Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Benchmarking the Mixed Linear Model for Longitudinal Data

Mixed linear models are widely used in longitudinal studies (e.g., Laird & Ware 1982, Diggle et al. 1996). It is not uncommon that some of the data, either the responses or the covariates, are missing at certain time points. Standard treatments of the missing values include the throwing-out strategy, in which an entire record (including the response and covariates) is thrown out if at least one value is missing, imputation and modeling the missing data mechanism. See, for example, Diggle et al. (1996, chapter 13), Little and Rubin (2002). However, with the exception of the throwing-out method, which is obviously very inefficient, these strategies are not simple and often require knowledge, and assumptions, beyond the linear mixed models. In this paper, we propose a simple approach to missing values in longitudinal studies incorporating the linear mixed models. Suppose that for the i subject,i = 1, . ,m, the datayit, xitk, 1 ≤ k ≤ p are supposed to be collected at the time points t ∈ Ti, whereyit is the response and xitk, 1 ≤ k ≤ p are the covariates. However, due to the missing data, only a subset of the supposed values are collected. Our basic model is a (conditional) linear mixed model that assumes that, given the complete covariates xitk, 1 ≤ i ≤ m, t ∈ Ti, 1 ≤ k ≤ p, the complete responses yit, 1 ≤ i ≤ m, t ∈ Ti satisfies
Ant colony system for variants of traveling salesman problem with time windows

Traveling Salesman Problem with Time Windows has important applications in routing and scheduling and has been extensively studied in literature. In the paper a mathematical formulation of the temporal−Traveling Salesman Problem with Time Windows is presented and a meta-heuristic based on Ant Colony System is proposed and implemented. A computational experience on a benchmark has been carried out and a case study has been analyzed obtaining interesting results.
EVALUATION OF THE CENSUS BUREAU'S SMALL-AREA POVERTY ESTIMATES

Legislation of the Elementary and Secondary School Act requested that a National Academy of Sciences panel examine the new Census Bureau modelbased estimates of the number of children living in poverty at both the county and school district levels for use in Title I allocation formulas in place of decennial census long-form estimates. The statute requires that the Department of Education use the Census Bureau's updated estimates for allocation "unless the Secretaries of Education and Commerce determine that they are inappropriate or unreliable on the basis of the panel's study. It remained for the panel to interpret the terms unreliable or inappropriate, and this paper summarizes the panel's efforts to do this. The remainder of this paper will describe, in turn: (1) the models proposed by the Census Bureau at the state, county, and school district levels, (2) the formation of alternative models, at the suggestion of the panel, for evaluation purposes, (3) the specific evaluations, both internal and external, that the Census Bureau and the panel carried out, and (4) next steps. Many important details are intentionally ignored here due to space considerations. Examples of some of the complications are that the year of poverty estimation does not coincide with the year of fund allocation, some complications regarding the precise population that is the target population being estimated, that there are two fund allocation formulas involved, many complications concerning school districts as a unit of geography and analysis, and various important details concerning the Current Population Survey (CPS) sample design. For those interested, the recent National Academy report Small-Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Priorities for 2000 and Beyond National Research Council (2000) is now available. As mentioned above, the work reported on was jointly that of the Census Bureau, specifically Paul Siegel, John Coder, Bill Bell, Robin Fisher, Bob Fay, Mark Otto, and Matt Kramer along with the Panel on Estimates of Poverty for Small Geographic Areas which provided detailed suggestions and requests. The panel members were Graham Kalton (chair) (Westat), David Betson (Notre Dame), Nancy Dunton (Midwest Research Institute), Wayne Fuller (Iowa State), Tom Jabine (consultant), Sylvia Johnson (Howard), Tom Louis (RAND), Sally Morton (RAND), Jeff Passel (Urban Institute), J.N. K. Rao (Carleton), Allen Schirm (Mathematica Policy Research), Paul Voss (University of Wisconsin), Jim Wyckoff (SUNY Albany), and Alan Zaslavsky (Harvard).
A genetic-algorithm based automatic model calibrator for the UBC watershed model

