A class of additive-accelerated means regression models for recurrent event data

In this article, we propose a class of additive-accelerated means regression models for analyzing recurrent event data. The class includes the proportional means model, the additive rates model, the accelerated failure time model, the accelerated rates model and the additive-accelerated rate model as special cases. The new model offers great flexibility in formulating the effects of covariates on the mean functions of counting processes while leaving the stochastic structure completely unspecified. For the inference on the model parameters, estimating equation approaches are derived and asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators are established. In addition, a technique is provided for model checking. The finite-sample behavior of the proposed methods is examined through Monte Carlo simulation studies, and an application to a bladder cancer study is illustrated.     

多类型复发事件下变系数加性乘积比率回归模型

本文基于多类型复发事件数据,讨论了一个新的加性乘积比率回归模型,该模型包括两部分,其中第一部分为可加Aalen模型,其中协变量影响为加性的且与时间有关.第二部分为Cox回归模型,其中协变量有乘性影响.利用估计方程的方法,给出了该模型中未知参数和非参数函数的一种估计方法,并利用现代经验过程理沦证明了所得估计的相合性和渐近正态性.     

An additive-multiplicative rates model for multivariate recurrent events with event categories missing at random

Multivariate recurrent event data arises when study subjects may experience more than one type of recurrent events. In some situations, however, although event times are always observed, event categories may be partially missing. In this paper, an additive-multiplicative rates model is proposed for the analysis of multivariate recurrent event data when event categories are missing at random. A weighted estimating equations approach is developed for parameter estimation, and the resulting estimators are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. In addition, a model-checking technique is presented to assess the adequacy of the model. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the finite sample behavior of the proposed estimators, and an application to a platelet transfusion reaction study is provided.     

Explaining young mortality

Stochastic modeling of mortality rates focuses on fitting linear models to logarithmically adjusted mortality data from the middle or late ages. Whilst this modeling enables insurers to project mortality rates and hence price mortality products it does not provide good fit for younger aged mortality. Mortality rates below the early 20’s are important to model as they give an insight into estimates of the cohort effect for more recent years of birth. It is also important given the cumulative nature of life expectancy to be able to forecast mortality improvements at all ages. When we attempt to fit existing models to a wider age range, 5-89, rather than 20-89 or 50-89, their weaknesses are revealed as the results are not satisfactory. The linear innovations in existing models are not flexible enough to capture the non-linear profile of mortality rates that we see at the lower ages. In this paper, we modify an existing 4 factor model of mortality to enable better fitting to a wider age range, and using data from seven developed countries our empirical results show that the proposed model has a better fit to the actual data, is robust, and has good forecasting ability.     

基于单纯形分布的比例数据的回归分析

很多应用领域中的实验结果都表达成连续比例型数据,这类数据通常度量成为百分比、比率或比例,并取值于单位区间.为了采用弥散模型中的单纯形分布来模拟此类实验结果,本文首先研究单纯形分布的部分重要性质,在回归分析中参数估计和统计推断需要运用这些性质.模拟研究表明,当所研究情形不满足分布假设时,单纯形回归模型比Beta回归和分对数-正态回归模型更为稳健.通过对体外造血干细胞移植技术的真实数据分析,本文阐释这种方法和它针对异常值的稳健性.在R软件中,单纯形回归可以由程序包"simplexreg"实现,读者可以自行下载这个程序包,地址为http://my.zju.edu.cn/share/2466293(验证码:7919).     

A semiparametric additive rates model for clustered recurrent event data

Recurrent event data often arises in biomedical studies, and individuals within a cluster might not be independent. We propose a semiparametric additive rates model for clustered recurrent event data, wherein the covariates are assumed to add to the unspecified baseline rate. For the inference on the model parameters, estimating equation approaches are developed, and both large and finite sample properties of the proposed estimators are established.     

The Strong Mixing Data-Based Semiparametric Smooth Transition Regression Model

In this paper, we generalize the semiparametric smooth transition regression model proposed by Wang (2012a), to adapt for the strictly stationary strong mixing data and strong mixing data with deterministic trends. The unknown bounded smooth function embedded in the smooth transition function is estimated by series estimator, the consistency and asymptotic normality properties of estimators are proved employing nonlinear least square regression theory and series estimator approach. Variance matrix estimation and hypothesis testing problems are also discussed based on estimated standard errors. The new model is then used to study the annually inflation rates of China.     

