Two‐stage phase II survival trial design

Recently, molecularly targeted agents and immunotherapy have been advanced for the treatment of relapse or refractory cancer patients, where disease progression‐free survival or event‐free survival is often a primary endpoint for the trial design. However, methods to evaluate two‐stage single‐arm phase II trials with a time‐to‐event endpoint are currently processed under an exponential distribution, which limits application of real trial designs. In this paper, we developed an optimal two‐stage design, which is applied to the four commonly used parametric survival distributions. The proposed method has advantages compared with existing methods in that the choice of underlying survival model is more flexible and the power of the study is more adequately addressed. Therefore, the proposed two‐stage design can be routinely used for single‐arm phase II trial designs with a time‐to‐event endpoint as a complement to the commonly used Simon's two‐stage design for the binary outcome.     

Risk and Protective Factors for Educational Achievement Among Serious Offending Girls

Using longitudinal data, this analysis: (1) documented educational outcomes for serious offending girls, and (2) identified risk and protective factors associated with academic achievement in mid‐adolescence and degree attainment by early adulthood. In mid‐adolescence, girls performed nearly one standard deviation below the population mean on academic achievement tests. Low IQ and special education needs were strong correlates of poor academic achievement, but living in a highly educated neighborhood was associated with higher academic achievement scores. By early adulthood, 62.7% of girls had received a General Educational Development (GED) or high school degree, and mid‐adolescent academic achievement was the strongest predictor of degree attainment. Results suggest a need for early academic intervention targeting individual and neighborhood factors among offending girls.     

Comparing Several Variances with a Control in Direction-mixed Families of Hypotheses

This article deals with simultaneous comparisons of k(k ? 1) populations with a control population with respect to variance in direction-mixed families of hypotheses. Computation of critical constants required for the implementation of the proposed procedures is discussed and selected values of the critical constants are tabulated. Power comparison of the proposed procedures with their existing competitors is carried out using Monte Carlo simulation. An example is given to illustrate the implementation of proposed procedures.     

Investing: the case for recognition as an independent capacity

In this article, we provide support for the need to recognize investing as an independent capacity. A comparison of the definitions and models of financial and investing capacities revealed significant differences between them. A review of the status of investing capacity assessment revealed that there are currently no investing capacity specific assessment instruments (ICSAIs). Implications for researchers and clinicians resulting from the lack of recognition of investing as an independent capacity are discussed and used as a rational for the need to develop ICSAIs. The benefits of ICSAI development for financial, legal, and clinical professionals as well as for investors are discussed, and a direction for future investing capacity research is proposed.     

An Exploratory Study of Variations in Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the United States

There is considerable interest in assessing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and in understanding the factors that affect exposure at various venues. The impact of these complex factors can be researched only if monitoring studies are carefully designed. Prior work by Jenkins et al. gathered personal monitor and diary data from 1,564 nonsmokers in 16 metropolitan areas of the United States and compared workplace exposures to ETS with exposures away from work. In this study, these data were probed further to examine (1) the correspondence between work and away-from-work exposure concentrations of ETS; (2) the variability in exposure concentration levels across cities; and (3) the association of ETS exposure concentrations with select socioeconomic, occupation, and lifestyle variables. The results indicate (1) at the population level, there was a positive association between ETS concentrations at the work and away-from-work environments; (2) exposure concentration levels across the 16 cities under consideration were highly variable; and (3) exposure concentration levels were significantly associated with occupation, education, household income, age, and dietary factors. Workplace smoking restrictions were associated with low ETS concentration levels at work as well as away from work. Generally, the same cities that exhibited either lower or higher away-from-work exposure concentration levels also showed lower or higher work exposure concentration levels. The observations suggest that similar avoidance characteristics as well as socioeconomic and other lifestyle factors that affect exposure to ETS may have been in operation in both away-from-work and work settings.