Statistics and Probability Commons^™

Four Weeks Of Minimalist Style Running Training Reduced Lumbar Paraspinal Muscle Activation During Shod Running, Stephanie Barton, David Brown, Talia Joyce

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background and Purpose: Research has shown that the risk of low back dysfunctions in runners is related to the increased mileage of distance running. Repetitive shock loading of the spinal structures during running has been indicated as one of the important biomechanical mechanisms underlying such injury. Acute changes in foot strike pattern, like those seen during minimalist style running, have been shown to lead to modifications in lumbar range of motion. Minimalist style running could lead to changes in lumbar biomechanics and muscle activation, potentially reducing the loading on the musculoskeletal structures of the lower back. However, the long term …

Exact Statistical Inferences For Functions Of Parameters Of The Log-Gamma Distribution, Joseph F. Mcdonald

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The log-gamma model has been used extensively for flood frequency analysis and is an important distribution in reliability, medical and other areas of lifetime testing. Conventional methods fails to provide exact solutions for the log-gamma model while asymptotic methods provide approximate solutions that often have poor performance for typical sample sizes. The two parameter log-gamma distribution is examined using the generalized p-value approach. The methods are exact in the sense that the tests and the confidence intervals are based on exact probability statements rather than on asymptotic approximations. Exact tests and exact confidence intervals for the parameter of interest based …

A Study Of Sequential Inference For The Risk Ratio And Measure Of Reduction Of Two Binomials, Zhou Wang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The binomial distribution is one of the most commonly and widely occurring probabilistic phenomena in our lives. Since observations from independent Bernoulli trials yield a dichotomous type, the distribution of sequences provides the basis and clue for statistical formulations of a wide variety of problems.

Occasionally, the core of biomedical studies is related to the comparison and evaluation of the risks of events or outcomes of interest in comparing populations under study. For instance, one wishes to compare two groups of subjects drawn from two independent populations. Then, two sample proportions play central roles in those comparisons. One of the …

Novel Applications Of And Extensions To Linear Regression Methods For The Biomedical And Materials Sciences., Joe Bible

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this work we present three topics, each of which centered on either the application or modification of various linear regression methods. Our work with respect to the “Materials Genome” project while undermined by oversimplification and data integrity issues in its early stages, provides a sound platform from which the project can proceed successfully. Building upon a growing body of knowledge around the use of Weighted Generalized Estimating Equations (WGEE), our second investigation proposes an extension to that framework intended to address the inherent bias present in the analysis of clustered longitudinal data with potentially informative cluster sizes and temporal …

Geographical Analysis Of Hub City Transit, Joshua Adam Watts

Master's Theses

This study assess Hub City Transit, the public bus system of Hattiesburg, MS. Statistical analysis is used to determine how well the transit system serves low income areas of the city. A 0.5 mile buffer was applied to the bus routes to determine the coverage of the transit system. Areas of disorder along the routes were also assessed to analyze the landscape routes pass through. Lastly, an analysis of ridership on each route was performed to determine the most heavily used areas, as well as to assess where riders are going on each route.

The findings show that Hub City …

Modeling Seed Dispersal And Population Migration Given A Distribution Of Seed Handling Times And Variable Dispersal Motility: Case Study For Pinyon And Juniper In Utah, Ram C. Neupane

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The spread of fruiting tree species is strongly determined by the behavior and range of fruit-eating animals, particularly birds. Birds either consume and digest seeds or carry and cache them at some distance from the source tree. These carried and settled seeds provide some form of distribution which generates tree spread to the new location. Firstly, we modal seed dispersal by birds and introduce it in a dispersal model to estimate seed distribution. Using this distribution, we create a population model to estimate the speed at which juniper and pinyon forest boundaries move.

Secondly, we introduce a fact that bird …

Annotation Tools For Multivariate Gene Set Testing Of Non-Model Organisms, Russell K. Banks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Microarray chip technology enables researchers to obtain measures of gene activity for essentially all genes in an organism. After grouping genes into biologically meaningful sets, researchers employ certain statistical tests to identify which gene sets (biological processes) show different levels of activity across different treatment groups. The idea is to identify which biological processes are significantly affected by a certain treatment/condition in a given organism.

