Comparing measures of general and abdominal adiposity as predictors of blood pressure in college students

Objective: To compare anthropometric measures of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) as predictors of blood pressure in college students. Participants: Students (N = 116) were recruited from November 2012 to May 2014 at an urban university and rural community colleges. Methods: Students underwent a brief physical examination during which anthropometric measures were obtained and blood pressure was measured. Covariates were measured using self-reported questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were used for the data analysis. Results: All anthropometric measures were predictive of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). WC was the strongest predictor of SBP (β = .582, p < .01) explaining an additional 3–4% of the variance than BMI, WHtR, or SAD. The measures were similar in predicting DBP. WC predicted SBP independent of BMI. Conclusions: Clinicians should consider using WC to assess the risk for hypertension in college students.     

Analyzing the dynamic system model with discrete failure time distribution

The present study deals with the method of estimation of the parameters of k-components load-sharing parallel system model in which each component’s failure time distribution is assumed to be geometric. The maximum likelihood estimates of the load-share parameters with their standard errors are obtained. (1 − γ) 100% joint, Bonferroni simultaneous and two bootstrap confidence intervals for the parameters have been constructed. Further, recognizing the fact that life testing experiments are time consuming, it seems realistic to consider the load-share parameters to be random variable. Therefore, Bayes estimates along with their standard errors of the parameters are obtained by assuming Jeffrey’s invariant and gamma priors for the unknown parameters. Since, Bayes estimators can not be found in closed form expressions, Tierney and Kadane’s approximation method have been used to compute Bayes estimates and standard errors of the parameters. Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique such as Gibbs sampler is also used to obtain Bayes estimates and highest posterior density credible intervals of the load-share parameters. Metropolis–Hastings algorithm is used to generate samples from the posterior distributions of the unknown parameters.     

Finite normal mixture copulas for multivariate discrete data modeling

A new family of copulas is introduced that provides flexible dependence structure while being tractable and simple to use for multivariate discrete data modeling. The construction exploits finite mixtures of uncorrelated normal distributions. Accordingly, the cumulative distribution function is simply the product of univariate normal distributions. At the same time, however, the mixing operation introduces association. The properties of the new family of copulas are examined and a concrete application is used to show its applicability.     

A robust QTL mapping procedure

In quantitative trait linkage studies using experimental crosses, the conventional normal location-shift model or other parameterizations may be unnecessarily restrictive. We generalize the mapping problem to a genuine nonparametric setup and provide a robust estimation procedure for the situation where the underlying phenotype distributions are completely unspecified. Classical Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney statistics are employed for point and interval estimation of QTL positions and effects.     

Women–Family in Quality Perspective

Bringing together women and family in quality perspective bring about interesting discussions in this paper. By integrating previous studies and considering expert opinions, we determinate the variables and dimensions with respect to women’s existence regarding their roles both in the family and at work. Many activities carried out by women represent the consumer aspects of their role. Women undertake these activities to fulfill their needs, which can be classified in the order of preference using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. Women success can be measured based on their ability to perform their roles successfully. We identify women’s performance by using quality approach of Personal Quality Maintenance (PQM), which is widely applied in many organizations in order to maintain the service delivery, which meets the customer satisfaction. The effort to enhance women’s satisfaction for their success in playing the multirole in the family and at work is our main consideration. This study may contribute a new point of view regarding for the women’s welfare and existence.     

Perceptions of aging among rural, midwestern senior citizens: signs of women's resiliency

This study utilized both quantitative and qualitative approaches to examine perceptions of aging among rural-dwelling senior citizens (203 women and 112 men), ages 65 and older. Quantitative results revealed that, despite no significant gender differences in the total number of medical conditions reported, women were less likely than men to report that health problems interfered with their daily functioning. Qualitative analyses revealed that women were particularly like to identify relationships, frame of mind, participating in activities, and religion/spirituality as important contributors to successful aging.     

The politics of midwifery education and training in New South Wales during the last decades of the 19th Century

This paper focuses on the introduction and development of midwifery education and training in Sydney during the last decades of the 19th century. The aim of the training, it is argued, was to displace the lay midwives by trained midwifery nurses who would work under medical control. The lay midwives were one of the largest occupational groups among women and two-thirds of births in NSW were being delivered by them in the late 19th century. It was a period of professionalisation of medicine and medical men laid claim to midwifery as a legitimate sphere of their practice and saw it as the gateway for establishing a family practice. The lay midwife stood in the way of their claim. The training programs were established purportedly to control maternal mortality. From the beginning in 1887 medical men were in control of midwifery nurse training. In addition to training at the Benevolent Society Asylum, three more women's hospitals were established in the 1890s in Sydney making it possible to train a stream of midwifery nurses. The midwifery nurses were charged exorbitant fees for their training; the fees contributed substantially towards running the new hospitals that delivered birth services to the poor and destitute women mostly in their homes. The midwifery nurses worked hard in miserable conditions under the guise of clinical experience required for training. When a critical mass of poorly trained midwifery nurses were in the offing, a Bill was introduced into the Parliament in 1895, restricting registration to midwifery nurses and this would have eliminated the lay midwife if passed. It took more than two decades to get a Registration Bill passed in the NSW Parliament.     

A Bayesian Approach for Analyzing Results of Vehicle Collision Tests

Certain motor vehicle safety standards stipulate a collision test speed and a set of performance criteria that vehicles must satisfy during or after the collision test. For example, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 301 requires a 30 mile per hour (mph) barrier collision and specifies a certain maximum allowable limit on the total spillage of fuel. Vehicle designs are required to meet this standard; however, when collision tests are conducted at speeds higher than the standard, vehicles do not always satisfy the performance criteria. This paper develops a mathematical model for estimating the probability of meeting the standard by using a Bayesian framework to incorporate engineering judgment with collision test results. The model is based on the idea that there are random features to a vehicle's ability to meet performance standards in a collision, especially at such elevated speeds. Example calculations are included to illustrate the estimation of the probability of meeting the standard and to compare it with a maximum likelihood approach.     

An Empirical Examination of Characteristics of Mexican Migrants to Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas of the United States*

Abstract This research examines differences between those Mexican migrants choosing metropolitan destinations and those choosing destinations outside metropolitan areas of the United States. Using general estimating equations, the study presents data indicating that since the 1960s migrants choosing rural destinations are less fluent in English, slightly older, much less educated, far more likely to be unskilled, more likely to be married, and more likely to be undocumented. The picture is more complex when consideration is restricted to those migrants arriving in rural areas since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. These migrants are far more likely to be single, have more education but have less English fluency, have less work experience, and have less family experience with migration to the United States. They are more likely to come from small towns and rural areas of Mexico.     

Temporal Patterns of Accuracy Confidence in Social Judgments: A New Method and Initial Results

An integrated, computer-based system was developed to record participants’ continuous judgment changes on a revised form of the Interpersonal Perception Task (IPT-15). Consistent with the considerable research on “thin slice” judgments, the mean latency for greater than chance accuracy confidence was just 16 s (median = 10 s) for the ten one-part scenes on the IPT. There was also a clear and strong linear trend for increasing accuracy confidence across the first 25 s of the ten one-part scenes. For the five-two-part scenes, where comparative judgments were required (e.g., which statement is truthful, which is a lie?), no clear pattern of increasing accuracy confidence was found, with mean scores hovering near chance. The utility of the new system for analyzing the time course of social judgments is discussed and the potential reasons for the contrasting results for the one-part and two-part scenes were examined.