Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Statistical Analysis Of Air Pollution Panel Studies: An Illustration, Holly Janes, Lianne Sheppard, Kristen Shepherd

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

The panel study design is commonly used to evaluate the short-term health effects of air pollution. Standard statistical methods for analyzing longitudinal data are available, but the literature reveals that the techniques are not well understood by practitioners. We illustrate these methods using data from the 1999 to 2002 Seattle panel study. Marginal, conditional, and transitional approaches for modeling longitudinal data are reviewed and contrasted with respect to their parameter interpretation and methods for accounting for correlation and dealing with missing data. We also discuss and illustrate techniques for controlling for time-dependent and time-independent confounding, and for exploring and summarizing …

2004 Jeffress Research Grant Awards

Virginia Journal of Science

List of winners of the 2004 Jeffress Research Grant Awards.

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 48 Number 2, Fall 2006, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - TRUTH, LEGEND, AND JESSE JAMES By Ron Hansen M.A. '95. Jesse James' exploits made him a legend even in his own time. Now the author of the novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford reveals what it takes to get beyond coloring book heroes and villains to understanding a charming psychopath and his killer. Plus insights into the making of the forthcoming film starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck.

14 - VIOLENCE IN THE MOVIES By Jim Shepard. Movies keep giving us more motion, more mayhem-which is exactly what we want. But what price …

Characterization Of Β-Lactam Resistant Pandemic Serotypes Of Vibrio Cholerae Isolated From Ships' Ballast Tanks And Coastal Waters, Amanda Lynn Goodrich

OES Theses and Dissertations

Vibrio cholerae serotypes 01 and 0139 are responsible for world-wide epidemics of cholera. These pandemic causing strains must possess genes that encode for the cholera toxin (CTX) and toxin co-regulated pili (TCP) in order to infect their hosts. In this study, 284 isolates of Vibrio cholerae from ballast and coastal waters were serotyped, with 11 % testing positive for serotype 01 and 21 % testing positive for serotype 0139. PCR assays were used to detect the presence of ctxA and tcpA genes in all positive isolates, none of which contained ctxA while 2% of the isolates contained tcpA. The 01 …

Spatial Cluster Detection For Censored Outcome Data, Andrea J. Cook, Diane Gold, Yi Li

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Extending Marginal Structural Models Through Local, Penalized, And Additive Learning, Daniel Rubin, Mark J. Van Der Laan

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Marginal structural models (MSMs) allow one to form causal inferences from data, by specifying a relationship between a treatment and the marginal distribution of a corresponding counterfactual outcome. Following their introduction in Robins (1997), MSMs have typically been fit after assuming a semiparametric model, and then estimating a finite dimensional parameter. van der Laan and Dudoit (2003) proposed to instead view MSM fitting not as a task of semiparametric parameter estimation, but of nonparametric function approximation. They introduced a class of causal effect estimators based on mapping loss functions suitable for the unavailable counterfactual data to those suitable for the …

A Stochastic Model For Psa Levels: Behavior Of Solutions And Population Statistics, Pavel Bělík, P W A Dayananda, John T. Kemper, Mikhail M. Shvartsman

Faculty Authored Articles

This paper investigates the partial differential equation for the evolving distribution of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels following radiotherapy. We also present results on the behavior of moments for the evolving distribution of PSA levels and estimate the probability of long-term treatment success and failure related to values of treatment and disease parameters. Results apply to a much wider range of parameter values than was considered in earlier studies, including parameter combinations that are patient specific.