Non-model organisms (such as sheep) are not widely studied so gene set membership information is not always readily accessible. This thesis work utilizes two microarray studies involving sheep to provide researchers with working examples of …

Scientific Awareness At Ursinus College, Frank G. Devone

Mathematics Honors Papers

Ursinus College prides itself on creating well-rounded students, and recent initiatives, such as the Fellowships in the Ursinus Transition to the Undergraduate Research Experience Program and the Center for Science and the Common Good suggest that science is a vital part of the Ursinus liberal arts mission. A scientific awareness pilot survey was administered to a sample of Ursinus students drawn from the Class of 2014 and students residing at Ursinus during summer 2014. Experience and data collected from this pilot were used to create a final survey which was made available to all students at Ursinus College. The survey …

Orbital Simulations For Directed Energy Deflection Of Near-Earth Asteroids, Qicheng Zhang, Kevin J. Walsh, Carl Melis, Gary B. Hughes, Philip Lubin

Statistics

Directed energy laser ablation at the surface of an asteroid or comet produces an ejection plume that will impart a thrust on the asteroid. This thrust can mitigate a threatened collision with the Earth. This technique uses the asteroid itself as the deflection propellant. The DESTAR laser system is designed to produce a sufficiently intense spot on the surface of an asteroid to accomplish this in one of two operational modes. One is a complete "stand-off" mode where a large space based phased-array laser directed energy system can interdict asteroids at large distances allowing sufficient time to mitigate nearly all …

Modeling Traffic At An Intersection, Kaleigh L. Mulkey, Saniita K. Fasenntao

Symposium of Student Scholars

The main purpose of this project is to build a mathematical model for traffic at a busy intersection. We use elements of Queueing Theory to build our model: the vehicles driving into the intersection are the “arrival process” and the stop light in the intersection is the “server.”

We collected traffic data on the number of vehicles arriving to the intersection, the duration of green and red lights, and the number of vehicles going through the intersection during a green light. We built a SAS macro code to simulate traffic based on parameters derived from the data.

In our program …

Adaptive Enrichment Designs For Randomized Trials With Delayed Endpoints, Using Locally Efficient Estimators To Improve Precision, Michael Rosenblum, Tianchen Qian, Yu Du, Huitong Qiu

Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Biostatistics Working Papers

Adaptive enrichment designs involve preplanned rules for modifying enrollment criteria based on accrued data in an ongoing trial. For example, enrollment of a subpopulation where there is sufficient evidence of treatment efficacy, futility, or harm could be stopped, while enrollment for the remaining subpopulations is continued. Most existing methods for constructing adaptive enrichment designs are limited to situations where patient outcomes are observed soon after enrollment. This is a major barrier to the use of such designs in practice, since for many diseases the outcome of most clinical importance does not occur shortly after enrollment. We propose a new class …

Ranked Based Procedures For Ordered Alternative Models, Yuanyuan Shao

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

The ordered alternatives in a one-way layout with k ordered treatment levels are appropriate for many applications, especially in psychology and medicine. There is an extensive literature in this area, and many parametric and nonparametric approaches have been introduced. This study uses rank based estimators to robustify the Abelson-Tukey method. The approach extends to the two-way layout with b blocks and k treatments. One of the two statistics having maximum asymptotic local power and the greatest efficiency when the alternative hypothesis consists of a specific pattern, and extended research has been completed on detecting ordered alternatives with unknown peaks.

Model Of Cost-Effectiveness Of Mri For Women Of Average Lifetime Risk Of Breast Cancer, Mckenna L. Kimball

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Background: Mammography is the current standard for breast cancer detection however magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a more sensitive method of breast imaging. Despite MRI’s increased sensitivity, MRI has more false positives and higher costs. The purpose of this study was to determine if MRI or MRI in conjunction with mammography was a cost-effective solution for breast cancer detection in women with average lifetime risk of breast cancer.

