A Comparison of Procedures for Controlling the False Discovery Rate in the Presence of Small Variance Genes: A Simulation Study

The Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM; Tusher et al., 2001 Tusher , V. G. , Tibshirani , R. , Chu , G. ( 2001 ). Significance analysis of microarrys applied to the ionizing radiation response . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98 : 5116 – 5121 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) method is widely used in analyzing gene expression data while controlling the FDR by using resampling-based procedure in the microarray setting. One of the main components of the SAM procedure is the adjustment of the test statistic. The introduction of the fudge factor to the test statistic aims at deflating the large value of test statistics due to the small standard error of gene-expression. Lin et al. (2008 Lin , D. , Shkedy , Z. , Burzykowski , T. , Göhlmann , H. W. H. , De Bondt , A. , Perera , T. , Geerts , T. , Bijnens , L. ( 2008 ). Significance analysis of microarray (SAM) for comparisons of several treatments with one control . Biometric Journal, MCP 50 ( 5 ): 801 – 823 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) pointed out that the fudge factor does not effectively improve the power and the control of the FDR as compared to the SAM procedure without the fudge factor in the presence of small variance genes. Motivated by the simulation results presented in Lin et al. (2008 Lin , D. , Shkedy , Z. , Burzykowski , T. , Göhlmann , H. W. H. , De Bondt , A. , Perera , T. , Geerts , T. , Bijnens , L. ( 2008 ). Significance analysis of microarray (SAM) for comparisons of several treatments with one control . Biometric Journal, MCP 50 ( 5 ): 801 – 823 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), in this article, we extend our study to compare several methods for choosing the fudge factor in the modified t-type test statistics and use simulation studies to investigate the power and the control of the FDR of the considered methods.     

Estimating Incidence Rate on Current Status Data with Application to a Phase IV Cancer Trial

New drug discovery in the pediatrics has dramatically improved survival, but with long- term adverse events. This motivates the examination of adverse outcomes such as long-term toxicity in a phase IV trial. An ideal approach to monitor long-term toxicity is to systematically follow the survivors, which is generally not feasible. Instead, cross-sectional surveys are conducted in Hudson et al. (2007 Hudson , M. M. , Rai , S. N. , Nunez , C. , Merchant , T. E. , Marina , N. M. , Zalamea , N. , Cox , C. , Phipps , S. , Pompeu , R. , Rosenthal , D. ( 2007 ). Noninvasive evaluation of late anthracycline cardiac toxicity in childhood cancer survivors . J. Clin. Oncol. 25 : 3635 – 3643 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), with one of the objectives to estimate the cumulative incidence rates along with specific interest in fixed-term (5 or 10 year) rates. We present inference procedures based on current status data to our motivating example with very interesting findings.     

The Identification of Potential Longitudinal Biomarkers and Measurements of Effectiveness for Biomarkers as Surrogates in Multivariate Survival Data

A proposed method based on frailty models is used to identify longitudinal biomarkers or surrogates for a multivariate survival. This method is an extention of earlier models by Wulfsohn and Tsiatis (1997 Wulfsohn , M. S. , Tsiatis , A. A. ( 1997 ). A joint model for survival and longitudinal data measured with error . Biometrics 53 ( 1 ): 330 – 339 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Song et al. (2002 Song , X. , Davidian , M. , Tsiatis , A. A. ( 2002 ). A Semiparametric likelihood approach to joint modeling of longitudinal and time-to-event data . Biometrics 58 ( 4 ): 742 – 753 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In this article, similar to Henderson et al. (2002 Henderson , R. , Diggle , P. J. , Dobson , A. ( 2002 ). Identification and efficacy of longitudinal markers for survival . Biostatistics 3 ( 1 ): 33 – 50 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), a joint likelihood function combines the likelihood functions of the longitudinal biomarkers and the multivariate survival times. We use simulations to explore how the number of individuals, the number of time points per individual and the functional form of the random effects from the longitudianl biomarkers influence the power to detect the association of a longitudinal biomarker and the multivariate survival time. The proposed method is illustrate by using the gastric cancer data.     

