Generalized Canonical Regression

This paper introduces a generalized approach to canonical regression, in which a set of jointly dependent variables enters the left-hand side of the equation as a linear combination, formally like the linear combination of regressors in the right-hand side of the equation. Natural applications occur when the dependent variable is the sum of components that may optimally receive unequal weights or in time series models in which the appropriate timing of the dependent variable is not known a priori. The paper derives a quasi-maximum likelihood estimator as well as its asymptotic distribution and provides illustrative applications

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Factor Analysis: Some Basic Principles and an Application

Economists have paid very little attention to the statistical methods known as "factor analysis" or "component analysis." These methods were developed primarily by psychologists. Sociologists have also used them to some extent. These methods may eventually help economists to solve some of their problems. With this in mind, the author has tried to set forth the basic principles of factor analysis, and to indicate how the U.S. Department of Agriculture has used them to establish county level-of-living indexes for farm families in the United States. Those readers who are interested in a full, detailed, theoretical treatment of the subject might well read Harman's recent book which also includes an extensive bibliography.' Hagood and Price 2 discuss applications to sociological research. Tintner 3 discusses uses in economic research. The author thanks Ralph Champion, Farm Population Branch, ERS, for his help

Problems to Be Solved in Distributing 1944 Production

Physical Marketing Facilities – Functions of Distribution in Wartime – Adjustments in Consumption – Black Markets and Hoarding – Waste and Spoilage – Industrial Relation

Graphic Analysis in Economic Research

Excerpt from the report Introduction: Graphic analysis can be a powerful tool in economic research. Economic statisticians have allowed this tool to become rusty in recent years. They have been fascinated with new tools—with new mathematical theories and with wonderful electronic computing machines. The new tools are good, too. We do not suggest that any analyst throw away his mathematical textbooks or discard his calculating machine. On the other hand, we do suggest that all economists and statisticians should be familiar with graphic analysis, and should use it along with the other tools. The purpose of this handbook is to review some of the graphic tools that can be useful. It is not a complete catalog. Rather, it is a collection of examples covering a variety of analyses

Why the 3 Percent Increase in Agricultural Freight Rates Should Be Removed

Conclusion: In view of the facts and analysis just presented the Department of Agriculture urges that freight rates on all agricultural products and foods, including livestock and livestock products, and including processed foods as well as unprocessed food products, be so adjusted that they are no higher than the rates which existed at the beginning of 1942. It repeats that it believes this will provide the railroads with more than sufficient income to cover costs and will provide net revenues which compare very favorably with those of recent years. It will help very substantially the efforts of the farmer and the Government to produce the foods we need to win the war and still help materially to protect consumers against rising costs of living