Distributions of numbers of runs and scans on directed acyclic graphs with generation

In this paper, we introduce a class of a directed acyclic graph on the assumption that the collection of random variables indexed by the vertices has a Markov property. We present a flexible approach for the study of the exact distributions of runs and scans on the directed acyclic graph by extending the method of conditional probability generating functions. The results presented here provide a wide framework for developing the exact distribution theory of runs and scans on the graphical models. We also show that our theoretical results can easily be carried out through some computer algebra systems and give some numerical examples in order to demonstrate the feasibility of our theoretical results. As applications, two special reliability systems are considered, which are closely related to our general results. Finally, we address the parameter estimation in the distributions of runs and scans.     

Improving density forecast by modeling asymmetric features: An application to S&P500 returns

A density forecast is an estimate of the probability distribution of the possible future values of a random variable. From the current literature, an economic time series may have three types of asymmetry: asymmetry in unconditional distribution, asymmetry in conditional distribution, volatility asymmetry. In this paper, we propose three density forecasting methods under two-piece normal assumption to capture these asymmetric features. A GARCH model with two-piece normal distribution is developed to capture asymmetries in the conditional distributions. In this approach, we first estimate parameters of a GARCH model by assuming normal innovations, and then fit a two-piece normal distribution to the empirical residuals. Block bootstrap procedure, and moving average method with two-piece normal distribution are presented for volatility asymmetry and asymmetry in the conditional distributions. Application of the developed methods to the weekly S&P500 returns illustrates that forecast quality can be significantly improved by modeling these asymmetric features.     

Bivariate Distributions with Pearson Type VII Conditionals

In this article the most general class of bivariate distributions such that both conditional densities are Pearson Type VII, with fixed shape parameter, is fully characterized. Some of its properties and relations with other distributions are explored. The estimation of parameters is considered by the methods of maximum likelihood and pseudolikelihood and a method for random variate generation is presented along with a simulation experiment. Bivariate and multivariate extensions of the Pearson Type VII conditionals distribution are also discussed.     

Canonical representation of conditionally specified multivariate discrete distributions

Most work on conditionally specified distributions has focused on approaches that operate on the probability space, and the constraints on the probability space often make the study of their properties challenging. We propose decomposing both the joint and conditional discrete distributions into characterizing sets of canonical interactions, and we prove that certain interactions of a joint distribution are shared with its conditional distributions. This invariance opens the door for checking the compatibility between conditional distributions involving the same set of variables. We formulate necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of discrete conditional models, and we show how a joint distribution can be easily computed from the pool of interactions collected from the conditional distributions. Hence, the methods can be used to calculate the exact distribution of a Gibbs sampler. Furthermore, issues such as how near compatibility can be reconciled are also discussed. Using mixed parametrization, we show that the proposed approach is based on the canonical parameters, while the conventional approaches are based on the mean parameters. Our advantage is partly due to the invariance that holds only for the canonical parameters.     

Nonparametric criteria for supervised classification of fuzzy data

The supervised classification of fuzzy data obtained from a random experiment is discussed. The data generation process is modelled through random fuzzy sets which, from a formal point of view, can be identified with certain function-valued random elements. First, one of the most versatile discriminant approaches in the context of functional data analysis is adapted to the specific case of interest. In this way, discriminant analysis based on nonparametric kernel density estimation is discussed. In general, this criterion is shown not to be optimal and to require large sample sizes. To avoid such inconveniences, a simpler approach which eludes the density estimation by considering conditional probabilities on certain balls is introduced. The approaches are applied to two experiments; one concerning fuzzy perceptions and linguistic labels and another one concerning flood analysis. The methods are tested against linear discriminant analysis and random K-fold cross validation.     

A load share model for non-identical components of a k-out-of-m system

We consider a k-out-of-m load sharing system when the lifetimes of the components are not necessarily identically distributed random variables. For such systems, a model for the load sharing phenomenon through the exponentiated conditional survival functions of ordered failure times is proposed. This model is more general than the load sharing model with identically distributed component lifetimes and leads to a different family of distributions for ordered random variables. A general expression for the reliability of the system is given. The computations of the reliability for a two component parallel load sharing system corresponding to the exponential and Weibull distributions are discussed. For illustrative purpose, we discuss the inference procedures for a two component parallel load sharing system corresponding to the exponential distributions. A simulation study is carried out to assess the proposed estimation and testing procedures. The applicability of the proposed load sharing model is shown through two data sets.     

