Statistics and Probability Commons^™

Robust Determinants Of Happiness: High-Dimensional Bayesian Treatment Of Model Uncertainty, Milivoje Davidovic

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The thesis investigates the most relevant economic and institutional determinants of happiness in some 93 countries worldwide, covering the period 2006-2019. We employ the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) fixed effect model (country demeaned and time demeaned) using a working panel data set with 651 observations. Our initial goal is to address the problem of model uncertainty in panel data models of happiness, aiming at selecting a set variables that are likely to be included in as "true" model of happiness. In addition, we aim to investigate the causal relationship running from selected economic and institutional variable to index of happiness. …

Traffic Fatality Rate Prediction Based On Deep Neural Network And Bayesian Neural Network, Yiqun Hu

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

There have been numerous studies on traffic accidents and their fatality rate. For this challenging machine learning regression problem, Neural Networks (NNs) have produced state-of-the-art data. Despite their success, they are often used in a fre- quentist scheme, which means they cannot account for uncertainty in their forecasts. BNNs are comprised of a Probabilistic Model and a Neural Network. The aim of such a design is to bring together the benefits of Neural Networks and stochastic modeling. Neural networks have the ability to approximate continuous functions uni- versally. Statistical models allow for the direct definition of a model with known …

A Transdisciplinary Analysis Of Just Transition Pathways To 100% Renewable Electricity, Adewale Aremu Adesanya

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The transition to using clean, affordable, and reliable electrical energy is critical for enhancing human opportunities and capabilities. In the United States, many states and localities are engaging in this transition despite the lack of ambitious federal policy support. This research builds on the theoretical framework of the multilevel perspective (MLP) of sociotechnical transitions as well as the concept of energy justice to investigate potential pathways to 100 percent renewable energy (RE) for electricity provision in the U.S. This research seeks to answer the question: what are the technical, policy, and perceptual pathways, barriers, and opportunities for just transition to …

Superresolution Enhancement With Active Convolved Illumination, Anindya Ghoshroy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The first two decades of the 21st century witnessed the emergence of “metamaterials”. The prospect of unrestricted control over light-matter interactions was a major contributing factor leading to the realization of new technologies and advancement of existing ones. While the field certainly does not lack innovative applications, widespread commercial deployment may still be several decades away. Fabrication of sophisticated 3d micro and nano structures, specially for telecommunications and optical frequencies will require a significant advancement of current technologies. More importantly, the effects of absorption and scattering losses will require a robust solution since this renders any conceivable application of metamaterials …

Writing At The Horizon: How Producing Imagined Narratives Affects Mood, David Yu-Zhong Liang

Senior Projects Fall 2021

The present study explores the effect of three different writing activities and their subsequent effects on participant mood. Writing has been of particular interest for psychologists due to its use in interventions aimed at working through traumatic or stressful periods, and recent research has begun to explore the use of narrative in placing traumatic events and experiences in greater context. However, purely therapeutic, intervention-based writing exercises exclude a large amount of more expressive, imagined creations and narratives, which may have the capacity to reorient, contextualize, and otherwise positively affect a person’s mood. This study investigates whether employing the imagination may …

Bayesian Techniques For Relating Genetic Polymorphisms To Diffusion Tensor Images Of Cocaine Users, Tmader Alballa

Theses and Dissertations

Past investigations utilizing Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) have demonstrated that cocaine use disorder (CUD) yields white matter changes. We proposed three Bayesian techniques in order to explore the relationship between Fractional Anisotropy (FA), genetic data, and years of cocaine use (YCU). CUD participants exhibit abnormality in different areas of the brain versus non-drug using controls, which is measured by DTI. This dissertation is motivated by a neuroimaging genetic study in cocaine dependence, which found that there were relationships between several genes such as GAD and 5-HT₂R and CUD subjects.