In this study, an optimization and search technique, based on the genetic algorithms (GAs) approach, is successfully used to develop an automatic model calibrator for the U B C Watershed Model. Unlike the existing random search calibration procedure, which limits the number of simultaneously calibrated modeling parameters to groups of about three to six at a time, the new GA-based calibrator allows all modeling parameters to be simultaneously evaluated. Because of the non-linear interactions between the modeling parameters, the simultaneous evaluation of all modeling parameters is demonstrated to achieve a good model calibration efficiently and quickly. The fundamental components of GAs as inspired by the Darwinian principle of natural selection are explained in detail in order to develop a complete GA-based model calibrator. A flow chart is used to illustrate the computational implementation of the G A procedures. Why GAs can work efficiently in finding an optimal set of modeling parameter values is explained by the schema theory with mathematical proofs provided. To test the soundness of the G A code developed for the automatic calibrator of the U B C Watershed Model, two well-studied watersheds in the Province of British Columbia, Campbell River and Illecillewaet River, are used. The effects of genetic operators (crossover, niching and elitism) on G A search efficiency are individually demonstrated. To objectively determine the performance of a calibrated watershed model, thedifference between the observed and simulated streamflows is statistically measured. Four statistical measures are evaluated: coefficient of linear correlation (or coefficient of determination), Nash & Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency (el), least squares objective function and least absolute difference objective function are introduced. G A computational experiments show that the Nash & Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency (el) exhibits the most consistently decreasing trend of streamflow volume error (dV/V) as the coefficient value increases. A fifth statistical measure, the modified Nash & Sutcliffe coefficient (eopt! ), is also used to quantify the difference between the observed and simulated streamflow data, and ensures the optimal or near-optimal set of model parameter values found at the end of a G A search achieves both high el and low dV/V at the same time.
ESTIMATION WITH NEAREST NEIGHBOUR IMPUTATION AT STATISTICS CANADA

In conducting surveys, people have always had to face problems of missing data. For a few decades, survey statisticians have made use of donor imputation techniques to treat nonresponse. One only has to think of the time of punch cards when a missing record was replaced by the card of a respondent. That is how hotdeck (a form of donor) imputation was born. Over the years, donor imputation went through several refinements, the major one being making use of auxiliary variables available for both respondents and nonrespondents. In this case, in an attempt to find a donor most similar to the missing record, the closest record (according to some distance measure) is used. This closest matching hot-deck has been called nearest neighbour imputation since Sande (1981). feature however, but nearest neighbour imputation has the advantage of using auxiliary information. It also has an intuitive appeal. These reasons, plus the good formal properties discussed in Chen and Shao (1997) and in Section 4 now make nearest neighbour imputation a prime candidate for any imputation strategy.
FACTORS INFLUENCING RATING SCALE RESPONSES: A PROCEDURE FOR PARTITIONING REDUNDANCY

This paper attempts to identify those influencing factors other than stimulus objects that have a significant impact on response variability when rating scales are employed. Partitioning redundancy in canonical analysis is introduced as a useful procedure to measure the impact of influencing factors on rating scale responses. Results from an empirical investigation show that nonstimulus object factors such as scale characteristics, type of measurement instrument used, data collection mode, and the environment in which data are collected account for a significant proportion of the explained variance in rating scale responses.
Approximation of Piano Music with Exponential Damped Sinusoids

A piano tone can be modeled as a short attack phase followed by a long decay of the string vibrations. This structure motivates an approximation of the decay by a sum of exponential damped sinusoids (EDS) for parameterization of a piano tone. A matching pursuit (MP) algorithm is used for extracting the EDS. The dictionary of the MP is adapted to the signal for reducing computational complexity. It can be shown, that in the case of piano music a large amount of signal energy can be represented by a small number of parameters. These parameters can be used for typical tasks in music analysis like music transcription or parameter based audio coding.
Internet Appendix Deviations from Norms and Informed Trading

The gambling views typical of many Protestant churches are expressed in the United Methodist Church’s 2004 Book of Resolutions: “Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice. ” The position of the Catholic Church on gambling is summarized in the New Catholic Encyclopedia: “A person is entitled to dispose of his own property as he wills. so long as in doing so he does not render himself incapable of fulfilling duties incumbent upon him by reason of justice or charity. Gambling, therefore, though a luxury, is not considered sinful except when the indulgence in it is inconsistent with duty” (O’Hare (2002)). Further, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant” (2413). See Thompson (2001, pp. 317–324) for a summary of the gambling views of major religious denominations in the United States.
Variance Estimation of the Survey-Weighted Kappa Measure of Agreement

The standard formula due to Fleiss et al. (1969) for estimating the variance of the estimated Cohen’s kappa, may be severely biased when using complex survey data, underestimating the variance. A procedure based on Taylor linearization is presented. The proposed procedure reduces to the Fleiss formula under a simple random sample design. Results from a small simulation study demonstrate the bias of the standard formula when clustering is present, and the good performance of the proposed procedure.
Ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic cholan gioscopicelectrohydraulic lithotripsy for difficult bile duct stones

