bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bayes Factors
Authors: Berger James , Pericchi Luis 
Published: June 2015

AbstractBayes factors are the primary tool used in Bayesian inference for hypothesis testing and model selection. They also are used by non‐Bayesians in the construction of test statistics. For instance, in the testing of simple hypotheses, the Bayes factor equals the ordinary likelihood ratio. Bayesian Model Selection discusses the use of Bayes factors in model selection. Statistical Evidence discusses the general use of Bayes factors in quantifying statistical evidence. We argue that: Science needs to abandon p‐values and adopt Bayes factors.
Genetics and Genomics, Statistics in
Authors: Ewens Warren J. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractStatistical concepts and methods, together with those of stochastic process theory, arise in at least four broad areas in genetics. First, standard statistical methods of estimation and hypothesis testing are used to estimate genetic parameters and test hypotheses about these parameters. Second, several central themes of plant and animal breeding theory and biological evolution are phrased in statistical terms and make substantial use of statistical techniques. Third, stochastic process theory is used to investigate properties of the evolution of a population subject to random changes in gene frequency. Finally, statistical methods are central to several currently active areas in genomics. Many statistical concepts, including in particular the Analysis of Variance, first arose in the context of genetics.
Ordering of Insurance Risk
Authors: Rüschendorf Ludger 
Published: June 2015

AbstractOrdering of risks is a basic tool for analyzing risks and their premiums. It is an extension of the classical mean‐variance approach of Markovitz. We introduce some of the basic orderings as stochastic order and stop loss order and present some applications for the comparison of individual and collective risk models to the diversification of risks and to reinsurance contracts. In particular, we demonstrate the dramatic influence of positive dependence in a risk portfolio on the total risk. Obtaining sharp bounds on the influence of positive dependence in a portfolio on the total risk is an actual active research area.
Environmental Teratogenesis, Statistics for
Authors: Chen James J. , George E. Olusegun 
Published: June 2015

AbstractTeratology is the study of adverse effects of environmental agents on the developing system. The major source of information for studying potential teratogenic (developmental) effects of chemicals on humans is generally the animal dose–response experiments. Quantitative risk assessment involves an assessment of the relationship between exposure and adverse health effects to derive an allowable exposure level. Acceptable levels of human exposure are derived by dividing the lower confidence limit benchmark dose by the product of several uncertainty factors. This article describes the statistical models and benchmark approach for quantitative risk assessment of developmental effects. The benchmark dose method involves selection of a dose–response function to fit animal experimental data. The benchmark dose and its lower confidence limit are then estimated from the fitted dose–response model. The dose–response function for continuous response data is modeled using the litter‐based analysis. The dose–response function for dichotomous response data is modeled using beta binomial.
Random Number Generation and Quasi‐MonteCarlo
Authors: L'Ecuyer Pierre 
Published: June 2015

AbstractProbability theory defines random variables and stochastic processes in terms of probability spaces, an abstract notion whose concrete and exact realization on a computer is far from obvious. (Pseudo)random number generators (RNGs) implemented on computers are actually deterministic programs that imitate, to some extent, independent random variables uniformly distributed over the interval (i.i.d. , for short). RNGs are a key ingredient for Monte Carlo simulations, probabilistic algorithms, computer games, cryptography, casino machines, and so on. In this article, we outline the main principles underlying the design and testing of RNGs for statistical computing and simulation. Then, we indicate how random numbers can be transformed to generate random variates from other distributions. Finally, we summarize the main ideas on quasi‐random points, which are more evenly distributed than independent random point and permit one to estimate integrals more accurately for the same number of function evaluations.
Reinsurance – Terms, Conditions, and Methods of Placing
Authors: Czapiewski Colin 
Published: June 2015

Abstract
The placing of reinsurance business is changing, with the role of intermediaries and methods of placement being constantly assessed in light of the costs. Smaller lines with many reinsurers are being replaced by much larger lines with few reinsurers. New forms of reinsurance are being introduced to reflect the requirements of the reinsured more accurately. In view of the more legal examination of contracts, the accuracy of the terms, conditions, exclusions, and other aspects of policy wording are now more important than ever before. The recent growth in the importance of modeling property catastrophes by independent firms has changed this field considerably.
Epidemic Models, Structured Population
Authors: O'Neill Philip D. , Neal Peter J. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractReal‐life epidemics invariably occur within populations composed of individuals who do not mix with each other entirely at random. Instead, there is frequently a nonhomogeneous mixing structure, so that individuals are more likely to spend time with those they live or work with, or who are geographically close, for example. In this article, we review a number of stochastic epidemic models, which attempt to incorporate population structure, providing descriptions of the models and highlighting associated results of interest. Aspects of related statistical inference are also considered. Such models offer a more realistic alternative to those that assume homogeneous mixing of either the entire population or large subpopulations.
Correspondence Analysis of Longitudinal Data
Authors: de Rooij Mark , van der Heijden P. G. M. 
Published: June 2015

