Bayes shrinkage estimator for consistency assessment of treatment effects in multi-regional clinical trials

The primary objective of a multi-regional clinical trial is to investigate the overall efficacy of the drug across regions and evaluate the possibility of applying the overall trial result to some specific region. A challenge arises when there is not enough regional sample size. We focus on the problem of evaluating applicability of a drug to a specific region of interest under the criterion of preserving a certain proportion of the overall treatment effect in the region. We propose a variant of James-Stein shrinkage estimator in the empirical Bayes context for the region-specific treatment effect. The estimator has the features of accommodating the between-region variation and finiteness correction of bias. We also propose a truncated version of the proposed shrinkage estimator to further protect risk in the presence of extreme value of regional treatment effect. Based on the proposed estimator, we provide the consistency assessment criterion and sample size calculation for the region of interest. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed estimators in comparison with some existing methods. A hypothetical example is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed method.     

基于超总体模型的设计效应分解

本文基于超总体模型研究抽样调查中设计效应的计算问题。首先以随机效应模型为基础，明确了简单随机、二阶段、不等概率和分层抽样对应的超总体模型，进而通过所给模型推导出分层、类集、加权单因素设计效应的计算公式和多因素组合的设计效应计算公式并给出了对应估计量，公式表明：多因素同时存在的组合设计效应等于对应单因素设计效应的乘积。最后，对设计效应的理论值、估计值和真实值之间的关系进行了蒙特卡洛仿真，并利用相对偏倚、相对均方误进行了评价。本文的研究，对复杂抽样设计中正确计算、使用设计效应具有指导意义。     

张华“二俊”说与陆机的悲剧命运

张华推举陆机、陆云兄弟为"二俊",既是对吴郡陆氏家族文学与学术的肯定,又有着现实的政治谋虑,即试图通过延揽孙吴俊才而安抚江南人心。中朝人士拥有胜利者的优越感,对亡国吴士颇为鄙夷和嘲讽。陆机试图扭转这种偏见,因此当众称美故乡,又不肯听从顾荣、戴若思等人的规劝,执意卷入晋室纷争,试图通过匡世济难来证明吴郡陆氏的军事才能。孙吴亡国的耻辱和挽回家族声誉的努力,并试图去证明吴国灭亡非士人之过,这是陆机悲剧的心理根源。     

中国古籍竖写左行排版模式溯源

甲骨文版式的多样性使中国古籍的竖写左行模式有了选择的基础,而竹简的使用及编简者的行为习惯使竖写左行的模式成为古籍编排的必然.这种习惯一直延续到“五四新文化运动”前期,后因外来音节文字对汉语的影响而改变.     

Do resources of network members help in help seeking? Social capital and health information search

Does social capital as resources of network members affect health information search? Analyzing data from the 2004 General Social Survey in the United States, this study measures two social capital indicators (average education of network members and proportion of network members with a high school degree or higher) using the name generator. Most results are consistent using those two indicators. Both indicators are positively associated with frequency of health information seeking and seekers’ frequency of use of two sources (friends or relatives and the Internet). Also average education of network members is positively associated with seekers’ diversity of used sources and frequency of consultation with medical professionals. But neither indicator is associated with seekers’ frequency of use of other four sources (health-related magazines or newsletters, general magazines, daily newspapers, and radio or television programs). The findings demonstrate the theoretical utility of social capital in the social dynamics of medical help-seeking.     

教育券:解决城市流动儿童入学问题的良方还是歧途?

通过发行"教育券"来解决流动儿童的入学问题是当前一种较流行的主张。但这一主张只是从表面上使中央政府、地方政府和流动人口家庭之间达成了一定程度的妥协,能够在一定程度上缓解流动儿童的入学难题,却无法触及到问题的根源,无法从根本上解决流动儿童的义务教育问题。其根源在于对弗里德曼教育券理论的一种错误理解和运用。在美国,教育券要解决的是促使不同类型的学校尤其是私立学校通过竞争得到发展的问题,而不是要解决谁应该为学生的义务教育买单的问题。只有将义务教育经费划拨从"以县为主"上升为"以省为主",才有望从根本上解决流动儿童接受义务教育的经费问题。     

化学/应化专业《波谱分析》课程教学方法探讨

根据《波谱分析》课程的特点和教学实践经验,运用现代化教育技术、ChemOffice软件辅助等手段对该课程的教学方法进行了一些探索.     

From advocacy to service provision: state transformation and the disability rights movement in Taiwan

This research uses the development of the disability rights movement in Taiwan as a case study to analyze the impact of state transformation, in particular marketization of social welfare policy, on the disability rights movement. First, the institutionalization of the disability rights movement enabled it to expand its organizational structure and become involved in shaping policy. Secondly, when disability rights organizations started to undertake state-funded projects, their focus shifted from advocacy to service provision. Thirdly, competition for limited state-funding gave the organizations led by urban-middle class advocates a significant advantage over small, community-based NPOs and gathered significantly greater resources. Finally, this paper suggests that, in a context in which the state did not provide basic social services for its citizens with disabilities, the institutionalization of SMOs turned advocacy groups into service providers. Although the number of disability civic organizations increased, the voices of advocacy groups were weakened.     

HPV vaccine acceptance among a sample of Southern men who have sex with men: A comparison of younger and older men

Objectives: Do short, online educational messages about the human papillomavirus (HPV) influence younger and older men who have sex with men (MSM) differently? Second, what are the HPV knowledge levels and risk perceptions of Southern MSM living outside of major metropolitan areas? Methods: This study draws on participants who completed an anonymous online survey asking about their knowledge, risk assessment, and vaccine acceptance regarding HPV. Results: Knowledge about HPV was low among the MSM in this study. After reading a one-page information intervention, vaccine acceptability increased by a statistically significant amount among both a Younger and Older cohort but risk perception only increased among the younger respondents. Single men regardless of age cohort reported sharper increases in perceived risk after the intervention, but relationship status did not produce significant differences in vaccine acceptability. Conclusion: Online, brief interventions may be effective means of increasing motivation to vaccinate among Southern MSM.