2019

2019

Ruthy Hebard and Sabrina Ionescu have had a remarkable four years together in Eugene, rewriting the history books and pushing the Ducks into the national spotlight. Catch the debut of "Our Stories Unfinished Business: Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard" at Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Network.

Jennifer E. Starling, Jared S. Murray, Carlos M. Carvalho, Radek K. Bukowski, James G. Scott.

Source: The Annals of Applied Statistics, Volume 14, Number 1, 28--50.

Abstract:
This article introduces BART with Targeted Smoothing, or tsBART, a new Bayesian tree-based model for nonparametric regression. The goal of tsBART is to introduce smoothness over a single target covariate $t$ while not necessarily requiring smoothness over other covariates $x$. tsBART is based on the Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) model, an ensemble of regression trees. tsBART extends BART by parameterizing each tree’s terminal nodes with smooth functions of $t$ rather than independent scalars. Like BART, tsBART captures complex nonlinear relationships and interactions among the predictors. But unlike BART, tsBART guarantees that the response surface will be smooth in the target covariate. This improves interpretability and helps to regularize the estimate. After introducing and benchmarking the tsBART model, we apply it to our motivating example—pregnancy outcomes data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Our aim is to provide patient-specific estimates of stillbirth risk across gestational age $(t)$ and based on maternal and fetal risk factors $(x)$. Obstetricians expect stillbirth risk to vary smoothly over gestational age but not necessarily over other covariates, and tsBART has been designed precisely to reflect this structural knowledge. The results of our analysis show the clear superiority of the tsBART model for quantifying stillbirth risk, thereby providing patients and doctors with better information for managing the risk of fetal mortality. All methods described here are implemented in the R package tsbart .

Arun K. Kuchibhotla, Rohit K. Patra.

Source: Bernoulli, Volume 26, Number 2, 1587--1618.

Abstract:
We consider estimation and inference in a single index regression model with an unknown but smooth link function. In contrast to the standard approach of using kernels or regression splines, we use smoothing splines to estimate the smooth link function. We develop a method to compute the penalized least squares estimators (PLSEs) of the parametric and the nonparametric components given independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) data. We prove the consistency and find the rates of convergence of the estimators. We establish asymptotic normality under mild assumption and prove asymptotic efficiency of the parametric component under homoscedastic errors. A finite sample simulation corroborates our asymptotic theory. We also analyze a car mileage data set and a Ozone concentration data set. The identifiability and existence of the PLSEs are also investigated.

The womenswear line is new, and there’s already a variety of items to shop.

Adobe just announced what it calls the first digital economy index. It seems like it's modeled after other indices usually kept by the federal government to measure economic output and consumption. The Adobe index captures only consumer consumption behavior though. Some of its insights include new shopping behavior, such as which products have become hot items or decreased in popularity over time.

The enterprise IT environment is complex. Many systems, technologies and practices developed at various times coexist in the same world. With expectations for technological advancements at their peak, we're tasked with enabling these systems to work together harmoniously to support the continuous sharing of information. Systems and data must connect as if all information were native to each.

Today leading international experts on climate change, the IPCC, presented their latest report on the impacts of climate change on humanity, and what we can do about it. It’s a lengthy report, so we’ve shrunk it down to Oxfam's five key takeaways on climate change and hunger. 1. Climate change: the impacts on crops are worse than we thought Climate change has [...]

As FAO launches dedicated webpages on post-2015, here are seven things to know about the process and how FAO is playing its part. 7 - Post-2015 development agenda - The name refers to the process through which Member States agree on a new global development framework to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals that followed the UN Millennium Declaration [...]

Banana split, banana muffins, banana bread, banana pudding, banana pancakes – whether plain, cooked, baked or fried, bananas are among the most widely consumed fruits on the planet. However, how much do we really know about this most produced and exported fruit? Here are 11 interesting facts you should know about bananas: Based on written references discovered in Sanskrit around the year [...]

Forests are one of nature’s great providers. A source of water and food security, they also give us everything from paper and medicine to renewable energy, low-tech air conditioning and air cleansers. They also protect and enrich biodiversity and are a major tool in the fight against climate change. Ask several people what a forest is and their answers will probably [...]

From pregnancy to birth and beyond, mothers, both animal and human, show off some amazing skills

An airliner on final approach above a driveway basketball hoop in Floral Park, NY.

New Something Awful smilies

A woman who lost her sister to COVID-19 at the start of the month is thanking the staff at Northwood who took "excellent" care of her in her final days. Jean Harrigan, 90, is being remembered for her caring and lively nature.

With something like 380 websites being created every minute, building an e-commerce shop can be a daunting task. It's easy to look at all of the success stories out there and think, "How could I possibly be that lucky?" However, the opportunity for growth in e-commerce is not slowing down. E-commerce sales are projected to grow 85 percent from their 2019 totals by 2022.

