DENSITY ESTIMATION FOR CLUSTERED DATA

The commonly used survey technique of clustering introduces dependence into sample data. Such data is frequently used in economic analysis, though the dependence induced by the sample structure of the data is often ignored. In this paper, the effect of clustering on the non-parametric, kernel estimate of the density, f(x), is examined. The window width commonly used for density estimation for the case of i.i.d. data is shown to no longer be optimal. A new optimal bandwidth using a higher-order kernel is proposed and is shown to give a smaller integrated mean squared error than two window widths which are widely used for the case of i.i.d. data. Several illustrations from simulation are provided.     

The cluster that never was: germ warfare experiments and health authority reality in Dorset

In 1997 intense media coverage raised public concerns about germ warfare simulation experiments conducted by the Ministry of Defence during the 1960s, which included the release of bacteria over Dorset. Families in East Lulworth, Dorset, have linked this with allegedly high rates of miscarriages, still-births, congenital malformations, learning and other neurodevelopmental disabilities in their village. The response of the Dorset Health Authority (DHA) included the examination of background information from the Ministry of Defence, national data on congenital malformations in Dorset, health information collected by campaigners and a systematic health survey conducted by the DHA among former and current residents of East Lulworth. The investigation did not confirm the presence of a cluster. It is debatable whether the DHA should have proceeded with their survey when none of the other more immediately available results indicated the presence of a cluster.     

Optimal design of clinical trials comparing several treatments with a control

Clinical trials are often designed to compare several treatments with a common control arm in pairwise fashion. In this paper we study optimal designs for such studies, based on minimizing the total number of patients required to achieve a given level of power. A common approach when designing studies to compare several treatments with a control is to achieve the desired power for each individual pairwise treatment comparison. However, it is often more appropriate to characterize power in terms of the family of null hypotheses being tested, and to control the probability of rejecting all, or alternatively any, of these individual hypotheses. While all approaches lead to unbalanced designs with more patients allocated to the control arm, it is found that the optimal design and required number of patients can vary substantially depending on the chosen characterization of power. The methods make allowance for both continuous and binary outcomes and are illustrated with reference to two clinical trials, one involving multiple doses compared to placebo and the other involving combination therapy compared to mono-therapies. In one example a 55% reduction in sample size is achieved through an optimal design combined with the appropriate characterization of power.     

房地产预警指标体系及综合预警方法研究

 本文在对常用的房地产预警指标体系选择方法及筛选流程进行分析的基础上,提出了一种主、客观相结合的房地产预警指标选择方法,即先采用综合分析方法对指标进行初次选择,然后用聚类分析和相关分析相结合的方法进行再次选择。最后建立了武汉市房地产预警指标系统,并进行了房地产综合预警。     

证券投资意识调查分析 —基于数据挖掘的视角

 证券公司对于客户的挖掘和分类有利于挖掘潜在客户和做出适当的营销决策。本文将决策树、逻辑斯蒂回归和贝氏机率分类算法用于判断被访者是否购买股票,以此挖掘潜在客户,用K-means聚类法将股票购买者划分不同的类型,并建议采取不同的服务和营销方式,提高客户的忠诚度。     

How to ask sensitive multiple-choice questions

Motivated by recent failures of polling to estimate populist party support, we propose and analyze two methods for asking sensitive multiple-choice questions where the respondent retains some privacy and therefore might answer more truthfully. The first method consists of asking for the true choice along with a choice picked at random. The other method presents a list of choices and asks whether the preferred one is on the list or not. Different respondents are shown different lists. The methods are easy to explain, which makes it likely that the respondent understands how her privacy is protected and may thus entice her to participate in the survey and answer truthfully. The methods are also easy to implement and scale up.     

“闪动簇团”与水反常膨胀

本文介绍了液态水结构的“闪动簇团”理论,运用该理论能很好地解释液态水的反常热膨胀问题.     

Integrating phase 2 into phase 3 based on an intermediate endpoint while accounting for a cure proportion—With an application to the design of a clinical trial in acute myeloid leukemia

For a trial with primary endpoint overall survival for a molecule with curative potential, statistical methods that rely on the proportional hazards assumption may underestimate the power and the time to final analysis. We show how a cure proportion model can be used to get the necessary number of events and appropriate timing via simulation. If phase 1 results for the new drug are exceptional and/or the medical need in the target population is high, a phase 3 trial might be initiated after phase 1. Building in a futility interim analysis into such a pivotal trial may mitigate the uncertainty of moving directly to phase 3. However, if cure is possible, overall survival might not be mature enough at the interim to support a futility decision. We propose to base this decision on an intermediate endpoint that is sufficiently associated with survival. Planning for such an interim can be interpreted as making a randomized phase 2 trial a part of the pivotal trial: If stopped at the interim, the trial data would be analyzed, and a decision on a subsequent phase 3 trial would be made. If the trial continues at the interim, then the phase 3 trial is already underway. To select a futility boundary, a mechanistic simulation model that connects the intermediate endpoint and survival is proposed. We illustrate how this approach was used to design a pivotal randomized trial in acute myeloid leukemia and discuss historical data that informed the simulation model and operational challenges when implementing it.     

空间溢出视角下的生产性服务业集聚与长三角城市群经济增长效率

本文利用空间杜宾模型实证研究了生产性服务业集聚对长三角城市群经济增长效率的影响及空间溢出效应。结果表明,生产性服务业集聚不仅能够显著提升本地区的经济增长效率,还对邻近城市具有正向的空间溢出效应,但这种影响在生产性服务业的细分行业之间存在一定异质性。进一步分析发现,生产性服务业集聚的MAR外部性和Jacobs外部性都有利于长三角城市群经济增长效率的提升,而Porter 外部性对经济增长效率具有负面影响。在空间溢出效应方面,Jacobs外部性对经济发展水平相近的城市具有负向溢出效应,Porter外部性对人力资本水平相近的城市具有正向溢出效应。此外,生产性服务业与制造业协同集聚对本地区和人力资本水平相近城市的经济增长效率具有显著促进作用,但对邻近城市和经济发展水平相近城市的经济增长效率因“虹吸效应”而产生一定的抑制作用。这些研究,对如何更有针对性地加快提升长三角城市群经济增长效率,提供了有价值的理论依据。