli Symonds.

  8. 38 CFR 61.32 - Ranking non-capital grant recipients for per diem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ranking non-capital grant... AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) VA HOMELESS PROVIDERS GRANT AND PER DIEM PROGRAM § 61.32 Ranking non-capital grant... ranking. (c) All applicants responding to a NOFA for “Per Diem Only” will be subject to the ranking method...

  9. Monte Carlo methods in PageRank computation: When one iteration is sufficient

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, K.; Litvak, Nelli; Nemirovsky, D.; Osipova, N.

    2005-01-01

    PageRank is one of the principle criteria according to which Google ranks Web pages. PageRank can be interpreted as a frequency of visiting a Web page by a random surfer and thus it reflects the popularity of a Web page. Google computes the PageRank using the power iteration method which requires

  10. Monte Carlo methods in PageRank computation: When one iteration is sufficient

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avrachenkov, K.; Litvak, Nelli; Nemirovsky, D.; Osipova, N.

    PageRank is one of the principle criteria according to which Google ranks Web pages. PageRank can be interpreted as a frequency of visiting a Web page by a random surfer, and thus it reflects the popularity of a Web page. Google computes the PageRank using the power iteration method, which requires

  11. Low ranks make the difference : How achievement goals and ranking information affect cooperation intentions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poortvliet, P. Marijn; Janssen, Onne; Van Yperen, N.W.; Van de Vliert, E.

    This investigation tested the joint effect of achievement goals and ranking information on information exchange intentions with a commensurate exchange partner. Results showed that individuals with performance goals were less inclined to cooperate with an exchange partner when they had low or high

  12. Sparse Contextual Activation for Efficient Visual Re-Ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Song; Bai, Xiang

    2016-03-01

    In this paper, we propose an extremely efficient algorithm for visual re-ranking. By considering the original pairwise distance in the contextual space, we develop a feature vector called sparse contextual activation (SCA) that encodes the local distribution of an image. Hence, re-ranking task can be simply accomplished by vector comparison under the generalized Jaccard metric, which has its theoretical meaning in the fuzzy set theory. In order to improve the time efficiency of re-ranking procedure, inverted index is successfully introduced to speed up the computation of generalized Jaccard metric. As a result, the average time cost of re-ranking for a certain query can be controlled within 1 ms. Furthermore, inspired by query expansion, we also develop an additional method called local consistency enhancement on the proposed SCA to improve the retrieval performance in an unsupervised manner. On the other hand, the retrieval performance using a single feature may not be satisfactory enough, which inspires us to fuse multiple complementary features for accurate retrieval. Based on SCA, a robust feature fusion algorithm is exploited that also preserves the characteristic of high time efficiency. We assess our proposed method in various visual re-ranking tasks. Experimental results on Princeton shape benchmark (3D object), WM-SRHEC07 (3D competition), YAEL data set B (face), MPEG-7 data set (shape), and Ukbench data set (image) manifest the effectiveness and efficiency of SCA.

  13. Ambient air pollution and cancer in California Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, P K; Abbey, D; Beeson, W L; Petersen, F

    1991-01-01

    Cancer incidence and mortality in a cohort of 6,000 Seventh-day Adventist nonsmokers who were residents of California were monitored for a 6-y period, and relationships with long-term ambient concentrations of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and ozone (O3) were studied. Ambient concentrations were expressed as mean concentrations and exceedance frequencies, which are the number of hours during which concentrations exceeded specified cutoffs (e.g., federal and California air quality standards). Risk of malignant neoplasms in females increased concurrently with exceedance frequencies for all TSP cutoffs, except the lowest, and these increased risks were highly statistically significant. An increased risk of respiratory cancers was associated with only one cutoff of O3, and this result was of borderline significance. These results are presented in the context of setting standards for these two air pollutants.

