Jackknife Empirical Likelihood for the Variance in the Linear Regression Model

The variance is the measure of spread from the center. Therefore, how to accurately estimate variance has always been an important topic in recent years. In this paper, we consider a linear regression model which is the most popular model in practice. We use jackknife empirical likelihood method to obtain the interval estimate of variance in the regression model. The proposed jackknife empirical likelihood ratio converges to the standard chi-squared distribution. The simulation study is carried out to compare the jackknife empirical likelihood method and standard method in terms of coverage probability and interval length for the confidence interval of variance from linear regression models. The proposed jackknife empirical likelihood method has better performance. We also illustrate the proposed methods using two real data sets

From enter the dragon to enter the mullet: exploring filmic representations of east Asia butch dykes by Asian queer women filmmakers in contemporary Canada

This paper is like a pilot project for my doctoral research and it is very much a work in progress. In my doctoral research I am looking at the filmic representations of transmigrant East Asian queer women in contemporary Canada. While addressing sexuality, the term “queer” also encompasses the intersection of multiple identities such as race and gender. I use the word, “transmigrant” rather migrant or immigrant, as Martin Manalansan suggests, to address “the multi-stranded relationships” (Manalansan 2000: 185) such mobile groups have with both their home and settlement countries. I especially want to focus on two aspects of this research. The first is an examination of how the racialised, queered, and gendered body is presented, appropriated, or subverted in films about and by Asian queer women. Secondly, I want to look at the “monolithic” representation of Asian women in much Western discourse and how differences are delineated by Asian queer women from their own perceptions and interpretations. I will mainly look at the work of transmigrant queer women from filmmakers from Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong who identify themselves as non-heterosexual, and who live or stay in two highly multicultural Canadian cities: Vancouver and Toronto.AsiaPacifiQueer Network, Australian National Universit

Comparison of domiciliary oxygen using liquid oxygen and concentrator in northern Taiwan

Background/PurposeLong-term oxygen therapy has become standard treatment for patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency. However, patterns of long-term home oxygen therapy have not been well studied in Taiwan. Oxygen concentrator systems are commonly used in Taiwan, but liquid oxygen delivery systems are portable and may provide advantages over the concentrator system. This study compared oxygen usage between patients from a liquid oxygen group (LOG) and an oxygen concentrator group (OCG). The authors also assessed the physiologic responses of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to ambulatory oxygen use at home.MethodsThe study used a retrospective, cross-sectional, observational survey design. The LOG comprised 42 patients, and the OCG comprised 102 patients. We recruited participants in northern Taiwan from July 2009 to April 2010. The questionnaire instruments that were used to collect data consisted of three parts: demographic characteristics, devices used in respiratory care, and activity status with portable oxygen. Two-minute walking tests were performed on COPD patients in their homes.ResultsCOPD was the most common diagnosis in our study, with more than 50% of patients who received oxygen long term in both groups having received this diagnosis. The LOG used oxygen for an average of 21.7 hours per day, whereas OCG averaged 15.2 hours per day (p<0.001). In the OCG, 92.2% of patients used a concentrator alone, whereas 23.8% of the LOG used liquid oxygen alone (p<0.001). The LOG patients were involved in significantly more outdoors activities (p=0.002) and reported traveling with oxygen more often (p<0.001) than the OCG patients. For patients with the same dyspnea level of COPD severity, those using liquid oxygen had a lower increase in pulse rate after the walking test, in comparison with the concentrator users.ConclusionPatients in the LOG used oxygen for longer hours, went on more outings, and were more likely to travel with oxygen than patients in the OCG. Being ambulatory with liquid oxygen might enable patients with COPD to walk more effectively

Success in Two Languages: An Analysis of the Passing Rate of Texas Bilingual Teachers

