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This paper considers the problem of comparing several means under the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) setup. In ANOVA, outliers and heavy-tailed error distribution can seriously hinder the treatment effect, leading to false positive or false negative test results. We propose a robust test of ANOVA using an M-estimator based on the density power divergence. Compared with the existing robust and non-robust approaches, the proposed testing procedure is less affected by data contamination and improves the analysis. The asymptotic properties of the proposed test are derived under some regularity conditions. The finite-sample performance of the proposed test is examined via a series of Monte-Carlo experiments and two empirical data examples—bone marrow transplant dataset and glucose level dataset. The results produced by the proposed testing procedure are favorably compared with the classical ANOVA and robust tests based on Huber's M-estimator and Tukey's MM-estimator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the problem of estimating the joint distribution of n independent random variables. Given a loss function and a family of candidate probabilities, that we shall call a model, we aim at designing an estimator with values in our model that possesses good estimation properties not only when the distribution of the data belongs to the model but also when it lies close enough to it. The losses we have in mind are the total variation, Hellinger, Wasserstein and L p -distances to name a few. We show that the risk of our estimator can be bounded by the sum of an approximation term that accounts for the loss between the true distribution and the model and a complexity term that corresponds to the bound we would get if this distribution did belong to the model. Our results hold under mild assumptions on the true distribution of the data and are based on exponential deviation inequalities that are non-asymptotic and involve explicit constants. Interestingly, when the model reduces to two distinct probabilities, our procedure results in a robust test whose errors of first and second kinds only depend on the losses between the true distribution and the two tested probabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the problem of comparing several means under the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) setup. In ANOVA, outliers and heavy-tailed error distribution can seriously hinder the treatment effect, leading to false positive or false negative test results. We propose a robust test of ANOVA using an M-estimator based on the density power divergence. Compared with the existing robust and non-robust approaches, the proposed testing procedure is less affected by data contamination and improves the analysis. The asymptotic properties of the proposed test are derived under some regularity conditions. The finite-sample performance of the proposed test is examined via a series of Monte-Carlo experiments and two empirical data examples—bone marrow transplant dataset and glucose level dataset. The results produced by the proposed testing procedure are favorably compared with the classical ANOVA and robust tests based on Huber’s M-estimator and Tukey’s MM-estimator.

Cyber physical systems (CPSs) are rapidly developing, with increasing scale, complexity and heterogeneity. However, testing CPSs systematically to ensure that they operate with high reliability remains a big challenge. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize existing works and technologies systematically, with the aim of inspiring new inventions for more efficient CPS testing. Accordingly, this paper first investigated the advances in CPS testing methods from ten aspects, including different testing paradigms, technologies, and some non-functional testing methods (including security testing, robust testing, and fragility testing). Then, we further elaborate on the infrastructures of CPS testbeds from the perspectives of their architecture and the corresponding function analyses. Finally, challenges and future research directions are identified and discussed. It can be concluded that future CPS testing should focus more on the combination of different paradigms and technologies for multi-objective by integrating more emerging cutting-edge technologies such as Internet of things, big data, cloud computing and AI.

We present a formal robust testing method for power system cascading failure mitigations. The approach is model-based, using simulated trajectories of the system and proving that uncertainties, e.g., in the initial states or disturbances, do not perturb the trajectories beyond a robust neighborhood around them. We model power systems as hybrid systems with locations representing different swing dynamics and relay dynamics. We present implementations of our robust testing approach in a three-machine system model from the 2003 Italian Blackout and the IEEE 39-bus system model. We apply the robust testing method in two scenarios for averting the cascading failures: 1) robust testing of safety for various generator mechanical power dispatch schedules and 2) robust testing of safety for postfault remedial actions based on quick-start storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seemingly unrelated regression models generalize linear regression models by considering multiple regression equations that are linked by contemporaneously correlated disturbances. Robust inference for seemingly unrelated regression models is considered. MM-estimators are introduced to obtain estimators that have both a high breakdown point and a high normal efficiency. A fast and robust bootstrap procedure is developed to obtain robust inference for these estimators. Confidence intervals for the model parameters as well as hypothesis tests for linear restrictions of the regression coefficients in seemingly unrelated regression models are constructed. Moreover, in order to evaluate the need for a seemingly unrelated regression model, a robust procedure is proposed to test for the presence of correlation among the disturbances. The performance of the fast and robust bootstrap inference is evaluated empirically in simulation studies and illustrated on real data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper we present a robust audio classification system to efficiently detect pulmonary edema. The system uses a feature learning technique based on (NMF), then classified with logistic regression. A study was done to compare feature engineering approaches with feature selection techniques against NMF. Different NMF schemes were investigated and also compared with Principal Component Analysis. NMF scored 95% F1 score, which was superior to feature engineering techniques that had scores from 83% to 93%. Background noise collected from hospitals and speech from a speech corpus database was used to simulate noisy data. The system was then tested using noisy data. The best NMF scheme scored 74%, while other feature engineering techniques scored lower; from 66% to 71%. NMF was also used as a signal enhancement tool. It improved the F1 score to 77%. Lastly, only inhalations from breath sounds were considered and this further improved classification results to 86%. The proposed robust classification system using NMF thus proved to be an effective method for audio-based detection of pulmonary edema. If implemented in real-time, the proposed system can be used as a screening tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the likelihood ratio test of a simple null hypothesis (with density f 0 ) against a simple alternative hypothesis (with density g 0 ) in the situation that observations X i are mismeasured due to the presence of measurement errors. Thus instead of X i for i = 1 , … , n , we observe Z i = X i + δ V i with unobservable parameter δ and unobservable random variable V i . When we ignore the presence of measurement errors and perform the original test, the probability of type I error becomes different from the nominal value, but the test is still the most powerful among all tests on the modified level. Further, we derive the minimax test of some families of misspecified hypotheses and alternatives. The test exploits the concept of pseudo-capacities elaborated by Huber and Strassen (1973) and Buja (1986). A numerical experiment illustrates the principles and performance of the novel test.