Demographic Change And Response: Social Context And The Practice Of Birth Control In Six Countries, Sangeeta Parashar, Harriet B. Presser, Megan L. Klein Hattori, Sara Raley, Zhihong Sa

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper expands on Kingsley Davis’s demographic thesis of change and re- sponse. Specifically, we consider the social context that accounts for the primacy of particular birth control methods that bring about fertility change during specific time periods. We examine the relevance of state policy (including national family planning programs), the international population establishment, the medical profession, organized religion, and women’s groups using case studies from Japan, Russia, Puerto Rico, China, India, and Cameroon. Some of these countries are undergoing the second demographic transition, others the first. Despite variations in context, heavy reliance on sterilization and/or abortion as a means …

In Vitro Antimicrobial Efficacy Of Calcium Hydroxides In Root Dentin, Josef W. Lubisich

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Enterococcus faecalis is the most commonly isolated bacteria in failed root canal treatment. Endodontic intracanal medicaments are commonly tested using standardized bovine cylinders infected with bacteria. The literature is not clear on whether calcium hydroxides are able to remove E. faecalis from the dentinal tubules. One reason for this is that there are several varying forms of calcium hydroxide commonly used. The purpose of the present experiment was to determine whether four commonly used calcium hydroxide products were able to reduce E. faecalis from four incremental samples of dentin and to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between …

Evaluation Of Program Outcomes: Assessment In Children, Cheryl M. Romano

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In an age of increased concern for accountability and the review of services, administrators of health programs should be able to present their clinics effectiveness, and demonstrate their excellent service to the community, along with providing evidence for the continued need of such clinics. Outcome evaluation plays an integral part in providing this information, and is intended to provide information concerning the effectiveness of a particular program, thus allowing for modification, and even better outcomes.

This project addressed pre and post functioning in children referred for academic and/or behavioral difficulties, in a university of health sciences-based clinic. The aim was …

Newly Identified Vitamin K-Producing Bacteria Isolated From The Neonatal Faecal Flora, Gordon Cooke, John Behan, Mary Costello

Articles

Fat-soluble vitamin K is an essential component of the blood clotting process. Menaquinones are the naturally occurring form of vitamin K identified in bacteria. Lipid extracts were made from three bacteria originally isolated from the human neonatal gut and identified as Enterobacter agglomerans, Serratia marcescens and Enterococcus faecium. Following preparative thin layer chromatography (TLC), the lipid extracts were subjected to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Peak analysis of the LC-MS data showed that the three bacteria produce various forms of menaquinone.

An Event-Driven Approach To Computerizing Clinical Guidelines Using Xml, Bing Wu, Essam Mansour, Kudakwashe Dube, Jianxin Li

Conference Papers

Clinical events form the basis of patient care practice. Their computerization is an important aid to the work of clinicians. Clinical guidelines or protocols direct clinicians and patients on when and how to handle clinical problems. Thus, clinical guidelines are an encapsulation of clinical events. Hence, an event-driven approach to computerizing the management of clinical guidelines is worthy of investigation. In our framework, called SpEM, the main clinical guideline management dimensions are specification, execution, and manipulation. This paper presents an event-driven approach, within the context of the SpEM framework, to manage clinical guidelines. The event-driven approach is based on the …

Silica-Coated Lanthanum-Strontium Manganites For Hyperthermia Treatments, Vuk Uskoković, Aljoša Košak, Miha Drofenik

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

La_0.76Sr_0.24MnO_{3 + δ} particles, prepared by performing a traditional, solid-state method of synthesis, were coated by uniform layers of silica via initiating hydrolysis and condensation of TEOS in aqueous–alcoholic alkali environment. The eventually obtained samples exhibited Curie temperature at ∼40 °C, and comprised core-shell particles of ∼250 nm in diameter. By varying stoichiometric ratio of cations within manganite cores of the particles, Curie point of the resulting material can be varied too, thus opening a way for the simple design of biocompatible, temperature-self-regulating particles for application in hyperthermia treatments, with Curie point thereof adjusted to …

Structural Inference In Transition Measurement Error Models For Longitudinal Data, Wenqin Pan, Xihong Lin, Donglin Zeng

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Estimation In Semiparametric Transition Measurement Error Models For Longitudinal Data, Wenqin Pan, Donglin Zeng, Xihong Lin

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Nonparametric Regression Using Local Kernel Estimating Equations For Correlated Failure Time Data, Zhangsheng Yu, Xihong Lin

