Exact average coverage probabilities and confidence coefficients of confidence intervals for discrete distributions

For a confidence interval (L(X),U(X)) of a parameter θ in one-parameter discrete distributions, the coverage probability is a variable function of θ. The confidence coefficient is the infimum of the coverage probabilities, inf  _θ P _θ (θ∈(L(X),U(X))). Since we do not know which point in the parameter space the infimum coverage probability occurs at, the exact confidence coefficients are unknown. Beside confidence coefficients, evaluation of a confidence intervals can be based on the average coverage probability. Usually, the exact average probability is also unknown and it was approximated by taking the mean of the coverage probabilities at some randomly chosen points in the parameter space. In this article, methodologies for computing the exact average coverage probabilities as well as the exact confidence coefficients of confidence intervals for one-parameter discrete distributions are proposed. With these methodologies, both exact values can be derived.     

A new alternative to the standard F test for clustered data

The data collection process and the inherent population structure are the main causes for clustered data. The observations in a given cluster are correlated, and the magnitude of such correlation is often measured by the intra-cluster correlation coefficient. The intra-cluster correlation can lead to an inflated size of the standard F test in a linear model. In this paper, we propose a solution to this problem. Unlike previous adjustments, our method does not require estimation of the intra-class correlation, which is problematic especially when the number of clusters is small. Our simulation results show that the new method outperforms the existing methods.     

贫困测量中恩格尔系数的失效及分析

 恩格尔系数在我国的适用性问题是学术界重要议题之一。本文利用对哈尔滨市和沈阳市贫困人口的调查数据,分析了恩格尔系数在我国城市贫困测量中失效的问题及原因。研究者尝试对恩格尔系数的分子、分母进行了重新界定和适当的修正,研究检验表明,从宏观测量和微观测量两个方面,修正恩格尔系数都能更准确的反映我国城市贫困家庭的真实生活水平。     

变数额标准为人员标准——农村低保标准确定的范式转换

中国扶贫和发展的情况表明,要解决农村全部贫困人员的温饱问题必须建立农村低保制度。受扶贫和城市低保对像确认的影响,我国实行农村低保试点的地区多采取数额标准作为确定农村低保对象的主要确认方法。鉴于数额标准在确定农村低保对象中的种种缺陷和弊端,文章在分析农村低保意义的基础上论证了变数额标准为人员标准在农村低保对象确认中的意义、作用、应注意的问题和确认的方法。     

An intuitive risk factors search algorithm: usage of the Bayesian network technique in personalized medicine

The article focuses on the application of the Bayesian networks (BN) technique to problems of personalized medicine. The simple (intuitive) algorithm of BN optimization with respect to the number of nodes using naive network topology is developed. This algorithm allows to increase the BN prediction quality and to identify the most important variables of the network. The parallel program implementing the algorithm has demonstrated good scalability with an increase in the computational cores number, and it can be applied to the large patients database containing thousands of variables. This program is applied for the prediction for the unfavorable outcome of coronary artery disease (CAD) for patients who survived the acute coronary syndrome (ACS). As a result, the quality of the predictions of the investigated networks was significantly improved and the most important risk factors were detected. The significance of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene polymorphism for the prediction of the unfavorable outcome of CAD for patients survived after ACS was revealed for the first time.     

应用同伦正则化算法反演二维溶质运移模型中的弥散系数

利用同伦正则化算法探讨了二维对流弥散方程的依赖空间变量的弥散系数反演问题.讨论了初始迭代值、数值微分步长、以及收敛精度对算法实现的影响.数值模拟表明,同伦正则化算法对于此类参数反演问题是一种有效的方法.     

Robust test for independence in high dimensions

This article develops a new test based on Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients for total independence in high dimensions. The test is robust to the non normality and heavy tails of the data, which is a merit that is not shared by the existing tests in literature. Simulation results suggest that the new test performs well under several typical null and alternative hypotheses. Besides, we employ a real data set to illustrate the use of the new test.     

Approximate confidence intervals for the weighted kappa coefficient of a binary diagnostic test subject to a case–control design

Case–control design to assess the accuracy of a binary diagnostic test (BDT) is very frequent in clinical practice. This design consists of applying the diagnostic test to all of the individuals in a sample of those who have the disease and in another sample of those who do not have the disease. The sensitivity of the diagnostic test is estimated from the case sample and the specificity is estimated from the control sample. Another parameter which is used to assess the performance of a BDT is the weighted kappa coefficient. The weighted kappa coefficient depends on the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic test, on the disease prevalence and on the weighting index. In this article, confidence intervals are studied for the weighted kappa coefficient subject to a case–control design and a method is proposed to calculate the sample sizes to estimate this parameter. The results obtained were applied to a real example.     

Fast robust feature screening for ultrahigh-dimensional varying coefficient models

In this paper, we propose a new partial correlation, the so-called composite quantile partial correlation, to measure the relationship of two variables given other variables. We further use this correlation to screen variables in ultrahigh-dimensional varying coefficient models. Our proposed method is fast and robust against outliers and can be efficiently employed in both single index variable and multiple index variable varying coefficient models. Numerical results indicate the preference of our proposed method.     

Joint GEEs for multivariate correlated data with incomplete binary outcomes

This study considers a fully-parametric but uncongenial multiple imputation (MI) inference to jointly analyze incomplete binary response variables observed in a correlated data settings. Multiple imputation model is specified as a fully-parametric model based on a multivariate extension of mixed-effects models. Dichotomized imputed datasets are then analyzed using joint GEE models where covariates are associated with the marginal mean of responses with response-specific regression coefficients and a Kronecker product is accommodated for cluster-specific correlation structure for a given response variable and correlation structure between multiple response variables. The validity of the proposed MI-based JGEE (MI-JGEE) approach is assessed through a Monte Carlo simulation study under different scenarios. The simulation results, which are evaluated in terms of bias, mean-squared error, and coverage rate, show that MI-JGEE has promising inferential properties even when the underlying multiple imputation is misspecified. Finally, Adolescent Alcohol Prevention Trial data are used for illustration.