Linear mixed models are commonly used in analyzing stepped-wedge cluster randomized trials (SW-CRTs). A key consideration for analyzing a SW-CRT is accounting for the potentially complex correlation structure, which can be achieved by specifying a random effects structure. Common random effects structures for a SW-CRT include random intercept, random cluster-by-period, and discrete-time decay. Recently, more complex structures, such as the random intervention structure, have been proposed. In practice, specifying appropriate random effects can be challenging. Robust variance estimators (RVE) may be applied to linear mixed models to provide consistent estimators of standard errors of fixed effect parameters in the presence of random-effects misspecification. However, there has been no empirical investigation of RVE for SW-CRT. In this paper, we first review five RVEs (both standard and small-sample bias-corrected RVEs) that are available for linear mixed models. We then describe a comprehensive simulation study to examine the performance of these RVEs for SW-CRTs with a continuous outcome under different data generators. For each data generator, we investigate whether the use of a RVE with either the random intercept model or the random cluster-by-period model is sufficient to provide valid statistical inference for fixed effect parameters, when these working models are subject to misspecification. Our results indicate that the random intercept and random cluster-by-period models with RVEs performed similarly. The CR3 RVE estimator, coupled with the number of clusters minus two degrees of freedom correction, consistently gave the best coverage results, but could be slightly anti-conservative when the number of clusters was below 16. We summarize the implications of our results for linear mixed model analysis of SW-CRTs in practice.
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The present article aims to design and analyze efficient first-order strong schemes for a generalized A\"{i}t-Sahalia type model arising in mathematical finance and evolving in a positive domain $(0, \infty)$, which possesses a diffusion term with superlinear growth and a highly nonlinear drift that blows up at the origin. Such a complicated structure of the model unavoidably causes essential difficulties in the construction and convergence analysis of time discretizations. By incorporating implicitness in the term $\alpha_{-1} x^{-1}$ and a corrective mapping $\Phi_h$ in the recursion, we develop a novel class of explicit and unconditionally positivity-preserving (i.e., for any step-size $h>0$) Milstein-type schemes for the underlying model. In both non-critical and general critical cases, we introduce a novel approach to analyze mean-square error bounds of the novel schemes, without relying on a priori high-order moment bounds of the numerical approximations. The expected order-one mean-square convergence is attained for the proposed scheme. The above theoretical guarantee can be used to justify the optimal complexity of the Multilevel Monte Carlo method. Numerical experiments are finally provided to verify the theoretical findings.
This paper explores the extension of dimension reduction (DR) techniques to the multi-dimension case by using the Einstein product. Our focus lies on graph-based methods, encompassing both linear and nonlinear approaches, within both supervised and unsupervised learning paradigms. Additionally, we investigate variants such as repulsion graphs and kernel methods for linear approaches. Furthermore, we present two generalizations for each method, based on single or multiple weights. We demonstrate the straightforward nature of these generalizations and provide theoretical insights. Numerical experiments are conducted, and results are compared with original methods, highlighting the efficiency of our proposed methods, particularly in handling high-dimensional data such as color images.
This paper deals with Hermite osculatory interpolating splines. For a partition of a real interval endowed with a refinement consisting in dividing each subinterval into two small subintervals, we consider a space of smooth splines with additional smoothness at the vertices of the initial partition, and of the lowest possible degree. A normalized B-spline-like representation for the considered spline space is provided. In addition, several quasi-interpolation operators based on blossoming and control polynomials have also been developed. Some numerical tests are presented and compared with some recent works to illustrate the performance of the proposed approach.
The focus of this paper is to develop a methodology that enables an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) to efficiently track a planned path. The introduction of a vector field-based adaptive line-of-sight guidance law (VFALOS) for accurate trajectory tracking and minimizing the overshoot response time during USV tracking of curved paths improves the overall line-of-sight (LOS) guidance method. These improvements contribute to faster convergence to the desired path, reduce oscillations, and can mitigate the effects of persistent external disturbances. It is shown that the proposed guidance law exhibits k-exponential stability when converging to the desired path consisting of straight and curved lines. The results in the paper show that the proposed method effectively improves the accuracy of the USV tracking the desired path while ensuring the safety of the USV work.
Variable selection methods are required in practical statistical modeling, to identify and include only the most relevant predictors, and then improving model interpretability. Such variable selection methods are typically employed in regression models, for instance in this article for the Poisson Log Normal model (PLN, Chiquet et al., 2021). This model aim to explain multivariate count data using dependent variables, and its utility was demonstrating in scientific fields such as ecology and agronomy. In the case of the PLN model, most recent papers focus on sparse networks inference through combination of the likelihood with a L1 -penalty on the precision matrix. In this paper, we propose to rely on a recent penalization method (SIC, O'Neill and Burke, 2023), which consists in smoothly approximating the L0-penalty, and that avoids the calibration of a tuning parameter with a cross-validation procedure. Moreover, this work focuses on the coefficient matrix of the PLN model and establishes an inference procedure ensuring effective variable selection performance, so that the resulting fitted model explaining multivariate count data using only relevant explanatory variables. Our proposal involves implementing a procedure that integrates the SIC penalization algorithm (epsilon-telescoping) and the PLN model fitting algorithm (a variational EM algorithm). To support our proposal, we provide theoretical results and insights about the penalization method, and we perform simulation studies to assess the method, which is also applied on real datasets.
