Translating cross-lagged effects into incidence rates and risk ratios: The case of psychosocial safety climate and depression

Longitudinal studies are the gold standard of empirical work and stress research whenever experiments are not plausible. Frequently, scales are used to assess risk factors and their consequences, and cross-lagged effects are estimated to determine possible risks. Methods to translate cross-lagged effects into risk ratios to facilitate risk assessment do not yet exist, which creates a divide between psychological and epidemiological work stress research. The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate how cross-lagged effects can be used to assess the risk ratio of different levels of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) in organisations, an important psychosocial risk for the development of depression. We used available longitudinal evidence from the Australian Workplace Barometer (N?=?1905) to estimate cross-lagged effects of PSC on depression. We applied continuous time modelling to obtain time-scalable cross effects. These were further investigated in a 4-year Monte Carlo simulation, which translated them into 4-year incident rates. Incident rates were determined by relying on clinically relevant 2-year periods of depression. We suggest a critical value of PSC?=?26 (corresponding to ?1.4 SD), which is indicative of more than 100% increased incidents of persistent depressive disorder in 4-year periods compared to average levels of PSC across 4 years.     

Linear scalar-on-surface random effects regression models

Many research fields increasingly involve analyzing data of a complex structure. Models investigating the dependence of a response on a predictor have moved beyond the ordinary scalar-on-vector regression. We propose a regression model for a scalar response and a surface (or a bivariate function) predictor. The predictor has a random component and the regression model falls in the framework of linear random effects models. We estimate the model parameters via maximizing the log-likelihood with the ECME (Expectation/Conditional Maximization Either) algorithm. We use the approach to analyze a data set where the response is the neuroticism score and the predictor is the resting-state brain function image. In the simulations we tried, the approach has better performance than two other approaches, a functional principal component regression approach and a smooth scalar-on-image regression approach.     

Noninformative priors for the between-group variance in the unbalanced one-way random effects model with heterogeneous error variances

For the unbalanced one-way random effects model with heterogeneous error variances, we propose the non-informative priors for the between-group variance and develop the first- and second-order matching priors. It turns out that the second-order matching priors do not exist and the reference prior and Jeffreys prior do not satisfy a first-order matching criterion. We also show that the first-order matching prior meets the frequentist target coverage probabilities much better than the Jeffreys prior and reference prior through simulation study, and the Bayesian credible intervals based on the matching prior and reference prior give shorter intervals than the existing confidence intervals by examples.     

Properties of the weighted log‐rank test in the design of confirmatory studies with delayed effects

Proportional hazards are a common assumption when designing confirmatory clinical trials in oncology. This assumption not only affects the analysis part but also the sample size calculation. The presence of delayed effects causes a change in the hazard ratio while the trial is ongoing since at the beginning we do not observe any difference between treatment arms, and after some unknown time point, the differences between treatment arms will start to appear. Hence, the proportional hazards assumption no longer holds, and both sample size calculation and analysis methods to be used should be reconsidered. The weighted log‐rank test allows a weighting for early, middle, and late differences through the Fleming and Harrington class of weights and is proven to be more efficient when the proportional hazards assumption does not hold. The Fleming and Harrington class of weights, along with the estimated delay, can be incorporated into the sample size calculation in order to maintain the desired power once the treatment arm differences start to appear. In this article, we explore the impact of delayed effects in group sequential and adaptive group sequential designs and make an empirical evaluation in terms of power and type‐I error rate of the of the weighted log‐rank test in a simulated scenario with fixed values of the Fleming and Harrington class of weights. We also give some practical recommendations regarding which methodology should be used in the presence of delayed effects depending on certain characteristics of the trial.     

Estimation of geodesic tortuosity and constrictivity in stationary random closed sets

We investigate the problem of estimating geodesic tortuosity and constrictivity as two structural characteristics of stationary random closed sets. They are of central importance for the analysis of effective transport properties in porous or composite materials. Loosely speaking, geodesic tortuosity measures the windedness of paths, whereas the notion of constrictivity captures the appearance of bottlenecks resulting from narrow passages within a given materials phase. We first provide mathematically precise definitions of these quantities and introduce appropriate estimators. Then, we show strong consistency of these estimators for unboundedly growing sampling windows. In order to apply our estimators to real data sets, the extent of edge effects needs to be controlled. This is illustrated using a model for a multiphase material that is incorporated in solid oxide fuel cells.     

现代中国自由主义知识分子的 "叙拉古情结"——以胡适为中心

作为现代史上涉足政治最深的自由主义知识分子, "爱惜羽毛" 的胡适难掩其对政治的浓厚兴趣, 他的政治野心屡受打击, 却百折不挠. "四一二事变" 后, 在客居上海的三年半时间里, 胡适与政治权力之间历经从疏离、 接近、 受挫再到反抗、 放弃和妥协的心路历程. 胡适在上海期间与国民党的话语权冲突, 源于其逼仄的生存空间以及欧美宪政理念与军事强人政治的分歧, 体现了自由主义知识分子对精神自由和人格独立的追求, 是 "叙拉古" 母题下 "知识分子遇到政治" 的典型样本.     

冷战后的中美政治安全关系

冷战结束十年以来 ,美国的对华政策依然摇摆不定。之所以如此 ,是因为十年来美国视中国为敌还是为友 ,或者非敌非友 ,至今还未定性。而美国难于在其国际政治安全战略中给中国定性的原因 ,则与以下的三个层次密切相关 ,即美国的国内政治层次、中美关系的发展层次和全球层次。     

虚拟社会与道德构建

随着网络的普及 ,虚拟社会中人们的思想、行为、生存方式都发生了新的变化。虚拟社会具有虚拟性、自由性、开放性、非人性化的特点 ;虚拟社会的自由和民主精神、权利意识和平等意识、自主精神、奉献精神、开放思想为道德建设提供了新的生长点 ,但同时带来了一系列负效应。因此 ,道德建设要采取一系列相应的措施 ,以构造文明虚拟社会     

Using local linear kernel smoothers to test the lack of fit of nonlinear regression models

Herein, we propose a data-driven test that assesses the lack of fit of nonlinear regression models. The comparison of local linear kernel and parametric fits is the basis of this test, and specific boundary-corrected kernels are not needed at the boundary when local linear fitting is used. Under the parametric null model, the asymptotically optimal bandwidth can be used for bandwidth selection. This selection method leads to the data-driven test that has a limiting normal distribution under the null hypothesis and is consistent against any fixed alternative. The finite-sample property of the proposed data-driven test is illustrated, and the power of the test is compared with that of some existing tests via simulation studies. We illustrate the practicality of the proposed test by using two data sets.