Multiway Dependence in Exponential Family Conditional Distributions

Conditionally specified statistical models are frequently constructed from one-parameter exponential family conditional distributions. One way to formulate such a model is to specify the dependence structure among random variables through the use of a Markov random field (MRF). A common assumption on the Gibbsian form of the MRF model is that dependence is expressed only through pairs of random variables, which we refer to as the “pairwise-only dependence” assumption. Based on this assumption, J. Besag (1974, J. Roy. Statist. Soc. Ser. B36, 192–225) formulated exponential family “auto-models” and showed the form that one-parameter exponential family conditional densities must take in such models. We extend these results by relaxing the pairwise-only dependence assumption, and we give a necessary form that one-parameter exponential family conditional densities must take under more general conditions of multiway dependence. Data on the spatial distribution of the European corn borer larvae are fitted using a model with Bernoulli conditional distributions and several dependence structures, including pairwise-only, three-way, and four-way dependencies.     

A one- and two-dimensional generalized Pareto model for a river flow

The main objective of this paper is to find a two-dimensional model for the flow of the Romaine River in Québec, Canada, which could be used to forecast the flow one day after the currently observed flow. The 2D density function proposed must be such that the correlation coefficient between the two variables can be chosen close to 1, since the river flows on two consecutive days are very highly correlated. We find that a generalized Pareto distribution provides a good fit to the data. We then propose 2D versions of this distribution. Finally, a linear combination of two such 2D distributions is used to obtain the required model. In the case of the Romaine River, the model considered works very well. It could be used with or modified for other rivers.     

Simulation metamodeling with dynamic Bayesian networks

This paper presents a novel approach to simulation metamodeling using dynamic Bayesian networks (DBNs) in the context of discrete event simulation. A DBN is a probabilistic model that represents the joint distribution of a sequence of random variables and enables the efficient calculation of their marginal and conditional distributions. In this paper, the construction of a DBN based on simulation data and its utilization in simulation analyses are presented. The DBN metamodel allows the study of the time evolution of simulation by tracking the probability distribution of the simulation state over the duration of the simulation. This feature is unprecedented among existing simulation metamodels. The DBN metamodel also enables effective what-if analysis which reveals the conditional evolution of the simulation. In such an analysis, the simulation state at a given time is fixed and the probability distributions representing the state at other time instants are updated. Simulation parameters can be included in the DBN metamodel as external random variables. Then, the DBN offers a way to study the effects of parameter values and their uncertainty on the evolution of the simulation. The accuracy of the analyses allowed by DBNs is studied by constructing appropriate confidence intervals. These analyses could be conducted based on raw simulation data but the use of DBNs reduces the duration of repetitive analyses and is expedited by available Bayesian network software. The construction and analysis capabilities of DBN metamodels are illustrated with two example simulation studies.     

Multiple Imputation by Ordered Monotone Blocks With Application to the Anthrax Vaccine Research Program

Multiple imputation (MI) has become a standard statistical technique for dealing with missing values. The CDC Anthrax Vaccine Research Program (AVRP) dataset created new challenges for MI due to the large number of variables of different types and the limited sample size. A common method for imputing missing data in such complex studies is to specify, for each of J variables with missing values, a univariate conditional distribution given all other variables, and then to draw imputations by iterating over the J conditional distributions. Such fully conditional imputation strategies have the theoretical drawback that the conditional distributions may be incompatible. When the missingness pattern is monotone, a theoretically valid approach is to specify, for each variable with missing values, a conditional distribution given the variables with fewer or the same number of missing values and sequentially draw from these distributions. In this article, we propose the “multiple imputation by ordered monotone blocks” approach, which combines these two basic approaches by decomposing any missingness pattern into a collection of smaller “constructed” monotone missingness patterns, and iterating. We apply this strategy to impute the missing data in the AVRP interim data. Supplemental materials, including all source code and a synthetic example dataset, are available online.     

Fitting the extended poisson process model to grouped binary data

Summary  Extended Poisson process modelling allows the construction of a broad class of distributions, including distributions over-dispersed or under-dispersed relative to the binomial distribution, with the binomial distribution being a special case. In this paper an iteratively re-weighted least squares algorithm for fitting such generalised binomial distributions is presented, and is illustrated with an example.     

Dependence Properties of Conditional Distributions of some Copula Models

For multivariate data from an observational study, inferences of interest can include conditional probabilities or quantiles for one variable given other variables. For statistical modeling, one could fit a parametric multivariate model, such as a vine copula, to the data and then use the model-based conditional distributions for further inference. Some results are derived for properties of conditional distributions under different positive dependence assumptions for some copula-based models. The multivariate version of the stochastically increasing ordering of conditional distributions is introduced for this purpose. Results are explained in the context of multivariate Gaussian distributions, as properties for Gaussian distributions can help to understand the properties of copula extensions based on vines.     