  14. Rank-dependant factorization of entanglement evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siomau, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • In some cases the complex entanglement evolution can be factorized on simple terms. • We suggest factorization equations for multiqubit entanglement evolution. • The factorization is solely defined by the rank of the final state density matrices. • The factorization is independent on the local noisy channels and initial pure states. - Abstract: The description of the entanglement evolution of a complex quantum system can be significantly simplified due to the symmetries of the initial state and the quantum channels, which simultaneously affect parts of the system. Using concurrence as the entanglement measure, we study the entanglement evolution of few qubit systems, when each of the qubits is affected by a local unital channel independently on the others. We found that for low-rank density matrices of the final quantum state, such complex entanglement dynamics can be completely described by a combination of independent factors representing the evolution of entanglement of the initial state, when just one of the qubits is affected by a local channel. We suggest necessary conditions for the rank of the density matrices to represent the entanglement evolution through the factors. Our finding is supported with analytical examples and numerical simulations.

  15. Complete hazard ranking to analyze right-censored data: An ALS survival study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhengnan Huang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Survival analysis represents an important outcome measure in clinical research and clinical trials; further, survival ranking may offer additional advantages in clinical trials. In this study, we developed GuanRank, a non-parametric ranking-based technique to transform patients' survival data into a linear space of hazard ranks. The transformation enables the utilization of machine learning base-learners including Gaussian process regression, Lasso, and random forest on survival data. The method was submitted to the DREAM Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS Stratification Challenge. Ranked first place, the model gave more accurate ranking predictions on the PRO-ACT ALS dataset in comparison to Cox proportional hazard model. By utilizing right-censored data in its training process, the method demonstrated its state-of-the-art predictive power in ALS survival ranking. Its feature selection identified multiple important factors, some of which conflicts with previous studies.

  16. Low-rank coal study. Volume 4. Regulatory, environmental, and market analyses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-11-01

    The regulatory, environmental, and market constraints to development of US low-rank coal resources are analyzed. Government-imposed environmental and regulatory requirements are among the most important factors that determine the markets for low-rank coal and the technology used in the extraction, delivery, and utilization systems. Both state and federal controls are examined, in light of available data on impacts and effluents associated with major low-rank coal development efforts. The market analysis examines both the penetration of existing markets by low-rank coal and the evolution of potential markets in the future. The electric utility industry consumes about 99 percent of the total low-rank coal production. This use in utility boilers rose dramatically in the 1970's and is expected to continue to grow rapidly. In the late 1980's and 1990's, industrial direct use of low-rank coal and the production of synthetic fuels are expected to start growing as major new markets.

  17. Ranking health between countries in international comparisons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brønnum-Hansen, Henrik

    2014-01-01

    Cross-national comparisons and ranking of summary measures of population health sometimes give rise to inconsistent and diverging conclusions. In order to minimise confusion, international comparative studies ought to be based on well-harmonised data with common standards of definitions and docum......Cross-national comparisons and ranking of summary measures of population health sometimes give rise to inconsistent and diverging conclusions. In order to minimise confusion, international comparative studies ought to be based on well-harmonised data with common standards of definitions...

  18. Ranking Practice Variability in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation: So Bad, It's "Good".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boysen Osborn, Megan; Mattson, James; Yanuck, Justin; Anderson, Craig; Tekian, Ara; Fox, John Christian; Harris, Ilene B

    2016-11-01

    To examine the variability among medical schools in ranking systems used in medical student performance evaluations (MSPEs). The authors reviewed MSPEs from U.S. MD-granting medical schools received by the University of California, Irvine emergency medicine and internal medicine residency programs during 2012-2013 and 2014-2015. They recorded whether the school used a ranking system, the type of ranking system used, the size and description of student categories, the location of the ranking statement and category legend, and whether nonranking schools used language suggestive of rank. Of the 134 medical schools in the study sample, the majority (n = 101; 75%) provided ranks for students in the MSPE. Most of the ranking schools (n = 63; 62%) placed students into named category groups, but the number and size of groups varied. The most common descriptors used for these 63 schools' top, second, third, and lowest groups were "outstanding," "excellent," "very good," and "good," respectively, but each of these terms was used across a broad range of percentile ranks. Student ranks and school category legends were found in various locations. Many of the 33 schools that did not rank students included language suggestive of rank. There is extensive variation in ranking systems used in MSPEs. Program directors may find it difficult to use MSPEs to compare applicants, which may diminish the MSPE's value in the residency application process and negatively affect high-achieving students. A consistent approach to ranking students would benefit program directors, students, and student affairs officers.