Bounds on the efficiency of unbalanced ranked-set sampling

Abstract

Takahasi and Wakimoto (1968 Takahasi, K., and K. Wakimoto. 1968. On unbiased estimates of the population mean based on the sample stratified by means of ordering. Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics 20:1–31.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) derived a sharp upper bound on the efficiency of the balanced ranked-set sampling (RSS) sample mean relative to the simple random sampling (SRS) sample mean under perfect rankings. The bound depends on the set size and is achieved for uniform distributions. Here we generalize the Takahasi and Wakimoto (1968 Takahasi, K., and K. Wakimoto. 1968. On unbiased estimates of the population mean based on the sample stratified by means of ordering. Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics 20:1–31.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) result by finding a sharp upper bound in the case of unbalanced RSS. The bound depends on the particular unbalanced design, and the distributions where the bound is achieved can be highly nonuniform. The bound under perfect rankings can be exceeded under imperfect rankings.     

Tests of Multivariate Independence for Ordinal Data

Population and sample versions of Kendall and Spearman measures of association suitable for multivariate ordinal data are defined. The latter generalize the indices of dependence of Ruymgaart and van Zuijlen (1978 Ruymgaart , F. H. , van Zuijlen , M. C. A. ( 1978 ). Asymptotic normality of multivariate linear rank statistics in the non-i.i.d. case . Ann. Statist. 6 : 588 – 602 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Joe (1990 Joe , H. ( 1990 ). Multivariate concordance . J. Multivariate Anal. 35 : 12 – 30 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and Schmid and Schmidt (2007 Schmid , F. , Schmidt , R. ( 2007 ). Multivariate extensions of Spearman's rho and related statistics . Statist. Probab. Lett. 77 : 407 – 416 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) by allowing atoms in the underlying distribution. The representation of the proposed empirical measures as U-statistics enables to establish their asymptotic normality under general distributions. A special attention is given to tests of independence for multivariate ordinal data, where the power of the new methodologies are investigated under fixed and contiguous alternatives.     

Is Each NPMLE of a Continuous Bivariate Distribution Function with Singly Right-Censored Data Really Inconsistent?

We consider non-parametric estimation of a continuous cdf of a random vector (X ₁, X ₂). With bivariate RC data, it is stated in van der Laan (1996 Van der Laan , M. J. ( 1996 ) Efficient estimation in the bivariate censoring model and repairing NPMLE . Ann. Statist. 24 : 596 – 627 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], p. 598¹⁰, Ann. Statist.), Quale et al. (2006 Quale , C. M. , van der Laan , M. J. , Robins , J. R. ( 2006 ). Locally efficient estimation with bivariate right-censored data . JASA. 101 : 1076 – 1084 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], JASA) etc. that “it is well known that the NPMLE for continuous data is inconsistent (Tsai et al. (1986 Tsai , W. Y. , Leurgans , S. , Crowley , J. ( 1986 ). Nonparametric estimation of a bivariate survival function in the presence of censoring . Ann. Statist. 14 : 1351 – 1365 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar])).” The claim is based on a result in Tsai et al. (1986 Tsai , W. Y. , Leurgans , S. , Crowley , J. ( 1986 ). Nonparametric estimation of a bivariate survival function in the presence of censoring . Ann. Statist. 14 : 1351 – 1365 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], p.1352, Ann. Statist.) that if X ₁ is right censored but not X ₂, then common ways for defining one NPMLE lead to inconsistency. If X ₁ is right censored and X ₂ is type I right-censored (which includes the case in Tsai et al.), we present a consistent NPMLE. The result corrects a common misinterpretation of Tsai's example (Tsai et al., 1986 Tsai , W. Y. , Leurgans , S. , Crowley , J. ( 1986 ). Nonparametric estimation of a bivariate survival function in the presence of censoring . Ann. Statist. 14 : 1351 – 1365 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], Ann. Statist.).     

