"The objective of the audit was to assess whether the award of funding under the RJIP program was informed by appropriate departmental advice and that processes complied with the grants administration framework."--Page 8.

Self-actualization (Psychology) in old age.

Nephron Pharmaceuticals, a drug manufacturing company in West Columbia, S.C., recently hired 650 current and retired teachers through a new program designed to provide educators with additional income.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will hold a workforce event at a South Carolina drug manufacturer that employs hundreds of cash-strapped teachers in second jobs.

Paris : O. Doin, 1878.

London : J. Churchill, 1845.

London : Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1842.

[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1897?]

London : Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, 1897.

Paris : G. Steinheil, 1892.

London : printed for A. Strahan, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1800.

London : And J. Balfour, and W. Creech, Edinburgh, 1805.

London : printed for A. Strahan, T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1803.

London : J. Johnson, 1807.

London : F.C. and J. Rivington, 1813.

Paris : A. Delahaye, 1872.

Paris : O. Doin, 1881.

Edinburgh : Bell & Bradfute, 1807.

London : Caxton Pub. Co, 1908-1909.

Paris : V. Masson, 1867.

London : J. Churchill, 1864.

London : Taylor and Walton, 1841.

Amstelodami : Typis A. Wolfgang, 1674.

Anatoli Juditsky, Arkadi Nemirovski.

Source: Electronic Journal of Statistics, Volume 14, Number 1, 458--502.

Abstract:
We consider the problem of recovering linear image of unknown signal belonging to a given convex compact signal set from noisy observation of another linear image of the signal. We develop a simple generic efficiently computable non linear in observations “polyhedral” estimate along with computation-friendly techniques for its design and risk analysis. We demonstrate that under favorable circumstances the resulting estimate is provably near-optimal in the minimax sense, the “favorable circumstances” being less restrictive than the weakest known so far assumptions ensuring near-optimality of estimates which are linear in observations.

Tomáš Rubín, Victor M. Panaretos.

Source: Electronic Journal of Statistics, Volume 14, Number 1, 1137--1210.

Abstract:
Functional time series analysis, whether based on time or frequency domain methodology, has traditionally been carried out under the assumption of complete observation of the constituent series of curves, assumed stationary. Nevertheless, as is often the case with independent functional data, it may well happen that the data available to the analyst are not the actual sequence of curves, but relatively few and noisy measurements per curve, potentially at different locations in each curve’s domain. Under this sparse sampling regime, neither the established estimators of the time series’ dynamics nor their corresponding theoretical analysis will apply. The subject of this paper is to tackle the problem of estimating the dynamics and of recovering the latent process of smooth curves in the sparse regime. Assuming smoothness of the latent curves, we construct a consistent nonparametric estimator of the series’ spectral density operator and use it to develop a frequency-domain recovery approach, that predicts the latent curve at a given time by borrowing strength from the (estimated) dynamic correlations in the series across time. This new methodology is seen to comprehensively outperform a naive recovery approach that would ignore temporal dependence and use only methodology employed in the i.i.d. setting and hinging on the lag zero covariance. Further to predicting the latent curves from their noisy point samples, the method fills in gaps in the sequence (curves nowhere sampled), denoises the data, and serves as a basis for forecasting. Means of providing corresponding confidence bands are also investigated. A simulation study interestingly suggests that sparse observation for a longer time period may provide better performance than dense observation for a shorter period, in the presence of smoothness. The methodology is further illustrated by application to an environmental data set on fair-weather atmospheric electricity, which naturally leads to a sparse functional time series.

José A. Ferreira.

Source: Statistics Surveys, Volume 9, 106--208.

Abstract:
This article provides a concise and essentially self-contained exposition of some of the most important models and non-parametric methods for the analysis of observational data, and a substantial number of illustrations of their application. Although for the most part our presentation follows P. Rosenbaum’s book, “Observational Studies”, and naturally draws on related literature, it contains original elements and simplifies and generalizes some basic results. The illustrations, based on simulated data, show the methods at work in some detail, highlighting pitfalls and emphasizing certain subjective aspects of the statistical analyses.

Trang Quynh Nguyen, Elizabeth A. Stuart.

Source: The Annals of Applied Statistics, Volume 14, Number 1, 518--520.

Jason Xu, Samson Koelle, Peter Guttorp, Chuanfeng Wu, Cynthia Dunbar, Janis L. Abkowitz, Vladimir N. Minin.

Source: The Annals of Applied Statistics, Volume 13, Number 4, 2091--2119.

