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The star-shaped ordering between probability distributions is a common way to express aging properties. A well-known criterion was proposed by Saunders and Moran [(1978). On the quantiles of the gamma and F distributions. Journal of Applied Probability 15(2): 426–432], to order families of distributions depending on one real parameter. However, the lifetime of complex systems usually depends on several parameters, especially when considering heterogeneous components. We extend the Saunders and Moran criterion characterizing the star-shaped order when the multidimensional parameter moves along a given direction. A few applications to the lifetime of complex models, namely parallel and series models assuming different individual components behavior, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shahab Ahmed's What Is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic (2016) challenges Islamic Studies scholars, (art) historians, and anthropologists to reconsider theoretical frameworks underpinning historical and ethnographic research. This article addresses Ahmed's concerns that studies of Islam often conceptually privilege orthodoxy, by including drinking and intoxication as worthy of close attention in examining the history and the anthropology of Islam. The case of Wine Shop the Philosopher, run by a former Afghan refugee in The Hague and Amsterdam, is presented after establishing the comparative and interdisciplinary relevance of alcohol consumption in studies of Islam and Muslims. Ahmed's conceptual framework is used and assessed in comparison with the wine shops' contemporary pluralist reality by exploring the idealized boundaries of Persianate culture and Islam in dialogues between Persian-speaking interlocutors. It is argued that alcoholic drinks lend themselves to competing gastro-nationalisms and prompt ethnolinguistic tensions between and within groups with Turkish, Moroccan, Iranian, and Afghan backgrounds in the Netherlands. The focus on diverse, coexisting and clashing drink regimes, in conclusion, allows us to deconstruct dichotomies between sober Muslims and European drinkers, African and Asian believers and European unbelievers, and refugees and citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stochastic ordering of random variables may be defined by the relative convexity of the tail functions. This has been extended to higher order stochastic orderings, by iteratively reassigning tail-weights. The actual verification of stochastic orderings is not simple, as this depends on inverting distribution functions for which there may be no explicit expression. The iterative definition of distributions, of course, contributes to make that verification even harder. We have a look at the stochastic ordering, introducing a method that allows for explicit usage, applying it to the Gamma and Weibull distributions, giving a complete description of the order of relations within each of these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to introduce a new measure of noncompactness on the Sobolev space $W^{n,p}[0,T]$. As an application, we investigate the existence of solutions for some classes of functional integro-differential equations in this space using Darbo’s fixed point theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To examine the utility of using external estimates of within-person variation to adjust usual nutrient intake distributions.Design: Analyses of the prevalence of inadequate intake of an example nutrient by the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cut-point method using three different methods of statistical adjustment of the usual intake distribution of a single 24-hour recall in Russian children in 1996, using the Iowa State University method for adjustment of the distribution. First, adjusting the usual intake distribution with day 2 recalls from the same 1996 sample (the correct method); second, adjusting the distribution using external variance estimates derived from US children in 1996; and third, adjusting the distribution using external estimates derived from Russian children of the same age in 2000. We also present prevalence estimates based on naive statistical analysis of the unadjusted distribution of intakes.Setting/subjects: Children drawn from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey in 1996 and 2000 and from the 1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals.Results: When the EAR cut-point method is applied to a single recall, the resulting prevalence estimate in this study is inflated by 100-1300%. When the intake distribution is adjusted using an external variance estimate, the prevalence estimate is much less biased, suggesting that any adjustment may give less biased estimates than no adjustment.Conclusions: In moderately large samples, adjusting distributions with external estimates of variances results in more reliable prevalence estimates than using 1-day data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the utility of using external estimates of within-person variation to adjust usual nutrient intake distributions.Design: Analyses of the prevalence of inadequate intake of an example nutrient by the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cut-point method using three different methods of statistical adjustment of the usual intake distribution of a single 24-hour recall in Russian children in 1996, using the Iowa State University method for adjustment of the distribution. First, adjusting the usual intake distribution with day 2 recalls from the same 1996 sample (the correct method); second, adjusting the distribution using external variance estimates derived from US children in 1996; and third, adjusting the distribution using external estimates derived from Russian children of the same age in 2000. We also present prevalence estimates based on nave statistical analysis of the unadjusted distribution of intakes.Setting/subjects: Children drawn from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey in 1996 and 2000 and from the 1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals.Results: When the EAR cut-point method is applied to a single recall, the resulting prevalence estimate in this study is inflated by 1001300%. When the intake distribution is adjusted using an external variance estimate, the prevalence estimate is much less biased, suggesting that any adjustment may give less biased estimates than no adjustment.Conclusions: In moderately large samples, adjusting distributions with external estimates of variances results in more reliable prevalence estimates than using 1-day data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents various materials and publishing on Renaissance literature as of spring 2000. Bibliographic tools and reference works; Recent editions and reprints; Studies and collections.

