Inference of non-centrality parameter of a truncated non-central chi-squared distribution

Non-central chi-squared distribution plays a vital role in statistical testing procedures. Estimation of the non-centrality parameter provides valuable information for the power calculation of the associated test. We are interested in the statistical inference property of the non-centrality parameter estimate based on one observation (usually a summary statistic) from a truncated chi-squared distribution. This work is motivated by the application of the flexible two-stage design in case–control studies, where the sample size needed for the second stage of a two-stage study can be determined adaptively by the results of the first stage. We first study the moment estimate for the truncated distribution and prove its existence, uniqueness, and inadmissibility and convergence properties. We then define a new class of estimates that includes the moment estimate as a special case. Among this class of estimates, we recommend to use one member that outperforms the moment estimate in a wide range of scenarios. We also present two methods for constructing confidence intervals. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed point and interval estimates.     

Performance of Interval Estimators for the Inverse Hypergeometric Distribution

The inverse hypergeometric distribution is of interest in applications of inverse sampling without replacement from a finite population where a binary observation is made on each sampling unit. Thus, sampling is performed by randomly choosing units sequentially one at a time until a specified number of one of the two types is selected for the sample. Assuming the total number of units in the population is known but the number of each type is not, we consider the problem of estimating this parameter. We use the Delta method to develop approximations for the variance of three parameter estimators. We then propose three large sample confidence intervals for the parameter. Based on these results, we selected a sampling of parameter values for the inverse hypergeometric distribution to empirically investigate performance of these estimators. We evaluate their performance in terms of expected probability of parameter coverage and confidence interval length calculated as means of possible outcomes weighted by the appropriate outcome probabilities for each parameter value considered. The unbiased estimator of the parameter is the preferred estimator relative to the maximum likelihood estimator and an estimator based on a negative binomial approximation, as evidenced by empirical estimates of closeness to the true parameter value. Confidence intervals based on the unbiased estimator tend to be shorter than the two competitors because of its relatively small variance but at a slight cost in terms of coverage probability.     

Statistical inference about the shape parameter of the Weibull distribution by upper record values

Summary In this paper, we provide some pivotal quantities to test and establish confidence interval of the shape parameter on the basis of the firstn observed upper record values. Finally, we give some examples and the Monte Carlo simulation to assess the behaviors (including higher power and more shorter length of confidence interval) of these pivotal quantities for testing null hypotheses and establishing confidence interval concerning the shape parameter under the given significance level and the given confidence coefficient, respectively.     

Robust Tests in Semiparametric Partly Linear Models

Abstract.  This paper focuses on the problem of testing the null hypothesis that the regression parameter equals a fixed value under a semiparametric partly linear regression model by using a three-step robust estimate for the regression parameter and the regression function. Two families of tests statistics are considered and their asymptotic distributions are studied under the null hypothesis and under contiguous alternatives. A Monte Carlo study is performed to compare the finite sample behaviour of the proposed tests with the classical one.     

Estimating the propagation rate of a viral infection of potato plants via mixtures of regressions

A problem arising from the study of the spread of a viral infection among potato plants by aphids appears to involve a mixture of two linear regressions on a single predictor variable. The plant scientists studying the problem were particularly interested in obtaining a 95% confidence upper bound for the infection rate. We discuss briefly the procedure for fitting mixtures of regression models by means of maximum likelihood, effected via the EM algorithm. We give general expressions for the implementation of the M-step and then address the issue of conducting statistical inference in this context. A technique due to T. A. Louis may be used to estimate the covariance matrix of the parameter estimates by calculating the observed Fisher information matrix. We develop general expressions for the entries of this information matrix. Having the complete covariance matrix permits the calculation of confidence and prediction bands for the fitted model. We also investigate the testing of hypotheses concerning the number of components in the mixture via parametric and 'semiparametric' bootstrapping. Finally, we develop a method of producing diagnostic plots of the residuals from a mixture of linear regressions.     

Semiparametric Bayesian Techniques for Problems in Circular Data

In this paper, we consider the problems of prediction and tests of hypotheses for directional data in a semiparametric Bayesian set-up. Observations are assumed to be independently drawn from the von Mises distribution and uncertainty in the location parameter is modelled by a Dirichlet process. For the prediction problem, we present a method to obtain the predictive density of a future observation, and, for the testing problem, we present a method of computing the Bayes factor by obtaining the posterior probabilities of the hypotheses under consideration. The semiparametric model is seen to be flexible and robust against prior misspecifications. While analytical expressions are intractable, the methods are easily implemented using the Gibbs sampler. We illustrate the methods with data from two real-life examples.     