On Complete Convergence for Arrays of Dependent Random Variables

A complete convergence theorem for an array of rowwise independent random variables was established by Sung et al. (2005 Sung , S. H. , Volodin , A. I. , Hu , T.-C. ( 2005 ). More on complete convergence for arrays . Statist. Probab. Lett. 71 : 303 – 311 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This result has been generalized and extended by Kruglov et al. (2006 Kruglov , V. M. , Volodin , A. I. , Hu , T.-C. ( 2006 ). On complete convergence for arrays . Statist. Probab. Lett. 76 : 1631 – 1640 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Chen et al. (2007 Chen , P. , Hu , T.-C. , Liu , X. , Volodin , A. ( 2007 ). On complete convergence for arrays of rowwise negatively associated random variables . Theor. Probab. Appl. 52 : 393 – 397 . [Google Scholar]). In this article, we extend the results of Sung et al. (2005 Sung , S. H. , Volodin , A. I. , Hu , T.-C. ( 2005 ). More on complete convergence for arrays . Statist. Probab. Lett. 71 : 303 – 311 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Kruglov et al. (2006 Kruglov , V. M. , Volodin , A. I. , Hu , T.-C. ( 2006 ). On complete convergence for arrays . Statist. Probab. Lett. 76 : 1631 – 1640 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and Chen et al. (2007 Chen , P. , Hu , T.-C. , Liu , X. , Volodin , A. ( 2007 ). On complete convergence for arrays of rowwise negatively associated random variables . Theor. Probab. Appl. 52 : 393 – 397 . [Google Scholar]) to an array of dependent random variables satisfying Hoffmann-Jørgensen type inequalities.     

Aspects of Dependence in Generalized Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern Distributions

In this article, we obtained a dependence measure for generalized Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern (FGM) family in view of Kochar and Gupta (1987 Kochar , S. G. , Gupta , R. P. ( 1987 ). Competitors of Kendall-tau test for testing independence against PQD . Biometrika 74 ( 3 ): 664 – 669 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and then compared this measure with Spearman's rho and Kendall's tau in FGM family. Moreover, we evaluated the empirical power of the class of distribution-free tests proposed by Kochar and Gupta (1987 Kochar , S. G. , Gupta , R. P. ( 1987 ). Competitors of Kendall-tau test for testing independence against PQD . Biometrika 74 ( 3 ): 664 – 669 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 1990 Kochar , S. G. , Gupta , R. P. ( 1990 ). Distribution-free tests based on sub-sample extrema for testing against positive dependence . Australian Journal of Statistics 32 : 45 – 51 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) based on exact distribution of a U-statistics. This is derived via a simulation study for sample of sizes n = 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, and 20. Also, we compared our simulation results with those achieved by Amini et al. (2010 Amini , M. , Jabbari , H. , Mohtashami Borzadaran , G. R. , Azadbakhsh , M. ( 2010 ). Power comparison of independence test for the Farlie-Gumbel-Moregenstern family . Communications of the Korean Statistical Society 17 ( 4 ): 493 – 505 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Güven and Kotz (2008 Güven , B. , Kotz , S. ( 2008 ). Test of independence for generalized Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern distributions . Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics 212 : 102 – 111 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

Nonnested Testing for Competing Autoregressive Dynamic Models Estimated by Instrumental Variables

In this work we investigate nonnested tests for two competing univariate dynamic linear models with autoregressive disturbances, where the motivation for instrumental variable estimation is mainly due to the recognized presence of current endogenous variables in the regression function, either in one or both models. As the previous transformation of both models yields regression functions which are nonlinear in the parameters, the attractive Gauss-Newton regression (GNR) approach, firstly advocated by Davidson and Mackinnon (1981 Davidson , R. , Mackinnon , J. G. ( 1981 ). Several tests for model specification in the presence of alternative hypotheses . Econometrica 49 : 781 – 93 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), will be used to obtain the results.     