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Causal Inference In Hybrid Intervention Trials Involving Treatment Choice, Qi Long, Rod Little, Xihong Lin

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Methods For Estimating The Causal Effect Of A Treatment In Randomized Clinical Trials Subject To Noncompliance, Rod Little, Qi Long, Xihong Lin

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Relative Risk Regression In Medical Research: Models, Contrasts, Estimators, And Algorithms, Thomas Lumley, Richard Kronmal, Shuangge Ma

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

The relative risk or prevalence ratio is a natural and familiar summary of association between a binary outcome and an exposure or intervention. For rare events, the relative risk can be approximately estimated by logistic regression. For common events estimation is more difficult. We review proposed estimation algorithms for relative risk regression. Some of these give inconsistent estimates or invalid standard errors. We show that the methods that give correct inference can be viewed as arising from a family of quasilikelihood estimating functions for the same generalized linear model, differing in their efficiency and in their robustness to outlying values …

Accumulation Of Phycotoxins In The Mussel Mytilus Galloprovincialis From The Central Adriatic Sea, Maja Pavela-Vrančić, Ivana Ujević, Živana Ninčević Gladan, Ambrose Furey

Physical Sciences Publications

Surveys of DSP (Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning) toxin profiles in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis from coastal waters of the central Adriatic Sea, over the years 1995 to 2001, demonstrate that incidents of shellfish toxicity in this area are dominated by the occurrence of okadaic acid (OA) and a PTX derivative, 7-epi-pectenotoxin-2-seco acid (7-epi-PTX-2SA). Toxin composition and the relative ratio of toxic components in shellfish is in correlation with the occurrence of DSP producing organisms from the Dinophysis species along with Prorocentrum micans and Lingulodinium polyedrum. The occurrence of D. sacculus shortly before the appearance of OA in shellfish implicates its possible …

Sheep Updates 2006 - Part 4, K. G. Geenty, A. A. Swan, A. J. Smith, J. L. Smith, Chris Oldham, R. G. Woodgate, R. A. Love, E. Dobbe, H. M. Hoult, J. Pearson, S. Hill, A. Van Burgel, R. B. Besier, R. Warburton, L. Mathwin, D. Rogers, E. Crossley, Allan Herbert, P. Nichols, Tony Albertsen, Darryl Mcclements, Graeme Martin, Penny Hawken, Caroline Vinoles, Beth Paganoni, Dominique Blanche

Sheep Updates

This session covers seven papers from different authors:

MANAGEMENT

1. Wool and meat traits in Merino flocks in different regions, K.G. Geenty, A.A. Swan, A.J. Smith, J.L. Smith, Sheep CRC and CSIRO Livestock Industries, Armidale

2. Fat score or Condition score? - It all depends on what you want to do! Chris Oldham, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia

3. Sheep worm control - the latest for Western Australia, RG Woodgate, RA Love, E Dobbe, HM Hoult, J Pearson, S Hill, A van Burgel and RB Besier, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia

PASTURES

4. Rethinking pasture production …

Causal Comparisons In Randomized Trials Of Two Active Treatments: The Effect Of Supervised Exercise To Promote Smoking Cessation, Jason Roy, Joseph W. Hogan

COBRA Preprint Series

In behavioral medicine trials, such as smoking cessation trials, two or more active treatments are often compared. Noncompliance by some subjects with their assigned treatment poses a challenge to the data analyst. Causal parameters of interest might include those defined by subpopulations based on their potential compliance status under each assignment, using the principal stratification framework (e.g., causal effect of new therapy compared to standard therapy among subjects that would comply with either intervention). Even if subjects in one arm do not have access to the other treatment(s), the causal effect of each treatment typically can only be identified from …

Santa Clara Magazine Volume 48 Number 1, Summer 2006, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - THE MAN BEHIND THE SOUND by Karen Crocker Snell. As a young music-loving soldier in the final days of World War II, John T. "Jack" Mullin '36 went to investigate a German recording device called a magnetophon. His resulting work in sound profoundly affected the field of recorded audio.