Abstract
Correspondence analysis is an exploratory tool for the analysis of associations between categorical variables, the results of which may be displayed graphically. For longitudinal data, two types of analysis can be distinguished: the first focuses on transitions, whereas the second investigates trends. For transitional analysis with two time points, an analysis of the transition matrix (showing the relative frequencies for pairs of categories) provides insight into the structure of departures from independence in the transitions. Transitions between more than two time points can also be studied simultaneously. In trend analyses often the trajectories of different groups are compared. Examples for all these analyses are provided.
Complementary Medicines
Authors: Gueguen Juliette , Hill Catherine , Barry Caroline 
Published: June 2015

AbstractComplementary medicine comprises many different disciplines and some, for instance, acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine, and homoeopathy, are widely used. Patients with chronic pain show particular high rates of use. Efficacy and safety evaluations are warranted to sort out helpful interventions from unsafe practices. Thousands of randomized trials have evaluated the efficacy of the most popular complementary medicines but there is less information on their safety. However, important methodological problems in design and conduct, disagreement on the practice, variability of comparisons, and discordant interpretation of the trial results of studies have precluded reaching solid consensual conclusions. The challenge is to design studies in a way that fully satisfies methodological standards and that is consistent with everyday practice of complementary medicines including individualization of treatment and holistic aspects. The specific methodological problems of trials evaluating complementary medicines are discussed, with an emphasis on the necessity to use the full spectrum of trial designs, from very explanatory to completely pragmatic, in order to achieve a complete evaluation.
Second‐Order Factor Analysis: Confirmatory
Authors: Tisak John , Tisak Marie S. 
Published: June 2015

Abstract
Confirmatory second‐order factor analysis could be conceptualized as a further factor analysis of the results of an initial factor analysis of some observed variables. Specifically, the initial or first‐order factor means, variances, and covariances are re‐analyzed into more general or abstracted variables. For pedagogical reasons, this approach is initially developed via first‐ and second‐order multivariate multiple regression analyses using measured or observed variables. Next by analogy, the approach is extended to latent variates or unobserved factors. Throughout this article, an illustration is presented using Thurstone's Primary Mental Abilities, Horn and Cattell's Fluid and Crystallized Intelligences, and Spearmen's General Intelligence. Lastly, this second‐order factor analysis was extended to multiple populations.
Mathematical Psychology
Authors: Chechile Richard A. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractMathematical psychology is a branch of theoretical psychology that uses mathematics as a tool for psychological measurement of latent processes as a means to characterize the regular behavioral patterns that emerge from experimental studies. An example of the measurement of latent processes is a research that decomposes memory loss into separate components owing to storage and retrieval changes. Other models in mathematical psychology provide a detailed description of the results from many memory experiments. Mathematical psychologists have addressed a wide range of psychological problems and have utilized a diverse set of mathematical tools.
Resampling Methods
Authors: Tu Wanzhu , Li Shanshan 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThis article presents an overview of existing resampling methods and their applications in parameter estimation and statistical inference. It describes the essential concepts and basic operating procedures of the most frequently used resampling methods, including the jackknife, bootstrap, permutation test, and cross‐validation. This article also discusses the interconnections among these methods. Finally, it briefly reviews the currently available software for implementation of the commonly used resampling procedures.
Zero‐Inflated Count Time Series
Authors: Charlton Sarah 
Published: June 2015

AbstractCount data sometimes have an overabundance of zeros. A common choice to model these types of data is the zero‐inflated model, which is a mixture of a standard discrete count distribution and a degenerate distribution at zero. The model parameters can be estimated with an expectation–maximization algorithm. This article describes how to extend these models to incorporate time dependence in both the count and the zero‐inflation components of the zero‐inflated model via an observation‐driven approach. A series of daily counts of excess pollution levels observed at an air monitoring station near Houston, TX, is used to illustrate the ideas. Multivariate zero‐inflation models are also discussed.
Phenomenology of the Pyramid Scheme
Authors: Banks Tom 
Published: June 2015

We review the Pyramid Scheme, the only class of models known to be consistent with phenomenology, coupling unification, and the Cosmological SUSY Breaking (CSB) relation between the gravitino mass and the cosmological constant (c.c.). These models are Terascale effective field theories, which have a super‐Poincare invariant, discrete R symmetric limit. R breaking terms come from diagrams in which a gravitino is exchanged with the horizon, and satisfy peculiar selection rules, which solve the μ problem, the strong CP problem, and the problem of low dimension operators in the theory, which violate B and L. The model predicts large Dirac and Majorana masses for gauginos, which make these states heavier than corresponding squarks and sleptons by a factor of roughly . Gluinos are too heavy to be seen at the 14 TeV LHC, and the NLSP is a right handed slepton (the three sleptons are quite degenerate), which decays promptly into a gravitino and a lepton.
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Shape‐Persistent, Sterically Crowded Star Mesogens: From Exceptional Columnar Dimer Stacks to Supermesogens
Authors: Lehmann Matthias , Maier Philipp 
Published: June 2015