Marginal correlation from an extended random-effects model for repeated and overdispersed counts

Vangeneugden et al. [15 Vangeneugden, T., Molenberghs, G., Laenen, A., Geys, H., Beunckens, C. and Sotto, C. 2007. Marginal correlation in longitudinal binary data based on generalized linear mixed models, Tech. Rep., Hasselt University. submitted for publication [Google Scholar]] derived approximate correlation functions for longitudinal sequences of general data type, Gaussian and non-Gaussian, based on generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMM). Their focus was on binary sequences, as well as on a combination of binary and Gaussian sequences. Here, we focus on the specific case of repeated count data, important in two respects. First, we employ the model proposed by Molenberghs et al. [13 Molenberghs, G., Verbeke, G. and Demétrio, C. G.B. 2007. An extended random-effects approach to modeling repeated, overdispersed count data. Lifetime Data Anal., 13: 513–531. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]], which generalizes at the same time the Poisson-normal GLMM and the conventional overdispersion models, in particular the negative-binomial model. The model flexibly accommodates data hierarchies, intra-sequence correlation, and overdispersion. Second, means, variances, and joint probabilities can be expressed in closed form, allowing for exact intra-sequence correlation expressions. Next to the general situation, some important special cases such as exchangeable clustered outcomes are considered, producing insightful expressions. The closed-form expressions are contrasted with the generic approximate expressions of Vangeneugden et al. [15 Vangeneugden, T., Molenberghs, G., Laenen, A., Geys, H., Beunckens, C. and Sotto, C. 2007. Marginal correlation in longitudinal binary data based on generalized linear mixed models, Tech. Rep., Hasselt University. submitted for publication [Google Scholar]]. Data from an epileptic-seizures trial are analyzed and correlation functions derived. It is shown that the proposed extension strongly outperforms the classical GLMM.     

A Generalization of the Skew-Normal Distribution: The Beta Skew-Normal

We consider a new generalization of the skew-normal distribution introduced by Azzalini (1985 Azzalini , A. ( 1985 ). A class of distributions which includes the normal ones . Scand. J. Statis. 12 ( 2 ): 171 – 178 .[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We denote this distribution Beta skew-normal (BSN) since it is a special case of the Beta generated distribution (Jones, 2004 Jones , M. C. ( 2004 ). Families of distributions of order statistics . Test 13 ( 1 ): 1 – 43 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Some properties of the BSN are studied. We pay attention to some generalizations of the skew-normal distribution (Bahrami et al., 2009 Bahrami , W. , Agahi , H. , Rangin , H. ( 2009 ). A two-parameter Balakrishnan skew-normal distribution . J. Statist. Res. Iran 6 : 231 – 242 . [Google Scholar]; Sharafi and Behboodian, 2008 Sharafi , M. , Behboodian , J. ( 2008 ). The Balakrishnan skew-normal density . Statist. Pap. 49 : 769 – 778 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Yadegari et al., 2008 Yadegari , I. , Gerami , A. , Khaledi , M. J. ( 2008 ). A generalization of the Balakrishnan skew-normal distribution . Statist. Probab. Lett. 78 : 1165 – 1167 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and to their relations with the BSN.     

The performance of the truncated mixed control chart

Abstract

When the mixed chart proposed by Aslam et al. (2015 Aslam, M., M. Azam, N. Khan, and C.-H. Jun. 2015. A mixed control chart to monitor the process. International Journal of Production Research 53 (15):4684–93. doi:10.1080/00207543.2015.1031354.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is in use, the sample items are classified as defective or not defective and, depending on the number of defectives, the quality characteristic X of the sample items are also measured. In this case, an Xbar chart decides the state of the process. The previous conforming/non-conforming classification truncates the X distribution and, because of that, the mathematical development to obtain the ARLs is complex. Aslam et al. (2015 Aslam, M., M. Azam, N. Khan, and C.-H. Jun. 2015. A mixed control chart to monitor the process. International Journal of Production Research 53 (15):4684–93. doi:10.1080/00207543.2015.1031354.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) didn’t pay attention to the fact that the X distribution is truncated and, due to that, they obtained incorrect ARLs.     

