(1991). Applied Linear Regression Models. Journal of Quality Technology: Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 76-77.

Applied Linear Regression Models

‘‘Gentlemen don’t need mistletoe’’ said the Christmas whiskey billboard I saw recently in Florida, a garish reminder of how much mistletoe lore is embedded in western society. Mistletoe The Genus Viscum, one in the series of medicinal and aromatic plants for industry and academic researchers, centers on the mistletoe in this advertisement, the common European mistletoe,Viscum album. There are helpful discussions on African, Asian, and Argentine mistletoes and their uses but the corpus of the book deals with V. album. Viscum album, considered sacred by the Druids, is no doubt the most widely used parasitic angiosperm for various health concoctions. As a result, much has been learned about its biochemistry and pharmaceutical potential. A great deal of the work on the culture and utilization ofV. album has been done by investigators at Institute Hiscia Center for Cancer Research in Switzerland where votaries of Rudolf Steiner’s distinct form of homeopathy have used mistletoe extracts (‘‘Iscador’’) for many years in cancer treatment. Mistletoe collected from less common hosts are considered to have greater efficacy in preparation of Iscador. As a result, there is a helpful chapter on culturing V. album which is not as difficult as might be imagined for an obligate parasite. Most of the chapters deal with the medicinal aspects of mistletoe including toxicology, clinical aspects, chemistry, and biochemistry emphasizing the lectins which are one of the more desirable compounds produced by the parasite. I found the treatment by Bu ̈ssing (Biological and pharmacological properties of Viscum album L.) helpful because it reviews the link between folk and modern medicine. However, several relevant papers were omitted which are included in a recent excellent review of mistletoes (Watson 2001). Like many books with a diversity of authors, the quality of chapters varies. Obviously produced as a reference volume, Mistletoe lacks an extensive index. Especially aggravating is the lack of an author’s index, limiting the value of the book for anyone looking for specific papers. These days, $70 for a hardbound monograph is reasonable. Color images are well-produced but some of the black and white figures are blurry in my copy. This volume will be of value to ethnobotanists, anyone interested in alternative medicines, and students of mistletoes and parasitic plants. LITERATURE CITED

Genetic Data Analysis II. Methods for Discrete Population Genentic Data

BACKGROUND: The robustness of F-test to non-normality has been studied from the 1930s through to the present day. However, this extensive body of research has yielded contradictory results, there being evidence both for and against its robustness. This study provides a systematic examination of F-test robustness to violations of normality in terms of Type I error, considering a wide variety of distributions commonly found in the health and social sciences. METHOD: We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation study involving a design with three groups and several known and unknown distributions. The manipulated variables were: Equal and unequal group sample sizes; group sample size and total sample size; coefficient of sample size variation; shape of the distribution and equal or unequal shapes of the group distributions; and pairing of group size with the degree of contamination in the distribution. RESULTS: The results showed that in terms of Type I error the F-test was robust in 100% of the cases studied, independently of the manipulated conditions. // 

Antecedentes: las consecuencias de la violacion de la normalidad sobre la robustez del estadistico F han sido estudiadas desde 1930 y siguen siendo de interes en la actualidad. Sin embargo, aunque la investigacion ha sido extensa, los resultados son contradictorios, encontrandose evidencia a favor y en contra de su robustez. El presente estudio presenta un analisis sistematico de la robustez del estadistico F en terminos de error de Tipo I ante violaciones de la normalidad, considerando una amplia variedad de distribuciones frecuentemente encontradas en ciencias sociales y de la salud. METODO: se ha realizado un estudio de simulacion Monte Carlo considerando un diseno de tres grupos y diferentes distribuciones conocidas y no conocidas. Las variables manipuladas han sido: igualdad o desigualdad del tamano de los grupos, tamano muestral total y de los grupos; coeficiente de variacion del tamano muestral; forma de la distribucion e igualdad o desigualdad de la forma en los grupos; y emparejamiento entre el tamano muestral con el grado de contaminacion en la distribucion. RESULTADOS: los resultados muestran que el estadistico F es robusto en terminos de error de Tipo I en el 100% de los casos estudiados, independientemente de las condiciones manipuladas.

/pdf/non-normal-data-is-anova-still-a-valid-option-1i7nxoaex8.pdf

Non-normal data: Is ANOVA still a valid option?

Summarizes information scattered in the technical literature on a subject too new to be included in most textbooks, but which is of interest to statisticians, and those who use statistics in science and education, at an advanced undergraduate or higher level. Overviews recent research on constructin

Confidence intervals on variance components

2. Confidence Intervals on Variance Components

A generalized p-value approach for comparing the means of several log-normal populations

Interval estimation for the mean of lognormal data with excess zeros

Comparison of several means: A fiducial based approach

In this article, a new method is proposed for constructing confidence intervals on the response variance in the unbalanced case of the one-way variance component model via generalized inference. It is shown that the generalized pivotal quantity in the method can be derived by the fiducial method directly and easily. To compare the resulted interval with the Modified Large Sample (MLS) interval by Burdick and Graybill (1984) and an approximate generalized confidence interval, a simulation study is conducted. The results indicate that the proposed method performs better than the other two methods, especially for very unbalanced designs.

Confidence Intervals on Sum of Variance Components with Unbalanced Designs

Severe outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have occurred in China for decades. Our understanding of the HFMD transmission process and its determinants is still limited. In this paper, factors that affect the local variation of HFMD transmission process were studied. Three classes of factors, including meteorological, demographic and public health intervention factors, were carefully selected and their effects on HFMD transmission were investigated with Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression models. The determining factors for the variation of HFMD transmission were different for the southeastern and the northwestern regions of China. In the northwest, fadeouts occurred yearly, and the average age at infection and the fadeout were negatively correlated with the population density. In the southeast, HFMD transmission was governed by the combined effects of the birth rate, the relative humidity and the interaction of the Health System Performance and the log of the population density. When the Health System Performance was low, HFMD transmission increased with the population density, but when the Health System Performance was high, the better health performance counteracted the transmission increase due to the higher population density.

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Xinmin Li

Papers

A generalized p-value approach for comparing the means of several log-normal populations

Interval estimation for the mean of lognormal data with excess zeros

Comparison of several means: A fiducial based approach

Confidence Intervals on Sum of Variance Components with Unbalanced Designs

Determinants of the Transmission Variation of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in China.