The somatic chromosomes of the Mongolian gerbil /Meriones unguiculatus/

Somatic chromosomes study of Mongolian gerbil

Extremes of geometric variables with applications to branching processes

We obtain limit theorems for the row extrema of a triangular array of zero-modified geometric random variables. Some of this is used to obtain limit theorems for the maximum family size within a generation of a simple branching process with varying geometric offspring laws.Comment: 12 pages, some proofs are added to the published versio

Density of near-extreme events

We provide a quantitative analysis of the phenomenon of crowding of near-extreme events by computing exactly the density of states (DOS) near the maximum of a set of independent and identically distributed random variables. We show that the mean DOS converges to three different limiting forms depending on whether the tail of the distribution of the random variables decays slower than, faster than, or as a pure exponential function. We argue that some of these results would remain valid even for certain {\em correlated} cases and verify it for power-law correlated stationary Gaussian sequences. Satisfactory agreement is found between the near-maximum crowding in the summer temperature reconstruction data of western Siberia and the theoretical prediction.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revtex4. Minor corrections, references updated. This is slightly extended version of the Published one (Phys. Rev. Lett.

Characterizations of probability distributions via bivariate regression of record values

Bairamov et al. (Aust N Z J Stat 47:543-547, 2005) characterize the exponential distribution in terms of the regression of a function of a record value with its adjacent record values as covariates. We extend these results to the case of non-adjacent covariates. We also consider a more general setting involving monotone transformations. As special cases, we present characterizations involving weighted arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic means.Comment: accepted in Metrik

Population Pharmacokinetics of Lamivudine in Adult Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients Enrolled in Two Phase III Clinical Trials

Lamivudine population pharmacokinetics were investigated by using nonlinear mixed-effect modelling (NONMEM) analysis of data from 394 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients treated with lamivudine (150 to 300 mg every 12 h) in two large, phase III clinical efficacy-safety trials, NUCA3001 and NUCA3002. Analyses of 1,477 serum lamivudine concentration determinations showed that population estimates for lamivudine oral clearance (CL/F; 25.1 liters/h) and volume of distribution (V/F; 128 liters) were similar to values previously reported for HIV-infected patients in phase I pharmacokinetic studies. Lamivudine CL/F was significantly influenced by the covariates creatinine clearance and weight and not affected by age, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classification, CD4+ cell count, HIV type 1 (HIV-1) RNA PCR, or gender and race when CL/F was corrected for differences in patient weight. The population estimate for lamivudine V/F was not significantly influenced by the covariates gender, race, age, weight, renal function, HIV-1 RNA PCR, or CDC classification and CD4+ cell count when creatinine clearance was included with CL/F in the model. Lamivudine disposition was significantly influenced by renal function. However, as only three patients had an estimated creatinine clearance of <60 ml/min, dosage adjustments for patients with impaired renal function should not be determined based on the population parameters derived in this analysis

Catching-up and falling behind knowledge spillover from American to German machine tool makers

In our days, German machine tool makers accuse their Chinese competitors of violating patent rights and illegally imitating German technology. A century ago, however, German machine tool makers used exactly the same methods to imitate American technology. To understand the dynamics of this catching-up process we use patent statistics to analyze firms? activities between 1877 and 1932. We show that German machine tool makers successfully deployed imitating and counterfeiting activities in the late 19th century and the 1920s to catchup to their American competitors. The German administration supported this strategy by stipulating a patent law that discriminated against foreign patent holders and probably also by delaying the granting of patents to foreign applicants. Parallel to the growing international competitiveness of German firms, however, the willingness to guarantee intellectual property rights of foreigners was also increasing because German firms had now to fear retaliatory measures in their own export markets when violating foreign property rights within Germany