Presents revised editions, reprints and anthologies of works on Renaissance literature. `The Maid's Tragedy,' by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher; 'Oeuvres spirituelles 1510-1516,' by Gabrielle de Bourbon; `Don Quijote de la Mancha,' by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; `Eastward Ho,' by George Chapman, Ben Jonson and John Marston; `The Shoemaker's Holiday,' by Thomas Dekker.

Presents reference works and bibliographic tools on Renaissance literature. `A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery,' by Lyndy Abraham; `English Religious Poetry Printed 1477-1640: A Chronological Bibliography With Indexes,' by Roman R. Dubinski; `Heraldry for Designers and Craftspeople,' by W.H. Saint John Hope; `The Renaissance,' by Jocelyn Hunt.

Lists recent editions and reprints of books concerning the Renaissance as of June 1, 2001. 'The Book of Margery Kemp' by Margery Kempe; 'Mass and Songs' by Colinet de Lannoys; 'The Complete Motets 9: Patrocinium musices, primar pars' by Orlando di Lasso.

Lists studies and collections concerning the Renaissance as of June 1, 2001. 'Filosofia e Scienza Classica, Arabo-Latina Medievale e l'Eta Moderna'; 'Opening the Borders: Inclusivity in Early Modern Studies, Essays in Honor of James V. Mirollo'; 'Antiquity and its Interpreters.'

Presents collected essays and annuals on literature. 'Where Are We Now in Shakespearean Study?,' edited by W.R. Elton and John M. Mucciolo; 'Virginia Woolf: Reading the Renaissance,' edited by Sally Greene; 'Composing Useful Pasts: History as Contemporary Politics,' edited by Edmund E. Jacobiti.

Presents anthologies, editions and reprints on literature. 'The Instauratio Magna: Last Writings,' by Francis Bacon; 'Spanish Decorative Ironwork,' edited by Luis Lubarta; 'From Irenaeus to Grotius: A Sourcebook in Christian Political Thought,' edited by Oliver and Joan Lockwood O'Donovan.

Objective: Pregnancy and postpartum iron status is of great public health importance, yet few studies have examined predictors of haemoglobin (Hb) concentration during this time. We identified predictors of Hb from 24 weeks' gestation until delivery and from 4 to 25 weeks postpartum.Design: Blood was drawn as many as four times during care: at the initial visit, at 24-29 weeks' gestation, at delivery and postpartum. A longitudinal, multivariable linear regression model was used to predict Hb concentration.Setting: A public health clinic in Raleigh, North Carolina.Subjects: n=520 women who participated in the Iron Supplementation Study.Results: Hb concentration at the previous blood draw, short stature, non-Hispanic white ethnicity/race, >12 years of education and smoking were positive predictors of pregnancy and postpartum Hb concentrations. Iron supplement use was a positive predictor, while inadequate weight gain and severe nausea/vomiting were negative predictors of gestational Hb. A high infant birth weight and postpartum haemorrhage were negative predictors of postpartum Hb. Pre-pregnancy body mass index had a slight positive relationship with gestational Hb, but had a strong negative relationship with postpartum Hb. The longitudinal model also confirmed the typical pattern of gestational Hb concentration. As the number of weeks between the initial visit and the 24- to 29-week visit increased, Hb at 24-29 weeks' gestation decreased. As gestational age increased from 24 weeks until delivery, Hb concentration increased as well.Conclusions: The predictors identified here could be used in clinical settings to target high-risk women for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents bibliographic tools, reference works and textbooks on literature. 'The Tempest: A Guide to the Play,' by H.R. Coursen; 'Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,' edited by Maurice Hunt; 'A Bainton Bibliography,' by Cynthia Wales Lund.