The following is a guest post from Processing Technician Pam Murrell. In addition to being an adroit cellist, bassist, and pianist, Charles Mingus was also an accomplished composer. During his lifetime he wrote over three hundred scores, creating his first concert piece, “Half-Mast Inhibition,” at the age of seventeen. Ultimately, he aspired to be a […]

1. Salman Khan shoots song titled 'Tere Bina' with Jacqueline Fernandez at his Panvel farmhouse; reveals det  NewsEverything
2. Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez get candid about upcoming song Tere Bina; Watch VIDEO  PINKVILLA
3. Salman Khan’s ladylove Iulia Vantur feels he looks like a “Supermodel” in his latest picture with Niketan  Times of India
4. Iulia Vantur asked when she is marrying Salman Khan, says ‘spending your life with someone’ more important...  Hindustan Times
5. Salman Khan's caravan Being Haangryy provides essentials to needy people of Mumbai  Bollywood Life
6. View Full coverage on Google News

There's trivia, concerts, virtual nature hikes and improv all online this weekend.

The eerie inhumanity of Donald Trump.

Amid one of the worst economic downturns in years, Apple has outperformed most expectations that analysts have placed on it. Just shy of two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, its share price has returned to levels not seen since before the crisis.

A group of young Swiss Christians use small, practical acts of service to share Christ’s love with families in need in Hungary.

OMer Patrick shares his biggest takeaways from serving in sports ministry in Hungary for two years.

Children from broken families in Mexico celebrate Christmas together.

After 23 years of reaching out to refugees and immigrants in Germany, one OM couple have relocated to Canada to continue their ministry.

Nearly four years on from the day when Ellie Harrison's chips caused a national outcry, the artist is back to tell us more about why she did it – and how she survived that year in Glasgow in the media firing-line

IT’S not everyone who’s given the chance to design their own tartan so when the opportunity arose, Vixy Rae didn’t need to give it a second thought.

Having car insurance is a legal requirement for motorists, but whether it’s valid or not depends on how accurate the current information your insurance company holds is.

There was a time when I would sit up late in bed, reading novels. As a reviewer, this was often for work, but that didn’t diminish the pleasure of ending the day in another world. Of late, however, I’ve hurried through ordinary books the way you rush the main course in expectation of pudding. The reason? I’ve discovered the joy of gardening catalogues, and of roses in particular. As a result, my evening ritual is extended to include a last look at roses that ramble over walls, or join hand

A family of 10 in Cambodia experience God's love through the provision of a new home.

The American politician John Nance Garner is better remembered for something he said rather than anything he did as Franklin Roosevelt’s vice-president.

Today in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister will explain her decision to authorise airstrikes against Syria alongside France and the United States.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an “in conversation” event with the American sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild at Harvard University.

THERE will be many of us who embrace technology with all the ham-fisted ineptitude of a fumbling, muttering old colonel trying to unravel the stubborn, sticky wrapping of a barley sugar.

President Donald Trump wants to make the biggest cuts in the U.S. Department of Education's budget in about 35 years. Check out the highlights of Trump's plan.

The coronavirus crisis has made staffing and hiring decisions more uncertain, but planning needs to start now, writes Terry B. Grier.

WHILE watching the daily Downing Street press conferences it is possible to feel a range of emotions. Frustration, for instance, as one inquiry after another goes unanswered, or disappointment at the quality of the questioning.

Waterford UPSTART, an online program that offers literacy and math enrichment lessons aimed at preschoolers, received support from a philanthropy dedicated to funding "bold ideas for social change."

Few teachers reported assigning English-learners to use digital learning resources outside of class, in part because of concerns about students' lack of access to technology at home, finds a U.S. Department of Education survey.

The number of English-learner students in U.S. schools has increased 28 percent since 2000; 43 of 50 states have experienced an uptick in enrollment, federal data indicate.

A pastor and OM couple start a new church in Tonami, Japan, a rural town of 50,000.

Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with neurobehavioral morbidity in children. Prior related research has generally been cross-sectional or short (ie, 1–2 years) follow-up studies of a single symptom (ie, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, mouth breathing), with limited control for confounders.

Sleep-disordered breathing was assessed as a trajectory of combined symptoms from 6 months to 69 months, in more than 11 000 children. Sleep-disordered breathing was associated with 40% and 60% more behavioral difficulties at 4 and 7 years, respectively. (Read the full article)

A policy of intubation, mechanical ventilation, and surfactant administration is commonly used for the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome worldwide; however subsequent development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia remains as risk with this standard approach.

Noninvasive surfactant administration technique during spontaneous breathing (Take Care) along with nasal continuous positive airway pressure support successfully reduces the need for further respiratory support and bronchopulmonary dysplasia rate in very low birth weight infants. (Read the full article)