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自适应实验中的随时有效推断：协变量调整与功效平衡AI 解读

Adaptive experiments such as multi-armed bandits offer efficiency gains over traditional randomized experiments but pose two major challenges: invalid inference on the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) due to adaptive sampling and low statistical power for sub-optimal treatments. We address both issues by extending the Mixture Adaptive Design framework (arXiv:2311.05794). First, we propose MADCovar, a covariate-adjusted ATE estimator that is unbiased and preserves anytime-valid…

Barron–Wiener–Laguerre 模型AI 解读

We propose a probabilistic extension of Wiener-Laguerre models for causal operator learning. Classical Wiener-Laguerre models parameterize stable linear dynamics using orthonormal Laguerre bases and apply a static nonlinear map to the resulting features. While structurally efficient and interpretable, they provide only deterministic point estimates. We reinterpret the nonlinear component through the lens of Barron function approximation, viewing two-layer networks, random…

因果中介分析的四重稳健方法AI 解读

Estimating natural effects is a core task in causal mediation analysis. Existing triply robust (TR) frameworks (Tchetgen Tchetgen & Shpitser 2012) and their extensions have been developed to estimate the natural effects. In this work, we introduce a new quadruply robust (QR) framework that enlarges the model class for unbiased identification. We study two modeling strategies. The first is a nonparametric modeling approach, under which we propose a general QR estimator that…

迈向因果与描述性推断的统一偏倚风险评估AI 解读

Statistics is sometimes described as the science of reasoning under uncertainty. Statistical models provide one view of this uncertainty, but what is frequently neglected is the 'invisible' portion of uncertainty: that assumed not to exist once a model has been fitted to some data. Systematic errors, i.e. bias, in data relative to some model and inferential goal can seriously undermine research conclusions, and qualitative and quantitative techniques have been created across…

面向设计型因果加权问题的表征学习AI 解读

Reweighting a distribution to minimize a distance to a target distribution is a powerful and flexible strategy for estimating a wide range of causal effects, but can be challenging in practice because optimal weights typically depend on knowledge of the underlying data generating process. In this paper, we focus on design-based weights, which do not incorporate outcome information; prominent examples include prospective cohort studies, survey weighting, and the weighting…

剩余寿命分位数的因果分析框架AI 解读

Estimating prognosis conditional on surviving an initial high-risk period is crucial in clinical research. Yet, standard metrics such as hazard ratios are often difficult to interpret, while mean-based summaries are sensitive to outliers and censoring. We propose a formal causal framework for estimating quantiles of residual lifetime among individuals surviving to a landmark time $t_0$. Our primary estimand, the "Observed Survivor Quantile Contrast" (OSQC), targets pragmatic…

通过反向依从行为放松单调性：工具变量差分估计目标AI 解读

Standard instrumental variables (IV) methods identify a Local Average Treatment Effect under monotonicity, which rules out defiers. In many empirical environments, however, distinct instruments may induce heterogeneous and even opposing behavioral responses. This paper introduces the Difference-in-Instrumental-Variables (DIIV) estimand, which exploits two instruments with opposing compliance patterns to recover a point-identified and behaviorally interpretable causal effect…

通过条件最优输运实现因果部分识别AI 解读

We study the estimation of causal estimand involving the joint distribution of treatment and control outcomes for a single unit. In typical causal inference settings, it is impossible to observe both outcomes simultaneously, which places our estimation within the domain of partial identification (PI). Pre-treatment covariates can substantially reduce estimation uncertainty by shrinking the partially identified set. Recent work has shown that covariate-assisted PI sets can be…

利用聚类刀切法改进 CSDID 推断AI 解读

Obtaining reliable inferences with traditional difference-in-differences (DiD) methods can be difficult. Problems can arise when both outcomes and errors are serially correlated, when there are few clusters or few treated clusters, when cluster sizes vary greatly, and in various other cases. In recent years, recognition of the ``staggered adoption'' problem has shifted the focus away from inference towards consistent estimation of treatment effects. One of the most popular…

正值性违反下连续处理的可行剂量反应曲线AI 解读

Positivity violations can complicate estimation and interpretation of causal dose-response curves (CDRCs) for continuous interventions. Weighting-based methods are designed to handle limited overlap, but the resulting weighted targets can be hard to interpret scientifically. Modified treatment policies can be less sensitive to support limitations, yet they typically target policy-defined effects that may not align with the original dose-response question. We develop an…

早期临床试验中兼顾风险的情境多臂老虎机AI 解读

Early-phase clinical trials face the challenge of selecting optimal drug doses that balance safety and efficacy due to uncertain dose-response relationships and varied participant characteristics. Traditional randomized dose allocation often exposes participants to sub-optimal doses by not considering individual covariates, necessitating larger sample sizes and prolonging drug development. This paper introduces a risk-inclusive contextual bandit algorithm that utilizes…

超越平均处理效应：A/B 测试的多准则设计AI 解读

In the era of large-scale AI deployment and high-stakes clinical trials, adaptive experimentation faces a ``trilemma'' of conflicting objectives: minimizing cumulative regret (welfare loss during the experiment), maximizing the estimation accuracy of heterogeneous treatment effects (CATE), and ensuring differential privacy (DP) for participants. Existing literature typically optimizes these metrics in isolation or under restrictive parametric assumptions. In this work, we…