Improved strategy to collect sensitive data by using geometric distribution as a randomization device

Abstract

In this article, we improvise Singh and Grewal (2013 Singh, S., and I. S. Grewal. 2013. Geometric distribution as a randomization device implemented in the Kuk’s model. International Journal of Contemporary Mathematical Sciences 8:243–8.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Hussain et al. (2016 Hussain, Z., J. Shabbir, Z. Pervez, S. F. Shah, and M. Khan. 2016. Generalized geometric distribution of order k: A flexible choice to randomize the response. Communications in Statistics: Simulation and Computation 46:4708–21.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) techniques by introducing a new two-stage randomization response process. Using the proposed new technique, we achieve better efficiency and increasing protection of privacy of respondents than the Kuk (1990 Kuk, A. Y. C. 1990. Asking sensitive questions indirectly. Biometrika 77 (2):436–8.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Singh and Grewal (2013 Singh, S., and I. S. Grewal. 2013. Geometric distribution as a randomization device implemented in the Kuk’s model. International Journal of Contemporary Mathematical Sciences 8:243–8.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Hussain et al. (2016 Hussain, Z., J. Shabbir, Z. Pervez, S. F. Shah, and M. Khan. 2016. Generalized geometric distribution of order k: A flexible choice to randomize the response. Communications in Statistics: Simulation and Computation 46:4708–21.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) models. The relative efficiency and protection of the respondents of the proposed two-stage randomization device have been investigated through simulation study, and the situations are reported where the proposed estimator performs better than its competitors. The SAS code used to investigate the performance of the proposed strategy are also provided.     

Inverse Sampling with Unequal Selection Probabilities

In some real situations the population of interest is divided into two groups, of which one contains only a few units. In other cases, the population may be considered as subdivided into two group', for example, if only a few units display a value of the variable of interest which is highly different from zero, while all the other units show a value equal to or near zero. In both cases, inverse sampling is more efficient than classical fixed sample-size designs to obtain the parameter estimators for the whole population as well as for its groups (e.g., Salehi and Seber, 2004 Salehi , M. M. , Seber , G. A. F. ( 2004 ). A general inverse sampling scheme and its application to adaptive cluster sampling . Austral. NZ J. Statist. 46 : 483 – 494 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In fact, in this design the procedure selection continues until a prefixed number of units with the characteristic of interest is sampled. Since it is not known a priori to which group the population units belong, the sample size is a random variable. Christman and Lan (2001 Christman , M. C. , Lan , F. ( 2001 ). Inverse adaptive cluster sampling . Biometrics 57 : 1096 – 1105 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Salehi and Seber (2001 Salehi , M. M. , Seber , G. A. F. ( 2001 ). A new proof of Murthy's estimator which applies to sequential sampling . Austral. NZ J. Statist. 43 : 281 – 286 . [Google Scholar] 2004 Salehi , M. M. , Seber , G. A. F. ( 2004 ). A general inverse sampling scheme and its application to adaptive cluster sampling . Austral. NZ J. Statist. 46 : 483 – 494 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) considered inverse sampling designs when all the population units have equal selection probabilities. In this article, we consider the general case in which the units may have unequal probabilities of being included in the sample. In fact, in many real situations different units may have different selection probabilities because of some inherent features of the sampling procedure, or in order to obtain better estimates. We derive unbiased estimators of the totals of the two groups, their variance and the corresponding unbiased variance estimators in inverse sampling with replacement. Finally, we derive similar results for more complex designs, where the selection procedure stops before observing the prefixed number of units from the rare group.     

