Robust Bayesian nonlinear mixed‐effects modeling of time to positivity in tuberculosis trials

Early phase 2 tuberculosis (TB) trials are conducted to characterize the early bactericidal activity (EBA) of anti‐TB drugs. The EBA of anti‐TB drugs has conventionally been calculated as the rate of decline in colony forming unit (CFU) count during the first 14 days of treatment. The measurement of CFU count, however, is expensive and prone to contamination. Alternatively to CFU count, time to positivity (TTP), which is a potential biomarker for long‐term efficacy of anti‐TB drugs, can be used to characterize EBA. The current Bayesian nonlinear mixed‐effects (NLME) regression model for TTP data, however, lacks robustness to gross outliers that often are present in the data. The conventional way of handling such outliers involves their identification by visual inspection and subsequent exclusion from the analysis. However, this process can be questioned because of its subjective nature. For this reason, we fitted robust versions of the Bayesian nonlinear mixed‐effects regression model to a wide range of TTP datasets. The performance of the explored models was assessed through model comparison statistics and a simulation study. We conclude that fitting a robust model to TTP data obviates the need for explicit identification and subsequent “deletion” of outliers but ensures that gross outliers exert no undue influence on model fits. We recommend that the current practice of fitting conventional normal theory models be abandoned in favor of fitting robust models to TTP data.     

Modelling of connected processes

The problem of comparing, contrasting and combining information from different sets of data is an enduring one in many practical applications of statistics. A specific problem of combining information from different sources arose in integrating information from three different sets of data generated by three different sampling campaigns at the input stage as well as at the output stage of a grey-water treatment process. For each stage, a common process trend function needs to be estimated to describe the input and output material process behaviours. Once the common input and output process models are established, it is required to estimate the efficiency of the grey-water treatment method. A synthesized tool for modelling different sets of process data is created by assembling and organizing a number of existing techniques: (i) a mixed model of fixed and random effects, extended to allow for a nonlinear fixed effect, (ii) variogram modelling, a geostatistical technique, (iii) a weighted least squares regression embedded in an iterative maximum-likelihood technique to handle linear/nonlinear fixed and random effects and (iv) a formulation of a transfer-function model for the input and output processes together with a corresponding nonlinear maximum-likelihood method for estimation of a transfer function. The synthesized tool is demonstrated, in a new case study, to contrast and combine information from connected process models and to determine the change in one quality characteristic, namely pH, of the input and output materials of a grey-water filtering process.     

Improved communality estimation in factor analysis

The symmetric treatment of an asymmetric approach to factor analysis is shown to provide accurate communality estimates. In comparison with existing estimates including upper and lower bounds, the present approach is shown to be superior. In one example with known communalities, the present approach perfectly captures those communalities. In two empirical examples, it is shown to produce better communality estimates than any existing method.     

Testing variance components in balanced linear growth curve models

It is well known that the testing of zero variance components is a non-standard problem since the null hypothesis is on the boundary of the parameter space. The usual asymptotic chi-square distribution of the likelihood ratio and score statistics under the null does not necessarily hold because of this null hypothesis. To circumvent this difficulty in balanced linear growth curve models, we introduce an appropriate test statistic and suggest a permutation procedure to approximate its finite-sample distribution. The proposed test alleviates the necessity of any distributional assumptions for the random effects and errors and can easily be applied for testing multiple variance components. Our simulation studies show that the proposed test has Type I error rate close to the nominal level. The power of the proposed test is also compared with the likelihood ratio test in the simulations. An application on data from an orthodontic study is presented and discussed.     

基于ANSYS的压力容器表面凹坑缺陷安全评定分析

采用通用有限元程序ANSYS建立了移动式压力容器筒体外壁表面凹坑（轴向和周向）的有限元模型。结合筒体表面凹坑的应力理论计算，研究探讨了在恒定内压下，筒体表面凹坑缺陷处的应力分布与凹坑几何尺寸之间的关系。以第三强度理论作为仿真终止判据，获取凹坑各几何参量的阈值，利用MATLAB对阈值进行最小二乘拟合，绘制出凹坑缺陷的安全评估参考曲线。拟合结果表明：轴向和周向凹坑对筒体局部结构强度的影响不同，对应的安全评估参考曲线存在区别。     

Fluidity amidst structure: multi-racial identity constructions across the life course of Malaysians and Singaporeans

ABSTRACT

Multi-racial identity construction is understood to be fluid, contextual and dynamic. Yet the dynamics of multi-racial identity construction when racial identities are ascribed and formulated as static by governments is less explored in psychological studies of race. This paper examines the dynamics of racial identity construction among multi-racial Malaysians and Singaporeans in a qualitative study of 31 semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify the different private racial identity constructions of participants who were officially ascribed with single racial identities at birth. Participants reflected on the overwhelming influence of the state and significant Others in limiting their ability to express their multiple racial identities when they were in school, and highlighted their capacity to be agentic in their private racial identity constructions when they were older. This paper shows that across the life course multi-racial individuals possess (1) the ability to adopt different racial identity positions at different times, (2) the ability to hold multiple racial identity constructions at the same time when encounters with Others are dialogical, (3) the reflexivity of past identity positions in the present construction of identities.     

关于民族乡的几个问题

我国少数民族杂散居地区包括少数民族杂居地区和少数民族散居地区。民族乡是根据宪法和其他法律规定在少数民族杂居地区建立的乡一级基层行政区域。无论是从民族乡产生的社会历史背景、过程以及所依据的理论看,还是从几十年来民族乡的实践看,民族乡都与一般乡有很大的区别,体现出自治的性质。属民族区域自治性质的乡级基层政权,是我国民族区域自治制度的补充。为此,本文建议在宪法和其他法律中明确规定民族乡的这一性质和地位,以利于做好民族乡的工作,保障杂居地区少数民族的平等权利。     

中国粮食增产的主要因素贡献分解与实证估算

已有测算中国粮食增产要素贡献率的方法存在虚增或低估某要素贡献率的缺陷,文章通过改进粮食增产贡献率测算方法实证估计了2003—2016年期间单产、播种面积和结构调整对中国粮食增产的贡献。结果表明,中国粮食实现“十二连增”的巨大成就主要是单产增长贡献,年均贡献率50%以上,播种面积和作物内部结构调整也是不可忽视的重要力量,年均贡献率分别为30%与10%以上。然而,未来中国粮食增产依靠播种面积扩大和结构调整的空间变窄,需要探索新的增产路径。     

政府监管与企业加入第三方国际环境审计的模糊博弈分析

针对政府环境监管与企业实施环境行为博弈分析中无法对双方的损益情况做出判断的问题,文章结合三角模糊数构建了政府监管和企业加入第三方国际环境审计的博弈模型,分别指出了纯策略纳什均衡和混合策略均衡情况需要满足的条件,讨论了政府与污染环境企业博弈策略的影响因素及作用机制,为政府监管与企业加入第三方国际环境审计顺利实施提供了相关建议。然后通过三角结构元方法对算例进行求解,验证了结论的正确性和可行性,引入三角模糊概念更加符合实际应用情况,拓展了第三方国际环境审计的应用背景。研究结果表明,政府对消费者消费的引导和对污染企业的惩罚对企业是否决定加入第三方国际环境审计起着举足轻重的作用。