Testing market efficiency: Evidence from the NFL sports betting market

This article examines the efficiency of the National Football League (NFL) betting market. The standard ordinary least squares (OLS) regression methodology is replaced by a probit model. This circumvents potential econometric problems, and allows us to implement more sophisticated betting strategies where bets are placed only when there is a relatively high probability of success. In-sample tests indicate that probit-based betting strategies generate statistically significant profits. Whereas the profitability of a number of these betting strategies is confirmed by out-of-sample testing, there is some inconsistency among the remaining out-of-sample predictions. Our results also suggest that widely documented inefficiencies in this market tend to dissipate over time.

Language strategies in the attribution of blame for HIV and AIDS

This article examines the language strategies used in everyday explanation by young heterosexual adults to attribute blame for the transmission of HIV: Seventy-two-female and 60 male Australian university students took part in the study. They were formed into groups of four, with each group taking part in discussions about HIV: AIDS, and related matters. Transcripts were examined for instances of blaming, and a coding scheme for levels of attributed responsibility applied to those instances found. Language strategies of distancing self from HN and AIDS were then coded, including checks for who was blamed whether they were members of participants' ingroups or outgroups, and whether justifications were used. These findings are discussed in terms of positioning the self vis-a-vis HIV and AIDS, as well as the ways in which negative stereotypes were used in attributing blame to members of outgroups.

Lymphocyte proliferation testing in chromium allergic contact dermatitis

Background. Lymphocyte proliferation testing (LPT) has some advantages over patch testing to diagnose allergic contact dermatitis. It is harmless, objective and can be used in clinical situations where patch testing is not recommended. Unfortunately, significant success has only been achieved with nickel. There are few studies on chromium LPT and they were performed with different methods, leading to inconsistent results. Methods. To determine the best parameters for chromium LPT, we tested 20 patients with allergic contact dermatitis to the metal and 20 controls, using various protocols. Results. The best sensitivity and specificity ratios were achieved with 6-day cultures stimulated with a range from 7.5 x 10(-4) to 5 x 10(-3) mol/L of nonfiltered chromium chloride solutions. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy values found within this range were 65%, 95% and 80%, respectively. Conclusion. Further investigation is necessary to achieve better sensitivity values.

Emerging Issues Concerning the Education of Speech and Language Pathologists and Audiologists in Brazil and South America

Diversity is one of the major characteristics of Brazil and all South America. This paper presents an overview of the current situation of the education of speech and language pathologists (SLP) and audiologists in Brazil and in several other countries of South America. This paper also discusses the main challenges shared by these countries. The discussion is focused on the mutual interferences between education and the areas of professional practice, cultural diversity and continued education. There are many emerging issues about the education of SLP and audiologists in South America. The suggested conclusion is that, despite the many differences, the South American SLP and audiologists` education would benefit from joint efforts and collaborative experiences. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel

A Bayesian approach to fuzzy hypotheses testing for the estimation of optimal age for vaccination against measles

Fuzzy Bayesian tests were performed to evaluate whether the mother`s seroprevalence and children`s seroconversion to measles vaccine could be considered as ""high"" or ""low"". The results of the tests were aggregated into a fuzzy rule-based model structure, which would allow an expert to influence the model results. The linguistic model was developed considering four input variables. As the model output, we obtain the recommended age-specific vaccine coverage. The inputs of the fuzzy rules are fuzzy sets and the outputs are constant functions, performing the simplest Takagi-Sugeno-Kang model. This fuzzy approach is compared to a classical one, where the classical Bayes test was performed. Although the fuzzy and classical performances were similar, the fuzzy approach was more detailed and revealed important differences. In addition to taking into account subjective information in the form of fuzzy hypotheses it can be intuitively grasped by the decision maker. Finally, we show that the Bayesian test of fuzzy hypotheses is an interesting approach from the theoretical point of view, in the sense that it combines two complementary areas of investigation, normally seen as competitive. (C) 2007 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.