Methods: A mathematical model was used to compare annual mammography, annual MRI, and mammography and MRI on alternate years. The model included the natural history of breast cancer, screening by mammography …

Characteristics Of Stem Success: A Survival Analysis Model Of Factors Influencing Time To Graduation Among Undergraduate Stem Majors, Riley K. Acton

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Producing more graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), as well as ensuring students complete college in a timely manner are both areas of national public policy interest. In order to improve these two outcomes, it is imperative to understand what factors lead undergraduate students to persist in, and ultimately graduate with STEM degrees. This paper uses data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, provided by The National Center of Education Statistics, to model the time to baccalaureate degree among STEM majors using a Cox proportional hazard model.

Quantifying The Sensitivity Of Maximum, Limiting, And Potential Tropical Cyclone Intensity To Sst: Observations Versus The Fsu/ Coaps Global Climate Model, Sarah Strazzo, James Elsner, Tim Larow

Publications

No abstract provided.

Recent Periods Of Financial Turbulence On The Russian Stock Market And Their Effect On Price Correlation And Value At Risk, Alexander Logoveev, Gregory Cherinko

Undergraduate Economic Review

The aim of this article is to observe and analyze the recent periods of financial turbulence on the Russian stock market and determine their influence on the correlation coefficients between asset prices and the Value at Risk measure for a portfolio. Our task was to describe the previously observed phenomenon of correlation enlargement during times of financial crises deemed in our research as separate Black Swans. Based on up-to-date financial data analysis we determined correlation trends that can be useful in risk management and applied the Value at Risk method.

Simulation Of Semicompeting Risk Survival Data And Estimation Based On Multistate Frailty Model, Fei Jiang, Sebastien Haneuse

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

We develop a simulation procedure to simulate the semicompeting risk survival data. In addition, we introduce an EM algorithm and a B–spline based estimation procedure to evaluate and implement Xu et al. (2010)’s nonparametric likelihood es- timation approach. The simulation procedure provides a route to simulate samples from the likelihood introduced in Xu et al. (2010)’s. Further, the EM algorithm and the B–spline methods stabilize the estimation and gives accurate estimation results. We illustrate the simulation and the estimation procedure with simluation examples and real data analysis.

Association Between Nutritional Awareness And Diet Quality: Evidence From The Observation Of Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Luxembourg (Oriscav-Lux) Study, Ala'a Alkerwi, Nicolas Sauvageot, Leoné Malan, Nitin Shivappa, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

This study examined the association between nutritional awareness and diet quality, as indicated by energy density, dietary diversity and adequacy to achieve dietary recommendations, while considering the potentially important role of socioeconomic status (SES). Data were derived from 1351 subjects, aged 18–69 years and enrolled in the ORISCAV-LUX study. Energy density score (EDS), dietary diversity score (DDS) and Recommendation Compliance Index (RCI) were calculated based on data derived from a food frequency questionnaire. Nutritional awareness was defined as self-perception of the importance assigned to eating balanced meals, and classified as high, moderate, or of little importance. Initially, a General Linear …

Gaussian Process Modeling Of Modern Mass Spectrometry Computer Experimental Data, Mickey Warner, C. Shane Reese

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction A new mass spectrometry technique (VENDAMS) has been developed to allow the quantification of rate constants for complicated chemical reactions. Due to the expensive nature of the method, computer experiments designed to solve a set of equations provide supplemental information to the process.

Test On Existence Of Histology Subtype-Specific Prognostic Signatures Among Early Stage Lung Adenocarcinoma And Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Using A Cox-Model Based Filter, Suyan Tian, Chi Wang, Ming-Wen An

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the predominant histological type of lung cancer, accounting for up to 85% of cases. Disease stage is commonly used to determine adjuvant treatment eligibility of NSCLC patients, however, it is an imprecise predictor of the prognosis of an individual patient. Currently, many researchers resort to microarray technology for identifying relevant genetic prognostic markers, with particular attention on trimming or extending a Cox regression model. Adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are two major histology subtypes of NSCLC. It has been demonstrated that fundamental differences exist in their underlying mechanisms, which motivated us …