AbstractHexasubstituted C3‐symmetric benzenes with three oligophenylenevinylene (OPV) arms and three pyridyl or phenyl substituents are shape‐persistent star mesogens that are sterically crowded in the center. Such molecular structures possess large void spaces between their arms, which have to be filled in condensed phases. For the neat materials, this is accomplished by an exceptional formation of dimers and short‐range helical packing in columnar mesophases. The mesophase is thermodynamically stable for the pyridyl compound. Only this derivative forms filled star‐shaped supermesogens in the presence of various carboxylic acids. The latter do not arrange as dimers, but as monomers along the columnar stacks. In this liquid crystal (LC) phase, the guests are completely enclosed by the hosts. Therefore, the host can be regarded as a new LC endoreceptor, which allows the design of columnar functional structures in the future.
Poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate‐graft‐chitosan nanoparticles as a biobased nanofiller for a poly(lactic acid) blend: Radiation‐induced grafting and performance studies
Authors: Kongkaoroptham Parichart , Piroonpan Thananchai , Hemvichian Kasinee , Suwanmala Phiriyatorn , Rattanasakulthong Watcharee , Pasanphan Wanvimol 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACTIn this study, we aimed to modify chitosan (CS) as a novel compatible bio‐based nanofiller for improving the compatibility including the thermal and mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The modification of CS with poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) was done by radiation‐induced graft copolymerization. The effects of the dose rate, irradiation dose, and PEGMA concentration on the degree of grating (DG) were investigated. The chemical structure, packing structure, thermal stability, particle morphology, and size of the PEGMA‐graft‐chitosan nanoparticles (PEGMA‐graft‐CSNPs) were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The compatibility of the PEGMA‐graft‐CSNP/PLA blends was also assessed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The PEGMA‐graft‐CSNPs exhibited a spherical shape with the DG and particle sizes in the ranges of 3–145% and 35–104 nm, respectively. The PEGMA‐graft‐CSNPs showed compatible with PLA because of the grafted PEGMA segment. A model case study of the PEGMA‐graft‐CSNP/PLA blend demonstrated the improvement not only the compatibility but also thermal stability flexibility, and ductility of PLA. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42522.
Solution blown sulfonated poly(ether sulfone)/poly(ether sulfone) nanofiber‐Nafion composite membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells
Authors: Wang Hang , Zhuang Xupin , Li Xiaojie , Wang Wei , Wang Yannan , Cheng Bowen 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACTA composite membrane of sulfonated poly(ether sulfone) (SPES)/poly(ether sulfone) (PES) nanofiber (NF) mat impregnated with Nafion was prepared and evaluated for its potential use as a proton conductor for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The supporting composite nanofibrous mat was prepared by solution blowing of a mixture of SPES/PES solution. The characteristics of the SPES/PES NF and the composite membrane, such as morphology, thermal stability, and performance of membrane as PEMs, were investigated. The performance of composite membranes was compared with that of Nafion117. The introduction of solution blown NFs to composite membranes modestly improved proton conductivity, water swelling, and methanol permeability. Therefore, composite membrane containing SPES/PES NFs can be considered as a novel PEM for fuel cell applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42572.
Social structure in a critically endangered Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) population
Authors: Dungan Sarah Z. , Wang John Y. , Araújo Claryana C. , Yang Shih‐Chu , White Bradley N. 
Published: June 2015

