Kaplan–Meier Estimator under Association

Consider a long term study, where a series of possibly censored failure times is observed. Suppose the failure times have a common marginal distribution functionF, but they exhibit a mode of dependence characterized by positive or negative association. Under suitable regularity conditions, it is shown that the Kaplan–Meier estimatorF_nofFis uniformly strongly consistent; rates for the convergence are also provided. Similar results are established for the empirical cumulative hazard rate function involved. Furthermore, a stochastic process generated byF_nis shown to be weakly convergent to an appropriate Gaussian process. Finally, an estimator of the limiting variance of the Kaplan–Meier estimator is proposed and it is shown to be weakly convergent.     

On the Kaplan–Meier Estimator of Long-Range Dependent Sequences

The limiting distributions are obtained for the Kaplan–Meier estimator of unknown distribution function of stationary time series of the form G(X _j), where X _j is stationary Gaussian process with long-range dependence and G(·) is non-random function.     

A Dvoretzky–Kiefer–Wolfowitz type inequality for the Kaplan–Meier estimator

We prove a new exponential inequality for the Kaplan–Meier estimator of a distribution function in a right censored data model. This inequality is of the same type as the Dvoretzky–Kiefer–Wolfowitz inequality for the empirical distribution function in the non-censored case. Our approach is based on Duhamel equation which allows to use empirical process theory.     

The multiple imputations based Kaplan–Meier estimator

We derive the asymptotic distribution of the multiple imputations-based Kaplan–Meier estimator from right censored data with missing censoring indicators. We perform theoretical and numerical comparison studies with a competing semiparametric survival function estimator. We also carry out numerical studies to assess the performance of the proposed estimator when there is model misspecification.     

The Strong Law of Large Numbers for Kaplan–Meier U-Statistics

We introduce a Kaplan–Meier U-statistic of degree two for randomly censored data and prove a strong law for it. We use the technique of Stute and Wang⁽³⁾ by identifying appropriate reverse-time supermartingale processes. This approach avoids the stringent assumptions of Gijbels and Veraverbeke⁽¹⁾ who consider similar functionals.     

Asymptotic theorems for estimating the distribution function under random truncation

Representation theorem and local asymptotic minimax theorem are derived for nonparametric estimators of the distribution function on the basis of randomly truncated data. The convolution-type representation theorem asserts that the limiting process of any regular estimator of the distribution function is at least as dispersed as the limiting process of the product-limit estimator. The theorems are similar to those results for the complete data case due to Beran (1977, Ann. Statist., 5, 400–404) and for the censored data case due to Wellner (1982, Ann. Statist., 10, 595–602). Both likelihood and functional approaches are considered and the proofs rely on the method of Begun et al. (1983, Ann. Statist., 11, 432–452) with slight modifications.Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Columbia Univ.     

r-k Class estimation in regression model with concomitant variables

We treat with the r-k class estimation in a regression model, which includes the ordinary least squares estimator, the ordinary ridge regression estimator and the principal component regression estimator as special cases of the r-k class estimator. Many papers compared total mean square error of these estimators. Sarkar (1989, Ann. Inst. Statist. Math., 41, 717–724) asserts that the results of this comparison are still valid in a misspecified linear model. We point out some confusions of Sarkar and show additional conditions under which his assertion holds.     

On the estimation of entropy

Motivated by recent work of Joe (1989,Ann. Inst. Statist. Math.,41, 683–697), we introduce estimators of entropy and describe their properties. We study the effects of tail behaviour, distribution smoothness and dimensionality on convergence properties. In particular, we argue that root-n consistency of entropy estimation requires appropriate assumptions about each of these three features. Our estimators are different from Joe's, and may be computed without numerical integration, but it can be shown that the same interaction of tail behaviour, smoothness and dimensionality also determines the convergence rate of Joe's estimator. We study both histogram and kernel estimators of entropy, and in each case suggest empirical methods for choosing the smoothing parameter.     

Estimation of the entropy of a multivariate normal distribution

Motivated by problems in molecular biosciences wherein the evaluation of entropy of a molecular system is important for understanding its thermodynamic properties, we consider the efficient estimation of entropy of a multivariate normal distribution having unknown mean vector and covariance matrix. Based on a random sample, we discuss the problem of estimating the entropy under the quadratic loss function. The best affine equivariant estimator is obtained and, interestingly, it also turns out to be an unbiased estimator and a generalized Bayes estimator. It is established that the best affine equivariant estimator is admissible in the class of estimators that depend on the determinant of the sample covariance matrix alone. The risk improvements of the best affine equivariant estimator over the maximum likelihood estimator (an estimator commonly used in molecular sciences) are obtained numerically and are found to be substantial in higher dimensions, which is commonly the case for atomic coordinates in macromolecules such as proteins. We further establish that even the best affine equivariant estimator is inadmissible and obtain Stein-type and Brewster–Zidek-type estimators dominating it. The Brewster–Zidek-type estimator is shown to be generalized Bayes.     

Kullback-Leibler Information Consistent Estimation for Censored Data

This paper is intended as an investigation of parametric estimation for the randomly right censored data. In parametric estimation, the Kullback-Leibler information is used as a measure of the divergence of a true distribution generating a data relative to a distribution in an assumed parametric model M. When the data is uncensored, maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) is a consistent estimator of minimizing the Kullback-Leibler information, even if the assumed model M does not contain the true distribution. We call this property minimum Kullback-Leibler information consistency (MKLI-consistency). However, the MLE obtained by maximizing the likelihood function based on the censored data is not MKLI-consistent. As an alternative to the MLE, Oakes (1986, Biometrics, 42, 177–182) proposed an estimator termed approximate maximum likelihood estimator (AMLE) due to its computational advantage and potential for robustness. We show MKLI-consistency and asymptotic normality of the AMLE under the misspecification of the parametric model. In a simulation study, we investigate mean square errors of these two estimators and an estimator which is obtained by treating a jackknife corrected Kaplan-Meier integral as the log-likelihood. On the basis of the simulation results and the asymptotic results, we discuss comparison among these estimators. We also derive information criteria for the MLE and the AMLE under censorship, and which can be used not only for selecting models but also for selecting estimation procedures.