Exact inference for exponential distribution with multiply Type-I censored data

In this paper, we focus on exact inference for exponential distribution under multiple Type-I censoring, which is a general form of Type-I censoring and represents that the units are terminated at different times. The maximum likelihood estimate of mean parameter is calculated. Further, the distribution of maximum likelihood estimate is derived and it yields an exact lower confidence limit for the mean parameter. Based on a simulation study, we conclude that the exact limit outperforms the bootstrap limit in terms of the coverage probability and average limit. Finally, a real dataset is analyzed for illustration.     

An averaging approach to prediction

The problem of predicting a future observation based on an observed sample is discussed. As a device for eliminating the parameter from the conditional distribution of a future observation given the observed sample, we suggest averaging with respect to an exact or approximate confidence distribution function. It is shown that in many standard problems where an exact answer is available by other methods, the averaging method reproduces that exact answer. When the exact answer is not easily available, the averaging method gives a simple and systematic approach to the problems. Applications to life data from exponential distribution and regression problems are examined.     

A note on confidence bounds after fixed-sequence multiple tests

We are concerned with the problem of estimating the treatment effects at the effective doses in a dose-finding study. Under monotone dose-response, the effective doses can be identified through the estimation of the minimum effective dose, for which there is an extensive set of statistical tools. In particular, when a fixed-sequence multiple testing procedure is used to estimate the minimum effective dose, Hsu and Berger (1999) show that the confidence lower bounds for the treatment effects can be constructed without the need to adjust for multiplicity. Their method, called the dose-response method, is simple to use, but does not account for the magnitude of the observed treatment effects. As a result, the dose-response method will estimate the treatment effects at effective doses with confidence bounds invariably identical to the hypothesized value. In this paper, we propose an error-splitting method as a variant of the dose-response method to construct confidence bounds at the identified effective doses after a fixed-sequence multiple testing procedure. Our proposed method has the virtue of simplicity as in the dose-response method, preserves the nominal coverage probability, and provides sharper bounds than the dose-response method in most cases.     

基于多重抽样框的连续性抽样估计方法研究

多重抽样框可以解决单一抽样框难以完整覆盖流动性目标总体的难题,连续性抽样调查则可以获取变量的时序观测数据,对总体现象进行追踪调查。本文将多重抽样框调查与连续性抽样调查两种方法结合在一起进行研究,深入分析基于多重抽样框的连续性抽样估计方法。文章首先设计了连续性调查环境下总体结构变动表;然后,在简单随机抽样假定下的轮换样本调查情形开展研究,设计了14种参数缩减方法对构建的似然函数进行估计求解,并给出了估计量的迭代计算过程;最后,对本文的研究内容进行了总结与展望。     

Goodness-of-fit tests for one-shot device accelerated life testing data

In this article, we develop a formal goodness-of-fit testing procedure for one-shot device testing data, in which each observation in the sample is either left censored or right censored. Such data are also called current status data. We provide an algorithm for calculating the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimate (NPMLE) of the unknown lifetime distribution based on such data. Then, we consider four different test statistics that can be used for testing the goodness-of-fit of accelerated failure time (AFT) model by the use of samples of residuals: a chi-square-type statistic based on the difference between the empirical and expected numbers of failures at each inspection time; two other statistics based on the difference between the NPMLE of the lifetime distribution obtained from one-shot device testing data and the distribution specified under the null hypothesis; as a final statistic, we use White's idea of comparing two estimators of the Fisher Information (FI) to propose a test statistic. We then compare these tests in terms of power, and draw some conclusions. Finally, we present an example to illustrate the proposed tests.     

On the linear combinations of the means of inverse gaussian distributions

Consider the two parameter Inverse Gaussian distribution with mean μ and scale parameter λ.

Suppose one is interested in testing a problem on a linear combination for the means of Inverse Gaussian distributions. For this problem a test and confidence intervals are proposed when: (1) λ’s are known and; (2) λ’s are unknown.

Finally an application of the procedures is illustrated with a data set of failure times of high-speed turbine bearings.     

On Parameter Inference for Step-Stress Accelerated Life Test with Geometric Distribution

In this article, we present the parameter inference in step-stress accelerated life tests under the tampered failure rate model with geometric distribution. We deal with Type-II censoring scheme involved in experimental data, and provide the maximum likelihood estimate and confidence interval of the parameters of interest. With the help of the Monte-Carlo simulation technique, a comparison of precision of the confidence limits is demonstrated for our method, the Bootstrap method, and the large-sample based procedure. The application of two industrial real datasets shows the proposed method efficiency and feasibility.     