Abstract

Social behaviour can be a vital aspect of population viability when it influences survivorship and reproductive fitness, which is often the case for especially social species, including cetaceans. Understanding this relationship is important in at‐risk populations, where knowledge of network structure can provide insight into how they may respond to human impacts.
Association patterns in the critically endangered eastern Taiwan Strait (ETS) population of Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins, Sousa chinensis, were investigated using the seasonally collected (2007–2010) photo‐identification data of 74 individuals.
Social network structure was characterized by high strength and reach, features that are thought to be atypical for the species.
Standardized lagged association rates were best fitted by a two‐level model: short‐term associations that dissipated in less than a day, and long‐term associations projected to persist nearly 10 years. These persisting relationships were primarily among calves and their inferred mothers. The short‐term associations, which were probably limiting the network's modularity, seemed to occur among more weakly associated individuals temporarily participating in large mother–calf groups.
When associations were defined by proximity (within one body‐length), relationships involving calves were characterized by a significantly high clustering coefficient, and some calves had high associations with other calves and more than one adult, making maternal relationships ambiguous. This could be evidence for cooperative calf rearing, which may be important for calf survivorship and initiating dyadic relationships among calves.
Given their apparent uniqueness among populations of this species, the association patterns observed among the ETS S. chinensis, calves and their inferred mothers in particular, could be a response to conditions (small population size, isolation, confined distribution, and anthropogenic stressors) that make long‐term cooperative behaviour advantageous. Thus, minimizing human impacts that disrupt social dynamics, such as interactions with fisheries and habitat fragmentation, should help to improve this population's long‐term viability.
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sol‐gel synthesis and luminescent properties of red‐emitting Y(P,V)O4:Eu3+ phosphors
Authors: Zhang Xinguo , Zhou Fangxiang , He Pei , Zhang Min , Gong Menglian 
Published: June 2015

AbstractEu3+‐activated Y(P,V)O4 phosphors were prepared by the EDTA sol‐gel method, and the corresponding morphologies and luminescent properties were investigated. The sample particles were relatively spheroid with size of 2–3 µm and had a smooth surface. The excitation spectra for Y(P,V)O4:Eu3+ consisted of three strong excitation bands in the 200–350 nm range, which were attributed to a Eu3+‐ O2− charge‐transfer band and 1A1−1 T1/1 T2 transitions in VO43−. The as‐synthesized phosphors exhibited a highly efficient red luminescence at 613 nm due to the Eu3+ 5D0−7 F2 electric dipole transition. With the increase in the V5+/P5+ ratio, the luminescence intensity of the red phosphor under UV excitation was greatly improved due to enhanced VO43− → Eu3+ energy transfer. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improving recombinant protein production in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast using vivid Verde Fluorescent Protein as a reporter
Authors: Braun‐Galleani Stephanie , Baganz Frank , Purton Saul 
Published: June 2015

AbstractMicroalgae have potential as platforms for the synthesis of high‐value recombinant proteins due to their many beneficial attributes including ease of cultivation, lack of pathogenic agents, and low‐cost downstream processing. However, current recombinant protein levels are low compared to other microbial platforms and stable insertion of transgenes is available in only a few microalgal species. We have explored different strategies aimed at increasing growth rate and recombinant protein production in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast. A novel fluorescent protein (vivid Verde Fluorescent Protein, VFP) was expressed under the control of the native atpA promoter/5'UTR element. VFP levels were detected by western blotting, with increased protein levels observed when co‐expressed with a gene encoding the Escherichia coli Spy chaperone. We used these transformant lines to study the effect of temperature, light and media on recombinant protein production and cell growth. VFP levels and fluorescence, assessed by flow cytometry, allowed a determination of improved cultivation conditions as 30°C under mixotrophic mode. These conditions were tested for the accumulation of an antimicrobial endolysin (Cpl‐1) of potential commercial interest, observing that the outcome obtained for VFP could not be easily replicated for Cpl‐1. This study suggests that recombinant protein expression is product‐specific and needs to be optimized individually.
Donor characteristics and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation
Authors: Orci L A , Berney T , Majno P E , Lacotte S , Oldani G , Morel P , Mentha G , Toso C 
Published: June 2015

Abstract

Background
To date, studies assessing the risk of post-transplant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence have focused on tumour characteristics. This study investigated the impact of donor characteristics and graft quality on post-transplant HCC recurrence.

Methods
Using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients patients with HCC who received a liver transplant between 2004 and 2011 were included, and post-transplant HCC recurrence was assessed. A multivariable competing risk regression model was fitted, adjusting for confounders such as recipient sex, age, tumour volume, α-fetoprotein, time on the waiting list and transplant centre.

Results
A total of 9724 liver transplant recipients were included. Patients receiving a graft procured from a donor older than 60 years (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1·38, 95 per cent c.i. 1·10 to 1·73; P = 0·006), a donor with a history of diabetes (adjusted HR 1·43, 1·11 to 1·83; P = 0·006) and a donor with a body mass index of 35 kg/m2 or more (adjusted HR 1·36, 1·04 to 1·77; P = 0·023) had an increased rate of post-transplant HCC recurrence. In 3007 patients with documented steatosis, severe graft steatosis (more than 60 per cent) was also linked to an increased risk of recurrence (adjusted HR 1·65, 1·03 to 2·64; P = 0·037). Recipients of organs from donation after cardiac death donors with prolonged warm ischaemia had higher recurrence rates (adjusted HR 4·26, 1·20 to 15·1; P = 0·025).

Conclusion
Donor-related factors such as donor age, body mass index, diabetes and steatosis are associated with an increased rate of HCC recurrence after liver transplantation.