Testing the proportional odds model for interval-censored data

This paper discusses the goodness-of-fit test for the proportional odds model for K-sample interval-censored failure time data, which frequently occur in, for example, periodic follow-up survival studies. The proportional odds model has a feature that allows the ratio of two hazard functions to be monotonic and converge to one and provides an important tool for the modeling of survival data. To test the model, a procedure is proposed, which is a generalization of the method given in Dauxois and Kirmani [Dauxois JY, Kirmani SNUA (2003) Biometrika 90:913–922]. The asymptotic distribution of the procedure is established and its properties are evaluated by simulation studies     

Management competencies required in ambulatory care settings

A study was conducted to identify the most important competencies physician executives in medical groups and other ambulatory settings will need to have in the next five years. The specific job skills, knowledge, and abilities (SKA) that physician executives will need to acquire these competencies were also explored. The Delphi techniques were used to analyze responses from two surveys from members of the American College of Medical Practice Executives. The most important competencies were grouped into 13 management domains, each with specific SKAs. "Managing health care resources to create quality and value" and "fundamentals of business and finance" were rated as the most important competencies. The most frequently rated SKA was the "ability to build and maintain credibility and trust."     

Hypothesis Testing of Hazard Ratio Parameters in Marginal Models for Multivariate Failure Time Data

Marginal hazard models for multivariate failure time data have been studied extensively in recent literature. However, standard hypothesis test statistics based on the likelihood method are not exactly appropriate for this kind of model. In this paper, extensions of the three commonly used likelihood hypothesis test statistics are discussed. Generalized Wald, generalized score and generalized likelihood ratio tests for hazard ratio parameters in a marginal hazard model for multivariate failure time data are proposed and their asymptotic distributions examined. The finite sample properties of these statistics are studied through simulations. The proposed method is applied to data from Busselton Population Health Surveys.     

Aalen's Linear Model for Sampled Risk Set Data: A Large Sample Study

Borgan and Langholz (1997) describe a method for estimating the parameter functions in Aalen's linear hazard regression model from sampled risk set data. Using a counting process formulation and the martingale central limit theorem, we provide a study of the asymptotic distributional properties of the estimator. The results are applied to study the efficiencies of the nested case-control and counter-matched designs relative to a full cohort analysis.     

《西伯利亚的萨满教》一书评介

《西伯利亚的萨满教》(Shamanism in Sibe-ria)一书,由 V·狄奥斯泽吉(Vilmos Diószegi)和 M·霍帕尔(M·Hoppál)编著,S·西蒙自俄文和匈牙利文译出,1978年布达佩斯匈牙利科学院出版,英国科利斯(Collets)出版公司发行。据这本饶有兴味的图书介绍,在欧亚大陆北部以及中亚和北美诸民族中,作为“人类和精神世界之间的占卜者、巫医和请神者”的萨满的存在是一     

苏联民族学近五年的回顾与前瞻

苏联民族学正处于两个五年计划之交,应当对它前五年的发展作一主要总结,为后五年的民族学研究勾画出基本的发展前景。前五年,苏联民族学保持了传统民族学作为历史知识的一个专门领域的优良成果,在从广泛的历史角度认识和阐述当代世界的族体一民族过程及其发展预测方面,迈出了明显的一步。同时,它和人类学、民俗学、社会学、地理学、人口学、医学、心理学等学科之间,发展了广泛的联系。对民族学理论问题的研究更加重视。研究方法扩展了,丰富了。群众性调查、预测、资料的电脑处理等,尤其得到广泛运用。苏联民族学家从民族学是关于民族(народ—зтнос)·的科学这一观点出发,继续深入研究了本学科的一般理论问题。民族理论的一些重要方面,如确定民族在其他人类共同体中     

苏丹的因加萨纳人

因加萨纳人(或称塔比塔人)是苏丹许多部族之一,约有三万人,居住在苏丹东南与埃塞俄比亚相邻的青尼罗省北纬10°—12°的地方。因加萨纳人昔日曾是勇敢的武士,今天仍是其主权、尊严、习俗以及独特生活方式的忠诚捍卫者。起源因加萨纳人几乎是一个没有历史的民族。包括他们自己在内没有人知道他们     

苏联伊斯兰教与民族

伊斯兰教是苏联的第二大宗教。1979年,苏联总人口为26,200万人,其中穆斯林有4,400万人。他们居住在中亚和哈萨克斯坦、南高加索和伏尔加河中游一带。当前,苏联是世界上穆斯林人口最多的第五个国家,仅次于印度尼西亚、巴基斯坦、印度和孟加拉。在苏联,每六个公民中就有一名穆斯林。由于俄罗斯人和其他斯拉夫人(乌克兰人和白俄罗斯人)出生率十分低,而穆斯林各族     

Opportunities for woman-initiated HIV prevention methods among female sex workers in southern China

Rapid changes in China over the past two decades have led to significant problems associated with population migration and changing social attitudes, including a growing sex industry and concurrent increases in STIs and HIV. This article reports results of an exploratory study of microbicide acceptability and readiness and current HIV prevention efforts among female sex workers in two rural and one urban town in Hainan and Guangxi Provinces in southern China. The study focused on these women's knowledge and cultural understandings of options for protecting themselves from exposure to STIs and HIV, and the potential viability and acceptability of woman-initiated prevention methods. We report on ethnographic elicitation interviews conducted with women working within informal sex-work establishments (hotels, massage and beauty parlors, roadside restaurants, boarding houses). We discuss implications of these findings for further promotion of woman-initiated prevention methods such as microbicides and female condoms among female sex workers in China.     

Contraceptive use patterns within females' first sexual relationships: the role of relationships, partners, and methods

This study used the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to assess whether characteristics of females' sexual partners, relationships, and choice of contraceptive methods were associated with contraceptive use patterns within their first sexual relationship. White, black, and Hispanic females under age 25 (N=915) provided retrospective information on sexual activity and contraceptive use for first sexual relationships that occurred between 1991 and 1995. Females with older sexual partners and with same race/ethnicity partners (among Hispanics) had reduced odds of ever using contraception and/or uninterrupted use. Longer sexual relationships were associated with higher odds of ever using contraception but lower odds of uninterrupted use. Females who were older at first sex, who used hormonal methods (among whites), or who switched to more effective methods during their first sexual relationships had higher odds of ever using contraception and/or uninterrupted use. In contrast, switching to less effective methods during a first sexual relationship was associated with reduced odds of uninterrupted use.