Variance estimation for nearest neighbor imputation for US Census long form data

Variance estimation for estimators of state, county, and school district quantities derived from the Census 2000 long form are discussed. The variance estimator must account for (1) uncertainty due to imputation, and (2) raking to census population controls. An imputation procedure that imputes more than one value for each missing item using donors that are neighbors is described and the procedure using two nearest neighbors is applied to the Census long form. The Kim and Fuller [Biometrika 91 (2004) 559--578] method for variance estimation under fractional hot deck imputation is adapted for application to the long form data. Numerical results from the 2000 long form data are presented.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOAS419 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Neighborhood Social Capital and Social Learning for Experience Attributes of Products

Social learning can occur when information is transferred from existing customers to potential customers. It is especially important when the information that is conveyed pertains to experience attributes, i.e., attributes of products that cannot be fully verified prior to the first purchase. Experience attributes are prevalent and salient when consumers shop through catalogs, on home shopping networks, and over the Internet. Firms therefore employ creative and sometimes costly methods to help consumers resolve uncertainty; we argue that uncertainty can be partially resolved through social learning processes that occur naturally and emanate from local neighborhood characteristics. Using data from Bonobos, a leading U.S. online fashion retailer, we find not only that local social learning facilitates customer trial but also that the effect is economically important because about half of all trials were partially attributable to it. Merging data from the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, we find that neighborhood social capital, i.e., the propensity for neighbors to trust each other and communicate with each other, enhances the social learning process and makes it more efficient. Social capital does not operate on trials directly; rather, it improves the learning process and therefore indirectly drives sales when what is communicated is favorable

Chemical Abundance Study of One Red Giant Star in NGC 5694 : A Globular Cluster with Dwarf Spheroidals' Chemical Signature?

We report the abundance analysis of one red giant branch star in the metal-poor outer halo globular cluster NGC 5694. We obtain [Fe/H] = -1.93, based on the ionized lines, and our metallicity measurement is in good agreement with previous estimates. We find that [Ca+Ti/2Fe] and [Cu/Fe] of NGC 5694 are about 0.3 -- 0.4 dex lower than other globular clusters with similar metallicities, but similar to some LMC clusters and stars in some dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Differences persist, however, in the abundances of neutron capture elements. The unique chemical abundance pattern and the large Galactocentric distance (30 kpc) and radial velocity (-138.6 +/- 1.0 km/sec) indicate that NGC 5694 had an extragalactic origin.Comment: ApJL accepte

Irrigating Horticultural Crops with Recycled Water: An Australian Perspective

Access to water has been identified as one of the most limiting factors in economic growth of Australia's horticultural sector. Water reclaimed from wastewater (sewage) is being increasingly recognized as an important resource and agricultural sector is currently the largest consumer of this resource. An overview of the Australian experience of using reclaimed wastewater to grow horticultural crops is presented in this paper: from regulations governing it and treatment processes, to management and risk-minimization practices that ensure this resource is used in a sustainable manner, not impacting adversely human health or environment. A case study covering socio-economic and environmental implications of recycled-water irrigation is also presented

Primary B lymphocytes infected with KSHV can be expanded in vitro and are recognized by LANA-specific CD4+ T cells

