Bayesian smoothing spline analysis of variance models

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. Paul Speckman.VitaPh. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2009Based on the pioneering work by Wahba (1990) in smoothing splines for nonparametric regression, Gu (2002) decomposed the regression function based on a tensor sum decomposition of inner product spaces into orthogonal subspaces so the estimated functions from each subspaces can be viewed separately. This is based on an ANOVA type decomposition and is called the smoothing spline ANOVA (SSANOVA) model. Current research related to smoothing spline ANOVA focuses on the frequentist approach for statistical inference in estimation and prediction. In this dissertation, we apply a fully Bayesian approach in SSANOVA to extend statistical inference not only for estimation and prediction but to model testing and selection. The prior selected for the smoothing parameter in level effects is a variant of the Zellner-Siow prior. Two sets of priors, the Pareto and the scaled [superscript x]2/1, are used for the smoothing parameters corresponding to smooth effects. We study this fully Bayesian SSANOVA model for Gaussian response variables and also extend it to generalized additive models with binary response variables

Cultural Discourse in Taiwan. Ed. Chin-Chuan Cheng, I-Chun Wang, and Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek.

The collected volume Cultural Discourse in Taiwan — edited by Chin-Chuan Cheng, I-Chun Wang, and Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek and published by National Sun Yat-sen Uiniversity Press in 2009 — is intended as an addition to scholarship in the field of Taiwan Studies. The articles in the volume are in many aspects comparative and the topics discussed are in the context of literary and culture scholarship. At the same time, the volume is interdisciplinary as the articles cover historical perspectives, analyses of texts by Taiwan authors, and cultural discourse as related to Taiwan consciousness, language, and linguistic issues. Copyright release to the authors

Construction and verification of digital electronics contestants' indicators for vocational education in Taiwan

No AbstractKeywords: competency indicator, digital electronics, important-performance analysis, skill competitio

Perceptions of neighborhood social environment and drug dependence among incarcerated women and men: a cross-sectional analysis

Abstract Background Perception of neighborhood social environment can influence an individual’s susceptibility to drug dependence. However, this has never been examined with a jailed sample, where frequent transitions between local jails and disadvantaged neighborhoods are common. Understanding these associations could aid in the design of targeted programs to decrease drug dependence and recidivism among the incarcerated. Methods For this study, 596 women and men from three Kansas City jails were surveyed over the course of six months in 2010. Drug dependence was assessed with DSM-IV criteria. Independent variables included fear of one’s neighborhood, perceived level of neighborhood violence, and social capital. All data were self-reported and were analyzed using logistic regression. Results Controlling for gender and age, fear of neighborhood violence was associated with increased odds of having drug dependence (OR = 1.27, CI 1.02, 1.58) and a higher level of social capital prior to incarceration was associated with lower odds of drug dependence (OR = 0.65, CI 0.44, 0.96). Mental health problem diagnosis and past year intimate partner violence were significant mediating factors. Gender and race/ethnicity were significant moderating factors between neighborhood disadvantage and drug dependence. Conclusions Our study suggests that drug dependence programs for women and men who cycle between jails and communities require both individual- and community-level interventions. To be most effective, programs at the community-level should focus on helping specific groups navigate their communities, as well as address individual health needs associated with drug dependence.Peer Reviewe

Effectiveness of mechanical chest compression for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients in an emergency department

