Joris Mulder, Jean-Paul Fox.

Source: Bayesian Analysis, Volume 14, Number 2, 521--552.

Abstract:
The intraclass correlation plays a central role in modeling hierarchically structured data, such as educational data, panel data, or group-randomized trial data. It represents relevant information concerning the between-group and within-group variation. Methods for Bayesian hypothesis tests concerning the intraclass correlation are proposed to improve decision making in hierarchical data analysis and to assess the grouping effect across different group categories. Estimation and testing methods for the intraclass correlation coefficient are proposed under a marginal modeling framework where the random effects are integrated out. A class of stretched beta priors is proposed on the intraclass correlations, which is equivalent to shifted $F$ priors for the between groups variances. Through a parameter expansion it is shown that this prior is conditionally conjugate under the marginal model yielding efficient posterior computation. A special improper case results in accurate coverage rates of the credible intervals even for minimal sample size and when the true intraclass correlation equals zero. Bayes factor tests are proposed for testing multiple precise and order hypotheses on intraclass correlations. These tests can be used when prior information about the intraclass correlations is available or absent. For the noninformative case, a generalized fractional Bayes approach is developed. The method enables testing the presence and strength of grouped data structures without introducing random effects. The methodology is applied to a large-scale survey study on international mathematics achievement at fourth grade to test the heterogeneity in the clustering of students in schools across countries and assessment cycles.

Daniela Pauger, Helga Wagner.

Source: Bayesian Analysis, Volume 14, Number 2, 341--369.

Abstract:
We propose a Bayesian approach to obtain a sparse representation of the effect of a categorical predictor in regression type models. As this effect is captured by a group of level effects, sparsity cannot only be achieved by excluding single irrelevant level effects or the whole group of effects associated to this predictor but also by fusing levels which have essentially the same effect on the response. To achieve this goal, we propose a prior which allows for almost perfect as well as almost zero dependence between level effects a priori. This prior can alternatively be obtained by specifying spike and slab prior distributions on all effect differences associated to this categorical predictor. We show how restricted fusion can be implemented and develop an efficient MCMC (Markov chain Monte Carlo) method for posterior computation. The performance of the proposed method is investigated on simulated data and we illustrate its application on real data from EU-SILC (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions).

The reaction on social media has been fierce.

Steven Poser
Jun 1, 2003; 23:4420-4427
Cellular

Spanish version of BIS Press Release - Big tech in finance: opportunities and risks, 23 June 2019

The digital revolution has changed the way we work, access information and connect with each other. It offers opportunities to those who can use the new technologies, but also presents new challenges for those who are left behind. Often referred to collectively as Information and Communications Technologies or ICTs, these technologies are any method of electronically sharing or storing data: telephones, [...]

Blending marshmallows with scientific rigor, the contest offers levity during a difficult time

The 18th-century Edinburgh factory once produced a million bottles a week

In a written decision released Thursday, a panel of three appeal court judges said the judge who granted the award to McCaw North Drilling and Blasting Ltd. misinterpreted a clause in the contract for the cleanup.

<span class="topsy_trackback_comment"><span class="topsy_twitter_username"><span class="topsy_trackback_content">Tamil flick Endhiran slated to hit theatres on 1st October | RSS ...: Mumbai (Bollypatrika News): Tamil flick “End... http://bit.ly/dxOe6H</span></span>

"It is unfortunate that it has come to pass that we have to collectively and overtly publicly declare that we are unified," says Alberta Medical Association president Christine Molnar.

A doctor on Manitoulin Island is encouraging seasonal residents to stay home and not to come visit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones are rendered electrocompetent and transformed with the recombinant shuttle vector, pLD53SCAB/AB-box. Cointegrates are selected by growth on chloramphenicol and ampicillin to ensure recombination of the shuttle vector into the BAC.

Plasmid DNA is prepared from the recombinant shuttle vector pLD53.SCAB/A-B created by cloning of the A and B homology arms for two-step bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) engineering. To confirm that the A-box and B-box arms have been successfully incorporated into pLD53.SCAB, the pattern of enzyme digestion of the modified plasmid is compared with that of the unmodified pLD53.SCAB. Once the shuttle vector is shown to carry the proper sequences, it is ready for transfer into the BAC host.

This protocol describes the preparation of the shuttle vector before its introduction into bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) host cells for BAC two-step engineering. The homology arm sequences, prepared previously, are introduced by ligation into the digested shuttle vector DNA to provide sites for recombination within the BAC clone. Crude lysates of individual bacterial transformants serve as templates in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to confirm the presence of the homology arms in the recombinant shuttle vector.

In two-step bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) engineering, a single plasmid is introduced into the BAC-carrying cell lines. The shuttle vector pLD53.SCAB (or pLD53.SCAEB) carries the recA gene and the R6K origin, which requires the protein to replicate. PIR2 cells, expressing , are typically used for the amplification of the vector and maintain about 15 copies/cell of the donor vector, which is relatively stable in this host.

