An effective form of the Variation Evolving Method (VEM), which originates from the continuous-time dynamics stability theory, is developed for the classic time-optimal control problem with control constraint. Within the mathematic derivation, the Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle (PMP) optimality conditions are used. Techniques including limited integrator and corner points are introduced to capt...

Bayesian classification commonly relies on probit models, with data augmentation algorithms used for posterior computation. By imputing latent Gaussian variables, one can often trivially adapt computational approaches used in Gaussian models. However, MCMC for multinomial probit (MNP) models can be inefficient in practice due to high posterior dependence between latent variables and parameters,...

Intravaginal practices (IVPs), include intravaginal cleansing (cleansing the inside of the vagina) or intravaginal insertion of products for hygiene, health or sexuality reasons. IVPs are associated with adverse female health outcomes, development of bacterial vaginosis, HIV acquisition and transmission. A mixed methods approach was used in this study to examine the prevalence of IVP, assess re...

Probit models belong to the class of latent variable threshold models for analyzing binary data. They arise by assuming that the binary response is the indicator of the event that an unobserved latent variable exceeds a given threshold. Estimation can be done either in a likelihood or a Bayesian framework. The probit models can be generalized for the analysis of a variety of qualitative and lim...