Relative Errors of Difference-Based Variance Estimators in Nonparametric Regression

Difference-based estimators for the error variance are popular since they do not require the estimation of the mean function. Unlike most existing difference-based estimators, new estimators proposed by Müller et al. (2003 Müller , U. , Schick , A. , Wefelmeyer , W. ( 2003 ). Estimating the error variance in nonparametric regression by a covariate-matched U-statistic . Statistics 37 : 179 – 188 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Tong and Wang (2005 Tong , T. , Wang , Y. ( 2005 ). Estimating residual variance in nonparametric regression using least squares . Biometrika 92 : 821 – 830 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) achieved the asymptotic optimal rate as residual-based estimators. In this article, we study the relative errors of these difference-based estimators which lead to better understanding of the differences between them and residual-based estimators. To compute the relative error of the covariate-matched U-statistic estimator proposed by Müller et al. (2003 Müller , U. , Schick , A. , Wefelmeyer , W. ( 2003 ). Estimating the error variance in nonparametric regression by a covariate-matched U-statistic . Statistics 37 : 179 – 188 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), we develop a modified version by using simpler weights. We further investigate its asymptotic property for both equidistant and random designs and show that our modified estimator is asymptotically efficient.     

A side sensitive modified group runs control chart to detect shifts in the process mean

Gadre and Rattihalli [5 Gadre, M. P. and Rattihalli, R. N. 2006. Modified group runs control charts to detect increases in fraction non-conforming and shifts in the process mean. Commun. Stat. Simul. Comput., 35: 225–240. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]] have introduced the Modified Group Runs (MGR) control chart to identify the increases in fraction non-conforming and to detect shifts in the process mean. The MGR chart reduces the out-of-control average time-to-signal (ATS), as compared with most of the well-known control charts. In this article, we develop the Side Sensitive Modified Group Runs (SSMGR) chart to detect shifts in the process mean. With the help of numerical examples, it is illustrated that the SSMGR chart performs better than the Shewhart's X¯ chart, the synthetic chart [12 Wu, Z. and Spedding, T. A. 2000. A synthetic control chart for detecting small shifts in the process mean. J. Qual. Technol., 32: 32–38. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]], the Group Runs chart [4 Gadre, M. P. and Rattihalli, R. N. 2004. A group runs control chart for detecting shifts in the process mean. Econ. Qual. Control, 19: 29–43. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]], the Side Sensitive Group Runs chart [6 Gadre, M. P. and Rattihalli, R. N. 2007. A side sensitive group runs control chart for detecting shifts in the process mean. Stat. Methods Appl., 16: 27–37. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]], as well as the MGR chart [5 Gadre, M. P. and Rattihalli, R. N. 2006. Modified group runs control charts to detect increases in fraction non-conforming and shifts in the process mean. Commun. Stat. Simul. Comput., 35: 225–240. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]]. In some situations it is also superior to the Cumulative Sum chart p9 Page, E. S. 1954. Continuous inspection schemes. Biometrika, 41: 100–114. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]] and the exponentially weighed moving average chart [10 Roberts, S. W. 1959. Control chart tests based on geometric moving averages. Technometrics, 1: 239–250. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar]]. In the steady state also, its performance is better than the above charts.     

Improved Predictive Inference for Responses Based on Location Parameter Median from the Rayleigh Model Given a Doubly Censored Sample

The purpose of this article is to investigate the predictive inference for responses from the location parameter mean as well as from the median given a doubly censored sample from the two-parameter Rayleigh model. The predictive results by Khan et al. (2010 Khan , H. M. R. , Provost , S. B. , Ashima , S. ( 2010 ). Predictive Inference from a Two-Parameter Rayleigh Life Model Given a Doubly Censored Sample . Commun. Statist. Theor. Meth. 39 ( 7 ): 1237 – 1246 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) are used to obtain the predictive inference for responses from the median, where Khan et al. (2010 Khan , H. M. R. , Provost , S. B. , Ashima , S. ( 2010 ). Predictive Inference from a Two-Parameter Rayleigh Life Model Given a Doubly Censored Sample . Commun. Statist. Theor. Meth. 39 ( 7 ): 1237 – 1246 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) obtained the future estimates from the mean. A numerical example representing 66 liver cancer patients is used for predictive analysis. It is concluded that the predictive inference from the median gives precise results as compared with the location parameter mean.     