In the first chapter, there is background on the …

Self-Exciting Point Process For Modelling Terror Attack Data, Siyi Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Terrorism becomes more rampant in recent years because of separatism and extreme nationalism, which brings a serious threat to the national security of many countries in the world. The analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of terror data is significant in containing terrorism. This thesis focuses on building and applying a temporal point process called self-exciting point process to fit the terror data from 1970 to 2018 of 10 countries. The data come from the Global Terrorism database. Further, an application in predicting the number of terror events based on the self-exciting model is another main innovative idea, in which …

Physical Activity, Dietary Patterns, And Glycemic Management Of Active Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes: An Online Survey, Sheri Colberg, Jihan Kannane, Norou Diawara

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

Individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are able to balance their blood glucose levels while engaging in a wide variety of physical activities and sports. However, insulin use forces them to contend with many daily training and performance challenges involved with fine-tuning medication dosing, physical activity levels, and dietary patterns to optimize their participation and performance. The aim of this study was to ascertain which variables related to the diabetes management of physically active individuals with T1D have the greatest impact on overall blood glucose levels (reported as A1C) in a real-world setting. A total of 220 individuals with T1D …

Novel Statistical Analysis In The Context Of A Comprehensive Needs Assessment For Secondary Stem Recruitment, Norou Diawara, Sarah Ferguson, Melva Grant, Kumer Das

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

There is a myriad of career opportunities stemming from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In addition to careers in corporate settings, teaching is a viable career option for individuals pursuing degrees in STEM disciplines. With national shortages of secondary STEM teachers, efforts to recruit, train, and retain quality STEM teachers is greatly important. Prior to exploring ways to attract potential STEM teacher candidates to pursue teacher training programs, it is important to understand the perceived value that potential recruits place on STEM careers, disciplines, and the teaching profession. The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceptions …

A Class Of Copula-Based Bivariate Poisson Time Series Models With Applications, Mohammed Alqawba, Dimuthu Fernando, Norou Diawara

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

A class of bivariate integer-valued time series models was constructed via copula theory. Each series follows a Markov chain with the serial dependence captured using copula-based transition probabilities from the Poisson and the zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) margins. The copula theory was also used again to capture the dependence between the two series using either the bivariate Gaussian or “t-copula” functions. Such a method provides a flexible dependence structure that allows for positive and negative correlation, as well. In addition, the use of a copula permits applying different margins with a complicated structure such as the ZIP distribution. Likelihood-based inference was …

Branched-Chain Amino Acids And Risk Of Breast Cancer, Oana A. Zeleznik, Raji Balasubramanian, Yumeng Ren, Deirdre K. Tobias, Bernard A. Rosner, Cheng Peng, Alaina M. Bever, Lisa Frueh, Sarah Jeanfavre, Julian Avila-Pacheco, Clary B. Clish, Samia Mora, Frank B. Hu, A. Heather Eliassen

Biostatistics and Epidemiology Faculty Publications Series

Background

Circulating branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) levels reflect metabolic health and dietary intake. However, associations with breast cancer are unclear. Methods

We evaluated circulating BCAA levels and breast cancer risk within the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and NHSII (1997 cases and 1997 controls). A total of 592 NHS women donated 2 blood samples 10 years apart. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of breast cancer risk in multivariable logistic regression models. We conducted an external validation in 1765 cases in the Women’s Health Study (WHS). All statistical tests were 2-sided. Results

Among NHSII participants (predominantly premenopausal …

Bayesian Experimental Design For Bayesian Hierarchical Models With Differential Equations For Ecological Applications, Rebecca Atanga

Theses and Dissertations

Ecologists are interested in the composition of species in various ecosystems. Studying population dynamics can assist environmental managers in making better decisions for the environment. Traditionally, the sampling of species has been recorded on a regular time frequency. However, sampling can be an expensive process due to financial and physical constraints. In some cases the environments are threatening, and ecologists prefer to limit their time collecting data in the field. Rather than convenience sampling, a statistical approach is introduced to improve data collection methods for ecologists by studying the dynamics associated with populations of interest. Population models including the logistic …

Prediction Intervals For Fractionally Integrated Time Series And Volatility Models, Rukman Ekanayake