  19. Identification of significant features by the Global Mean Rank test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klammer, Martin; Dybowski, J Nikolaj; Hoffmann, Daniel; Schaab, Christoph

    2014-01-01

    With the introduction of omics-technologies such as transcriptomics and proteomics, numerous methods for the reliable identification of significantly regulated features (genes, proteins, etc.) have been developed. Experimental practice requires these tests to successfully deal with conditions such as small numbers of replicates, missing values, non-normally distributed expression levels, and non-identical distributions of features. With the MeanRank test we aimed at developing a test that performs robustly under these conditions, while favorably scaling with the number of replicates. The test proposed here is a global one-sample location test, which is based on the mean ranks across replicates, and internally estimates and controls the false discovery rate. Furthermore, missing data is accounted for without the need of imputation. In extensive simulations comparing MeanRank to other frequently used methods, we found that it performs well with small and large numbers of replicates, feature dependent variance between replicates, and variable regulation across features on simulation data and a recent two-color microarray spike-in dataset. The tests were then used to identify significant changes in the phosphoproteomes of cancer cells induced by the kinase inhibitors erlotinib and 3-MB-PP1 in two independently published mass spectrometry-based studies. MeanRank outperformed the other global rank-based methods applied in this study. Compared to the popular Significance Analysis of Microarrays and Linear Models for Microarray methods, MeanRank performed similar or better. Furthermore, MeanRank exhibits more consistent behavior regarding the degree of regulation and is robust against the choice of preprocessing methods. MeanRank does not require any imputation of missing values, is easy to understand, and yields results that are easy to interpret. The software implementing the algorithm is freely available for academic and commercial use.

  20. Exact distributions of two-sample rank statistics and block rank statistics using computer algebra

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiel, van de M.A.

    1998-01-01

    We derive generating functions for various rank statistics and we use computer algebra to compute the exact null distribution of these statistics. We present various techniques for reducing time and memory space used by the computations. We use the results to write Mathematica notebooks for

  1. Balancing exploration and exploitation in learning to rank online

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hofmann, K.; Whiteson, S.; de Rijke, M.

    2011-01-01

    As retrieval systems become more complex, learning to rank approaches are being developed to automatically tune their parameters. Using online learning to rank approaches, retrieval systems can learn directly from implicit feedback, while they are running. In such an online setting, algorithms need

  2. Variants of the Borda count method for combining ranked classifier hypotheses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Erp, Merijn; Schomaker, Lambert; Schomaker, Lambert; Vuurpijl, Louis

    2000-01-01

    The Borda count is a simple yet effective method of combining rankings. In pattern recognition, classifiers are often able to return a ranked set of results. Several experiments have been conducted to test the ability of the Borda count and two variant methods to combine these ranked classifier

  3. Investigating the Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Achievement and Attitudes towards Mathematics among Seventh-Grade Students in Kuwait

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soliman, Mamdouh M.; Hilal, Ahmed J.

    2016-01-01

    This study evaluates the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) compared with traditional classroom instruction of mathematics of seventh graders in Kuwait's public schools. We aimed to compare students learning outcomes between two groups: the control group, taught traditionally without the use of computers, and the experimental…

  4. Poisson statistics of PageRank probabilities of Twitter and Wikipedia networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frahm, Klaus M.; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

    2014-04-01

    We use the methods of quantum chaos and Random Matrix Theory for analysis of statistical fluctuations of PageRank probabilities in directed networks. In this approach the effective energy levels are given by a logarithm of PageRank probability at a given node. After the standard energy level unfolding procedure we establish that the nearest spacing distribution of PageRank probabilities is described by the Poisson law typical for integrable quantum systems. Our studies are done for the Twitter network and three networks of Wikipedia editions in English, French and German. We argue that due to absence of level repulsion the PageRank order of nearby nodes can be easily interchanged. The obtained Poisson law implies that the nearby PageRank probabilities fluctuate as random independent variables.

