MOTIVATION: Estimation of bacterial community composition from
a high-throughput sequenced sample is an important task in
metagenomics applications. Since the sample sequence data
typically harbors reads of variable lengths and different levels of
biological and technical noise, accurate statistical analysis of such
data is challenging. Currently popular estimation methods are...
In this paper we extend the results of the research started by the first author in which Karlin-McGregor diagonalization of certain reversible Markov chains over countably infinite general state spaces by orthogonal polynomials was used to estimate the rate of convergence to a stationary distribution. We use a method of...
BACKGROUND: Cell types are defined at the molecular level during embryogenesis by a process called pattern formation and created by the selective utilization of combinations of sequence-specific transcription factors. Developmental programs define the sets of genes that are available to each particular cell type, and real-time biochemical signaling interactions define...
We design a commitment device for college students, “Study More Tomorrow,” conduct a randomized controlled trial testing a model of its takeup, and measure its effect on tutoring attendance and grades. The device commits students to attend tutoring if their midterm grade falls below a pre-specified threshold. Unlike other commitment...
Global warming is expected to cause significant changes in the pattern of precipitation minus evaporation (𝑃 − 𝐸), which represents the net flux of water from the atmosphere to the surface or, equivalently, the convergence of moisture transport within the atmosphere. In most global climate model simulations, the pattern of...
Species invasions have a range of negative effects on recipient ecosystems, and many occur at a scale and magnitude that preclude complete eradication. When complete extirpation is unlikely with available management resources, an effective strategy may be to suppress invasive populations below levels predicted to cause undesirable ecological change. We...
Seabirds have often been proposed as environmental indicators. Beached bird data may provide an additional data source and such data is efficacious because it can reliably be collected by volunteers. In addition to anthropogenic factors, such as oil spills, changes in the ocean-atmosphere can affect carcass beaching rate in 3...
National-scale analyses of fire occurrence are needed to prioritize fire policy and
management activities across the United States. However, the drivers of national-scale
patterns of fire occurrence are not well understood, and how the relative importance of human
or biophysical factors varies across the country is unclear. Our research goal...
Vegetation carbon uptake and respiration constitute the largest carbon cycle of the planet with an annual turnover
in the order of 120 GT. Currently, neither ecosystem carbon uptake (through photosynthesis) nor ecosystem
carbon release (through respiration) can be measured directly during the daytime. Instead, flux-tower measurements
rely on nighttime respiration...
The present article establishes connections between the structure of the deterministic Navier-Stokes equations and the structure of (similarity) equations that govern self-similar solutions as expected values of certain naturally associated stochastic cascades. A principle result is that explosion criteria for the stochastic cascades involved in the probabilistic representations of solutions...