On a Berry-Esseen theorem for compound Poisson processes

The well-known Berry-Esseen theorem concerning the rate of convergence to a stable law for a sum of independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables is adapted to the case of a compound Poisson process, considered in the collective risk theory. As a consequence the rate of convergence of the Edgeworth expansion to the compound Poisson distribution is examined for all positive values of the time variable, in both cases where the moments of the claim distribution converge or diverge. As a by product the results obtained by T. Höglund [1] concerning the sum of a fixed number (n) of i.i.d. random variables are presented in an alternative manner. His theorems concerning the limiting behaviour for n → ∞ can be transformed slightly in order to make them hold for all n. It is explained how the result on the estimation of the rate of convergence in a limit theorem with a stable law fits with the results obtained by K.I. Satyabaldina [2].     

Bayesian estimation of incompletely observed diffusions

We present a general framework for Bayesian estimation of incompletely observed multivariate diffusion processes. Observations are assumed to be discrete in time, noisy and incomplete. We assume the drift and diffusion coefficient depend on an unknown parameter. A data-augmentation algorithm for drawing from the posterior distribution is presented which is based on simulating diffusion bridges conditional on a noisy incomplete observation at an intermediate time. The dynamics of such filtered bridges are derived and it is shown how these can be simulated using a generalised version of the guided proposals introduced in Schauer, Van der Meulen and Van Zanten (2017, Bernoulli 23(4A)).     

Strong laws of large numbers for intermediately trimmed Birkhoff sums of observables with infinite mean

We consider dynamical systems on a finite measure space fulfilling a spectral gap property and Birkhoff sums of a non-negative, non-integrable observable. For such systems we generalize strong laws of large numbers for intermediately trimmed sums only known for independent random variables. The results split up in trimming statements for general distribution functions and for regularly varying tail distributions. In both cases the trimming rate can be chosen in the same or almost the same way as in the i.i.d. case. As an example we show that piecewise expanding interval maps fulfill the necessary conditions for our limit laws. As a side result we obtain strong laws of large numbers for truncated Birkhoff sums.     

Robust Bayesian prediction and estimation under a squared log error loss function

Robust Bayesian analysis is concerned with the problem of making decisions about some future observation or an unknown parameter, when the prior distribution belongs to a class Γ instead of being specified exactly. In this paper, the problem of robust Bayesian prediction and estimation under a squared log error loss function is considered. We find the posterior regret Γ-minimax predictor and estimator in a general class of distributions. Furthermore, we construct the conditional Γ-minimax, most stable and least sensitive prediction and estimation in a gamma model. A prequential analysis is carried out by using a simulation study to compare these predictors.     

Sur la convergence de l'estimation conditionnelle itérative

The iterative conditional estimation (ICE) is an iterative estimation method of the parameters in the case of incomplete data. Its use asks for relatively weak hypotheses and it can be performed in relatively complex situations, as in triplet Markov models. The aim of this Note is to express a general theorem of convergence of ICE, and to show its applicability in the problem of the estimation of the proportions in a mixture of multivariate distributions. To cite this article: W. Pieczynski, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 346 (2008).     

On optimal parameter estimation in credibility

The present paper is concerned with optimal estimation of the 1st and 2nd order structural moments appearing in credibility formulas. In a recent paper De Vylder has treated the problem in the case of multinormal conditional distributions under quite restrictive assumptions. He minimizes, within a certain restricted class of unbiased estimators, the variance (or the sum of variances if the estimand is a matrix) and next replaces all structural moments (up to fourth order) in the solution by estimates based on the data. This paper is an attempt to simplify the method and extend it so as to make it applicable in more general situations. By suitable choice of a (sufficient) set of statistics and a suitable parametrization, the powerful theory of estimation in linear models can be employed, which makes cumbersome minimization procedures superfluous. The theory is applied to the cases with binomial. Poisson, compound Poisson, and multinormal conditional distributions. Some simulation studies have been performed to assess the performance of the estimators.     

Nonparametric multi-step prediction in nonlinear state space dynamic systems

Filtering and smoothing of stochastic state space dynamic systems have benefited from several generations of estimation approaches since the seminal works of Kalman in the sixties. A set of global analytical or numerical methods are now available, such as the well-known sequential Monte Carlo particle methods which offer some theoretical convergence results for both types of problems. However except in the case of linear Gaussian systems, objectives of the third kind i.e. prediction objectives, which aim at estimating k time steps ahead the anticipated probability density function of the system state variables, conditional on past and present system output observations, still raise theoretical and practical difficulties. The aim of this paper is to propose a nonparametric particle multi-step prediction method able to consistently estimate such anticipated conditional pdf of the state variables as well as their expectations.     

Invariance and independence in multivariate distribution theory

Several general results are presented whereby various properties of independence or conditional independence between certain random variables may be deduced from the symmetries enjoyed by their joint distributions. These are applied to the distributions of sample correlation and canonical correlation coefficients when the underlying data-distribution has suitable orthogonal invariance. A typical result is that, for a random sample of observations on three independent normal variables, r₁₂, r₁₃, and r_23.1 are mutually independent.