  5. University Ranking, an Important Quality-Assurance Tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Crina Rădulescu

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available “University Rankings” - or “League Tables”, as they are known in the United Kingdom – have in ashort period of time become an important feature in policy-making and practice in higher education. They arenow a global phenomenon serving different purposes for different and varied audiences. Even if they are notnecessarily universally appreciated, there is an increasing understanding that they have become the “third armof the quality-assurance tool, together with accreditation, government regulation and licensing" and they areclearly here to stay. Indisputably university ranking has changed the way higher education institutions andtheir activities are being presented, perceived and assessed at the institutional, local, national and internationallevels.In our research we will try to answer some questions concerning this topic: is university ranking aninflexible tool, which favors traditional universities, with resources and experience?; what types ofperformance indicators, procedure and ethical considerations should be included in a conceptual frameworkor typology for higher education ranking systems?

  6. Ranking stability and super-stable nodes in complex networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghoshal, Gourab; Barabási, Albert-László

    2011-07-19

    Pagerank, a network-based diffusion algorithm, has emerged as the leading method to rank web content, ecological species and even scientists. Despite its wide use, it remains unknown how the structure of the network on which it operates affects its performance. Here we show that for random networks the ranking provided by pagerank is sensitive to perturbations in the network topology, making it unreliable for incomplete or noisy systems. In contrast, in scale-free networks we predict analytically the emergence of super-stable nodes whose ranking is exceptionally stable to perturbations. We calculate the dependence of the number of super-stable nodes on network characteristics and demonstrate their presence in real networks, in agreement with the analytical predictions. These results not only deepen our understanding of the interplay between network topology and dynamical processes but also have implications in all areas where ranking has a role, from science to marketing.

  7. Weighted Discriminative Dictionary Learning based on Low-rank Representation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Heyou; Zheng, Hao

    2017-01-01

    Low-rank representation has been widely used in the field of pattern classification, especially when both training and testing images are corrupted with large noise. Dictionary plays an important role in low-rank representation. With respect to the semantic dictionary, the optimal representation matrix should be block-diagonal. However, traditional low-rank representation based dictionary learning methods cannot effectively exploit the discriminative information between data and dictionary. To address this problem, this paper proposed weighted discriminative dictionary learning based on low-rank representation, where a weighted representation regularization term is constructed. The regularization associates label information of both training samples and dictionary atoms, and encourages to generate a discriminative representation with class-wise block-diagonal structure, which can further improve the classification performance where both training and testing images are corrupted with large noise. Experimental results demonstrate advantages of the proposed method over the state-of-the-art methods. (paper)

  8. Diffusion of scientific credits and the ranking of scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radicchi, Filippo; Fortunato, Santo; Markines, Benjamin; Vespignani, Alessandro

    2009-11-01

    Recently, the abundance of digital data is enabling the implementation of graph-based ranking algorithms that provide system level analysis for ranking publications and authors. Here, we take advantage of the entire Physical Review publication archive (1893-2006) to construct authors’ networks where weighted edges, as measured from opportunely normalized citation counts, define a proxy for the mechanism of scientific credit transfer. On this network, we define a ranking method based on a diffusion algorithm that mimics the spreading of scientific credits on the network. We compare the results obtained with our algorithm with those obtained by local measures such as the citation count and provide a statistical analysis of the assignment of major career awards in the area of physics. A website where the algorithm is made available to perform customized rank analysis can be found at the address http://www.physauthorsrank.org.

  9. Optimization of the two-sample rank Neyman-Pearson detector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akimov, P. S.; Barashkov, V. M.

    1984-10-01

    The development of optimal algorithms concerned with rank considerations in the case of finite sample sizes involves considerable mathematical difficulties. The present investigation provides results related to the design and the analysis of an optimal rank detector based on a utilization of the Neyman-Pearson criteria. The detection of a signal in the presence of background noise is considered, taking into account n observations (readings) x1, x2, ... xn in the experimental communications channel. The computation of the value of the rank of an observation is calculated on the basis of relations between x and the variable y, representing interference. Attention is given to conditions in the absence of a signal, the probability of the detection of an arriving signal, details regarding the utilization of the Neyman-Pearson criteria, the scheme of an optimal rank, multichannel, incoherent detector, and an analysis of the detector.

