Inference in Targeted Group‐Sequential Covariate‐Adjusted Randomized Clinical Trials

This article is devoted to the construction and asymptotic study of adaptive, group‐sequential, covariate‐adjusted randomized clinical trials analysed through the prism of the semiparametric methodology of targeted maximum likelihood estimation. We show how to build, as the data accrue group‐sequentially, a sampling design that targets a user‐supplied optimal covariate‐adjusted design. We also show how to carry out sound statistical inference based on such an adaptive sampling scheme (therefore extending some results known in the independent and identically distributed setting only so far), and how group‐sequential testing applies on top of it. The procedure is robust (i.e. consistent even if the working model is mis‐specified). A simulation study confirms the theoretical results and validates the conjecture that the procedure may also be efficient.     

刑事审判程序拒绝预断的两条路径

各国刑事审判程序对预断的“拒绝”，可分为事前防止和事后排除两种途径。正因如此，认为“大陆法系职权主义刑事诉讼没有预断排除规则”的观点值得商榷。显而易见的是，对事前防止与事后排除的不同侧重，正是两种审判模式对待预断的区别之处。预断的作用机制，在心理学上可用“首因效应”来解释，从预断的发生、防止和排除三个方面入手进行分析十分必要，由此得以阐明两种审判模式拒绝预断的不同进路。并且从法制国家的程序设置来看，拒绝预断只是保障公正审判的诸多手段之一。     

论非法侵入住宅罪的对象及亲告问题

对非法侵入住宅罪中"住宅"的含义应作正确理解。"住宅"具有以下特征:一定的日常生活设备,有相对隔离性,必须是供他人起居、饮食的生活场所。出于中国文化观念、刑法谦抑性以及社会现实等因素考虑,宜将非法侵入住宅罪设立为"亲告罪"。     

浅析司法实践中的“漏斗效应”

犯罪问题,古今中外普遍存在,是一个产生原因错综复杂、表现形式变化多样的重大社会问题,而在追究犯罪人刑事责任方面也出现了"破案多、捕判少"的漏斗现象.如何正确分析理解"漏斗效应"是当前期待解决的一个重要课题.     

论伍廷芳的司法独立思想

伍廷芳的司法独立思想建构在西方"三权分立"原则之上,其主要内容有三点:一是反对行政权干涉司法权;二是采用西方律师制、陪审制、公开审判、辩论式诉讼、无罪推定等西方资产阶级文明审判方式和原则;三是开办法律学堂,实行法官高薪制。伍廷芳的司法独立思想是中国近代法制思想的重要组成部分。     

A method for obtaining randomized block designs in preclinical studies with multiple quantitative blocking variables

A method is proposed for block randomization of treatments to experimental units that can accommodate both multiple quantitative blocking variables and unbalanced designs. Hierarchical clustering in conjunction with leaf‐order optimization is used to block experimental units in multivariate space. The method is illustrated in the context of a diabetic mouse assay. A simulation study is presented to explore the utility of the proposed randomization method relative to that of a completely randomized approach, both in the presence and absence of covariate adjustment. An example R function is provided to illustrate the implementation of the method. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Program Evaluation and Causal Inference With High‐Dimensional Data

In this paper, we provide efficient estimators and honest confidence bands for a variety of treatment effects including local average (LATE) and local quantile treatment effects (LQTE) in data‐rich environments. We can handle very many control variables, endogenous receipt of treatment, heterogeneous treatment effects, and function‐valued outcomes. Our framework covers the special case of exogenous receipt of treatment, either conditional on controls or unconditionally as in randomized control trials. In the latter case, our approach produces efficient estimators and honest bands for (functional) average treatment effects (ATE) and quantile treatment effects (QTE). To make informative inference possible, we assume that key reduced‐form predictive relationships are approximately sparse. This assumption allows the use of regularization and selection methods to estimate those relations, and we provide methods for post‐regularization and post‐selection inference that are uniformly valid (honest) across a wide range of models. We show that a key ingredient enabling honest inference is the use of orthogonal or doubly robust moment conditions in estimating certain reduced‐form functional parameters. We illustrate the use of the proposed methods with an application to estimating the effect of 401(k) eligibility and participation on accumulated assets. The results on program evaluation are obtained as a consequence of more general results on honest inference in a general moment‐condition framework, which arises from structural equation models in econometrics. Here, too, the crucial ingredient is the use of orthogonal moment conditions, which can be constructed from the initial moment conditions. We provide results on honest inference for (function‐valued) parameters within this general framework where any high‐quality, machine learning methods (e.g., boosted trees, deep neural networks, random forest, and their aggregated and hybrid versions) can be used to learn the nonparametric/high‐dimensional components of the model. These include a number of supporting auxiliary results that are of major independent interest: namely, we (1) prove uniform validity of a multiplier bootstrap, (2) offer a uniformly valid functional delta method, and (3) provide results for sparsity‐based estimation of regression functions for function‐valued outcomes.     

论审判独立的公正与效率价值

应进一步加大审判独立的程度.审判独立是实现审判公正和效率价值的手段.一方面,它对诉讼法程序公正的诸项标准具有保障作用;另一方面,它又是缩减诉讼成本、优化资源配置的重要途径.而当下我国审判不独立是相当严重的,它导致审判公正和效率的双重弱化.     

迅速审判:不同刑事诉讼模式下的理念与制度比较

从刑事诉讼制度的历史发展角度看,迅速审判的理念始终存在。对不同诉讼模式下的迅速审判的理念与制度进行分析,可以根据价值目标的不同将迅速审判的理念与制度划分为纠纷解决型、权力行使型和权利保障型,根据效力范围的不同可划分为局部推进型和整体推进型。迅速审判的类型演进呈现一种进化发展的基本态势,理想的类型搭配是:权利保障型、权力实施型的混合型加整体推进型。可以由此来确定未来一定时期内我国刑事程序改革的基本思路。     

Ethics of research design

Discussions of ethical issues in research involving human subjects most usually provoke concerns about valid informed consent procedures. However, considering the recognized limitations of informed consent, arguably the way a study is designed is a more consequential concern for subject well‐being. This paper summarizes ethical issues in the design of clinical research, with reference to historic and current guidelines. Special attention is given to randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and psychiatric research.