Estimating parameters from certain survival distributions is shown to suffer little loss of accuracy in the presence of left censoring. The variance of maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) in the presence of type II right-censoring is almost un-degraded if there also is heavy left-censoring when...

Variate generation algorithms for lifetimes when survival models incorporate time dependent covariates are presented. These algorithms are closed form for special cases of the function that links the covariate values to the survivor distribution. These algorithms are illustrated by several examples.

The expectations E[X(1)], E[Z(1)], and E[Y(1)] of the minimum of n independent geometric, modified geometric, or exponential random variables with matching expectations differ. We show how this is accounted for by stochastic variability and how E[X(1)]/E[Y(1)] equals the expected number of ties...