Optimality of the quasi-score estimator in a mean–variance model with applications to measurement error models

We consider a regression of y$y$ on x$x$ given by a pair of mean and variance functions with a parameter vector θ$\theta$ to be estimated that also appears in the distribution of the regressor variable x$x$. The estimation of θ$\theta$ is based on an extended quasi-score (QS) function. We show that the QS estimator is optimal within a wide class of estimators based on linear-in-y$y$ unbiased estimating functions. Of special interest is the case where the distribution of x$x$ depends only on a subvector α$\alpha$ of θ$\theta$, which may be considered a nuisance parameter. In general, α$\alpha$ must be estimated simultaneously together with the rest of θ$\theta$, but there are cases where α$\alpha$ can be pre-estimated. A major application of this model is the classical measurement error model, where the corrected score (CS) estimator is an alternative to the QS estimator. We derive conditions under which the QS estimator is strictly more efficient than the CS estimator.     

The use of an identity in Anderson for multivariate multiple testing

Consider the model where there are I$I$ independent multivariate normal treatment populations with p×1$p\times 1$ mean vectors _μi${\mathit{\mu }}_i$, i=1,…,I$i=1,\dots ,I$, and covariance matrix Σ$\Sigma$. Independently the (I+1)$(I+1)$st population corresponds to a control and it too is multivariate normal with mean vector _μI+1${\mathit{\mu }}_{I+1}$ and covariance matrix Σ$\Sigma$. Now consider the following two multiple testing problems.     

A sequential design for a clinical trial with a linear prognostic factor

We study a randomized adaptive design to assign one of the L$L$ treatments to patients who arrive sequentially by means of an urn model. At each stage n$n$, a reward is distributed between treatments. The treatment applied is rewarded according to its response, 0?_Yn?1$0?Y_n?1$, and 1-_Yn$1-Y_n$ is distributed among the other treatments according to their performance until stage n-1$n-1$. Patients can be classified in K+1$K+1$ levels and we assume that the effect of this level in the response to the treatments is linear. We study the asymptotic behavior of the design when the ordinary least square estimators are used as a measure of performance until stage n-1$n-1$.     

Classification rules for triply multivariate data with an AR(1) correlation structure on the repeated measures over time

In this article we study the problem of classification of three-level multivariate data, where multiple q$q$-variate observations are measured on u$u$-sites and over p$p$-time points, under the assumption of multivariate normality. The new classification rules with certain structured and unstructured mean vectors and covariance structures are very efficient in small sample scenario, when the number of observations is not adequate to estimate the unknown variance–covariance matrix. These classification rules successfully model the correlation structure on successive repeated measurements over time. Computation algorithms for maximum likelihood estimates of the unknown population parameters are presented. Simulation results show that the introduction of sites in the classification rules improves their performance over the existing classification rules without the sites.     

Representations of moments using lower-order conditional moments

Moments and central moments of a random variable X   are expressed as integrals of functions of lower-order conditional moments and the cumulative distribution of X$X$. In particular, sample central moments of order 2k$2k$ are expressed as the sum of between groups variations, providing an analogue to the analysis of variance. Similar expressions are obtained for the expectations of real-valued and measurable functions of X$X$.     

Collapsibility of regression coefficients and its extensions

Collapsibility with respect to a measure of association implies that the measure of association can be obtained from the marginal model. We first discuss model collapsibility and collapsibility with respect to regression coefficients for linear regression models. For parallel regression models, we give simple and different proofs of some of the known results and obtain also certain new results. For random coefficient regression models, we define (average) A$A$-collapsibility and obtain conditions under which it holds. We consider Poisson regression and logistic regression models also, and derive conditions for collapsibility and A$A$-collapsibility, respectively. These results generalize some of the results available in the literature. Some suitable examples are also discussed.     

Transient probability functions of finite birth–death processes with catastrophes

A representation of the transient probability functions of finite birth–death processes (with or without catastrophes) as a linear combination of exponential functions is derived using a recursive, Cayley–Hamilton approach. This method of solution allows practitioners to solve for these transient probability functions by reducing the problem to three calculations: determining eigenvalues of the Q$Q$-matrix, raising the Q$Q$-matrix to an integer power and solving a system of linear equations. The approach avoids Laplace transforms and permits solution of a particular transition probability function from state i$i$ to j$j$ without determining all such functions.     

