Comparisons of the percentage points of distributions with the same first four moments,chosen from eight different systems of frequency curves

Probability integrals and percentage points of univariate distributions from up to eight different families, having common first four moments are compared. Among interesting observations is the remarkable consistency in the standardized upper and lower 5% points over considerable regions of the √β₁, β₂ plane; also the closeness of agreement between the log-normal and non-central t distributions and the Pearson Type VI and Type IV curves respectively.     

Self-dual codes which are principal ideals of the group algebra F2[{F2m, + }]

This paper follows up Camion's contribution on self-dual codes which are principal ideals of the algebra F₂[{F_2^m, + }], the so-called H-codes. Our main result is that this class of codes does not meet the Gilbert-Varshamov bound. We obtain this result by giving an upper bound on the minimal distance of any H-code. We characterize extremal H-codes and link up their generators with certain difference sets.     

PREDICT-1 (CNA106030): the first powered, prospective trial of pharmacogenetic screening to reduce drug adverse events

Pharmacogenetics (PGx) – the study of DNA variation in the human genome and the way this impacts the efficacy and safety of medicines – is becoming an increasingly important research tool as physicians, patients, regulatory authorities and payers look for innovative ways to improve the risk:benefit ratio of medicines. While scientific knowledge about PGx is rapidly increasing, implementation of PGx findings to patient care has yet to be fully achieved. One area where significant progress has been made is in the identification of PGx markers associated with variable response to antiretroviral medicines. For example, the major histocompatibility complex HLA‐B*5701 allele has been associated with hypersensitivity to abacavir (ABC) by several independent researchers. While PGx associations have been identified largely through retrospective examination, the clinical utility of these PGx markers in patient care has not been prospectively determined in a randomized study. This paper outlines the design of a study to evaluate the utility of prospective screening for HLA‐B*5701 to reduce the incidence of ABC hypersensitivity in an ABC‐naïve population of HIV‐infected subjects. This represents the first fully powered, randomized, blinded, prospective study to determine the clinical utility of PGx screening to reduce drug‐associated adverse events in any patient population. This type of trial design may have utility for other important medicines which have treatment‐limiting side effects. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The run length distributions of the R,s and s2 control charts when is estimated

R, s and s2 charts with estimated control limits are widely used in practice. Common practice in control-chart theory is to estimate the control limits using data from the process and, once the process is determined to be in control, to treat the resulting control limits as though fixed. While there are empirical rules for setting up the control charts using past or trial data, little is known about the run length distributions of these charts when the fact that control limits are estimated is taken into account. In this paper, we derive and evaluate the run length distributions associated with the R, s and s2 charts when the process standard deviation a is estimated. The results are then used to discuss the appropriateness of the widely followed empirical rules for choosing the number m of samples and the sample size n.