  10. A network-based dynamical ranking system for competitive sports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motegi, Shun; Masuda, Naoki

    2012-12-01

    From the viewpoint of networks, a ranking system for players or teams in sports is equivalent to a centrality measure for sports networks, whereby a directed link represents the result of a single game. Previously proposed network-based ranking systems are derived from static networks, i.e., aggregation of the results of games over time. However, the score of a player (or team) fluctuates over time. Defeating a renowned player in the peak performance is intuitively more rewarding than defeating the same player in other periods. To account for this factor, we propose a dynamic variant of such a network-based ranking system and apply it to professional men's tennis data. We derive a set of linear online update equations for the score of each player. The proposed ranking system predicts the outcome of the future games with a higher accuracy than the static counterparts.

  11. The mortality profile of black Seventh-Day Adventists residing in metropolitan Atlanta: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, F G; Blumenthal, D S; Dickson-Smith, J; Peay, R P

    1990-08-01

    Mortality information was gathered for 110 Black Seventh-day Adventist members of seven churches in Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia during the period 1980-87. Seventy-seven percent of the deaths were due to cardiovascular diseases; 8 percent due to cancer, the second leading cause of death. The cancer rate is extremely low in comparison to the proportion of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. Subsequent research on this population will take into consideration lifestyle factors which could contribute to this finding.

  12. Three results on the PageRank vector: eigenstructure, sensitivity, and the derivative

    OpenAIRE

    Gleich, David; Glynn, Peter; Golub, Gene; Greif, Chen

    2007-01-01

    The three results on the PageRank vector are preliminary but shed light on the eigenstructure of a PageRank modified Markov chain and what happens when changing the teleportation parameter in the PageRank model. Computations with the derivative of the PageRank vector with respect to the teleportation parameter show predictive ability and identify an interesting set of pages from Wikipedia.

  13. Relationship between Journal-Ranking Metrics for a Multidisciplinary Set of Journals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perera, Upeksha; Wijewickrema, Manjula

    2018-01-01

    Ranking of scholarly journals is important to many parties. Studying the relationships among various ranking metrics is key to understanding the significance of one metric based on another. This research investigates the relationship among four major journal-ranking indicators: the impact factor (IF), the Eigenfactor score (ES), the "h."…

  14. When sparse coding meets ranking: a joint framework for learning sparse codes and ranking scores

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Cui, Xuefeng; Yu, Ge; Guo, Lili; Gao, Xin

    2017-01-01

    Sparse coding, which represents a data point as a sparse reconstruction code with regard to a dictionary, has been a popular data representation method. Meanwhile, in database retrieval problems, learning the ranking scores from data points plays

  15. An initial examination of Singaporean seventh and eighth graders' views of nature of science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tzung-Jin; Goh, Amos Yoong Shin; Chai, Ching Sing; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2013-07-01

    Background and purpose . Research in nature of science (NOS) among Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore is arguably scarce. This study aimed to survey Singaporean secondary school students' views of NOS with a newly developed instrument named Students' Views of Nature of Science (SVNOS), which included various key aspects of NOS that are generally agreed upon by the science education community. Moreover, the relations between some demographic factors, including gender and grade, and students' views of NOS were explored. Sample, design and method In total, 359 Singaporean seventh and eighth graders were invited to participate in this survey. The reliability, validity and structure of the SVNOS instrument were ensured by confirmatory factor analysis. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance was then conducted to determine the interaction effects between the gender variable and the grade-level variable. Results and conclusion The results indicated that the SVNOS instrument is reliable and valid to assess students' views of NOS regarding seven distinct NOS dimensions. The male students were more prone to have constructivist-oriented views of NOS in the most of the SVNOS dimensions, while the female students conveyed more non-objective views of NOS. In addition, the eighth graders revealed more empiricist-oriented views of NOS than the seventh graders in several SVNOS dimensions. This result seems to contradict the results of previous studies that students' views of NOS may reflect a developmental trend with their increasing educational experiences.