In order to easily compare several populations on the basis of more than one feature, multivariate coefficients of variation (MCV) may be used as they allow to summarize relative dispersion in a single index. However, up to date, no test of equality of one or more MCVs has been developed in the literature. In this paper, several classical and robust Wald-type tests are proposed and studied. The asymptotic distributions of the test statistics are derived under elliptical symmetry, and the asymptotic efficiency of the robust versions is compared to the classical tests. Robustness of the proposed procedures is examined through partial and joint influence functions of the test statistic, as well as by means of power and level influence functions. A simulation study compares the performance of the classical and robust tests under uncontaminated and contaminated schemes, and the difference with the usual covariance homogeneity test is highlighted. As a by-product, these tests may also be considered in the univariate context where they yield procedures that are both robust and easy-to-use. They provide an interesting alternative to the numerous parametric tests existing in the literature, which are, in most cases, unreliable in presence of outliers. The methods are illustrated on a real data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We provide a Sharpe ratio based performance analysis of the hedge fund market. [•] We analyse whether the choice of test can influence an investor’s fund selection. [•] Our results show only a small percentage of significant outperformers. [•] The choice of statistical test crucially influences this outcome. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we consider inference of parameters in time series regression models. In the traditional inference approach, the heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent (HAC) estimation is often involved to consistently estimate the asymptotic covariance matrix of regression parameter estimator. Since the bandwidth parameter in the HAC estimation is difficult to choose in practice, there has been a recent surge of interest in developing bandwidth-free inference methods. However, existing simulation studies show that these new methods suffer from severe size distortion in the presence of strong temporal dependence for a medium sample size. To remedy the problem, we propose to apply the prewhitening to the inconsistent long-run variance estimator in these methods to reduce the size distortion. The asymptotic distribution of the prewhitened Wald statistic is obtained and the general effectiveness of prewhitening is shown through simulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We propose a novel statistical hypothesis testing method for the detection of objects in noisy images. The method uses results from percolation theory and random graph theory. We present an algorithm that allows to detect objects of unknown shapes in the presence of nonparametric noise of unknown level and of unknown distribution. No boundary shape constraints are imposed on the object, only a weak bulk condition for the object's interior is required. The algorithm has linear complexity and exponential accuracy and is appropriate for real-time systems. We prove results on consistency and algorithmic complexity of our testing procedure. In addition, we address not only an asymptotic behaviour of the method, but also a finite sample performance of our test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years permutation testing methods have increased both in number of applications and in solving complex multivariate problems. When available permutation tests are essentially of an exact nonparametric nature in a conditional context, where conditioning is on the pooled observed data set which is often a set of sufficient statistics in the null hypothesis. Whereas, the reference null distribution of most parametric tests is only known asymptotically. Thus, for most sample sizes of practical interest, the possible lack of efficiency of permutation solutions may be compensated by the lack of approximation of parametric counterparts. There are many complex multivariate problems, quite common in empirical sciences, which are difficult to solve outside the conditional framework and in particular outside the method of nonparametric combination (NPC) of dependent permutation tests. In this paper we review such a method and its main properties along with some new results in experimental and observational situations (robust testing, multi-sided alternatives and testing for survival functions). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the finite-sample performance of test statistics in linear regression models where the error dependence is of unknown form. With an unknown dependence structure, there is traditionally a trade-off between the maximum lag over which the correlation is estimated (the bandwidth) and the amount of heterogeneity in the process. When allowing for heterogeneity, through conditional heteroskedasticity, the correlation at far lags is generally omitted and the resultant inflation of the empirical size of test statistics has long been recognized. To allow for correlation at far lags, we study the test statistics constructed under the possibly misspecified assumption of conditional homoskedasticity. To improve the accuracy of the test statistics, we employ the second-order asymptotic refinement in Rothenberg [Approximate power functions for some robust tests of regression coefficients, Econometrica 56 (1988), pp. 997-1019] to determine the critical values. The simulation results of this paper suggest that when sample sizes are small, modelling the heterogeneity of a process is secondary to accounting for dependence. We find that a conditionally homoskedastic covariance matrix estimator (when used in conjunction with Rothenberg's second-order critical value adjustment) improves test size with only a minimal loss in test power, even when the data manifest significant amounts of heteroskedasticity. In some specifications, the size inflation was cut by nearly 40% over the traditional heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent (HAC) test. Finally, we note that the proposed test statistics do not require that the researcher specify the bandwidth or the