725,235 research outputs found
Selective COX-2 inhibitors and risk of myocardial infarction
No full textSelective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase- 2 ( COX- 2, ` coxibs') are highly effective anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs that exert their action by preventing the formation of prostanoids. Recently some coxibs, which were designed to exploit the advantageous effects of non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs while evading their side effects, have been reported to increase the risk of myocardial infarction and atherothrombotic events. This has led to the withdrawal of rofecoxib from global markets, and warnings have been issued by drug authorities about similar events during the use of celecoxib or valdecoxib/ parecoxib, bringing about questions of an inherent atherothrombotic risk of all coxibs and consequences that should be drawn by health care professionals. These questions need to be addressed in light of the known effects of selective inhibition of COX- 2 on the cardiovascular system. Although COX- 2, in contrast to the cyclooxygenase-1 ( COX- 1) isoform, is regarded as an inducible enzyme that only has a role in pathophysiological processes like pain and inflammation, experimental and clinical studies have shown that COX- 2 is constitutively expressed in tissues like the kidney or vascular endothelium, where it executes important physiological functions. COX- 2- dependent formation of prostanoids not only results in the mediation of pain or inflammatory signals but also in the maintenance of vascular integrity. Especially prostacyclin ( PGI(2)), which exerts vasodilatory and antiplatelet properties, is formed to a significant extent by COX- 2, and its levels are reduced to less than half of normal when COX- 2 is inhibited. This review outlines the rationale for the development of selective COX- 2 inhibitors and the pathophysiological consequences of selective inhibition of COX- 2 with special regard to vasoactive prostaglandins. It describes coxibs that are currently available, evaluates the current knowledge on the risk of atherothrombotic events associated with their intake and critically discusses the consequences that should be drawn from these insights. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel
A Robust Parameterization for Unbounded Covariates Within the Cox Proportional Hazards Model
No full textThe Cox proportional hazards model is widely used in the analysis of medical data either for survival or time to
a particular event. Factors and continuous covariates can be easily incorporated into the model and hazard ratios
calculated. The model can however be distorted when extreme value observations occur within a continuous covariate
and the hazard ratio can become extremely large. To overcome this, transformations of the covariate are often made,
which can be simple, e.g. log, or more sophisticated such as the fitting of a fractional polynomial. This paper takes a
different approach and makes a transformation based on the logistic function that has the property that the hazard ratio
is bounded. The models are introduced and discussed. Model diagnostics based on Schoenfeld residuals and the
influence function are established and then data from a pancreatic cancer trial are used to illustrate the model
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Generating Survival Times to Simulate Cox Proportional Hazards Models
No full textThis paper discusses techniques to generate survival times for simulation studies regarding Cox proportional hazards models. In linear regression models, the response variable is directly connected with the considered covariates, the regression coefficients and the simulated random errors. Thus, the response variable can be generated from the regression function, once the regression coefficients and the error distribution are specified. However, in the Cox model, which is formulated via the hazard function, the effect of the covariates have to be translated from the hazards to the survival times, because the usual software packages for estimation of Cox models require the individual survival time data. A general formula describing the relation between the hazard and the corresponding survival time of the Cox model is derived. It is shown how the exponential, the Weibull and the Gompertz distribution can be used to generate appropriate survival times for simulation studies. Additionally, the general relation between hazard and survival time can be used to develop own distributions for special situations and to handle flexibly parameterized proportional hazards models. The use of other distributions than the exponential distribution only is indispensable to investigate the characteristics of the Cox proportional hazards model, especially in non-standard situations, where the partial likelihood depends on the baseline hazard
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
BOX-COX TRANSFORMATIONS AND ERROR TERM SPECIFICATION IN DEMAND MODELS
No full textThis paper analyzes the influence of error-term specification and functional form on a quarterly demand model for beef. The Box-Cox transformation is used to generalize the functional form while the equation error term is postulated to be both heteroskedastic and autoregressive. Results indicated that both functional form and error-term specification can play a major role in elasticity estimation, elasticity behavior, and hypothesis testing.Demand and Price Analysis,
Tie Turning Box-Cox including Quadratic Forms in Regression
No full textIn a regression model where a Box-Cox transformation is used on a positive independent variable X which appears only once in the equation, the effect of X on the dependent variable Y is either strictly increasing or decreasing over the whole range of X , since the transformation is a monotonic function of X , increasing or decreasing depending on the Box-Cox parameter ë. This paper considers the case where the variable X appears twice in the regression with two different Box-Cox parameters 1 ë and 2 ë , to allow a turning point in Y which can be a maximum or minimum. First and second-order conditions for the critical point are derived. This general specification includes as a special case the quadratic form in X where 1 ë and 2 ë are set equal to 1 and 2, respectively. If, instead of using the Box-Cox transformations, one uses simple powers of X , this form is equivalent to the Box-Cox form except that neither 1 ë nor 2 ë can be equal to zero, since in this case 1 ë X or 2 ë X reduces to a constant of value 1.Box-Cox Transformation, Quadratic Form, Asymmetric U-shaped Forms, Regression. Classification-JEL :
Tomographic inversion of focusing operators
No full textSeismic images of the structure of the earth are a prerequisite for finding new hydrocarbon reservoirs. The quality of a seismic images is highly dependent on the accuracy of the velocity model of the subsurface. Conventional imaging consists of an iterative process between obtaining the image using a velocity model, and updating this model by investigating the properties of the image. The Common Focal Point (CFP) method makes it possible to analyze and treat seismic data in a fundamentally different way as it uses a two-step approach: 1) two-way reflection data are transformed into one-way data by estimating focusing operators, and 2) these focusing operators are used to estimate the velocity model by tomographic inversion. This second step, the tomographic inversion of focusing operators, is the subject of this thesis. This research contains two important new aspects. First, the use of focusing operators in (3D) velocity model estimation. Second the data-driven approach of the method. Some additional concepts like the inclusion of a priori information, the joint inversion of P and S-wave operators, and the new concept of the focal point clouds, by which the adequacy of the velocity model can be analyzed, are also addressed. After evaluation of the method of tomographic inversion of focusing operators on both synthetic and real data it can be concluded that the method results in accurate velocity models and is capable of dealing with complex subsurface models.Applied Science
Implementation of complex interactions in a Cox regression framework
No full textThe standard Cox proportional hazards model has been extended by functionally describable interaction terms. The first of which are related to neural networks by adopting the idea of transforming sums of weighted covariables by means of a logistic function. A class of reasonable weight combinations within the logistic transformation is described. Apart from the standard covariable product interaction, a product of logistically transformed covariables has also been included in the analysis of performance of the new terms. An algorithm combining likelihood ratio tests and AIC criterion has been defined for model choice. The critical values of the likelihood ratio test statistics had to be corrected in order to guarantee a maximum type I error of 5% for each interaction term. The new class of interaction terms allows interpretation of functional relationships between covariables with more flexibility and can easily be implemented in standard software packages
Bias of Maximum-Likelihood estimates in logistic and Cox regression models: A comparative simulation study
No full textParameter estimates of logistic and Cox regression models are biased for finite samples. In a simulation study we investigated for both models the behaviour of the bias in relation to sample size and further parameters. In the case of a dichotomous explanatory variable x the magnitude of the bias is strongly influenced by the baseline risk defined by the constants of the models and the risk resulting for the high risk group. To conduct a direct comparison of the bias of the two models analyses were based on the same simulated data. Overall, the bias of the two models appear to be similar, however, the Cox model has less bias in situations where the baseline risk is high
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