The Covid-19 shock is placing enormous strains on corporates cash buffers. Corporate financial statements from 2019 suggest that 50% of firms do not have sufficient cash to cover total debt servicing costs over the coming year. Credit lines could provide firms with additional liquidity. On average undrawn credit stood around 120% of debt servicing costs at end 2019. However, access is uneven and banks may be reluctant to renew or extend them in the current environment. Sticky operating expenses result in many firms running operating losses, placing an additional burden on cash buffers. Estimates indicate that following a 10% drop in revenues, operating expenses only fall by 6% on average. Simulations suggest that if revenues fall by 25% in 2020, then closing the entire funding gap with debt would raise firm leverage by around 10 percentage points.

Information technology, health care, and consumer discretionary stocks that outperformed in the last decade have done well in the first four months of 2020.

Publication by Mr Dimitar Radev, Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, in the Quarterly Bulletin of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria, issue 61, March 2020.

Introductory remarks by Mr Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Media News Conference of the Swiss National Bank, Berne, 25 March 2020.

The province has extended the deadline for people to leave tent cities in Victoria until May 20. The original deadline was May 9 for campers to be out of Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park as well as Topaz and Pandora parks in Victoria.

Vancouver police officers have seized an eight-foot boa constrictor and multiple weapons from a tent at the Oppenheimer park encampment in Vancouver.

An OM team has a rare opportunity to share the Gospel with the Doma people at the funeral of a senior member of the community.

After several days in which fewer than 400 cases of COVID-19 were added to the provincial tally, Friday's report was up again, with 477 new cases reported.

Russia marked 75 years since the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War on Saturday, but the coronavirus outbreak forced it to scale back celebrations seen as boosting support for President Vladimir Putin.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are ways to safely host NHL games in Vancouver if the league goes ahead with resuming the season in a small number of hub cities.

The bonspiel took place in Edmonton March 11-14, starting the same day COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.

Introductory statement by Ms Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and Mr Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 30 April 2020.

Advanced preliminary release for Q4 2019 quarterly data on total credit to the non-financial sectors; comprising private non-financial sector and general government for 44 economies and regional aggregates have been updated. Data are available for the following borrowing subsectors: general government, private non-financial sector (series on credit from domestic banks as lending sector are also available), non-financial corporations and households. Data are presented in three versions: in billions of local currency and US dollars, and as a percentage of GDP.

Advanced preliminary release for Q4 2019 quarterly data on debt service ratios (DSRs) for the private non-financial sector (PNFS) for 32 countries have been updated. DSRs for PNFS breakdown sectors, ie for households and for non-financial corporations are also available for 17 countries.

Banks' performance on equity and debt markets since the Covid-19 outbreak has been on a par with that experienced after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. During the initial phase, the market sell-off swept over all banks, which underperformed significantly relative to other sectors. Still, markets showed some differentiation by bank nationality, and credit default swap (CDS) spreads rose the most for those banks that had entered the crisis with the highest level of credit risk. The subsequent stabilisation, brought about by forceful policy measures since mid-March, has favoured banks with higher profitability and healthier balance sheets. Less profitable banks saw their long-term rating outlooks revised to negative. And the CDS spreads of the riskiest banks continued increasing even through the stabilisation phase.

Information technology, health care, and consumer discretionary stocks that outperformed in the last decade have done well in the first four months of 2020.

European Systemic Risk Board Occasional Papers by Greg Ros

Central Bank of Chile Working Papers by Andrés Sagner

Health care professionals are being punished for protecting themselves, and us.

“I just went down on my knees,” his mother recalled later. “I just implored God for mercy.”

Peeking out our windows, we see America shriveling.

The association is happy with a ruling that found it violated the law.

A Malagasy witch doctor comes to faith in Christ during an OM outreach and is baptised just one week before his death.

One major goal of integrative and comparative biology is to understand and explain the interaction between the performance and behavior of animals in their natural environment. The Caviomorph, Octodon degu, is a native rodent species from Chile, and represents a unique model to study physiological and behavioral traits, including cognitive and sensory abilities. Degus live in colonies and have a well-structured social organization, with a mostly diurnal–crepuscular circadian activity pattern. More notable is the fact that in captivity, they reproduce and live between 5 and 7 yr and show hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer's disease), diabetes, and cancer.

On a recent outreach to several towns in the Amazon jungle, OM Peru worked with the Presbyterian Church of Moyabamba and its annexes.

Stephen Brandon takes on the role of national director for OM New Zealand after serving as OM’s International Web Manager for six years.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a higher prevalence of epilepsy compared with general populations. In this pilot study, we prospectively identified baseline risk factors for the development of seizures in individuals with ASD and also identified characteristics sensitive to seizure onset up to 6 years after enrollment in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network.

Alan Scott, creative director at Johnstons of Elgin

Actor and Celebrity MasterChef winner John Partridge shares his culinary journey of recovery and grief with Jenny Stallard.

At a time when there are no entertainment events being held, players in the industry are looking at options to remain relevant.Music video director Rohan Kashwayne Edwards believes there is an even greater demand for music videos during this COVID-19 crisis.