Semiparametric estimation of plane similarities: application to fast computation of aeronautic loads

In the big data era, it is often needed to resolve the problem of parsimonious data representation. In this paper, the data under study are curves and the sparse representation is based on a semiparametric model. Indeed, we propose an original registration model for noisy curves. The model is built transforming an unknown function by plane similarities. We develop a statistical method that allows to estimate the parameters characterizing the plane similarities. The properties of the statistical procedure are studied. We show the convergence and the asymptotic normality of the estimators. Numerical simulations and a real-life aeronautic example illustrate and demonstrate the strength of our methodology.     

On the construction of optimal experimental designs: a penalty approach

Tn optimal experimental design theory there are well-known situations, in which additional constraints are implied to the design set. These constraints destroy in general the simplex structure of the set of feasible points of the design set. Thus the available iteration procedures for the unrestricted case are no longer applicable.

In this paper a penalty approach is suggested which transforms the restricted problem to the unrestricted case and allows the application of well-known algorithms such as the Fedorov-Wynn-type or the projected gradient procedure.     

Bayes designs for multiple linear regression on the unit sphere

We deal with experimental designs minimizing the mean square error of the linear BAYES estimator for the parameter vector of a multiple linear regression model where the experimental region is the k-dimensional unit sphere. After computing the uniquely determined optimum information matrix, we construct, separately for the homogeneous and the inhomogeneous model, both approximate and exact designs having such an information matrix.     

A correlation-theoretical interpretation of schur analysis

This paper is heavily leaned on the author's recent investigations concerning SCHUR analysis of non-negative Hermitian block matrices. The parameters of the matrix balls and the triangular choice scheme which describe a non-negative Hermitian block matrix will be interpreted in the framework of correlation theory     

An Exponential Model for Damage Accumulation

In this article, we present a general model for predicting the fatigue behavior for any stress level and amplitude using the exponential model. Based on the Wöhler field for fixed stress level, a compatibility functional equation enables us to derive the general model with eight parameters. The problem of parameter estimation is then discussed and some methods are described. Some examples are finally presented to illustrate the derived model and the proposed methods of estimation.     

Penalized Maximum Likelihood Principle for Choosing Ridge Parameter

We consider the problem of choosing the ridge parameter. Two penalized maximum likelihood (PML) criteria based on a distribution-free and a data-dependent penalty function are proposed. These PML criteria can be considered as “continuous” versions of AIC. A systematic simulation is conducted to compare the suggested criteria to several existing methods. The simulation results strongly support the use of our method. The method is also applied to two real data sets.     

Modifications of the Empirical Likelihood Interval Estimation with Improved Coverage Probabilities

The empirical likelihood (EL) technique has been well addressed in both the theoretical and applied literature in the context of powerful nonparametric statistical methods for testing and interval estimations. A nonparametric version of Wilks theorem (Wilks, 1938 Wilks , S. S. ( 1938 ). The large-sample distribution of the likelihood ratio for testing composite hypotheses . Annals of Mathematical Statistics 9 : 60 – 62 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) can usually provide an asymptotic evaluation of the Type I error of EL ratio-type tests. In this article, we examine the performance of this asymptotic result when the EL is based on finite samples that are from various distributions. In the context of the Type I error control, we show that the classical EL procedure and the Student's t-test have asymptotically a similar structure. Thus, we conclude that modifications of t-type tests can be adopted to improve the EL ratio test. We propose the application of the Chen (1995 Chen , L. ( 1995 ). Testing the mean of skewed distributions . Journal of the American Statistical Association 90 : 767 – 772 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) t-test modification to the EL ratio test. We display that the Chen approach leads to a location change of observed data whereas the classical Bartlett method is known to be a scale correction of the data distribution. Finally, we modify the EL ratio test via both the Chen and Bartlett corrections. We support our argument with theoretical proofs as well as a Monte Carlo study. A real data example studies the proposed approach in practice.     

Changepoint Estimation in a Segmented Linear Regression via Empirical Likelihood

For a segmented regression system with an unknown changepoint over two domains of a predictor, a new empirical likelihood ratio statistic is proposed to test the null hypothesis of no change. Under the null hypothesis of no change, the proposed test statistic is shown empirically to be Gumbel distributed with robust location and scale estimators against various parameter settings and error distributions. A power analysis is conducted to illustrate the performance of the test. Under the alternative hypothesis with a changepoint, the test statistic is utilized to estimate the changepoint between the two domains. A comparison of the frequency distributions between the proposed estimator and two parametric methods indicates that the proposed method is effective in capturing the true changepoint.     

New Prediction Interval and Band in the Nonlinear Regression Model: Application to Predictive Modeling in Foods

This article is concerned with the proposal of a new prediction interval and band for the nonlinear regression model. The construction principle of this interval and band is based on an exact (the meaning of the term “exact” will be given later) confidence region for parameters of the nonlinear regression model. This region, fully described in Vila and Gauchi (2007 Vila , J.-P. , Gauchi , J.-P. ( 2007 ). Optimal designs based on exact confidence regions for parameter estimation of a nonlinear regression model . Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference 137 ( 9 ): 2935 – 2953 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), provides a rigorous justification for the new prediction interval and band that we propose. This new band is then compared to the classical bands (which are asymptotic and thus approximate for small n), and also to the band based on the bootstrap resampling method. The comparison of these bands is undertaken with simulated and real data from predictive modeling in food science.     

Dirichlet Processes in Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models

In this article, we use two efficient approaches to deal with the difficulty in computing the intractable integrals when implementing Gibbs sampling in the nonlinear mixed effects model (NLMM) based on Dirichlet processes (DP). In the first approach, we compute the Laplace's approximation to the integral for its high accuracy, low cost, and ease of implementation. The second approach uses the no-gaps algorithm of MacEachern and Müller (1998 MacEachern , S. , Müller , P. ( 1998 ). Estimating mixtures of Dirichlet process models . Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics 7 : 223 – 238 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to perform Gibbs sampling without evaluating the difficult integral. We apply both approaches to real problems and simulations. Results show that both approaches perform well in density estimation and prediction and are superior to the parametric analysis in that they can detect important model features, such as skewness, long tails, and multimodality, whereas the parametric analysis cannot.