Recent advancements in Mixed Integer Optimization (MIO) algorithms, paired with hardware enhancements, have led to significant speedups in resolving MIO problems. These strategies have been utilized for optimal subset selection, specifically for choosing $k$ features out of $p$ in linear regression given $n$ observations. In this paper, we broaden this method to facilitate cluster-aware regression, where selection aims to choose $\lambda$ out of $K$ clusters in a linear mixed effects (LMM) model with $n_k$ observations for each cluster. Through comprehensive testing on a multitude of synthetic and real datasets, we exhibit that our method efficiently solves problems within minutes. Through numerical experiments, we also show that the MIO approach outperforms both Gaussian- and Laplace-distributed LMMs in terms of generating sparse solutions with high predictive power. Traditional LMMs typically assume that clustering effects are independent of individual features. However, we introduce an innovative algorithm that evaluates cluster effects for new data points, thereby increasing the robustness and precision of this model. The inferential and predictive efficacy of this approach is further illustrated through its application in student scoring and protein expression.
The present article aims to design and analyze efficient first-order strong schemes for a generalized A\"{i}t-Sahalia type model arising in mathematical finance and evolving in a positive domain $(0, \infty)$, which possesses a diffusion term with superlinear growth and a highly nonlinear drift that blows up at the origin. Such a complicated structure of the model unavoidably causes essential difficulties in the construction and convergence analysis of time discretizations. By incorporating implicitness in the term $\alpha_{-1} x^{-1}$ and a corrective mapping $\Phi_h$ in the recursion, we develop a novel class of explicit and unconditionally positivity-preserving (i.e., for any step-size $h>0$) Milstein-type schemes for the underlying model. In both non-critical and general critical cases, we introduce a novel approach to analyze mean-square error bounds of the novel schemes, without relying on a priori high-order moment bounds of the numerical approximations. The expected order-one mean-square convergence is attained for the proposed scheme. The above theoretical guarantee can be used to justify the optimal complexity of the Multilevel Monte Carlo method. Numerical experiments are finally provided to verify the theoretical findings.
Extremal properties of max-autoregressive moving average processes for modelling extreme river flows
Max-autogressive moving average (Max-ARMA) processes are powerful tools for modelling time series data with heavy-tailed behaviour; these are a non-linear version of the popular autoregressive moving average models. River flow data typically have features of heavy tails and non-linearity, as large precipitation events cause sudden spikes in the data that then exponentially decay. Therefore, stationary Max-ARMA models are a suitable candidate for capturing the unique temporal dependence structure exhibited by river flows. This paper contributes to advancing our understanding of the extremal properties of stationary Max-ARMA processes. We detail the first approach for deriving the extremal index, the lagged asymptotic dependence coefficient, and an efficient simulation for a general Max-ARMA process. We use the extremal properties, coupled with the belief that Max-ARMA processes provide only an approximation to extreme river flow, to fit such a model which can broadly capture river flow behaviour over a high threshold. We make our inference under a reparametrisation which gives a simpler parameter space that excludes cases where any parameter is non-identifiable. We illustrate results for river flow data from the UK River Thames.
This paper studies optimal hypothesis testing for nonregular statistical models with parameter-dependent support. We consider both one-sided and two-sided hypothesis testing and develop asymptotically uniformly most powerful tests based on the likelihood ratio process. The proposed one-sided test involves randomization to achieve asymptotic size control, some tuning constant to avoid discontinuities in the limiting likelihood ratio process, and a user-specified alternative hypothetical value to achieve the asymptotic optimality. Our two-sided test becomes asymptotically uniformly most powerful without imposing further restrictions such as unbiasedness. Simulation results illustrate desirable power properties of the proposed tests.
In cluster-randomized trials (CRTs), missing data can occur in various ways, including missing values in outcomes and baseline covariates at the individual or cluster level, or completely missing information for non-participants. Among the various types of missing data in CRTs, missing outcomes have attracted the most attention. However, no existing methods can simultaneously address all aforementioned types of missing data in CRTs. To fill in this gap, we propose a new doubly-robust estimator for the average treatment effect on a variety of scales. The proposed estimator simultaneously handles missing outcomes under missingness at random, missing covariates without constraining the missingness mechanism, and missing cluster-population sizes via a uniform sampling mechanism. Furthermore, we detail key considerations to improve precision by specifying the optimal weights, leveraging machine learning, and modeling the treatment assignment mechanism. Finally, to evaluate the impact of violating missing data assumptions, we contribute a new sensitivity analysis framework tailored to CRTs. Simulation studies and a real data application both demonstrate that our proposed methods are effective in handling missing data in CRTs and superior to the existing methods.
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