Abstract This study analyzed the competency of bilingual teachers as it pertains to the passage of the TExEs Content Exam. Texas is in a state of transition; not only are its&apos; certification requirements changing, from EC-4 to EC-6, but its&apos; population continues to change, creating an increasingly diverse student body. There are multiple issues that educators and teacher certification entities must address, among them: to continue to identify and implement strategies to educate a very heterogeneous k-12 population of students, and how to prepare teachers to face these challenges. This study represents one of the last comprehensive analyses of teacher success under the former TEA certification guidelines. It can therefore serve as a basis of comparison for the passing rates of teachers in the fall of 2010 and beyond, when the state phases out previous bilingual and supplemental exams EC-4 and 4-8 exams, and offers the TExES Bilingual Education Supplemental Exam (164) and the TExES Bilingual Generalist Exam (192). With the accountability standards imposed by NCLB, the &quot;highly qualified&quot; teachers are determined by the results of standardized tests. The results of this study may guide policy makers when seek solutions to improve school bilingual teacher preparation by determining the areas in which effort and support is most needed

An international look at the lawsuit avoidance hypothesis of IPO underpricing

One potential explanation for the underpricing of initial public offerings is the lawsuit avoidance hypothesis of Tiniç (1998). In this study, we empirically test the insurance effect of the lawsuit avoidance hypothesis which states that firms that are subject to higher litigation risk underprice their issues more to reduce the likelihood of being sued in connection with their IPO. In addition, by underpricing their issues, firms can limit the amount of damages plaintiffs can claim in a lawsuit. We examine the relationship between IPO underpricing and litigation risk in an international setting using a sample of 6,326 firms that went public across 34 countries between January 1995 and December 2002. We control for known determinants of IPO underpricing and test whether IPOs in countries with higher levels of litigation risk are more underpriced. While the majority of single-country studies do not find support for the lawsuit avoidance hypothesis, we find a significant positive relationship between litigation risk and underpricing in a cross-country framework. Contrary to all single-country legal liability studies outside the US and consistent with the US studies of Tiniç (1988) and Lowry and Shu (2002), our empirical results support the insurance effect of the lawsuit avoidance hypothesis in an international context. Our findings imply that the degree of litigation risk in a given country affects the level of underpricing for firms that go public in that country. We conclude that differences in legal risk factors can partially explain differences in underpricing across countries

Frontal skull craniotomy combined with moderate-dose radiotherapy effectively ameliorate a rare case of non-secretory, multiple myeloma with orbital involvement

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Orbital infiltration in patients with multiple myeloma is a rare condition, with less than 50 cases reported in the medical literature. Most patients undergo conservative treatment because multiple myeloma is a disseminated systemic disease.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 43-year-old male subject with multiple myeloma and long-term survival presented with orbital involvement. The subject lacked the typical features and poor prognostic factors associated with multiple myeloma, such as renal failure, hypercalcemia, and paraprotein in the serum and urine. The orbital computed tomographic scan revealed the tumor encasing the optic nerve, but without prominent bony destruction. Therefore, a frontal skull craniotomy with an epidural entrance to the orbital space was performed, to completely extirpate the orbital mass. The surgical procedure was followed by moderate-dose radiation therapy. After 32 months of follow-up care, the subject is doing well with excellent local control.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although the effectiveness and applicability of this approach remains to be determined, this case report demonstrates that accurate and early detection combined with local surgical treatment and appropriate radio/chemotherapy, can be applied to effectively extend an orbital multiple myeloma patient's life.</p

Antidiabetic effect of Tibetan medicine Tang-Kang-Fu-San on high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the antidiabetic effects of a Tibetan medicine, Tang-Kang-Fu-San (TKFS), on experimental type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats and to explore its underlying mechanisms. Firstly two major chemical compositions of TKFS, gallic acid and curcumin, were characterized by HPLC fingerprint analysis. Next T2DM in rats was induced by high-fat diet and a low-dose streptozotocin (STZ 35 mg/kg). Then oral gavage administration of three different doses of TKFS (0.3 g/kg, 0.6 g/kg, and 1.2 g/kg) was given to T2DM rats. Experimental results showed that TKFS dramatically reduced the levels of fasting blood glucose, fasting blood insulin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol, even though it did not alter the animal body weight. The downregulation of phosphorylation-AKT (p-AKT) and glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle of T2DM rats was restored and abnormal pathological changes in pancreas tissues were also improved. Our work showed that TKFS could alleviate diabetic syndromes, maintain the glucose homeostasis, and protect against insulin resistance in T2DM rats, and the improvement of AKT phosphorylation and GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle would be one of its possible underlying mechanisms