Stochastic portfolio specific mortality and the quantification of mortality basis risk

In the last decade a vast literature on stochastic mortality models has been developed. However, these models are often not directly applicable to insurance portfolios because:

(a) For insurers and pension funds it is more relevant to model mortality rates measured in insured amounts instead of measured in the number of policies.

(b) Often there is not enough insurance portfolio specific mortality data available to fit such stochastic mortality models reliably.

Therefore, in this paper a stochastic model is proposed for portfolio specific mortality experience. Combining this stochastic process with a stochastic country population mortality process leads to stochastic portfolio specific mortality rates, measured in insured amounts. The proposed stochastic process is applied to two insurance portfolios, and the impact on the Value at Risk for longevity risk is quantified. Furthermore, the model can be used to quantify the basis risk that remains when hedging portfolio specific mortality risk with instruments of which the payoff depends on population mortality rates.     

带相依终止事件的复发事件数据的可加可乘比率模型

本文对带相依终止事件的复发事件数据提出了一个联合建模分析方法,用一个带脆弱变量的可加可乘比率模型来刻画复发事件过程,还用带脆弱变量的Cox风险率模型来刻画终止事件过程,而且这两个过程的相依性由脆弱变量来刻画.我们利用估计方程的方法,对模型参数进行了估计,给出了所得估计的渐近性质.同时,通过数值模拟分析验证了估计的渐近性质.最后,利用该方法分析了弗吉尼亚大学慢性心脏病病人医疗诊费数据.     

Asymptotic analysis of a new dynamic semiparametric regression model with cross-effects of survivals

A new flexible and simple semiparametric model including the cases where hazard rates cross, go away, are proportional, approach, or converge is proposed. Semiparametric estimation procedures for censored data are given. A test for absence of hazard rates crossing is proposed. Bibliography: 6 titles.     

Forecasting seasonal time series data: a Bayesian model averaging approach

A flexible Bayesian periodic autoregressive model is used for the prediction of quarterly and monthly time series data. As the unknown autoregressive lag order, the occurrence of structural breaks and their respective break dates are common sources of uncertainty these are treated as random quantities within the Bayesian framework. Since no analytical expressions for the corresponding marginal posterior predictive distributions exist a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach based on data augmentation is proposed. Its performance is demonstrated in Monte Carlo experiments. Instead of resorting to a model selection approach by choosing a particular candidate model for prediction, a forecasting approach based on Bayesian model averaging is used in order to account for model uncertainty and to improve forecasting accuracy. For model diagnosis a Bayesian sign test is introduced to compare the predictive accuracy of different forecasting models in terms of statistical significance. In an empirical application, using monthly unemployment rates of Germany, the performance of the model averaging prediction approach is compared to those of model selected Bayesian and classical (non)periodic time series models.     

Composite Quantile Estimation in Partial Functional Linear Regression Model Based on Polynomial Spline

In this paper, we consider composite quantile regression for partial functional linear regression model with polynomial spline approximation. Under some mild conditions, the convergence rates of the estimators and mean squared prediction error, and asymptotic normality of parameter vector are obtained. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed new estimation method is robust and works much better than the least-squares based method when there are outliers in the dataset or the random error follows heavy-tailed distributions. Finally, we apply the proposed methodology to a spectroscopic data sets to illustrate its usefulness in practice.     

Statistical inferences based on INID progressively type II censored order statistics

Suppose that the failure times of the units placed on a life-testing experiment are independent but nonidentically distributed random variables. Under progressively type II censoring scheme, distributional properties of the proposed random variables are presented and some inferences are made. Assuming that the random variables come from a proportional hazard rate model, the formulas are simplified and also the amount of Fisher information about the common parameters of this family is calculated. The results are also extended to a fixed covariates model. The performance of the proposed procedure is investigated via a real data set. Some numerical computations are also presented to study the effect of the proportionality rates in view of the Fisher information criterion. Finally, some concluding remarks are stated.     

Dynamic mortality factor model with conditional heteroskedasticity

In most methods for modeling mortality rates, the idiosyncratic shocks are assumed to be homoskedastic. This study investigates the conditional heteroskedasticity of mortality in terms of statistical time series. We start from testing the conditional heteroskedasticity of the period effect in the naïve Lee-Carter model for some mortality data. Then we introduce the Generalized Dynamic Factor method and the multivariate BEKK GARCH model to describe mortality dynamics and the conditional heteroskedasticity of mortality. After specifying the number of static factors and dynamic factors by several variants of information criterion, we compare our model with other two models, namely, the Lee-Carter model and the state space model. Based on several error-based measures of performance, our results indicate that if the number of static factors and dynamic factors is properly determined, the method proposed dominates other methods. Finally, we use our method combined with Kalman filter to forecast the mortality rates of Iceland and period life expectancies of Denmark, Finland, Italy and Netherlands.     

