Preventing Hepatitis B-induced Liver Cancer: Implications for Eliminating Health Disparities

If the definition of eliminating of a health disparity were signified by the absence of any differences in incidence or mortality between a population’s experiences with a health problem, then the only health disparity that has ever been eliminated is smallpox because with zero cases of smallpox in the world, no health disparities exist because of smallpox. The eradication of smallpox is perhaps the only historical example where the elimination of a health disparity has been achieved. Principles and lessons learned, particularly through the intersection of science and policy that could be applied to the elimination of other health disparities both domestically and internationally are proposed

Cartel Pricing Dynamics with Cost Variability and Endogenous Buyer Detection

This paper characterizes collusive pricing patterns when buyers may detect the presence of a cartel. Buyers are assumed to become suspicious when observed prices are anomalous. We find that the cartel price path is comprised of two phases. During the transitional phase, price is generally rising and relatively unresponsive to cost shocks. During the stationary phase, price responds to cost but is much less sensitive than under non-collusion or simple monopoly. The length of the transition phase is decreasing in the variance of cost shocks. It is also shown that the cartel price path may overshoot its long-run level so that price converges from above.

"Cartel Pricing Dynamics with Cost Variability and Endogenous Buyer Detection"

This paper characterizes collusive pricing patterns when buyers may detect the presence of a cartel. Buyers are assumed to become suspicious when observed prices are anomalous. We find that the cartel price path is comprised of two phases. During the transitional phase, price is generally rising and relatively unresponsive to cost shocks. During the stationary phase, price responds to cost but is much less sensitive than under non-collusion or simple monopoly; a low price variance may then be a collusive marker. Compared to when firms do not collude, cost shocks take a longer time to pass-through to price.

he Impact of the Corporate Leniency Program on Cartel Formation and the Cartel Price Path

Previous research exploring the effect of corporate leniency programs has modelled the oligopoly stage game as a Prisoners?Dilemma. Using numerical analysis, we consider the Bertrand price game and allow the probability of detection and penalties to be sensitive to firms?prices. Consistent with earlier results, a maximal leniency program necessarily makes collusion more difficult. However, we also find that partial leniency programs - such as in the U.S. - can make collusion easier compared to offering no leniency. We also show that even if cartel formation is not deterred, a leniency program can reduce the prices charged by firms.

Bayesian variable selection and data integration for biological regulatory networks

A substantial focus of research in molecular biology are gene regulatory networks: the set of transcription factors and target genes which control the involvement of different biological processes in living cells. Previous statistical approaches for identifying gene regulatory networks have used gene expression data, ChIP binding data or promoter sequence data, but each of these resources provides only partial information. We present a Bayesian hierarchical model that integrates all three data types in a principled variable selection framework. The gene expression data are modeled as a function of the unknown gene regulatory network which has an informed prior distribution based upon both ChIP binding and promoter sequence data. We also present a variable weighting methodology for the principled balancing of multiple sources of prior information. We apply our procedure to the discovery of gene regulatory relationships in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast) for which we can use several external sources of information to validate our results. Our inferred relationships show greater biological relevance on the external validation measures than previous data integration methods. Our model also estimates synergistic and antagonistic interactions between transcription factors, many of which are validated by previous studies. We also evaluate the results from our procedure for the weighting for multiple sources of prior information. Finally, we discuss our methodology in the context of previous approaches to data integration and Bayesian variable selection.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-AOAS130 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Industrial capability to chem-mill aluminum alloy 2219 in T-37 and T-87

Procedures and chemical baths were developed for chem-milling aluminum alloy 2219. Using a series of sample etchings, it was found that good etching results could be obtained by using 'white plastic for porcelain repair (toluol, xylol, and petroleum distillates)' on top of cellosolve acetate as resist coatings and ferric chloride as on etchant

Computer program for structural analysis of layered orthotropic ring-stiffened shells of revolution (SALORS): Linear stress analysis option

Program handles segmented, laminar, orthotropic shells with discrete rings. Meridional variations are handled in material properties, temperatures, and wall thickness. Allows for linear variations of temperature through each layer of shell wall

Investigation of the Surface Adhesion Phenomena and Mechanism of Gold-Plated Contacts at Superlow Making/Breaking Speed

Surface adhesion phenomena of gold-plated copper contact materials are studied in conditions of nonarc load (5/15/25 V and 0.2/0.5/1 A) and superlow speed (25 and 50 nm/s) realized by a piezoactuator during the making and breaking processes. It is shown that softening and melting of local asperities leads to interface adhesion, which results from the joule heat generated by the contact resistance; it is determined that the change of contact force with time obeys the negative exponential distribution and the time constant is associated with the adhesion force directly. Based on the fitting experimental data, the relationship between the adhesion force F z and the contact resistance R d while breaking can be expressed as F z ∝ R d -1 , which indicates that the main component of contact resistance is the bulk resistance of weld nugget and the constriction resistance is negligible

Investigating properties of the cardiovascular system using innovative analysis algorithms based on ensemble empirical mode decomposition

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited - Copyright @ 2012 Jia-Rong Yeh et al.Cardiovascular system is known to be nonlinear and nonstationary. Traditional linear assessments algorithms of arterial stiffness and systemic resistance of cardiac system accompany the problem of nonstationary or inconvenience in practical applications. In this pilot study, two new assessment methods were developed: the first is ensemble empirical mode decomposition based reflection index (EEMD-RI) while the second is based on the phase shift between ECG and BP on cardiac oscillation. Both methods utilise the EEMD algorithm which is suitable for nonlinear and nonstationary systems. These methods were used to investigate the properties of arterial stiffness and systemic resistance for a pig's cardiovascular system via ECG and blood pressure (BP). This experiment simulated a sequence of continuous changes of blood pressure arising from steady condition to high blood pressure by clamping the artery and an inverse by relaxing the artery. As a hypothesis, the arterial stiffness and systemic resistance should vary with the blood pressure due to clamping and relaxing the artery. The results show statistically significant correlations between BP, EEMD-based RI, and the phase shift between ECG and BP on cardiac oscillation. The two assessments results demonstrate the merits of the EEMD for signal analysis.This work is supported by the National Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan (Grant number NSC 99-2221-E-155-046-MY3), Centre for Dynamical Biomarkers and Translational Medicine, National Central University, Taiwan which is sponsored by National Science Council (Grant number: NSC 100–2911-I-008-001) and the Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology in Taiwan (Grant numbers: CSIST-095-V101 and CSIST-095-V102)