kernel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper is devoted to robust hypothesis testing based on saddlepoint approximations in the framework of general parametric models. As is known, two main problems can arise when using classical tests. First, the models are approximations of reality and slight deviations from them can lead to unreliable results when using classical tests based on these models. Then, even if a model is correctly chosen, the classical tests are based on first order asymptotic theory. This can lead to inaccurate -values when the sample size is moderate or small. To overcome these problems, robust tests based on dual divergence estimators and saddlepoint approximations, with good performances in small samples, are proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper explores statistical features of different resampling schemes under low resampling intensity. The original sample is considered in a very general framework of triangular arrays, without independence or equally distributed assumptions, although improvements under such conditions are also provided. We show that low resampling schemes have very interesting and flexible properties, providing new insights into the performance of widely used resampling methods, including subsampling, two-sample unbalanced permutation statistics or wild bootstrap. It is shown that, under regularity assumptions, resampling tests with critical values derived by the appertaining low resampling procedures are asymptotically valid and there is no loss of power compared with the power function of an ideal (but unfeasible) parametric family of tests. Moreover we show that in several contexts, including regression models, they may act as a filter for the normal part of a limit distribution, turning down the influence of outliers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: By approximating the nonparametric component using a regression spline in generalized partial linear models (GPLM), robust generalized estimating equations (GEE), involving bounded score function and leverage-based weighting function, can be used to estimate the regression parameters in GPLM robustly for longitudinal data or clustered data. In this paper, score test statistics are proposed for testing the regression parameters with robustness, and their asymptotic distributions under the null hypothesis and a class of local alternative hypotheses are studied. The proposed score tests reply on the estimation of a smaller model without the testing parameters involved, and perform well in the simulation studies and real data analysis conducted in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A number of robust methods for testing variability have been reported in previous literature. An examination of these procedures for a wide variety of populations confirms their general robustness. Shoemaker's improvement of the F test extends that test use to a realistic variety of population shapes. However, a combination of the Brown-Forsythe and O'Brien methods based on testing kurtosis is shown to be conservative for a wide range of sample sizes and population distributions. The composite test is also shown to be more powerful in most conditions than other conservative procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the local robustness of estimators and tests for the conditional location and scale parameters in a strictly stationary time series model. We first derive optimal bounded-influence estimators for such settings under a conditionally Gaussian reference model. Based on these results, we obtain optimal bounded-influence versions of the classical likelihood-based tests for parametric hypotheses. We propose a feasible and efficient algorithm for the computation of our robust estimators, which uses analytical Laplace approximations to estimate the auxiliary recentering vectors, ensuring Fisher consistency in robust estimation. This strongly reduces the computation time by avoiding the simulation of multidimensional integrals, a task that typically must be addressed in the robust estimation of nonlinear models for time series. In some Monte Carlo simulations of an AR( 1 )-ARCH( 1) process, we show that our robust procedures maintain a very high efficiency under ideal model conditions and at the same time perform very satisfactorily under several forms of departure from conditional normality. In contrast, classical pseudo-maximum likelihood inference procedures are found to be highly inefficient under such local model misspecifications. These patterns are confirmed by an application to robust testing for autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A procedure for estimating the minimum value assured by an analytical method has been developed. It is applied to the determination of gold in jewellery alloys by means of a recently proposed spectroscopy technique. The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopic data of 17 gold alloys, with gold concentration ranging between 50 and 100% were used as calibration set for carrying out the partial least-squares regression (PLS). Ninety alloys, with known gold concentration, were used to evaluate the method’s accuracy. Finally, the minimum guaranteed value of the gold content was analysed, taking into account the values for gold hallmark in Spanish regulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We consider the likelihood ratio test of a simple null hypothesis (with density f 0 ) against a simple alternative hypothesis (with density g 0 ) in the situation that observations X i are mismeasured due to the presence of measurement errors. Thus instead of X i for i = 1 , ... , n , we observe Z i = X i + δ V i with unobservable parameter δ and unobservable random variable V i . When we ignore the presence of measurement errors and perform the original test, the probability of type I error becomes different from the nominal value, but the test is still the most powerful among all tests on the modified level. Further, we derive the minimax test of some families of misspecified hypotheses and alternatives. The test exploits the concept of pseudo-capacities elaborated by Huber and Strassen (1973) and Buja (1986). A numerical experiment illustrates the principles and performance of the novel test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]