Presents a collection of bibliographic tools and reference work. 'Renaissance Jewelry in the Alsdorf Collection,' published by the Art Institute of Chicago; 'Shakespeare's Names: A New Pronouncing Dictionary,' by Louis Colaianni; 'La France des Humanistes: Hellenistes I,' by John-Francois Maillard and Judith Keckskemeti, Catherine Magnien and Monique Portalier.

As defined by the World Health Organization, the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), given its special geopolitical situation and internal/external conflicts, faces an increase in illegal activities such as drug production and trafficking, highlighting the need for a comprehensive understanding of the substance use situation. On the basis of a review of published papers between 2015 and 2021 we briefly review substance use in the EMR with special focus on the emerging drugs pertinent to this region, namely tramadol, captagon and khat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lists books concerning the Renaissance as of June 1, 2001. Norbert Nussbaum's 'German Gothic Church Architecture'; 'The Gubbio Studiolo and Its Conservation' by Olga Raggio and Antoine M. Wilmering; Elisabeth Stopp's 'Hidden in God: Essays and Talks on St. Jane Francis de Chantal.'

Lists bibliographic tools and reference works on the Renaissance. 'The Jesuit Series: Part Two, D-E'; 'A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs, 1415-1480'; 'Documentos Cervantinos: Nueva recopilacion; lista e indices.'

Objective: Pregnancy and postpartum iron status is of great public health importance, yet few studies have examined predictors of haemoglobin (Hb) concentration during this time. We identified predictors of Hb from 24 weeks' gestation until delivery and from 4 to 25 weeks postpartum.Design: Blood was drawn as many as four times during care: at the initial visit, at 24–29 weeks' gestation, at delivery and postpartum. A longitudinal, multivariable linear regression model was used to predict Hb concentration.Setting: A public health clinic in Raleigh, North Carolina.Subjects:n=520 women who participated in the Iron Supplementation Study.Results: Hb concentration at the previous blood draw, short stature, non-Hispanic white ethnicity/race, >12 years of education and smoking were positive predictors of pregnancy and postpartum Hb concentrations. Iron supplement use was a positive predictor, while inadequate weight gain and severe nausea/vomiting were negative predictors of gestational Hb. A high infant birth weight and postpartum haemorrhage were negative predictors of postpartum Hb. Pre-pregnancy body mass index had a slight positive relationship with gestational Hb, but had a strong negative relationship with postpartum Hb. The longitudinal model also confirmed the typical pattern of gestational Hb concentration. As the number of weeks between the initial visit and the 24- to 29-week visit increased, Hb at 24–29 weeks' gestation decreased. As gestational age increased from 24 weeks until delivery, Hb concentration increased as well.Conclusions: The predictors identified here could be used in clinical settings to target high-risk women for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In resource-constrained facilities or during resuscitation, immediate paediatric weight estimation remains a fundamental challenge. We aimed to develop and validate weight estimation models based on ulna length and forearm width and circumference measured by simple and portable tools; and to compare them against previous methods (advanced paediatric life support (APLS), Theron and Traub-Johnson formulas).Design: Cross-sectional analysis of anthropometric measurements. Four ulna- and forearm-based weight estimation models were developed in the training set (n 1016). Assessment of bias, precision and accuracy was examined in the validation set (n 457).Setting: National Children's Study-Formative Research in Anthropometry (2011-2012).Subjects: Multi-racial/ethnic infants and children aged <6 years (n 1473).Results: Developed Models 1-4 had high predictive precision (R 2=0·91-0·97). Mean percentage errors between predicted and measured weight were significantly smaller across the developed models (0·1-0·7 %) v. the APLS, Theron and Traub-Johnson formulas (-1·7, 9·2 and -4·9 %, respectively). Root-mean-squared percentage error was overall smaller among Models 1-4 v. the three existing methods (range=7·5-8·7 v. 9·8-13·3 %). Further, Models 1-4 were within 10 and 20 % of actual weight in 72-87 and 95-99 % of the weight estimations, respectively, which outperformed any of the three existing methods.Conclusions: Ulna length, forearm width and forearm circumference by simple and portable tools could serve as valid and reliable surrogate measures of weight among infants and children aged <6 years with improved precision over the existing age- or length-based methods. Further validation of these models in physically impaired or non-ambulatory children is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]