Abstract:
Single-cell lineage tracking strategies enabled by recent experimental technologies have produced significant insights into cell fate decisions, but lack the quantitative framework necessary for rigorous statistical analysis of mechanistic models describing cell division and differentiation. In this paper, we develop such a framework with corresponding moment-based parameter estimation techniques for continuous-time, multi-type branching processes. Such processes provide a probabilistic model of how cells divide and differentiate, and we apply our method to study hematopoiesis , the mechanism of blood cell production. We derive closed-form expressions for higher moments in a general class of such models. These analytical results allow us to efficiently estimate parameters of much richer statistical models of hematopoiesis than those used in previous statistical studies. To our knowledge, the method provides the first rate inference procedure for fitting such models to time series data generated from cellular barcoding experiments. After validating the methodology in simulation studies, we apply our estimator to hematopoietic lineage tracking data from rhesus macaques. Our analysis provides a more complete understanding of cell fate decisions during hematopoiesis in nonhuman primates, which may be more relevant to human biology and clinical strategies than previous findings from murine studies. For example, in addition to previously estimated hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal rate, we are able to estimate fate decision probabilities and to compare structurally distinct models of hematopoiesis using cross validation. These estimates of fate decision probabilities and our model selection results should help biologists compare competing hypotheses about how progenitor cells differentiate. The methodology is transferrable to a large class of stochastic compartmental and multi-type branching models, commonly used in studies of cancer progression, epidemiology and many other fields.

Johann Gagnon-Bartsch, Yotam Shem-Tov.

Source: The Annals of Applied Statistics, Volume 13, Number 3, 1464--1483.

Abstract:
The gold standard for identifying causal relationships is a randomized controlled experiment. In many applications in the social sciences and medicine, the researcher does not control the assignment mechanism and instead may rely upon natural experiments or matching methods as a substitute to experimental randomization. The standard testable implication of random assignment is covariate balance between the treated and control units. Covariate balance is commonly used to validate the claim of as good as random assignment. We propose a new nonparametric test of covariate balance. Our Classification Permutation Test (CPT) is based on a combination of classification methods (e.g., random forests) with Fisherian permutation inference. We revisit four real data examples and present Monte Carlo power simulations to demonstrate the applicability of the CPT relative to other nonparametric tests of equality of multivariate distributions.

For millions of Americans, working at home isn't an option. NBC News identified seven occupations in which employees are at especially high risk of COVID-19.

Muteb Alharthi, Theodore Kypraios, Philip D. O’Neill.

Source: Bayesian Analysis, Volume 14, Number 3, 927--956.

Abstract:
We consider the problem of model choice for stochastic epidemic models given partial observation of a disease outbreak through time. Our main focus is on the use of Bayes factors. Although Bayes factors have appeared in the epidemic modelling literature before, they can be hard to compute and little attention has been given to fundamental questions concerning their utility. In this paper we derive analytic expressions for Bayes factors given complete observation through time, which suggest practical guidelines for model choice problems. We adapt the power posterior method for computing Bayes factors so as to account for missing data and apply this approach to partially observed epidemics. For comparison, we also explore the use of a deviance information criterion for missing data scenarios. The methods are illustrated via examples involving both simulated and real data.

Pantelis Samartsidis, Shaun R. Seaman, Anne M. Presanis, Matthew Hickman, Daniela De Angelis.

Source: Statistical Science, Volume 34, Number 3, 486--503.

Abstract:
Researchers are often challenged with assessing the impact of an intervention on an outcome of interest in situations where the intervention is nonrandomised, the intervention is only applied to one or few units, the intervention is binary, and outcome measurements are available at multiple time points. In this paper, we review existing methods for causal inference in these situations. We detail the assumptions underlying each method, emphasize connections between the different approaches and provide guidelines regarding their practical implementation. Several open problems are identified thus highlighting the need for future research.

A guide to the tech gadgets even your hard-to-shop-for friends and family members will love.

The crustaceans' guts pulverize plastics into tiny bits that can be consumed by even smaller creatures at the base of the ocean food chain

Darin Isaac was elected on Wednesday as the new chief of the Selkirk First Nation in Yukon. Isaac also held the position for two terms from 2005 to 2011. He has also served as a councillor for three terms.

Fifty thousand jobs were lost in Nova Scotia in April, reflecting the devastating economic impact of the first full month of public health orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

About one in 12 Manitoba jobs disappeared during the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Statistics Canada's latest monthly survey of Canadian employment.

P.E.I. had the lowest unemployment rate in the country in April, but behind that seemingly strong showing are hiding problems in the labour market.

More than 1,000 people looking for work in the tech industry are signed up for a virtual job fair on Thursday afternoon.

Saskatchewan's unemployment rate soared in April due to the COVID-19 economic shutdown but an economist says it's not likely to get much worse.

Approximately one out of every seven Ontarians who were working before the coronavirus pandemic hit the province have now lost their jobs, according to Statistics Canada's latest national labour survey.

Billions for oil, nothing for nurses and teachers.

The screenwriter says his new movie is not a biopic. So true. The film simply doesn’t understand its subject.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits topped 3 million for a seventh straight week, signaling little relief in sight for the economy since the coronavirus began closing restaurants, factories and offices from coast to coast in mid-March.

IF there's one thing that online news proves without any shadow of uncertainty, it's that there's no knowing what will capture the popular imagination.

Ryanair has said it expects up to 3,000 jobs to be lost as part of a restructuring of the airline.