Inmany applications, d-dimensional observations result from the random presence or absence of random signals in independent and additive white Gaussian noise. An estimate of the noise standard deviation can then be very useful to detect or to estimate these signals, especially when standard likelihood theory cannot apply because of too little prior knowledge about the signal probability distrib...

Criminologists are ofren interested in examining interactive effects within a regression context. For example, “holding other relevant factors constant, is the effect of delinquent peers on one’s own delinquent conduct the same for males and females?” or “is the effect of a given treatment program comparable between first-time and repeat offenders?” A frequent strategy in examining such interac...

Characteristics of a population are often unknown. To estimate such characteristics, random sampling must be used. Sampling is the process by which a subgroup of a population is examined in order to infer the values of the population's true characteristics. Estimates based on samples are approximations of the population's true value; therefore, it is often useful to know the reliability of such...

A convenient and often used summary measure to quantify the firing variability in neurons is the coefficient of variation (CV), defined as the standard deviation divided by the mean. It is therefore important to find an estimator that gives reliable results from experimental data, that is, the estimator should be unbiased and have low estimation variance. When the CV is evaluated in the standar...

BACKGROUND Complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAE) acquired during atrial fibrillation (AF) are commonly assessed using the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), but this can lead to inaccuracy. In this study, spectral estimators derived by averaging the autocorrelation function at lags were compared to the DFT. METHOD Bipolar CFAE of at least 16 s duration were obtained from pulmonary ve...