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This article studies the estimation of the precision matrix of a high-dimensional Gaussian network. We investigate the graphical selector operator with shrinkage, GSOS for short, to maximize a penalized likelihood function where the elastic net-type penalty is considered as a combination of a norm-one penalty and a targeted Frobenius norm penalty. Numerical illustrations demonstrate that our proposed methodology is a competitive candidate for high-dimensional precision matrix estimation compared to some existing alternatives. We demonstrate the relevance and efficiency of GSOS using a foreign exchange markets dataset and estimate dependency networks for 32 different currencies from 2018 to 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within statistical process control (SPC), normality is often assumed as the underlying probabilistic generator where the process variance is assumed equal for all rational subgroups. The parameters of the underlying process are usually assumed to be known—if this is not the case, some challenges arise in the estimation of unknown parameters in the SPC environment especially in the case of few observations. This paper proposes a bivariate beta type distribution to guide the user in the detection of a permanent upward or downward step shift in the process' variance that does not directly rely on parameter estimates, and as such presents itself as an attractive and intuitive approach for not only potentially identifying the magnitude of the shift, but also the position in time where this shift is most likely to occur. Certain statistical properties of this distribution are derived and simulation illustrates the theoretical results. In particular, some insights are gained by comparing the newly proposed model's performance with an existing approach. A multivariate extension is described, and useful relationships between the derived model and other bivariate beta distributions are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entropy indicates a measure of information contained in a complex system, and its estimation continues to receive ongoing focus in the case of multivariate data, particularly that on the unit simplex. Oftentimes the Dirichlet distribution is employed as choice of prior in a Bayesian framework conjugate to the popular multinomial likelihood with K distinct classes, where consideration of Shannon- and Tsallis entropy is of interest for insight detection within the data on the simplex. However, this prior choice only accounts for negatively correlated data, therefore this paper incorporates previously unconsidered mixtures of Dirichlet distributions as potential priors for the multinomial likelihood which addresses the drawback of negative correlation. The power sum functional, as the product moment of the mixture of Dirichlet distributions, is of direct interest in the multivariate case to conveniently access the Tsallis- and other generalized entropies that is incorporated within an estimation perspective of the posterior distribution using real economic data. A prior selection method is implemented to suggest a suitable prior for the consideration of the practitioner; empowering the user in future for consideration of suitable priors incorporating entropy within the estimation environment as well as having the option of certain mixture of Dirichlet distributions that may require positive correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws attention to a comparative study of different members within the inverse Weibull Power Series (IWPS) to analyze the COVID-19 data from South Africa for the period from 27 March to 23 August 2020. A new sibling of the IWPS is introduced, namely the inverse Weibull negative binomial. An EM algorithm is developed for computing the maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters. The IWPS growth curve model and its special cases are used for prediction of the COVID-19 spread in South Africa. It is found that the IWPS model fits the disease growth of the COVID-19 confirmed cases well with worthy long-term predictions. The IWPS growth curve modeling of South African predicts that the number of confirmed new cases will decrease at the end of November 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is inspired from monitoring the process covariance structure of q attributes where samples are independent, having been collected from a multivariate normal distribution with known mean vector and unknown covariance matrix. The focus is on two matrix random variables, constructed from different Wishart ratios, that describe the process for the two consecutive time periods before and immediately after the change in the covariance structure took place. The product moments of these constructed random variables are highlighted and set the scene for a proposed measure to enable the practitioner to calculate the run-length probability to detect a shift immediately after a change in the covariance matrix occurs. Our results open a new approach and provides insight for detecting the change in the parameter structure as soon as possible once the underlying process, described by a multivariate normal process, encounters a permanent/sustained upward or downward shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The normal distribution and its perturbation have left an immense mark on the statistical literature. Several generalized forms exist to model different skewness, kurtosis, and body shapes. Although they provide better fitting capabilities, these generalizations do not have parameters and formulae with a clear meaning to the practitioner on how the distribution is being modeled. We propose a neat integration approach generalization which intuitively gives direct control of the body and tail shape, the body-tail generalized normal (BTGN). The BTGN provides the basis for a flexible distribution, emphasizing parameter interpretation, estimation properties, and tractability. Basic statistical measures are derived, such as the density function, cumulative density function, moments, moment generating function. Regarding estimation, the equations for maximum likelihood estimation and maximum product spacing estimation are provided. Finally, real-life situations data, such as log-returns, time series, and finite mixture modeling, are modeled using the BTGN. Our results show that it is possible to have more desirable traits in a flexible distribution while still providing a superior fit to industry-standard distributions, such as the generalized hyperbolic, generalized normal, tail-inflated normal, and t distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteins are found in all living organisms and constitute a large group of macromolecules with many functions. Proteins achieve their operations by adopting distinct three-dimensional structures encoded within the sequence of the constituent amino acids in one or more polypeptides. New, more flexible distributions are proposed for the MCMC sampling method for predicting protein 3D structures by applying a Möbius transformation to the bivariate von Mises distribution. In addition to this, sine-skewed versions of the proposed models are introduced to meet the increasing demand for modelling asymmetric toroidal data. Interestingly, the marginals of the new models lead to new multimodal circular distributions. We analysed three big datasets consisting of bivariate information about protein domains to illustrate the efficiency and behaviour of the proposed models. These newly proposed models outperformed mixtures of well-known models for modelling toroidal data. A simulation study was carried out to find the best method for generating samples from the proposed models. Our results shed new light on proposal distributions in the MCMC sampling method for predicting the protein structure environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dirichlet distribution is a well-known candidate in modeling compositional data sets. However, in the presence of outliers, the Dirichlet distribution fails to model such data sets, making other model extensions necessary. In this paper, the Kummer–Dirichlet distribution and the gamma distribution are coupled, using the beta-generating technique. This development results in the proposal of the Kummer–Dirichlet gamma distribution, which presents greater flexibility in modeling compositional data sets. Some general properties, such as the probability density functions and the moments are presented for this new candidate. The method of maximum likelihood is applied in the estimation of the parameters. The usefulness of this model is demonstrated through the application of synthetic and real data sets, where outliers are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entropy is a functional of probability and is a measurement of information contained in a system; however, the practical problem of estimating entropy in applied settings remains a challenging and relevant problem. The Dirichlet prior is a popular choice in the Bayesian framework for estimation of entropy when considering a multinomial likelihood. In this work, previously unconsidered Dirichlet type priors are introduced and studied. These priors include a class of Dirichlet generators as well as a noncentral Dirichlet construction, and in both cases includes the usual Dirichlet as a special case. These considerations allow for flexible behaviour and can account for negative and positive correlation. Resultant estimators for a particular functional, the power sum, under these priors and assuming squared error loss, are derived and represented in terms of the product moments of the posterior. This representation facilitates closed-form estimators for the Tsallis entropy, and thus expedite computations of this generalised Shannon form. Select cases of these proposed priors are considered to investigate the impact and effect on the estimation of Tsallis entropy subject to different parameter scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents Bayesian directional data modeling via the skew-rotationally-symmetric Fisher-von Mises-Langevin (FvML) distribution. The prior distributions for the parameters are a pivotal building block in Bayesian analysis, therefore, the impact of the proposed priors will be quantified using the Wasserstein Impact Measure (WIM) to guide the practitioner in the implementation process. For the computation of the posterior, modifications of Gibbs and slice samplings are applied for generating samples. We demonstrate the applicability of our contribution via synthetic and real data analyses. Our investigation paves the way for Bayesian analysis of skew circular and spherical data., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Nakhaei Rad, Bekker, Arashi and Ley.)