In medical studies comparing two treatments in the presence of censored data, the stratified Cox model is an important tool that has the ability to flexibly handle non-proportional hazards while allowing parsimonious covariate adjustment. In order to capture the cumulative treatment effect, the ratio of the treatment specific cumulative baseline hazards is often used as a measure of the treatment effect. Pointwise and simultaneous confidence bands associated with the estimated ratio provide a global picture of how the treatment effect evolves over time. Recently, Dong and Matthews (2012, Biometrics 68, 408-418) proposed to construct a pointwise confidence interval for the ratio using a plug-in type empirical likelihood approach. However, their result on the limiting distribution of the empirical likelihood ratio is generally incorrect and the resulting confidence interval is asymptotically undercovering. In this article, we derive the correct limiting distribution for the likelihood ratio statistic. We also present simulation studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
In this article, we discuss the existence of a positive periodic solution for a first-order nonlinear neutral differential equation with impulses on time scales. Based on the Leggett–Williams fixed-point theorem and Krasnoselskii’s fixed-point theorem, some sufficient conditions are established for the existence of positive periodic solution. An example is given to show the feasibility and application of the obtained results. Since periodic solutions are solutions with symmetry characteristics, the existence conditions for periodic solutions also imply symmetry.
Under the stratified Cox model, an empirical likelihood based simultaneous confidence band for the difference of two individualized survival functions is proposed. Simulation studies demonstrate its superiority over the normal approximation based competitors.
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