Doctoral Dissertations

"The two of the main formulations for modeling long range dependence in volatilities associated with financial time series are fractionally integrated generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (FIGARCH) and hyperbolic generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (HYGARCH) models. The traditional methods of constructing prediction intervals for volatility models, either employ a Gaussian error assumption or are based on asymptotic theory. However, many empirical studies show that the distribution of errors exhibit leptokurtic behavior. Therefore, the traditional prediction intervals developed for conditional volatility models yield poor coverage. An alternative is to employ residual bootstrap-based prediction intervals. One goal of this dissertation research is to develop …

Integrating Snp Data And Imputation Methods Into The Dna Methylation Analysis Framework, Yuqing Su

Doctoral Dissertations

"DNA methylation is a widely studied epigenetic modification that can influence the expression and regulation of functional genes, especially those related to aging, cancer and other diseases. The common goal of methylation studies is to find differences in methylation levels between samples collected under different conditions. Differences can be detected at the site level, but regulated methylation targets are most commonly clustered into short regions. Thus, identifying differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between different groups is of prime interest. Despite advanced technology that enables measuring methylation genome-wide, misinterpretations in the readings can arise due to the existence of single nucleotide polymorphisms …

Count Data Time Series Models And Their Applications, Yi Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

“Due to fast developments of advanced sensors, count data sets have become ubiquitous in many fields. Modeling and forecasting such time series have generated great interest. Modeling can shed light on the behavior of the count series and to see how they are related to other factors such as the environmental conditions under which the data are generated. In this research, three approaches to modeling such count data are proposed.

First, a periodic autoregressive conditional Poisson (PACP) model is proposed as a natural generalization of the autoregressive conditional Poisson (ACP) model. By allowing for cyclical variations in the parameters of …

Automatic Hierarchy Expansion For Improved Structure And Chord Evaluation, Katherine M. Kinnaird, Brian Mcfee

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Is Technological Progress A Random Walk? Examining Data From Space Travel, Michael Howell, Daniel Berleant, Hyacinthe Aboudja, Richard Segall, Peng-Hung Tsai

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Improvement in a variety of technologies can often be successful modeled using a general version of Moore’s law (i.e. exponential improvements over time). Another successful approach is Wright’s law, which models increases in technological capability as a function of an effort variable such as production. While these methods are useful, they do not provide prediction distributions, which would enable a better understanding of forecast quality

Farmer and Lafond (2016) developed a forecasting method which produces forecast distributions and is applicable to many kinds of technology. A fundamental assumption of their method is that technological progress can be modeled as a …

Impact Of Case Management On Childhood Lead Exposure In Marion County, Indiana, Maliki Yacouba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently declared that no amount of childhood blood lead level (BLL) is safe. The purpose of this quantitative study with a retrospective cohort design was to evaluate the effectiveness of case management intervention on children diagnosed with elevated BLL (EBLL; ≥ 5 μg/dL) in Marion, County, Indiana. The health belief model was used as the theoretical foundation for the study. A data set of 160 lead exposure case management records was analyzed to find whether: (a) BLL at post-case-management time significantly differ from BLL at baseline (b) BLL at post-case-management time is affected …

Investigations Into The Genetics Of Mixed Pathologies In Dementia, Adam Dugan

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that leads to a loss of memory and thinking skills. While tremendous progress has been made in our understanding of the genetics underlying AD, currently known genetic variants explain only approximately 30% of the heritable risk of developing AD. One hurdle to AD research is that it can only be definitively diagnosed at autopsy, making cruder, clinic-based diagnoses more common. In recent years, several brain pathologies that mimic AD’s clinical presentation have been identified including brain arteriolosclerosis, hippocampal sclerosis (HS), and, most recently, limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE). It has become …

การเรียนรู้การถ่ายทอดสำหรับการจำแนกภาพด้วยโครงข่ายคอนโวลูชัน: กรณีศึกษาภาพถ่ายรังสีทรวงอกของผู้ป่วยที่ติดเชื้อโควิด19, ธัญญ์ชวิน โพธิวัฒน์ธนัต