A Model to Assist Planning the Provision of Hospital Services

One of the most important health service issues concerns the level of provision of acute hospital beds. To assist resolution of this issue a model is proposed which simulates how hospital beds are used in terms of admission rates and lengths of stay for different categories of disease. The model can be used to predict the likely effects of changes in the provision of beds. Thus if it is proposed to increase the supply of beds, the model will estimate, by disease type, how much of an increase this will cause in admission rates and lengths of stay. The ability of the model to make reasonably accurate predictions is demonstrated by testing it with hospital data from Quebec Province, Canada. Some ways of improving the model's predictive power are discussed and possible future applications to hospital policy issues are outlined.     

Suppression of Defective Data Artifacts for Deblurring Images Corrupted by Random Valued Noise

For deblurring images corrupted by random valued noise, two-phase methods first select likely-to-be reliables (data that are not corrupted by random valued noise) and then deblur images only with selected data. Two-phase methods, however, often cause defective data artifacts, which are mixed results of missing data artifacts caused by the lack of data and noisy data artifacts caused mainly by falsely selected outliers (data that are corrupted by random valued noise). In this paper, to suppress these defective data artifacts, we propose a blurring model based reliable-selection technique to select reliables as many as possible to make all of to-be-recovered pixel values to contribute to selected data, while excluding outliers as accurately as possible. We also propose a normalization technique to compensate for non-uniform rates in recovering pixel values. We conducted simulation studies on Gaussian and diagonal deblurring to evaluate the performance of proposed techniques. Simulation results showed that proposed techniques improved the performance of two-phase methods, by suppressing defective data artifacts effectively.     

Discrimination with jointly equicorrelated multi-level multivariate data

In this article we study a linear as well as a quadratic discriminant function for multi-level multivariate repeated measurement data under the assumption of multivariate normality. We assume that the m-variate observations have jointly equicorrelated covariance structure in addition to a Kronecker product structure on the mean vector. The new discriminant functions are very effective in discriminating individuals when the number of observations is very small. The proposed classification rules are demonstrated on a real data set. The error rates of the proposed classification rules are found to be much less than the error rates of the traditional classification rules, when in fact the traditional classification rules fail most of the time owing to the small sample sizes.     

Assessing the heterogeneity of a disease spread through a community

A multivariate non-parametric test and a semi-parametric regression model via counting process are proposed for detecting the heterogeneity of a disease spread through a community. The infection rates are allowed to depend on time in an arbitrary manner. Infectious data usually are not completely observed, nevertheless only partial information of the epidemic is needed for the suggested methods. The testing procedures and the associated methods of analysis are illustrated with reference to epidemics of respiratory disease on the Island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic     

Adaptive penalized M-estimation with current status data

Current status data arises when a continuous response is reduced to an indicator of whether the response is greater or less than a random threshold value. In this article we consider adaptive penalized M-estimators (including the penalized least squares estimators and the penalized maximum likelihood estimators) for nonparametric and semiparametric models with current status data, under the assumption that the unknown nonparametric parameters belong to unknown Sobolev spaces. The Cox model is used as a representative of the semiparametric models. It is shown that the modified penalized M-estimators of the nonparametric parameters can achieve adaptive convergence rates, even when the degrees of smoothing are not known in advance. consistency, asymptotic normality and inference based on the weighted bootstrap for the estimators of the regression parameter in the Cox model are also established. A simulation study is conducted for the Cox model to evaluate the finite sample efficacy of the proposed approach and to compare it with the ordinary maximum likelihood estimator. It is demonstrated that the proposed method is computationally superior.We apply the proposed approach to the California Partner Study analysis.     

Modeling stochastic mortality with O-U type processes

Modeling log-mortality rates on O-U type processes and forecasting life expectancies are explored using U.S. data. In the classic Lee-Carter model of mortality, the time trend and the age-specific pattern of mortality over age group are linear, this is not the feature of mortality model. To avoid this disadvantage, O-U type processes will be used to model the log-mortality in this paper. In fact, this model is an AR(1) process, but with a nonlinear time drift term. Based on the mortality data of America from Human Mortality database (HMD), mortality projection consistently indicates a preference for mortality with O-U type processes over those with the classical Lee-Carter model. By means of this model, the low bounds of mortality rates at every age are given. Therefore, lengthening of maximum life expectancies span is estimated in this paper.