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy (PTCEHL) as a method of removing resistant extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile duct stones. Methods: Clinical data of 42 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided PTCEHL were analyzed. Results: All patients were treated with ultrasound-guided PTCEHL successfully. After the first round of therapy, complete stone clearance was achieved in 36 patients, with few residual stones in the left or right hepatic duct found in six patients. The stone clearance rate was up to 85.71%. All calculi were completely removed after the second round of therapy. The average operative time was 63±24.6 minutes, the intraoperative blood loss amount was 15±12 mL, the average episode of stone removal was 4.2±1.3 times, the time to recovery was 12±3.7 hours, food intake began 23±6.5 hours after operation, and the average length of hospital stay was 5±2 days. No severe complications, such as hemobilia or bile duct injuries, occurred. After 1-24 months of follow-up, there were no serious postoperative complications of residual calculi or calculus recurrence and no biliary strictures. Conclusion: Ultrasoundguided PTCEHL is a simple, safe, and effective treatment method for patients with resistant bile duct stones. It has the advantages of minimal invasion, fewer complications, and quick patient recovery.
DESIGNING A FLEXIBLE DOCUMENT IMAGE ANALYSIS SYSTEM : THE MODULES

The project described here represents a flexible and easily extensible OCR system, designed to be configurable at runtime. The system itself is composed of standalone binary files than interact with one another using XML files. The system is composed of a back-end that is represented by binaries, external libraries and a couple of third party binaries, and a GUI front-end that allows the user to correct imperfections in the results.
Prognostic value of thyroid Hormone T 3 in patients with acute cerebral infarction

Objective: To explore the changes in thyroid T3 hormone levels and its prognostic value in patients with acute cerebral infarction. Methods: 58 patients with the first onset of acute cerebral infarction (B group) and 64 participants who underwent regular physical examination (A group) were recruited. According to the total T3 expression, the B group was further divided into two subgroups (normaland low-expression groups). The 28-day survival rate was statistically analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. In addition, multi-variate Cox regression analysis was performed to validate independent prognostic factors of 28-day survival. The severity of patients’ conditions in the normaland low-expression subgroups was compared using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. Results: T3 levels in A group were significantly higher than those in B group (P=0.000). There were 5, 11, and 14 patients with severe, moderate, and mild nerve function deficit in the group with normal T3 expression, respectively. While in the group with low T3 expression, the statistics were 14, 10, and 4, respectively and a statistically significant difference between the two groups was observed (P=0.000). Patients in the subgroup with low T3 expression had significantly lower 28-day survival rates than those in the subgroup with normal T3 expression (P=0.023). Singlevariate Cox regression analysis showed that normal T3 expression levels, advanced age, and history of hypertension were prognostic factors, and the multifactor regression analysis revealed that normal T3 expression levels and age were independent prognostic factors for death resulting from acute cerebral infarction. Conclusion: In patients with acute cerebral infarction, the thyroid hormone level is downregulated in the blood and is considered an independent risk factor for 28-day survival.
Using Monetary Incentives to Reduce Attrition in the Survey of Income and Program Participation

This design change in length took effect as an effort to improve the reliability of SIPP estimates [3]. Such change at the same time gives rise t o concems over nonresponse bias, which has become particularly important, since response rates have been decreasing over time [9]. once after theft initial nonresponse. Currently, the average conversion rate ofnonrespondent households to interview from one wave to the next is about a third.
Start-Up Transient Simulation of a Liquid Rocket Engine

During the start-up of a liquid rocket engine most of the engine components are required to work at extreme operating conditions; this phase features very complex phenomena such as combustion instabilities, water hammer e ects in feed lines, turbopumps operating far from design conditions and two-phase ows that cannot be neglected when design studies of an engine are to be performed or the assessment of the valve opening sequence has to be done. For these reasons simulations of the ignition transient phase become necessary in order to reduce the experimental tests and increase the engine safety and reliability. The subject of the present work is to develop an LRE transient model, to apply it to simulate the start-up transient and to validate the model with an existing liquid rocket engine (the RL-10). A system approach has been used, since it is necessary to take into account all the interactions between all the components of an engine. This choice is fundamental if a detailed estimation of the engine transient behaviour is the task. The system simulated by the code encompasses the complete feeding system from the tanks down to the the turbopump subsystems, the valves, the pipes, the thrust chamber’s inlets, the ow ducts of the thrust chamber itself and the chemical reactions inside the combustion chamber. The engine model is built using ESPSS, the propulsion system library compatible with EcosimPro, an object oriented tool capable of modelling various kinds of dynamic systems. The engine model includes also original models developed by the authors and presented in previous works such as a new injector plate model, and more realistic heat transfer coe cient correlations. The transient phase of the Pratt&Whitney RL-10 engine has been taken as validation case. This engine has been chosen for several reasons, among which the good availability of engine construction data, performance and tests results in open literature. The main subsystem models of this engine will be described and their validation will be presented. Then the integrated model of the entire engine will be described alongside the comparison of the simulation with experimental data.
MODEL – ASSISTED-CUM-DESIGN-BASED ADAPTIVE SAMPLING