基于中介相关引导贝叶斯变量选择的高维广义线性模型中介分析AI 解读

High-dimensional mediation analysis aims to identify mediating pathways and to estimate indirect effects linking an exposure to an outcome. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian framework to address key challenges in these analyses, including high dimensionality, complex dependence among omics mediators, and non-continuous outcomes. Furthermore, commonly used approaches assume independent mediators or ignore correlations in the selection stage, which can reduce power when…

外部对照单臂试验与非锚定间接治疗比较的双重稳健增广加权估计AI 解读

Externally controlled single-arm trials are critical to assess treatment efficacy across therapeutic indications for which randomized controlled trials are not feasible. A closely-related research design, the unanchored indirect treatment comparison, is often required for disconnected treatment networks in health technology assessment. We present a unified causal inference framework for both research designs. We develop a novel estimator that augments a popular weighting…

利用现代因果推断提高随机对照试验亚组分析的检验力AI 解读

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) often include subgroup analyses to assess whether treatment effects vary across pre-specified patient populations. However, these analyses frequently suffer from small sample sizes which limit the power to detect heterogeneous effects. Power can be improved by leveraging predictors of the outcome -- i.e., through covariate adjustment -- as well as by borrowing external data from similar RCTs or observational studies. The benefits of…

谁占优势？澄清整群随机试验中基于胜出统计量的估计目标AI 解读

Treatment effect estimands based on win statistics, including the win ratio, win odds, and win difference are increasingly popular targets for summarizing endpoints in clinical trials. Such win estimands offer an intuitive approach for prioritizing outcomes by clinical importance. The implementation and interpretation of win estimands is complicated in cluster randomized trials (CRTs), where researchers can target fundamentally different estimands on the individual-level or…

分解函数型结局处理效应异质性的双重稳健机器学习方法AI 解读

Causal inference is paramount for understanding the effects of interventions, yet extracting personalized insights from increasingly complex data remains a significant challenge for modern machine learning. This is the case, in particular, when considering functional outcomes observed over a continuous domain (e.g., time, or space). Estimation of heterogeneous treatment effects, known as CATE, has emerged as a crucial tool for personalized decision-making, but existing…

异质处理效应下的工具变量双重差分AI 解读

Many studies exploit variation in the timing of policy adoption across units as an instrument for treatment. This paper formalizes the underlying identification strategy as an instrumented difference-in-differences (DID-IV). In this design, a Wald-DID estimand, which scales the DID estimand of the outcome by the DID estimand of the treatment, captures the local average treatment effect on the treated (LATET). We extend the canonical DID-IV design to multiple period settings…

联立图式动态建模AI 解读

We review theory and methodology of the class of simultaneous graphical dynamic linear models (SGDLMs) that provide flexibility, parsimony and scalability of multivariate time series analysis. Discussion includes core theoretical aspects and summaries of existing Bayesian methodology for forward filtering and forecasting with SGDLMs. The review is complemented by new theory linking dynamic graphical and factor models, and extensions of the Bayesian methodology. This…

分布型工具变量：识别与分位数最小二乘估计AI 解读

We study instrumental-variable designs where policy reforms strongly shift the distribution of an endogenous variable but only weakly move its mean. We formalize this by introducing distributional relevance: instruments may be purely distributional. Within a triangular model, distributional relevance suffices for nonparametric identification of average structural effects via a control function. We then propose Quantile Least Squares (Q-LS), which aggregates conditional…

因果推断：三种框架的比较AI 解读

Causal inference is a central goal across many scientific disciplines. Over the past several decades, three major frameworks have emerged to formalize causal questions and guide their analysis: the potential outcomes framework, structural equation models, and directed acyclic graphs. Although these frameworks differ in language, assumptions, and philosophical orientation, they often lead to compatible or complementary insights. This paper provides a comparative introduction…

通过机器学习与二次推断函数优化阶梯楔形设计的估计精度AI 解读

Stepped-wedge designs are increasingly used in randomized experiments to accommodate logistical and ethical constraints by staggering treatment roll-out over time. Despite their popularity, existing analytical methods largely rely on parametric models with linear covariate adjustment and prespecified correlation structures, which may limit achievable precision in practice. We propose a new class of estimators for the causal average treatment effect in stepped-wedge designs…

因果推断中系统识别与联合分析多重偏差的路线图AI 解读

Observational studies examining causal effects rely on unverifiable assumptions, the violation of which can induce multiple biases. Quantitative bias analysis (QBA) methods examine the sensitivity of findings to such violations, generally, by producing estimates under alternative assumptions, incorporating external information. Although substantial guidance exists for implementing QBA, there is limited guidance on how to systematically determine the assumptions underlying a…

结局优劣排序概率的双重稳健估计及其耐多药菌研究应用AI 解读

In observational studies, adjusting for confounders is required if a treatment comparison is planned. A crude comparison of the primary endpoint without covariate adjustment will suffer from biases, and the addition of regression models could improve precision by incorporating imbalanced covariates and thus help make correct inference. Desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) is a patient-centric benefit-risk evaluation methodology designed for randomized clinical trials.…