14 - THREE ROOMMATES IN PARIS By John Patrick Donnelly, S.J. It has been 500 years since Francisco Xavier and Pierre Favre were born, and 450 years since the death of Ignatius of Loyola. Quite a lot has happened since 1529 at the University of Paris, when the three …

Summer 2006 Research Symposium Abstract Book, Trinity College

Science Symposia Abstracts

Summer 2006 volume of abstracts for science research projects conducted by Trinity College students.

Unlv Magazine, Carol C. Harter, Karen Sharp, Gian Galassi, Tony Allen, Jennifer Lawson, Shane Bevell, Lori Bachand, Regina Vaccari, Pete Codella, Cate Weeks, Erin O'Donnell, Diane Russell, Phil Hagen

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Gaussian Mixture Models And Neural Networks For Automatic Speaker Identification, Usha Gayatri Chalkapally

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Automatic Speaker Recognition is the process of automatically recognizing who is speaking on the basis of individual information contained in speech signals. This technique of Automatic Speaker Recognition makes it possible to use the speaker's voice to verify their identity and control access to services such as voice dialing, banking by telephone, telephone shopping, database access services, information services, voice mail, security control for confidential information areas, and remote access to computers.

In this thesis, the techniques of Gaussian Mixture Models and Neural Networks for Automatic Speaker Identification are presented. Algorithms for Speaker Identification using Gaussian Mixture Models were developed, …

Some Statistical Issues In Microarray Gene Expression Data, Matthew S. Mayo, Byron J. Gajewski, Jeffrey S. Morris

Jeffrey S. Morris

In this paper we discuss some of the statistical issues that should be considered when conducting experiments involving microarray gene expression data. We discuss statistical issues related to preprocessing the data as well as the analysis of the data. Analysis of the data is discussed in three contexts: class comparison, class prediction and class discovery. We also review the methods used in two studies that are using microarray gene expression to assess the effect of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields on gene expression. Our intent is to provide a guide for radiation researchers when conducting studies involving microarray gene expression …

The Effect Of Calcium Hydroxide Pastes On Root Dentin Fracture Resistance, Kurt W. Sturz

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Calcium hydroxide is a common intracanal medicament used in the treatment of immature teeth that have been subjected to trauma or decay prior to root canal therapy. The effect of calcium hydroxide on immature root dentin is important. One area of concern is the effect that calcium hydroxide has on the fracture resistance of an immature tooth. It is the aim of this study to compare the effect of four different commercially available calcium hydroxide pastes on the fracture resistance of bovine teeth. Seventy-five freshly extracted, intact bovine incisors were prepared according to a modified Haapasalo and Orstavik technique. Each …

Analysis Of An Sirs Age-Structured Epidemic Model With Vaccination And Vertical Transmission Of Disease, Mohammed El-Doma

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

An SIRS age-structured epidemic model for a vertically as well as horizontally transmitted disease under vaccination is investigated when the fertility, mortality and removal rates depend on age and the force of infection of proportionate mixing assumption type, and vaccination wanes over time. We prove the existence and uniqueness of solution to the model equations, and show that solutions of the model equations depend continuously on the initial age-distributions. Furthermore, we determine the steady states and obtain an explicitly computable threshold condition, in terms of the demographic and epidemiological parameters of the model; we then study the stability of the …

Low Birth Weight, Very Low Birth Weight And Infant Mortality In San Bernardino County : A Secondary Analysis Of Maternal Factors, Rebecca D. Nanyonjo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Purpose: National and state infant mortality rates have slowly declined over the last several years. Despite this reduction, San Bernardino County still has one of the highest infant mortality rates in California and racial disparities between Black and White infants not only persist but continue to widen. These disparities remain at the forefront of concern. Healthy People 2010 target objectives have yet to be reached, while national and state proposed plans have supported the statement that a community's largest health problem is initiated by its infant mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate maternal factors through use of …