Search results for " Nonparametric"
showing 10 items of 335 documents
TLR4 Up-regulation and Reduced Foxp3 Expression in Mechanically Ventilated Smokers with Obstructive Chronic Bronchitis
2013
Background: Chronic bronchitis (CB) is a risk factor in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for accelerated lung function decline and increased mortality. The lung and systemic inflammatory and immunological profile of COPD patients with CB which acutely experience respiratory failure upon a disease exacerbation is unknown. Methods: In this study, we explored the expression of Foxp3 by western blot analysis, TLR4 by immunocytochemistry and the concentrations of IP-10 and IL-8 by ELISA in the mini-bronchoalveolar lavages (mini-BAL) and in the peripheral blood of patients with respiratory failure requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. The recruited subjects were separated i…
Chronological expression of Ciliated Bronchial Epithelium 1 during pulmonary development
2009
Ciliated Bronchial Epithelium (CBE) 1 is a novel gene, which is expressed in ciliated cells. As cilia are important during embryogenesis, the present authors characterised the murine homologue of CBE1 (Cbe1) and compared its temporal expression during murine and human lung development. Cbe1 cDNA was cloned and characterised using sequencing, standard PCR and Western blotting. Mouse and human embryonic/fetal lungs (HELs) were harvested for mRNA analysis and protein localisation in vivo and in vitro using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The Cbe1 amino acid sequence was >75% identical with CBE1 and its alternative splicing and tissue distribution were highly conserved. Pulmonary expression of…
Effect of a 1-year elastic band resistance exercise program on cardiovascular risk profile in postmenopausal women
2018
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a 1-year progressive resistance training program using elastic bands on cardiovascular profile parameters in sedentary postmenopausal (>12 months’ amenorrhea) women. Methods: This longitudinal prospective experimental study included 38 menopausal women who were randomly divided into two groups: an intervention group (IG, n = 18), who completed a progressive resistance training program with elastic bands over the course of 12 months (six exercises for whole body training, three sets × 10 repetitions), and a control group (CG, n = 20) that did not perform any training. Blood analysis and body composition were determined at bas…
Biologic response of inguinal hernia prosthetics: a comparative study of conventional static meshes versus 3D dynamic implants.
2015
Despite improvements in prosthetics and surgical techniques, the rate of complications following inguinal hernia repair remains high. Among these, discomfort and chronic pain have become a source of increasing concern among surgeons. Poor quality of tissue ingrowth, such as thin scar plates or shrinking scars-typical results with conventional static implants and plugs-may contribute to these adverse events. Recently, a new type of 3D dynamically responsive implant was introduced to the market. This device, designed to be placed fixation-free, seems to induce ingrowth of viable and structured tissue instead of regressive fibrotic scarring. To elucidate the differences in biologic response be…
Control of Bactrocera oleae by low environmental impact methods: NPC methodology to evaluate the efficacy of lure-and-kill method and copper hydroxid…
2011
The NonParametric Combination (NPC) methodology is proposed to verify the influence of the lure-and-kill method, using Ecotraps (Vioryl SA), on the distribution of Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera Tephritidae) infestation in olive groves, and the integration of this method with copper hydroxide sprayings. This approach does not require the verification of any rigid assumption as many parametric methods do. Results of field trials indicate a strict relationship among the efficiency of the lure-and-kill method on time, dimension of the field, and population density of the olive fly. Moreover, the lure-and-kill method alone seems insufficient to provide an efficient control of the olive fly p…
Growth Volatility and the Structure of the Economy
2011
The aim of the chapter is twofold: (i) to propose a methodology to compute the growth rate volatility of an economy and (ii) to investigate the relationship between growth volatility and economic development through the lenses of the structural characteristics of an economy. We study a large cross-section of countries in the period 1970–2009, controlling for the stability of the estimates in two subperiods: 1970:1989 (Period I) and 1990:2009 (Period II). Our main findings are (i) the degree of trade openness has a destabilizing effect, while the degree of financial openness has not a significant effect; (ii) the size of the public sector displays a U-shaped relationship with growth volatili…
Survival analysis of proposed BCLC-B subgroups in hepatocellular carcinoma patients
2013
Background & Aims The BCLC-staging system is used to facilitate treatment decisions in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Owing to the observed clinical heterogeneity of the intermediate stage BCLC-B, a subclassification was proposed taking Child–Pugh score and extended criteria for transplantation into account. Analysis of the prognostic significance of a proposed subclassification of the BCLC-B score in a European cohort of HCC patients. Methods Eight hundred and eighty four consecutive HCC patients were retrospectively analysed. Patients with stage BCLC-B were grouped according to the proposed subclassification. Baseline patient and tumour characteristics, therapy and overall …
Multivariate nonparametric estimation of the Pickands dependence function using Bernstein polynomials
2017
Abstract Many applications in risk analysis require the estimation of the dependence among multivariate maxima, especially in environmental sciences. Such dependence can be described by the Pickands dependence function of the underlying extreme-value copula. Here, a nonparametric estimator is constructed as the sample equivalent of a multivariate extension of the madogram. Shape constraints on the family of Pickands dependence functions are taken into account by means of a representation in terms of Bernstein polynomials. The large-sample theory of the estimator is developed and its finite-sample performance is evaluated with a simulation study. The approach is illustrated with a dataset of…
Social capital and economic growth in Europe: nonlinear trends and heterogeneous regional effects
2016
After two decades of academic debate on the social capital-growth nexus, discussion still remains open. Most of the literature so far, however, has followed the one-size-its-all approach, neglecting that the great disparities across geographical units might have implications in this relationship. This article analyzes the role of two social capital indicators on the growth of 237 European regions in the period 1995–2007 by implementing a set of both parametric and non- parametric regressions. Whereas the former impose a linear functional form for the parameters, the latter relax this assumption providing a flexible frame in which the functional form is given by the data. The technique also …
On a set of data for the membrane potential in a neuron
2006
We consider a set of data where the membrane potential in a pyramidal neuron is measured almost continuously in time, under varying experimental conditions. We use nonparametric estimates for the diffusion coefficient and the drift in view to contribute to the discussion which type of diffusion process is suitable to model the membrane potential in a neuron (more exactly: in a particular type of neuron under particular experimental conditions).