AbstractBackgroundTo increase the chance of restoring spontaneous circulation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with high-quality chest compressions is needed. We hypothesized that, in a municipal hospital emergency department, the outcome in nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients treated with standard CPR followed by mechanical chest compression (MeCC) was not inferior to that followed by manual chest compression (MaCC). The purposes of the study were to test our hypothesis and investigate whether the use of MeCC decreased human power demands for CPR.MethodsA total of 455 consecutive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients of presumed cardiac etiology were divided into two groups according to the chest compressions they received (MaCC or MeCC) in this retrospective review study. Human power demand for CPR was described according to the Basic Life Support/Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support guidelines and the device handbook. The primary endpoint was recovery of spontaneous circulation during resuscitation, and the secondary endpoints were survival to hospital admission and medical human power demands.ResultsIn this study, recovery of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 33.3% of patients in the MeCC group and in 27.1% in the MaCC group (p = 0.154), and the percentages of patients who survived hospitalization were 22.2% and 17.6%, respectively (p = 0.229). A ratio of 2:4 for the human power demand for CPR between the groups was found. Independent predictors of survival to hospitalization were ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia as initial rhythm and recovery of spontaneous circulation.ConclusionNo difference was found in early survival between standard CPR performed with MeCC and that performed with MaCC. However, the use of the MeCC device appears to promote staff availability without waiving patient care in the human power-demanding emergency departments of Taiwan hospitals

The prevalence and risk factors of major depressive disorders in gynaecological cancer patients

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in gynaecological cancer patients is a disabling illness with significant mental and physical suffering. Determining the risk factors of MDD in cancer patients enables us to pay more attention to those who are vulnerable and to device effective strategies for prevention, early detection, and treatment. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of MDD and its associated risk factors in gynaecological cancer patients at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Star. This is a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study of 120 gynaecological cancer patients in Gynae-Oncology Unit in Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Star. Mini International Neuropsychiatry Interview (MINI) was used for diagnosis of MDD. Socio-demographic data and clinical variables were collected. MVFSFI (Malay version Female Sexual Function Index) was used to determine sexual dysfunction, and WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization – Quality of Life-26) was performed to assess quality of life. The prevalence of MDD in gynaecological cancer patients in the study was 18%. The variables found to be significantly associated with MDD were lack of perceived social support, greater physical pain perception, presence of past psychiatric history, and poorer quality of life. Meanwhile, sexual dysfunction was not associated with MDD. Logistic regression analysis revealed that only the psychological health domain of QOL was significantly associated with MDD, and contributed to 60% of the variation in MDD. The prevalence of MDD in gynaecological cancer patients is higher than those in the general population. In view that MDD can compromise cancer prognosis and patient’s well-being, psychosocial intervention is recommended as a part of multi- disciplinary and comprehensive management of gynaecological cancer

Location-Aware Dynamic Session-Key Management for Grid-Based Wireless Sensor Networks

Security is a critical issue for sensor networks used in hostile environments. When wireless sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network are distributed in an insecure hostile environment, the sensor nodes must be protected: a secret key must be used to protect the nodes transmitting messages. If the nodes are not protected and become compromised, many types of attacks against the network may result. Such is the case with existing schemes, which are vulnerable to attacks because they mostly provide a hop-by-hop paradigm, which is insufficient to defend against known attacks. We propose a location-aware dynamic session-key management protocol for grid-based wireless sensor networks. The proposed protocol improves the security of a secret key. The proposed scheme also includes a key that is dynamically updated. This dynamic update can lower the probability of the key being guessed correctly. Thus currently known attacks can be defended. By utilizing the local information, the proposed scheme can also limit the flooding region in order to reduce the energy that is consumed in discovering routing paths

The potential application of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films for heavy ion irradiation detection

[[abstract]]The potential of utilizing the ultra-nanocrystalline (UNCD) films for detecting the Au-ion irradiation was investigated. When the fluence for Au-ion irradiation is lower than the critical value (fc = 5.0 × 1012 ions/cm2) the turn-on field for electron field emission (EFE) process of the UNCD films decreased systematically with the increase in fluence that is correlated with the increase in sp2-bonded phase (π*-band in EELS) due to the Au-ion irradiation. The EFE properties changed irregularly, when the fluence for Au-ion irradiation exceeds this critical value. The transmission electron microscopic microstructural examinations, in conjunction with EELS spectroscopic studies, reveal that the structural change preferentially occurred in the diamond-to-Si interface for the samples experienced over critical fluence of Au-ion irradiation, viz. the crystalline SiC phase was induced in the interfacial region and the thickness of the interface decreased. These observations implied that the UNCD films could be used as irradiation detectors when the fluence for Au-ion irradiation does not exceed such a critical value.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]電子