Scalable Empirical Bayes Inference and Bayesian Sensitivity Analysis.

Consider a Bayesian setup in which we observe , whose distribution depends on a parameter , that is, . The parameter is unknown and treated as random, and a prior distribution chosen from some parametric family , is to be placed on it. For the subjective Bayesian there is a single prior in the family which represents his or her beliefs about , but determination of this prior is very often extremely difficult.

An Empirical Bayes Approach to Shrinkage Estimation on the Manifold of Symmetric Positive-Definite Matrices.

The James-Stein estimator is an estimator of the multivariate normal mean and dominates the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) under squared error loss. The original work inspired great interest in developing shrinkage estimators for a variety of problems. Nonetheless, research on shrinkage estimation for manifold-valued data is scarce.

Honest Importance Sampling with Multiple Markov Chains.

Importance sampling is a classical Monte Carlo technique in which a random sample from one probability density, , is used to estimate an expectation with respect to another, . The importance sampling estimator is strongly consistent and, as long as two simple moment conditions are satisfied, it obeys a central limit theorem (CLT). Moreover, there is a simple consistent estimator for the asymptotic variance in the CLT, which makes for routine computation of standard errors.

A physical activity intervention to treat the frailty syndrome in older persons-results from the LIFE-P study.

Background: The frailty syndrome is as a well-established condition of risk for disability. Aim of the study is to explore whether a physical activity (PA) intervention can reduce prevalence and severity of frailty in a community-dwelling elders at risk of disability.

Methods: Exploratory analyses from the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders pilot, a randomized controlled trial enrolling 424 community-dwelling persons (mean age=76.

Estimates and Standard Errors for Ratios of Normalizing Constants from Multiple Markov Chains via Regeneration.

In the classical biased sampling problem, we have densities (·), …, (·), each known up to a normalizing constant, i.e. for = 1, …, , (·) = (·)/ , where (·) is a known function and is an unknown constant.

Safety and metabolic outcomes of resveratrol supplementation in older adults: results of a twelve-week, placebo-controlled pilot study.

Resveratrol has been found to have potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic effects. The safety and efficacy of resveratrol supplementation in older adults are currently unknown. We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to examine the safety and metabolic outcomes in 32 overweight, older adults (mean age, 73±7years).

Polymorphisms associated with asthma are inversely related to glioblastoma multiforme.

A reduced risk of primary malignant adult brain tumors is observed among people reporting asthma, hay fever, and other allergic conditions; however, findings may be attributed to prediagnostic effects of tumors or recall bias. To determine whether asthma and allergic condition polymorphisms are inversely related to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) risk, we conducted a population-based case-control study of 111 GBM patients and 422 controls. We identified five single nucleotide polymorphisms on three genes previously associated with asthma [interleukin (IL)-4RA, IL-13, ADAM33] and one gene associated with inflammation (cyclooxygenase-2).

Aspirin, ibuprofen, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in cancer prevention: a critical review of non-selective COX-2 blockade (review).

We comprehensively reviewed the published scientific literature on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and cancer and evaluated results based upon epidemiologic criteria of judgment: consistency of results, strength of association, dose response, molecular specificity, and biological plausibility. Sufficient data from 91 epidemiologic studies were available to examine the dose response of relative risk and level of NSAID intake for ten human malignancies. Dose response curves were fitted by exponential regression.

A meta-analysis of studies on the association of the platelet PlA polymorphism of glycoprotein IIIa and risk of coronary heart disease.

The Pl(A2) polymorphism of the glycoprotein IIIa subunit of the fibrinogen receptor (GPIIb-IIIa) has been reported by some studies to be associated with an increased risk of coronary thrombosis. Following the first paper on the subject in 1996, a large number of studies have investigated the relationship between this polymorphism and coronary thrombosis, either at the epidemiological or at the cellular and molecular levels. The cellular and molecular studies have shown in a consistent manner that this polymorphism increases platelet responsiveness.