Design selection criteria for discrimination/estimation for nested models and a binomial response

The aim of an experiment is often to enable discrimination between competing forms for a response model. We investigate the selection of a continuous design for a non-sequential strategy when there are two competing generalized linear models for a binomial response, with a common link function and the linear predictor of one model nested within that of the other. A new criterion, _TE$T_E$-optimality, is defined, based on the difference in the deviances from the two models, and comparisons are made with T$T$-, _Ds$D_s$- and D$D$-optimality. Issues are raised through the study of two examples in which designs are assessed using simulation studies of the power to reject the null hypothesis of the smaller model being correct, when the data are generated from the larger model. Parameter estimation for discrimination designs is also discussed and a simple method is investigated of combining designs to form a hybrid design in order to achieve both model discrimination and estimation. This method has a computational advantage over the use of a compound criterion and the similar performance of the designs obtained from the two approaches is illustrated in an example.     

Estimation of extreme quantiles from heavy and light tailed distributions

In Gardes et al. (2011), a new family of distributions is introduced, depending on two parameters τ$\tau$ and θ$\theta$, which encompasses Pareto-type distributions as well as Weibull tail-distributions. Estimators for θ$\theta$ and extreme quantiles are also proposed, but they both depend on the unknown parameter τ$\tau$, making them useless in practical situations. In this paper, we propose an estimator of τ$\tau$ which is independent of θ$\theta$. Plugging our estimator of τ$\tau$ in the two previous ones allows us to estimate extreme quantiles from Pareto-type and Weibull tail-distributions in an unified way. The asymptotic distributions of our three new estimators are established and their efficiency is illustrated on a small simulation study and on a real data set.     

On asymptotic properties of the parameter estimator for a type of SPDE

In this paper, we study a random field _U?(t,x)$U_{?}(t,x)$ governed by some type of stochastic partial differential equations with an unknown parameter θ$\theta$ and a small noise ?$?$. We construct an estimator of θ$\theta$ based on the continuous observation of N   Fourier coefficients of _U?(t,x)$U_{?}(t,x)$, and prove the strong convergence and asymptotic normality of the estimator when the noise ?$?$ tends to zero.     

Lattice and Schröder paths with periodic boundaries

We consider paths in the plane with (1,0$1,0$), (0,1$0,1$), and (a,b$a,b$)-steps that start at the origin, end at height n$n$, and stay strictly to the left of a given non-decreasing right boundary. We show that if the boundary is periodic and has slope at most b/a$b/a$, then the ordinary generating function for the number of such paths ending at height n   is algebraic. Our argument is in two parts. We use a simple combinatorial decomposition to obtain an Appell relation or “umbral” generating function, in which the power zⁿ$z^n$ is replaced by a power series of the form zⁿ_φn(z),$z^n{\phi }_n(z),$ where _φn(0)=1.${\phi }_n(0)=1.$ Then we convert (in an explicit way) the umbral generating function to an ordinary generating function by solving a system of linear equations and a polynomial equation. This conversion implies that the ordinary generating function is algebraic. We give several concrete examples, including an alternative way to solve the tennis ball problem.     

Asymptotic results in canonical discriminant analysis when the dimension is large compared to the sample size

This paper deals with the distributions of test statistics for the number of useful discriminant functions and the characteristic roots in canonical discriminant analysis. These asymptotic distributions have been extensively studied when the number p   of variables is fixed, the number q+1$q+1$ of groups is fixed, and the sample size N tends to infinity. However, these approximations become increasingly inaccurate as the value of p increases for a fixed value of N. On the other hand, we encounter to analyze high-dimensional data such that p is large compared to n. The purpose of the present paper is to derive asymptotic distributions of these statistics in a high-dimensional framework such that q   is fixed, p→∞$p\to \infty$, m=n-p+q→∞$m=n-p+q\to \infty$, and p/n→c∈(0,1)$p/n\to c\in (0,1)$, where n=N-q-1$n=N-q-1$. Numerical simulation revealed that our new asymptotic approximations are more accurate than the classical asymptotic approximations in a considerably wide range of (n,p,q)$(n,p,q)$.     

Optimally robust credible sets with a class of priors

We determine a credible set A   that is the “best” with respect to the variation of the prior distribution in a neighborhood Γ$\Gamma$ of the starting prior _π0(θ)${\pi }_0(\theta )$. Among the class of sets with credibility γ$\gamma$ under _π0${\pi }_0$, the “optimally robust” set will be the one which maximizes the minimum probability of including θ$\theta$ as the prior varies over Γ$\Gamma$. This procedure is also Γ-minimax$\Gamma \text{-minimax}$ with respect to the risk function, probability of non-inclusion. We find the optimally robust credible set for three neighborhood classes Γ$\Gamma$, the ε-contamination$\epsilon \text{-contamination}$ class, the density ratio class and the density bounded class. A consequence of this investigation is that the maximum likelihood set is seen to be an optimal credible set from a robustness perspective.     