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

เทคนิคการประมวลผลจากภาพถูกนำมาใช้กันอย่างแพร่หลายในหลากหลายอุตสาหกรรมในปัจจุบัน โดยการนำมาประยุกต์ใช้กับทางการแพทย์ก็เป็นอีกหนึ่งอุสาหกรรมที่ได้รับความนิยม ทั้งนี้ปัญหาในการจำแนกภาพสามารถทำได้หลายวิธีด้วยกัน หนึ่งในนั้น คือการนำการเรียนรู้เชิงลึกมาประยุกต์ใช้ในการแก้ไขปัญหา โดยการจำแนกประเภทผ่านการเรียนรู้เชิงลึกสามารถแก้ไขได้อย่างรวดเร็วและแม่นยำผ่านการนำโครงข่ายการเรียนรู้เชิงลึกแบบคอนโวลูชั่น หรือ ซีเอ็นเอ็น (Convolutional Neural Networks หรือ CNN) มาใช้กับเทคนิคการเรียนรู้ถ่ายทอด (Transfer Learning) งานวิจัยนี้จึงนำเสนอวิธีการประยุกต์ใช้เทคนิคการเรียนรู้ถ่ายทอดในการฝึกสอนแบบจำลองโครงข่ายคอนโวลูชั่นเชิงลึกเพื่อจำแนกภาพถ่ายรังสีทรวงอกออกเป็น 3 ประเภท คือ 1) ภาพถ่ายรังสีทรวงอกของผู้ป่วยปกติ 2) ภาพถ่ายรังสีทรวงอกของผู้ป่วยที่ติดเชื้อโควิด19 3) ภาพถ่ายรังสีทรวงอกของผู้ติดเชื้อปอดอักเสบจากไวรัส ผ่านแบบจำลองที่ถูกฝึกมาเรียบร้อย (Pre-trained Model) แล้วสามแบบจำลอง ประกอบด้วย โมไบล์เน็ตวี2 (MobileNetV2) เรสเน็ต50 (Resnet50) และอินเซปชันวี3 (InceptionV3) ซึ่งได้ถูกเลือกมาใช้ในการทดสอบเพื่อสร้างแบบจำลองทั้งหมด 3 ตัว ประกอบด้วย ซีเอ็นเอ็น+โมไบล์เน็ตวี2 ซีเอ็นเอ็น+เรสเน็ต50 และ ซีเอ็นเอ็น+อินเซปชันวี3 ซึ่งพบว่า สมรรถนะแบบจำลองซีเอ็นเอ็น+อินเซปชันวี3 ให้ผลลัพธ์ที่ดีที่สุด จึงถูกเลือกนำไปปรับรายละเอียด การประเมินผลบนชุดข้อมูลทดสอบของแบบจำลองซีเอ็นเอ็น+อินเซปชันวี3 หลังจากทำการปรับรายละเอียด (Fine Tuning) ทั้งหมดด้วยกัน 8 ชั้น คือ ชั้นที่ 280, 250, 230, 200, 160, 150, 130 และ 120 ซึ่งแตกต่างจากบทความวิจัยส่วนใหญ่ที่ทำการละทิ้งการตรึงเพียงชั้นเดียว โดยเห็นได้ว่าการปรับรายละเอียดของแบบจำลองที่ทำการละทิ้งการตรึงตั้งแต่ชั้น 150 ให้ผลการทดสอบการจำแนกภาพถ่ายรังสีทรวงอกของผู้ป่วยที่ติดเชื้อโควิด19 ได้ความแม่นยำที่ดีที่สุดที่ 95% ซึ่งเห็นได้ว่าแนวทางการจำแนกประเภทภาพที่นำเสนอมีความหวังสามารถนำไปพัฒนาต่อยอด เพื่อเป็นประโยชน์ต่ออุตสาหกรรมการแพทย์ได้