General Business Competencies Of Students As Outcomes Assessment

The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical framework to assess students’ general business competencies, acquired in core and capstone courses, as learning outcomes. First, the rationale for the use of students’ general business competencies as outcomes assessment is provided. Second, the methodology for measuring these competencies is presented and explained. Third, the underlying concepts and influential factors relative to general business competencies of students are analyzed and discussed. Finally, the findings and practical implications of the proposed approach for faculty development are examined

Estimation of a linear function of the parameters of an exponential distribution from doubly censored samples

In this paper improved estimators of the scale and its reciprocal, [theta](0-1), and the location, [mu], of a two-parameter exponential distribution are given based on a doubly censored sample. Also the problem of estimating the linear function [mu] + z[theta] is considered, where z is a given constant. It is shown that the improved estimators are better than the best affine equivariant estimators.Exponential distribution Scale and location parameters Censored samples Equivariant estimator Admissible estimator

On robust estimation of the common scale parameter of several Pareto distributions

The problem of robust estimation of the common scale parameter of several Pareto distributions with unknown and possibly unequal shape parameters is considered. In this paper, a wide class of estimators dominating the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) is derived under a class of convex loss functions. The problem discussed in this paper arises quite frequently in socio-economics, reliability, life testing, and survival analysis.Pareto distribution Common scale parameter Convex loss function

A Note on the Effect of Skewness, Kurtosis, and Shifting on One-Sample T and Sign Tests

We extend previous studies of the effects of skewness, kurtosis, and shifting of the location parameter on the size and power of the t and sign tests for the one-sample case. The sign test is often recommended for skewed populations, however simulations show that the power of the t-test exceeds that of the sign test when the shift is in the opposite direction of the skewness in the parent population. Furthermore, our simulations demonstrate that the power of the sign test is diminished as kurtosis in the parent population decreases

Regulation of the Staphylococcal Superantigen-Like Protein 1 Gene of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Murine Abscesses

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) causes substantial skin and soft tissue infections annually in the United States and expresses numerous virulence factors, including a family of toxins known as the staphylococcal superantigen-like (SSL) proteins. Many of the SSL protein structures have been determined and implicated in immune system avoidance, but the full scope that these proteins play in different infection contexts remains unknown and continues to warrant investigation. Analysis of ssl gene regulation may provide valuable information related to the function of these proteins. To determine the transcriptional regulation of the ssl1 gene of CA-MRSA strain MW2, an ssl1 promoter::lux fusion was constructed and transformed into S. aureus strains RN6390 and Newman. Resulting strains were grown in a defined minimal medium (DSM) broth and nutrient-rich brain-heart infusion (BHI) broth and expression was determined by luminescence. Transcription of ssl1 was up-regulated and occurred earlier during growth in DSM broth compared to BHI broth suggesting expression is regulated by nutrient availability. RN6390 and Newman strains containing the ssl1::lux fusion were also used to analyze regulation in vivo using a mouse abscess model of infection. A marked increase in ssl1 transcription occurred early during infection, suggesting SSL1 is important during early stages of infection, perhaps to avoid the immune system

Effects of methylmercury exposure on glutathione metabolism, oxidative stress, and chromosomal damage in captive-reared common loon (Gavia immer) chicks

We quantified the level of dietary mercury (Hg), delivered as methylmercury chloride (CH3HgCl), associated with negative effects on organ and plasma biochemistries related to glutathione (GSH) metabolism and oxidative stress, and chromosomal damage in captive-reared common loon (Gavia immer) chicks reared from hatch to 105 days. Mercury-associated effects related to oxidative stress and altered glutathione metabolism occurred at 1.2 μg Hg/g and 0.4 μg Hg/g, an ecologically relevant dietary mercury level, but not at 0.08 μg Hg/g. Among the variables that contributed most to dissimilarities in tissue chemistries between control and treatment groups were increased levels of oxidized glutathione (GSSG), GSH peroxidase, and the ratio of GSSG to GSH in brain tissue; increased levels of hepatic GSH; and decreased levels of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH). Our results also suggest that chronic exposure to environmentally relevant dietary Hg levels did not result in statistically significant somatic chromosomal damage in common loon chicks