Search

Multivariate elliptically-contoured distributions are widely used for modeling correlated and non-Gaussian data. In this work, we study the kurtosis of the elliptical model, which is an important parameter in many statistical analysis. Based on U-statistics, we develop an estimation method. Theoretically, we show that the proposed estimator is consistent under regular conditions, especially we relax a moment condition and the restriction that the data dimension and the sample size are of the same order. Furthermore, we derive the asymptotic normality of the estimator and evaluate the asymptotic variance through several examples, which allows us to construct a confidence interval. The performance of our method is validated by extensive simulations and real data analysis.

This paper is concerned with learning of mixture regression models for individuals that are measured repeatedly. The adjective "unsupervised" implies that the number of mixing components is unknown and has to be determined, ideally by data driven tools. For this purpose, a novel penalized method is proposed to simultaneously select the number of mixing components and to estimate the mixing proportions and unknown parameters in the models. The proposed method is capable of handling both continuous and discrete responses by only requiring the first two moment conditions of the model distribution. It is shown to be consistent in both selecting the number of components and estimating the mixing proportions and unknown regression parameters. Further, a modified EM algorithm is developed to seamlessly integrate model selection and estimation. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed procedure. And it is further illustrated via an analysis of a primary biliary cirrhosis data set.

To detect differences between the mean curves of two samples in longitudinal study or functional data analysis, we usually need to partition the temporal or spatial domain into several pre-determined sub-areas. In this paper we apply the idea of large-scale multiple testing to find the significant sub-areas automatically in a general functional data analysis framework. A nonparametric Gaussian process regression model is introduced for two-sided multiple tests. We derive an optimal test which controls directional false discovery rates and propose a procedure by approximating it on a continuum. The proposed procedure controls directional false discovery rates at any specified level asymptotically. In addition, it is computationally inexpensive and able to accommodate different time points for observations across the samples. Simulation studies are presented to demonstrate its finite sample performance. We also apply it to an executive function research in children with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy and extend it to the equivalence tests.

In this paper, we propose a novel method to select significant variables and estimate the corresponding coefficients in multiple-index models with a group structure. All existing approaches for single-index models cannot be extended directly to handle this issue with several indices. This method integrates a popularly used shrinkage penalty such as LASSO with the group-wise minimum average variance estimation. It is capable of simultaneous dimension reduction and variable selection, while incorporating the group structure in predictors. Interestingly, the proposed estimator with the LASSO penalty then behaves like an estimator with an adaptive LASSO penalty. The estimator achieves consistency of variable selection without sacrificing the root-$n$ consistency of basis estimation. Simulation studies and a real-data example illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the new method., Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.3150/13-BEJ566 in the Bernoulli (http://isi.cbs.nl/bernoulli/) by the International Statistical Institute/Bernoulli Society (http://isi.cbs.nl/BS/bshome.htm)

A novel general framework is proposed in this paper for dimension reduction in regression to fill the gap between linear and fully nonlinear dimension reduction. The main idea is to transform first each of the raw predictors monotonically, and then search for a low-dimensional projection in the space defined by the transformed variables. Both user-specified and data-driven transformations are suggested. In each case, the methodology is discussed first in a general manner, and a representative method, as an example, is then proposed and evaluated by simulation. The proposed methods are applied to a real data set for illustration.