Likelihood Adaptively Modified Penalties

A new family of penalty functions, adaptive to likelihood, is introduced for model selection in general regression models. It arises naturally through assuming certain types of prior distribution on the regression parameters. To study stability properties of the penalized maximum likelihood estimator, two types of asymptotic stability are defined. Theoretical properties, including the parameter estimation consistency, model selection consistency, and asymptotic stability, are established under suitable regularity conditions. An efficient coordinate-descent algorithm is proposed. Simulation results and real data analysis show that the proposed method has competitive performance in comparison with existing ones.Comment: 42 pages, 4 figure

Experimental And Cfd Investigations Of Lifted Tribrachial Flames

Experimental measurements of the lift-off velocity and lift-off height, and numerical simulations were conducted on the liftoff and stabilization phenomena of laminar jet diffusion flames of inert-diluted C3H8 and CH4 fuels. Both non-reacting and reacting jets were investigated, including effects of multi-component diffusivities and heat release (buoyancy and gas expansion). The role of Schmidt number for non-reacting jets was investigated, with no conclusive Schmidt number criterion for liftoff previously known in similarity solutions. The cold-flow simulation for He-diluted CH4 fuel does not predict flame liftoff; however, adding heat release reaction leads to the prediction of liftoff, which is consistent with experimental observations. Including reaction was also found to improve liftoff height prediction for C3H8 flames, with the flame base location differing from that in the similarity solution - the intersection of the stoichiometric and iso-velocity contours is not necessary for flame stabilization (and thus lift-off). Possible mechanisms other than that proposed for similarity solution may better help to explain the stabilization and liftoff phenomena. The stretch rate at a wide range of isotherms near the base of the lifted tribrachial flame were also quantitatively plotted and analyzed

Gastrointestinal Spatiotemporal mRNA Expression of Ghrelin vs Growth Hormone Receptor and New Growth Yield Machine Learning Model Based on Perturbation Theory

[Abstract] The management of ruminant growth yield has economic importance. The current work presents a study of the spatiotemporal dynamic expression of Ghrelin and GHR at mRNA levels throughout the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of kid goats under housing and grazing systems. The experiments show that the feeding system and age affected the expression of either Ghrelin or GHR with different mechanisms. Furthermore, the experimental data are used to build new Machine Learning models based on the Perturbation Theory, which can predict the effects of perturbations of Ghrelin and GHR mRNA expression on the growth yield. The models consider eight longitudinal GIT segments (rumen, abomasum, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon and rectum), seven time points (0, 7, 14, 28, 42, 56 and 70 d) and two feeding systems (Supplemental and Grazing feeding) as perturbations from the expected values of the growth yield. The best regression model was obtained using Random Forest, with the coefficient of determination R2 of 0.781 for the test subset. The current results indicate that the non-linear regression model can accurately predict the growth yield and the key nodes during gastrointestinal development, which is helpful to optimize the feeding management strategies in ruminant production system.National Natural Science Foundation of China; 31320103917State of California; XDA05020700National Space Science Center (China); 2010T2S13National Space Science Center (China); 2012T1S0009Hunan Provincial People's Government (China); 2013TF3006Xunta de Galicia; GRC2014/04

YKL-40 expression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: relation to acute exacerbations and airway remodeling

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that YKL-40, also called chitinase-3-like-1 protein, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. It is currently unknown, however, whether YKL-40 plays a role in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and airway remodeling. METHODS: We evaluated serum YKL-40 levels in patients with AECOPD (n = 37) and stable COPD (n = 44), as well as in controls (n = 47). The association between YKL-40 expression and airway remodeling was analyzed. The effects of YKL-40 on collagen synthesis of primary human lung fibroblasts were also evaluated. RESULTS: Serum YKL-40 levels were elevated at AECOPD onset as compared to stable disease (median [interquartile range], 78.6 [52.3–122.2] ng/ml versus 46.7 [31.2–75.5] ng/ml; p = 0.0005). The ideal cutoff point for distinguishing patients with AECOPD from those with stable COPD was 64.7 ng/ml (AUC: 0.71; 95%CI: 0.596 to 0.823). YKL-40 expression correlated with airflow obstruction, C-reactive protein, and collagen deposition. Stimulation with YKL-40 promoted collagen production in lung fibroblasts through ERK- and p38-dependent mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: YKL-40 expression is up-regulated in patients with COPD and correlates with exacerbation attacks and may contribute to airway remodeling by acting on lung fibroblasts. The current data may provide insight into the underlying pathogenesis of COPD, in which YKL-40 has an important pathogenic role. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-OCC-13003567 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12931-016-0338-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A146: Study on the Development Path of Green Sports Events in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Background: The development of green sports events in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is an important way to promote the coordinated development of the economy and ecology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of green sports events, identifying their development dilemmas, exploring the development path of green sports events in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and promoting the sustainable development of sports in the Bay Area. Method: Firstly, research results on the green development of sports events and other aspects at home and abroad are collected and analyzed through the literature method. Secondly, an in-depth investigation of green sports events in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was conducted through the field survey method. Finally, suggestions on the green development of sports events were collected through the expert interview method. Results: Through the study, it was found that there are the following difficulties in conducting green sports tournaments: First, there are fewer ecological protection policy measures for sports events. Second, environmental awareness has not been fully popularized in the field of sports events. Third, because of the lack of green event standards, event organizers lack clear references and bases. Fourth, there is insufficient application of green technology in sports events; Fifth, there is insufficient cross-regional cooperation, making it difficult to form a synergy in the Bay Area. Conclusion: Through the study, the following pathways and recommendations to promote the development of green sports events are proposed: First, through policy guidance and support, encourage and support sports events in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to develop in the direction of green, low-carbon, and environmental protection. Second, to enhance the environmental awareness of sports event participants and change the concept of organizing events; Third, to formulate and improve the standard system for green sports events in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao, and to clarify the evaluation indexes and standards for green events; Fourth, to increase the research and development and application of green technologies, and to promote the application of environmentally friendly materials and energy-saving equipment, etc., in the field of sports events; and Fifth, to strengthen cooperation and exchanges, to achieve complementary resources and promote the overall development of the Bay Area