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) has tropism for B lymphocytes, in which it establishes latency, and can also cause lymphoproliferative disorders of these cells manifesting as primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and multicentric Castleman disease (MCD). T cell immunity is vital for the control of KSHV infection and disease; however, few models of B lymphocyte infection exist to study immune recognition of such cells. Here, we developed a model of B lymphocyte infection with KSHV in which infected tonsillar B lymphocytes were expanded by providing mitogenic stimuli and then challenged with KSHV-specific CD4(+) T cells. The infected cells expressed viral proteins found in PELs, namely, LANA and viral IRF3 (vIRF3), albeit at lower levels, with similar patterns of gene expression for the major latency, viral interleukin 6 (vIL-6), and vIRF3 transcripts. Despite low-level expression of open reading frame 50 (ORF50), transcripts for the immune evasion genes K3 and K5 were detected, with some downregulation of cell surface-expressed CD86 and ICAM. The vast majority of infected lymphocytes expressed IgM heavy chains with Igλ light chains, recapitulating the features seen in infected cells in MCD. We assessed the ability of the infected lymphocytes to be targeted by a panel of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-matched CD4(+) T cells and found that LANA-specific T cells restricted to different epitopes recognized these infected cells. Given that at least some KSHV latent antigens are thought to be poor targets for CD8(+) T cells, we suggest that CD4(+) T cells are potentially important effectors for the in vivo control of KSHV-infected B lymphocytes. IMPORTANCE KSHV establishes a latent reservoir within B lymphocytes, but few models exist to study KSHV-infected B cells other than the transformed PEL cell lines, which have likely accrued mutations during the transformation process. We developed a model of KSHV-infected primary B lymphocytes that recapitulates features seen in PEL and MCD by gene expression and cell phenotype analysis, allowing the study of T cell recognition of these cells. Challenge of KSHV-infected B cells with CD4(+) T cells specific for LANA, a protein expressed in all KSHV-infected cells and malignancies in vivo, showed that these effectors could efficiently recognize such targets. Given that the virus expresses immune evasion genes or uses proteins with intrinsic properties, such as LANA, that minimize epitope recognition by CD8(+) T cells, CD4(+) T cell immunity to KSHV may be important for maintaining the virus-host balance

Nonlocality of Hardy type in experiments using independent particle sources

By applying Hardy's argument, we demonstrate the violation of local realism in a gedanken experiment using independent and separated particle sources.Comment: 9 pages, 1 fig, revtex, title change

Experimental Implementation of Projective Measurement in Bell Basis

A scheme for direct projection of a quantum state on Bell states is described. The method is based on constructing an average Hamiltonian with Bell eigenstates and then, projecting the state on these eigenstates. The projection is performed by adding the results of a direct and time-reversed evolution. Experimental demonstration is shown for pairs of dipolar-coupled nuclear spins.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitte

Quantum Separability of Thermal Spin One Boson Systems

Using the temperature Green's function approach we investigate entanglement between two non-interacting spin 1 bosons in thermal equilibrium. We show that, contrary to the fermion case, the entanglement is absent in the spin density matrix. Separability is demonstrated using the Peres-Horodecki criterion for massless particles such as photons in black body radiation. For massive particles, we show that the density matrix can be decomposed with separable states.Comment: References & comments related to AQFT added. no figure, revtex4, to be published in Phys. Lett.

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations and the Clinical Outcome in Male Smokers with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Lung

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been reported to be related to certain clinical characteristics (i.e., female, non-smokers with adenocarcinoma) and gefitinib responsiveness. This exploratory analysis was performed to determine the incidence of EGFR mutations in male smokers with squamous cell carcinoma, who were treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, gefitinib. Sixty-nine Korean NSCLC patients were treated with gefitinib in a prospective study. For a subset of 20 male patients with squamous cell carcinoma and a history of smoking, pretreatment tumor tissue samples were obtained and analyzed for EGFR mutations (exons 18 to 21). EGFR mutations were found in 3 (15%) patients, including in-frame deletions within exon 19 (n=2) and L858R missence mutation in exon 21 (n=1). These 3 patients with EGFR mutations responded to gefitinib, whereas only one of remaining 17 patients with wild-type EGFR achieved clinical response. Trend toward longer progression-free (5.8 vs. 2.4 months; P=0.07) was noted in patients with EGFR mutations compared to those with wild-type EGFR. Although male smokers with squamous cell carcinoma have not been considered ideal candidates for gefitinib treatment, significant incidence of EGFR mutations was observed. The molecular markers should be considered to predict clinical benefits from gefitinib