Estimation and goodness-of-fit procedures for Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern bivariate copula of order statistics

In this study, we provide the Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern bivariate copula of rth and sth order statistics. The main emphasis in this study is on the inference procedure which is based on the maximum pseudo-likelihood estimate for the copula parameter. As for the methodology, goodness-of-fit test statistic for copulas which is based on a Cramér–von Mises functional of the empirical copula process is applied for selecting an appropriate model by bootstrapping. An application of the methodology to simulated data set is also presented.     

Curved versus straight scissors to avoid 3rd and 4th degree perineal tears: A randomised feasibility study

BackgroundSevere perineal tears sustained during childbirth cause significant distress and morbidity amongst women. The objective of this study was to compare the use of straight scissors for cutting an episiotomy with the use of curved scissors, which are designed to curve away from the anal sphincter.MethodsWe used a single-centre, randomised feasibility trial. The intervention was the use of curved scissors. Women were recruited during a prenatal visit and randomised in the delivery suite, when it became clear that an episiotomy was required. The feasibility outcomes were the proportion of women able to be recruited, randomised and followed up. We also calculated the incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injury when either straight or curved scissors were used to cut an episiotomy. Other outcomes assessed were pain, length of hospital stay, perineal infection and perineal dehiscence.ResultsOf the 155 patients recruited in the prenatal period, only 20 (12.9%) were eventually randomised at birth. The main reasons for the high loss were that women either did not have a vaginal delivery (38, 24.5%), or they did not need an episiotomy (72, 46.5%). Rates of obstetric anal sphincter injury and other outcomes were similar between groups.DiscussionAnal sphincter injury during childbirth remains an important problem. Although the use of curved scissors provides a theoretical solution, we found that the high attrition rate made feasibility of conducting a suitably powered, randomised trial using the current design untenable. Alternative strategies have been suggested to make any future study more viable.     

On sequential closed testing dose groups with a control

Methods for a sequential test of a dose-response effect in pre-clinical studies are investigated. The objective of the test procedure is to compare several dose groups with a zero-dose control. The sequential testing is conducted within a closed family of one-sided tests. The procedures investigated are based on a monotonicity assumption. These closed procedures strongly control the familywise error rate while providing information about the shape of the dose-responce relationship. Performance of sequential testing procedures are compared via a Monte Carlo simulation study. We illustrae the procedures by application to a real data set.     

基于一种半开式滑槽球副的3-PSP并联平台设计

提出在并联机构中应用一种1移动3转动半开式滑槽球副结构,该运动副将1个移动副和1个球副集成为一个复合的运动副,可以缩短并联机构中支链的尺寸链,有助于提高并联机构精度。基于半开式滑槽球副设计了一种3自由度(3-DOF)PSP三轴并联平台,通过对此机构进行的运动分析和支链的精度分析,导出各个支链的逆解方程,同时根据影响支链运动精度的各个因素给出支链系统误差的线性补偿方程,证明此并联机构具有易于控制、运动精度高的优势。     

3D打印中CAD文件的定性与复制问题研究

3D打印技术的发展使著作权法上的复制变得更为高效便捷,由此产生了一系列亟待梳理和解决的问题。基于3D打印技术原理,可将其分为输入和输出两个环节。在输入环节,对CAD文件的作品类型进行规制,采用视觉标准界定立体作品,并以“美术作品+模型作品”的思路进行综合保护;在输出环节,3D打印属于复制,且可以实现从平面到立体和从立体到立体的复制形态,复制权的控制范围应不限于现行法律所列举的方式。针对3D打印技术在网络传播中的侵权风险,应对合理使用中的私人复制予以限制,灵活运用“三步检验标准”对合理性进行审查。3D打印在著作权法方面并未引发新的法律问题,现行制度已存在包容空间,不必为其特设著作权新规,通过对现有规则的解释和借助已有案例的适用经验便能解决可预见的著作权法争端。     

Analysis of child labour in Peru and Pakistan: A comparative study

This paper analyses child labour participation and its key determinants using data sets from Peru and Pakistan. The results include tests of the ‘Luxury’ and ‘Substitution’ hypotheses that play key roles in recent studies on child labour and child schooling. The results reject both hypotheses in the context of child labour in Pakistan and suggest that income and related variables do not have the expected negative effect on children's work input. Rising wages of adult female labour in Pakistan, and falling adult male wage in Peru lead to increased participation of children in the labour market. The results on the combined country data formally establish the presence of strong individual country effects in the estimated regressions. For example, ceteris paribus, a Peruvian child is more likely to experience schooling than a Pakistani child. However, both countries agree on the positive role that adult female education and infrastructure investment in basic amenities can play in discouraging child labour and encouraging child schooling. Received: 24 August 1998/Accepted: 10 March 1999     

A general central limit theorem and a subsampling variance estimator for α‐mixing point processes

We establish a central limit theorem for multivariate summary statistics of nonstationary α‐mixing spatial point processes and a subsampling estimator of the covariance matrix of such statistics. The central limit theorem is crucial for establishing asymptotic properties of estimators in statistics for spatial point processes. The covariance matrix subsampling estimator is flexible and model free. It is needed, for example, to construct confidence intervals and ellipsoids based on asymptotic normality of estimators. We also provide a simulation study investigating an application of our results to estimating functions.     

Social health protection in Cambodia: Challenges of policy design and implementation

The Government of Cambodia is implementing ambitious reform initiatives to improve the country's social health protection system. In January 2018, it was announced that the Health Equity Fund (HEF), which is fully subsidized by a joint government‐donor initiative for the reimbursement of user fees for the poor at public health facilities, is to be expanded to some segments of informal workers belonging to associations, as well as to commune and village chiefs. Since 2017, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has provided social health insurance for formal economy workers in enterprises with eight employees or more. In January 2018, it was expanded to civil servants and all employees regardless of the size of the enterprise. However, this article highlights that the new ambitious reforms are not accompanied by careful planning as regards funding, service delivery, human resources and institutional design. This article therefore aims to examine key policy issues and challenges for Cambodia's ambitious reform of its social health protection system in terms of resource generation, population coverage, strategic purchasing and governance.