Optimal fractional factorial designs and their construction

Optimal symmetrical fractional factorial designs with n$n$ runs and m$m$ factors of s$s$ levels each are constructed. We consider only designs such that no two factors are aliases. The minimum moment aberration criterion proposed by Xu (2003) is used to judge the optimality of the designs. The minimum moment aberration criterion is equivalent to the popular generalized minimum aberration criterion proposed by Xu and Wu (2001), but the minimum moment criterion is simpler to formulate and employ computationally. Some optimal designs are constructed by using generalized Hadamard matrices.     

Testing of a sub-hypothesis in linear regression models with long memory errors and deterministic design

This paper considers the problem of testing a sub-hypothesis in homoscedastic linear regression models where errors form long memory moving average processes and designs are non-random. Unlike in the random design case, asymptotic null distribution of the likelihood ratio type test based on the Whittle quadratic form is shown to be non-standard and non-chi-square. Moreover, the rate of consistency of the minimum Whittle dispersion estimator of the slope parameter vector is shown to be n^-(1-α)/2$n^{-(1-\alpha )/2}$, different from the rate n^-1/2$n^{-1/2}$ obtained in the random design case, where α$\alpha$ is the rate at which the error spectral density explodes at the origin. The proposed test is shown to be consistent against fixed alternatives and has non-trivial asymptotic power against local alternatives that converge to null hypothesis at the rate n^-(1-α)/2$n^{-(1-\alpha )/2}$.     

Confidence intervals in regression utilizing prior information

We consider a linear regression model with regression parameter β=(_β1,…,_βp)$\beta =({\beta }_1,\dots ,{\beta }_p)$ and independent and identically N(0,σ²)$N(0,{\sigma }^2)$ distributed errors. Suppose that the parameter of interest is θ=a^Tβ$\theta =a^T\beta$ where a$a$ is a specified vector. Define the parameter τ=c^Tβ-t$\tau =c^T\beta -t$ where the vector c$c$ and the number t$t$ are specified and a$a$ and c$c$ are linearly independent. Also suppose that we have uncertain prior information that τ=0$\tau =0$. We present a new frequentist 1-α$1-\alpha$ confidence interval for θ$\theta$ that utilizes this prior information. We require this confidence interval to (a) have endpoints that are continuous functions of the data and (b) coincide with the standard 1-α$1-\alpha$ confidence interval when the data strongly contradict this prior information. This interval is optimal in the sense that it has minimum weighted average expected length where the largest weight is given to this expected length when τ=0$\tau =0$. This minimization leads to an interval that has the following desirable properties. This interval has expected length that (a) is relatively small when the prior information about τ$\tau$ is correct and (b) has a maximum value that is not too large. The following problem will be used to illustrate the application of this new confidence interval. Consider a 2×2$2\times 2$ factorial experiment with 20 replicates. Suppose that the parameter of interest θ$\theta$ is a specified simple   effect and that we have uncertain prior information that the two-factor interaction is zero. Our aim is to find a frequentist 0.95 confidence interval for θ$\theta$ that utilizes this prior information.     

Nonparametric estimation of the number of components of a superposition of renewal processes

Suppose all events occurring in an unknown number (ν)$(\nu )$ of iid renewal processes, with a common renewal distribution F  , are observed for a fixed time τ$\tau$, where both ν$\nu$ and F   are unknown. The individual processes are not known a priori, but for each event, the process that generated it is identified. For example, in software reliability application, the errors (or bugs) in a piece of software are not known a priori, but whenever the software fails, the error causing the failure is identified. We present a nonparametric method for estimating ν$\nu$ and investigate its properties. Our results show that the proposed estimator performs well in terms of bias and asymptotic normality, while the MLE of ν$\nu$ derived assuming that the common renewal distribution is exponential may be seriously biased if that assumption does not hold.     

Optimal block designs for three treatments when observations are correlated

E$E$-optimal designs for comparing three treatments in blocks of size three are identified, where intrablock observations are correlated according to a first order autoregressive error process with parameter ρ∈(0,1)$\rho \in (0,1)$. For number of blocks b   of the form b=3n+1$b=3n+1$, there are two distinct optimal designs depending on the value of ρ$\rho$, with the best design being unequally replicated for large ρ$\rho$. For other values of b$b$, binary, equireplicate designs with specified within-block assignment patterns are best. In many cases, the stronger majorization optimality is established.