  16. Integrated inventory ranking system for oilfield equipment industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jalel Ben Hmida

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This case study is motivated by the subcontracting problem in an oilfield equipment and service company where the management needs to decide which parts to manufacture in-house when the capacity is not enough to make all required parts. Currently the company is making subcontracting decisions based on management’s experience. Design/methodology/approach: Working with the management, a decision support system (DSS is developed to rank parts by integrating three inventory classification methods considering both quantitative factors such as cost and demand, and qualitative factors such as functionality, efficiency, and quality. The proposed integrated inventory ranking procedure will make use of three classification methods: ABC, FSN, and VED. Findings: An integration mechanism using weights is developed to rank the parts based on the total priority scores. The ranked list generated by the system helps management to identify about 50 critical parts to manufacture in-house. Originality/value: The integration of all three inventory classification techniques into a single system is a unique feature of this research. This is important as it provides a more inclusive, big picture view of the DSS for management’s use in making business decisions.

  17. Activity of coals of different rank to ozone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Kaminskii

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Coals of different rank were studied in order to characterize their activity to ozone decomposition and changes of their properties at interaction with ozone. Effects of coal rank on their reactivity to ozone were described by means of kinetic modeling. To this end, a model was proposed for evaluation of kinetic parameters describing coals activity to ozone. This model considers a case when coals surface properties change during interaction with ozone (deactivation processes. Two types of active sites (zones at the surface that are able to decompose ozone were introduced in the model differing by their deactivation rates. Activity of sites that are being deactivated at relatively higher rate increases with rank from 2400 1/min for lignite to 4000 1/min for anthracite. Such dependence is related to increase of micropores share in coals structure that grows from lignites to anthracites. Parameter characterizing initial total activity of coals to ozone decomposition also depends on rank by linear trend and vary between 2.40 for lignites up to 4.98 for anthracite. The proposed model could further be used in studies of coals oxidation processes and tendency to destruction under the weathering and oxidation conditions.

  18. Computer ranking of the sequence of appearance of 40 features of the brain and related structures in staged human embryos during the seventh week of development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Rahilly, R; Müller, F; Hutchins, G M; Moore, G W

    1988-08-01

    The sequence of events in the development of the brain in human embryos, already published for stages 8-17, is here continued for stages 18 and 19. With the aid of a computerized bubble-sort algorithm, 58 individual embryos were ranked in ascending order of the features present. The increasing structural complexity provided 40 new features in these two stages. The chief characteristics of stage 18 (approximately 44 postovulatory days) are rapidly growing basal nuclei; appearance of the extraventricular bulge of the cerebellum (flocculus), of the superior cerebellar peduncle, and of follicles in the epiphysis cerebri; and the presence of vomeronasal organ and ganglion, of the bucconasal membrane, and of isolated semicircular ducts. The main features of stage 19 (approximately 48 days) are the cochlear nuclei, the ganglion of the nervus terminalis, nuclei of the prosencephalic septum, the appearance of the subcommissural organ, the presence of villi in the choroid plexuses of the fourth and lateral ventricles, and the stria medullaris thalami.

  19. Students as Researchers: What and Why Seventh-Grade Students Choose to Write When Investigating Their Own Research Question

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørkvold, Tuva; Blikstad-Balas, Marte

    2018-01-01

    All scientists depend on both reading and writing to do their scientific work. It is of paramount importance to ensure that students have a relevant repertoire of practices they can employ when facing scientific content inside and outside the school context. The present study reports on students in seventh grade acting as researchers. Over an…

  20. The Associations between Seventh Grade Finnish Students' Motivational Climate, Perceived Competence, Self-Determined Motivation, and Fundamental Movement Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalaja, Sami; Jaakkola, Timo; Watt, Anthony; Liukkonen, Jarmo; Ommundsen, Yngvar

    2009-01-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between motivational climate, perceived competence, self-determined motivation towards physical education (PE) and the fundamental movement skills of Finnish secondary school students. A sample of 370 seventh-grade PE students (girls n = 189; boys n = 181; mean age = 13.08; SD = 0.25)…