A Broad Class of Partially Specified Autoregressions on Multi-Casting Data

Extending the bifurcating autoregressive (BAR) process (cf. Cowan and Staudte, 1986 Cowan , R. , Staudte , R. G. ( 1986 ). The bifurcating autoregression model in cell lineage studies . Biometrics 42 : 769 – 783 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to multi-casting (multi-splitting) data, Hwang and Choi (2009 Hwang , S. Y. , Choi , M. S. ( 2009 ). Modeling and large sample estimation for multi-casting autoregression . Statist. Prob. Lett. 79 : 1943 – 1950 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) introduced multi-casting autoregression (MCAR, for short) defined on multi-casting tree structured data. This article is concerned with the case when the MCAR model is partially specified only through conditional mean and variance without directly imposing autoregressive (AR) structure. The resulting class of models will be referred to as P-MCAR (partially specified MCAR). The P-MCAR considerably enlarges the class of multi-casting models including (as special cases) MCAR, random coefficient MCAR, conditionally heteroscedastic multi-casting models and binomial-thinning processes. Moment structures for this broad P-MCAR class are investigated. Least squares (LS) estimation method is discussed and asymptotic relative efficiency (ARE) of the generalized-LS over ordinary-LS is obtained in a closed form. A simulation study is conducted to illustrate results.     

Improved Bar-Lev,Bobovitch, and Boukai Randomized Response Models

In this article, two new improved randomized response models have been proposed. The proposed models are found to be more efficient than the recent randomized response model studied by Bar-Lev et al. (2004 Bar-Lev , S. K. , Bobovitch , E. , Boukai , B. ( 2004 ). A note on randomized response models for quantitative data . Metrika 60 : 255 – 260 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The relative efficiency of the proposed models has been studied with respect to the Bar-Lev et al. (2004 Bar-Lev , S. K. , Bobovitch , E. , Boukai , B. ( 2004 ). A note on randomized response models for quantitative data . Metrika 60 : 255 – 260 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) model under different situations.     

Bayesian Analysis of Instrumental Variable Models: Acceptance-Rejection within Direct Monte Carlo

We discuss Bayesian inferential procedures within the family of instrumental variables regression models and focus on two issues: existence conditions for posterior moments of the parameters of interest under a flat prior and the potential of Direct Monte Carlo (DMC) approaches for efficient evaluation of such possibly highly non-elliptical posteriors. We show that, for the general case of m endogenous variables under a flat prior, posterior moments of order r exist for the coefficients reflecting the endogenous regressors’ effect on the dependent variable, if the number of instruments is greater than m +r, even though there is an issue of local non-identification that causes non-elliptical shapes of the posterior. This stresses the need for efficient Monte Carlo integration methods. We introduce an extension of DMC that incorporates an acceptance-rejection sampling step within DMC. This Acceptance-Rejection within Direct Monte Carlo (ARDMC) method has the attractive property that the generated random drawings are independent, which greatly helps the fast convergence of simulation results, and which facilitates the evaluation of the numerical accuracy. The speed of ARDMC can be easily further improved by making use of parallelized computation using multiple core machines or computer clusters. We note that ARDMC is an analogue to the well-known “Metropolis-Hastings within Gibbs” sampling in the sense that one ‘more difficult’ step is used within an ‘easier’ simulation method. We compare the ARDMC approach with the Gibbs sampler using simulated data and two empirical data sets, involving the settler mortality instrument of Acemoglu et al. (2001 Acemoglu , D. , Johnson , S. , Robinson , J. A. ( 2001 ). The colonial origins of comparative development: An empirical investigation . American Economic Review 91 ( 5 ): 1369 – 1401 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and father's education's instrument used by Hoogerheide et al. (2012a Hoogerheide , L. F. , Block , J. H. , Thurik , A. R. (2012a). Family background variables as instruments for education in income regressions: A Bayesian analysis. Economics of Education Review 31(5):515–523.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Even without making use of parallelized computation, an efficiency gain is observed both under strong and weak instruments, where the gain can be enormous in the latter case.