Estimation of dependence between paired correlated failure times in the presence of covariate measurement error

Summary. In many biomedical studies, covariates are subject to measurement error. Although it is well known that the regression coefficients estimators can be substantially biased if the measurement error is not accommodated, there has been little study of the effect of covariate measurement error on the estimation of the dependence between bivariate failure times. We show that the dependence parameter estimator in the Clayton–Oakes model can be considerably biased if the measurement error in the covariate is not accommodated. In contrast with the typical bias towards the null for marginal regression coefficients, the dependence parameter can be biased in either direction. We introduce a bias reduction technique for the bivariate survival function in copula models while assuming an additive measurement error model and replicated measurement for the covariates, and we study the large and small sample properties of the dependence parameter estimator proposed.     

Bayesian inference for a discretely observed stochastic kinetic model

The ability to infer parameters of gene regulatory networks is emerging as a key problem in systems biology. The biochemical data are intrinsically stochastic and tend to be observed by means of discrete-time sampling systems, which are often limited in their completeness. In this paper we explore how to make Bayesian inference for the kinetic rate constants of regulatory networks, using the stochastic kinetic Lotka-Volterra system as a model. This simple model describes behaviour typical of many biochemical networks which exhibit auto-regulatory behaviour. Various MCMC algorithms are described and their performance evaluated in several data-poor scenarios. An algorithm based on an approximating process is shown to be particularly efficient.     

代谢综合征基础与临床系列研究——GRGDSP/7E3对动脉粥样硬化内皮细胞MMPs的mRNA表达的影响

目的了解GRGDSP/7E3对基质金属蛋白酶（MMP-2,MMP-9）mRNA表达的影响。方法体外培养人脐静脉内皮细胞,分别用酶谱法和逆转录聚合酶链式反应（RT-PCR）检测MMP-2,MMP-9活性和mRNA表达。待细胞融合成单层后,分别加入无血清培养基、静息期血小板、活化后血小板及interleukin-1β（IL-1β）,共同培养60min后,洗去血小板,内皮细胞继续培养6h。上清液及细胞分别用于酶谱法检测MMP-2和MMP-9活性,以及RT-PCR分析mRNA表达。结果内皮细胞与活化血小板共同培养后,酶谱法显示：与对照组相比,未活化的血小板轻微诱导MMP-2和MMP-9分泌,而活化状态的血小板能显著诱导这二者的分泌,与IL-1β的作用相当;而且还可以见到62kDaMMP-2活化形式。加入阻断剂GRGDSP以及GPⅡb/Ⅲa单克隆抗体（7E3）作用后检测发现,MMP-2和MMP-9分泌减少。与活化血小板共同培养后的内皮细胞表面表达uPAR和MT1-MMP以及上清液中MMP-2的mRNA与对照组相比明显增高,而静息状态的血小板作用不显著。加入GRGDSP或7E3后,mR-NA的表达降低。结论①活化状态的血小板与IL-1β的作用相当,能显著诱导MMP-2和MMP-9分泌;能明显增高内皮细胞（EC）-uPAR和MT1-MMP及上清液中MMP-2mRNA的表达;②GPⅡb/Ⅲa阻断剂可能抑制血小板在不稳定斑块部位聚集、粘附等一系列炎症反应。     

A graphical summary of disparities in health care and related summary measures

In order to assess the effectiveness of government programs designed to reduce disparities in the health care minority groups receive relative to the majority white population, a proper statistical measure should be used. This article proposes a measure of and its accompanying graph, which is readily interpretable and is not affected by the number of minority subgroups examined.     

A simulation study of a discrete-time multiserver retrial queue with finite population

In this paper, we deal with a discrete-time multiserver retrial queue with finite population. Firstly, we study the Markov chain at the epochs immediately after slot boundaries making emphasis on the computation of its steady-state distribution. Then, the main performance measures are investigated. Besides, we simulate the waiting time of a customer in the retrial group under three different queueing policies. Some numerical examples are given to illustrate the analysis.     

武汉市关山地区“城中村”改造问题调查报告

一、调查背景与目的 随着改革开放的深入,城市经济得以迅速发展,城市的大规模建设,也使城市面貌得以迅速改观.     

Asthma Patients' Activities and Air Pollution: A Semiparametric Censored Regression Analysis

Asthma patients' health status may be especially sensitive to some types of air pollution, but the evidence on this is mixed. We explore the effects of ground-level ozone on asthma patient's activities, breaking apart the usual aggregated category of leisure into indoor and outdoor activities, and differentiating those by whether the activities were active or inactive. Applying the semiparametric censored estimation method we demonstrate that even though the period over which activities were observed was relatively low in ozone levels, there is a significant impact of ozone on a few activities. The (non-ozone) economic and demographic variables in the model play significant roles in explaining the allocation of time among seven activities, suggesting the suitability of the approach for other household decision-making contexts.     

Bayesian locally optimal design of knockout tournaments

The elimination or knockout format is one of the most common designs for pairing competitors in tournaments and leagues. In each round of a knockout tournament, the losers are eliminated while the winners advance to the next round. Typically, the goal of such a design is to identify the overall best player. Using a common probability model for expressing relative player strengths, we develop an adaptive approach to pairing players each round in which the probability that the best player advances to the next round is maximized. We evaluate our method using simulated game outcomes under several data-generating mechanisms, and compare it to random pairings, to the standard knockout format, and to two variants of the standard format.