Discussion of "Calibrated Bayes, for Statistics in General, and Missing Data in Particular" by R. J. A. Little

Discussion of "Calibrated Bayes, for Statistics in General, and Missing Data in Particular" by R. Little [arXiv:1108.1917]Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-STS318B the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Comment: Bayesian Checking of the Second Level of Hierarchical Models: Cross-Validated Posterior Predictive Checks Using Discrepancy Measures

Comment: Bayesian Checking of the Second Level of Hierarchical Models [arXiv:0802.0743]Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-STS235B the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Observations of thunder with the Arecibo VHF radar

An experiment was carried out at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in August 1985 to study Doppler velocities in a thunderstorm environment with a beam pointed 2.5 degrees off-vertical. Researchers detected two types of echoes associated with lightning. The first was associated with scattering from the lightning channel itself and had characteristics similar to those observed previously with meteorological radars. The second appeared to be due to scattering from the turbulence organized by phase fronts of an acoustic wave generated by lightning. The observations were consistent with a wave traveling at a velocity near the speed of sound and having a vertical phase velocity component of 40 m/s

Zariski Closures and Subgroup Separability

The main result of this article is a refinement of the well-known subgroup separability results of Hall and Scott for free and surface groups. We show that for any finitely generated subgroup, there is a finite dimensional representation of the free or surface group that separates the subgroup in the induced Zariski topology. As a corollary, we establish a polynomial upper bound on the size of the quotients used to separate a finitely generated subgroup in a free or surface group.Comment: Final version. To appear in Selecta Mat

An Experiment with Hierarchical Bayesian Record Linkage

In record linkage (RL), or exact file matching, the goal is to identify the links between entities with information on two or more files. RL is an important activity in areas including counting the population, enhancing survey frames and data, and conducting epidemiological and follow-up studies. RL is challenging when files are very large, no accurate personal identification (ID) number is present on all files for all units, and some information is recorded with error. Without an unique ID number one must rely on comparisons of names, addresses, dates, and other information to find the links. Latent class models can be used to automatically score the value of information for determining match status. Data for fitting models come from comparisons made within groups of units that pass initial file blocking requirements. Data distributions can vary across blocks. This article examines the use of prior information and hierarchical latent class models in the context of RL.Comment: 14 pages, 0 figure

Theoretical study of production of unique glasses in space

The potential of producing the glassy form of selected materials in the weightless, containerless nature of space processing is examined through the development of kinetic relationships describing nucleation and crystallization phenomena. Transformation kinetics are applied to a well-characterized system (SiO2), an excellent glass former (B2O3), and a poor glass former (Al2O3) by conventional earth processing methods. Viscosity and entropy of fusion are shown to be the primary materials parameters controlling the glass forming tendency. For multicomponent systems diffusion-controlled kinetics and heterogeneous nucleation effects are considered. An analytical empirical approach is used to analyze the mullite system. Results are consistent with experimentally observed data and indicate the promise of mullite as a future space processing candidate

Hydrolysed formula and risk of allergic or autoimmune disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To determine whether feeding infants with hydrolysed formula reduces their risk of allergic or autoimmune disease. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis, as part of a series of systematic reviews commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency to inform guidelines on infant feeding. Two authors selected studies by consensus, independently extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data sources Medline, Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL, and LILACS searched between January 1946 and April 2015. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Prospective intervention trials of hydrolysed cows’ milk formula compared with another hydrolysed formula, human breast milk, or a standard cows’ milk formula, which reported on allergic or autoimmune disease or allergic sensitisation. Results 37 eligible intervention trials of hydrolysed formula were identified, including over 19 000 participants. There was evidence of conflict of interest and high or unclear risk of bias in most studies of allergic outcomes and evidence of publication bias for studies of eczema and wheeze. Overall there was no consistent evidence that partially or extensively hydrolysed formulas reduce risk of allergic or autoimmune outcomes in infants at high pre-existing risk of these outcomes. Odds ratios for eczema at age 0-4, compared with standard cows’ milk formula, were 0.84 (95% confidence interval 0.67 to 1.07; I2=30%) for partially hydrolysed formula; 0.55 (0.28 to 1.09; I2=74%) for extensively hydrolysed casein based formula; and 1.12 (0.88 to 1.42; I2=0%) for extensively hydrolysed whey based formula. There was no evidence to support the health claim approved by the US Food and Drug Administration that a partially hydrolysed formula could reduce the risk of eczema nor the conclusion of the Cochrane review that hydrolysed formula could allergy to cows’ milk. Conclusion These findings do not support current guidelines that recommend the use of hydrolysed formula to prevent allergic disease in high risk infants

Space processing of chalcogenide glass

The manner in which the weightless, containerless nature of in-space processing can be successfully utilized to improve the quality of infrared transmitting chalcogenide glasses is determined. The technique of space processing chalcogenide glass was developed, and the process and equipment necessary to do so was defined. Earthbound processing experiments with As2S3 and G28Sb12Se60 glasses were experimented with. Incorporated into these experiments is the use of an acoustic levitation device

Space processing of chalcogenide glasses

Chalcogenide glasses are discussed as good infrared transmitters, possessing the strength, corrosion resistance, and scale-up potential necessary for large 10.6-micron windows. The disadvantage of earth-produced chalcogenide glasses is shown to be an infrared absorption coefficient which is unacceptably high relative to alkali halides. This coefficient is traced to optical nonhomogeneities resulting from environmental and container contamination. Space processing is considered as a means of improving the infrared transmission quality of chalcogenides and of eliminating the following problems: optical inhomogeneities caused by thermal currents and density fluctuation in the l-g earth environment; contamination from the earth-melting crucible by oxygen and other elements deleterious to infrared transmission; and, heterogeneous nucleation at the earth-melting crucible-glass interface