Adaptive sampling designs are designs in which additional units or sites for observation are selected depending on the interpretation of observations made during initial sampling. Additional sampling is driven by the observed results from an initial sample. Two problems often crop up in adaptive sampling. One, it may not be feasible to sample according to a designated sampling plan. And two, the prescribed sampling plan may result in very small selection probabilities for some units thereby giving large weights to such units in estimation. In order to ameliorate these problems, we propose a regression procedure that combines design and model-based techniques of estimation.
RELATED TO ANALYSIS OF A SINGLE YEAR OF DATA FROM THE ANNUAL NATIONAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION EXAMINATION SURVEYS

This paper deals with one of the issues that needs to be considered in the analysis of annual data from the first year of the current National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). It is one of a number of methodological investigations needed to determine whether analysis of annual NHANES surveys is feasible. In particular, variance estimation methods appropriate for analysis of annual NHANES data are considered and software packages that can be used for estimation and analysis are discussed.
Statistical Semantics in Context Space : Amrita CEN

Languages shared by people differs due to diversity in their ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, language, religion, sexual orientation, geographical area, accents, pronunciation and word usages. This eventually fall into hypothesis that they follow unknown hidden pattern. By using this hypothesis, determining the class of a person such as age, gender, their personality and nativity has multiple applications in social media, forensic science, marketing analysis, e-commerce and e-security. This work advances the research on author profiling much further by overcoming existing language dependent, domain dependent and lexicon based author profiling methods by finding user’s sociolect aspects based on authors statistical pattern of semantics in context space. It proves to be a domain and language independent method in Author Profiling by nearing constant performance over English, Dutch and Spanish corpus.
Selected Contributions on Multimedia Quality Evaluation

Keywords: visual quality ; objective metric ; subjective test ; statistical inference ; compression efficiency ; audio-visual focus of attention ; mobile video consumption These Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne EPFL, n° 5400 (2012)Programme doctoral Informatique, Communications et InformationFaculte des sciences et techniques de l'ingenieurInstitut de genie electrique et electroniqueLaboratoire de traitement des signaux 1Jury: J.-Ph. Thiran (president), P. Frossard, P. Le Callet, A. Perkis Public defense: 2012-7-27 Reference doi:10.5075/epfl-thesis-5400Print copy in library catalog Record created on 2013-04-10, modified on 2017-05-10
Analysis and performance of FBMC techniques with application to relay networks

Sriyananda, M. G. S. Analysis and Performance of FBMC Techniques with Application to Relay Networks Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2014, 142 p. (Jyvaskyla Studies in Computing ISSN 1456-5390; 199) ISBN 978-951-39-5660-8 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-5661-5 (PDF) Finnish summary Diss. Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC) technique is recognized as one of the potential scheme that is capable of resolving some of the major problems associated with other multicarrier communication techniques like Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Basic design principles are used for that purpose, recognizing FBMC scheme as an extension to OFDM as well as a separate transmission technique. In addition, increase of throughput in a spectrally efficient manner over other wireless transmission systems is one of the supplementary main aspects addressed by this scheme. This is considered as a crucial objective in order to meet the demand arisen from the ever increasing number of users, upcoming applications and rapidly evolving services. Starting from verification of basic formulation, performance of causal multirate FBMC technique is investigated. Properties of self-interference are comprehensively studied in the first part of the presentation. The performance is evaluated under different fading channel and synchronization conditions. Using the characteristics of self-interference, approximate closed-form expression for bit error rate (BER) is presented in general. Analysis for the Nakagami-m channel is presented in the form of asymptotic expressions. The study is extended to analyze the performance over Decodeand-Forward (DF) relay system operated under asymmetric and asynchronous channel conditions. Three main performance measures, viz. BER, outage probability and capacity are used for the performance evaluation. For this purpose, relevant closed-form expressions are also derived. The analysis on the DF FBMC relay system is further extended to synchronous asymmetric scenarios with diversity reception and a maximal-ratio combining (MRC) based receiver is used. The study is made more realistic by considering the correlation effect among antennas. The same three performance measures are used for the study and their approximate closed-form expressions are also developed.