An extended semiparametric model for short-term and long-term hazard ratios

In survival analysis, one way to deal with non-proportional hazards is to model short-term and long-term hazard ratios. The existing model of this nature has no control over how fast the hazard ratio is changing over time. We add a parameter to the existing model to allow the hazard ratio to change over time at different speed. A nonparametric maximum likelihood approach is used to estimate the model parameters. The existing model is a special case of the extended model when the speed parameter is 0, which leads naturally to a way of testing the adequacy of the existing model. Simulation results show that there can be substantial bias in the estimation of the short-term and long-term hazard ratio if the speed parameter is fixed incorrectly at 0 rather than estimated. The extended model is fitted to three real data sets to shed new insights, including the observation that converging hazards does not necessarily imply the odds are proportional.     

On sequential estimation of the mean of a multidimensional gaussian process

For a multidimensional continuous time GAUssian process whose mean vector depends linearly of a multidimensional parameter, we consider a sequential estimation niodel. A suitable estimator process is constructed, and its distributions are analyzed in order to prove that it is progressively sufficient, After the reduction by sufficiency, an invariant structure is introduced and the optimal invariant terminal decision function is obtained.     

Estimating the turning point location in shifted exponential model of time series

We consider the distribution of the turning point location of time series modeled as the sum of deterministic trend plus random noise. If the variables are modeled by shifted exponentials, whose location parameters define the trend, we provide a formula for computing the distribution of the turning point location and consequently to estimate a confidence interval for the location. We test this formula in simulated data series having a trend with asymmetric minimum, investigating the coverage rate as a function of a bandwidth parameter. The method is applied to estimate the confidence interval of the minimum location of two types of real-time series: the RT intervals extracted from the electrocardiogram recorded during the exercise test and an economic indicator, the current account balance. We discuss the connection with stochastic ordering.     

Detection of multiple undocumented change-points using adaptive Lasso

The problem of detecting multiple undocumented change-points in a historical temperature sequence with simple linear trend is formulated by a linear model. We apply adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) to estimate the number and locations of change-points. Model selection criteria are used to choose the Lasso smoothing parameter. As adaptive Lasso may overestimate the number of change-points, we perform post-selection on change-points detected by adaptive Lasso using multivariate t simultaneous confidence intervals. Our method is demonstrated on the annual temperature data (year: 1902–2000) from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.     

Confidence intervals for the mean of a normal distribution with restricted parameter space

For a normal distribution with known variance, the standard confidence interval of the location parameter is derived from the classical Neyman procedure. When the parameter space is known to be restricted, the standard confidence interval is arguably unsatisfactory. Recent articles have addressed this problem and proposed confidence intervals for the mean of a normal distribution where the parameter space is not less than zero. In this article, we propose a new confidence interval, rp interval, and derive the Bayesian credible interval and likelihood ratio interval for general restricted parameter space. We compare these intervals with the standard interval and the minimax interval. Simulation studies are undertaken to assess the performances of these confidence intervals.     

The Cusum Test for Parameter Change in Time Series Models

Abstract.  In this paper, we consider the problem of testing for parameter changes in time series models based on a cusum test. Although the test procedure is well established for the mean and variance in time series models, a general parameter case has not been discussed in the literature. Therefore, here we develop a cusum test for parameter change in a more general framework. As an example, we consider the change of the parameters in a random coeefficient autoregressive (1) model and that of the autocovariances of a linear process. Simulation results are reported for illustration.     

Adaptively transformed mixed‐model prediction of general finite‐population parameters

For estimating area‐specific parameters (quantities) in a finite population, a mixed‐model prediction approach is attractive. However, this approach strongly depends on the normality assumption of the response values, although we often encounter a non‐normal case in practice. In such a case, transforming observations to make them suitable for normality assumption is a useful tool, but the problem of selecting a suitable transformation still remains open. To overcome the difficulty, we here propose a new empirical best predicting method by using a parametric family of transformations to estimate a suitable transformation based on the data. We suggest a simple estimating method for transformation parameters based on the profile likelihood function, which achieves consistency under some conditions on transformation functions. For measuring the variability of point prediction, we construct an empirical Bayes confidence interval of the population parameter of interest. Through simulation studies, we investigate the numerical performance of the proposed methods. Finally, we apply the proposed method to synthetic income data in Spanish provinces in which the resulting estimates indicate that the commonly used log transformation would not be appropriate.