kernelshap
kernelshap makes permutation SHAP practical past eight features, then fixes the kernel weights it had wrong.
A side-by-side editorial comparison of EpiNow2 and monitOS — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
monitOS relicenses to MIT, the clearest signal in a sparse Novartis release feed.
monitOS is Novartis's R package for monitoring overall survival in clinical trials, with an accompanying Shiny app. The 0.1.6 release changes the licence to MIT, fixes a shiny import problem and an infinite-value bug in the app, and adds spell checking plus issue-tracker and website links. The prior release carries no notes at all beyond a link to the commit history.
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
The package spent this window paying down interface debt and is now extending from the tidier base. Options that existed only for `estimate_infections()` have been propagated outward: `estimate_truncation()` gained the full `dist_spec` delay families, `obs_opts()` observation model selection between Poisson and negative binomial, and the `likelihood` and `return_likelihood` settings that make prior-only fits and loo-compatible output possible. Hardcoded assumptions are being replaced by specifiable ones in the same motion — the truncation model's additive noise term was a fixed `sigma ~ normal(0, 1)` prior and is now a `dist_spec` argument.
Expect the remaining modelling functions to keep converging on the shared options interface, since the last two releases have each moved another function onto it. A new `estimate_dist()` for interval-censored linelist data suggests delay estimation is the area still gaining surface.
monitOS is Novartis's R package for monitoring overall survival in clinical trials, with an accompanying Shiny app. The 0.1.6 release changes the licence to MIT, fixes a shiny import problem and an infinite-value bug in the app, and adds spell checking plus issue-tracker and website links. The prior release carries no notes at all beyond a link to the commit history.
For a package published by a pharmaceutical sponsor, the licence change is the substantive item — MIT removes friction for reuse outside Novartis, and the added issue link and website point the same way, toward outside users. Everything else is packaging hygiene. At 0.1.6 with two releases nine months apart, the statistical methodology looks settled while the distribution around it is being tidied.
The open-sourcing signals suggest the next release will respond to outside issue reports; the entries give no indication of methodology changes.
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either EpiNow2 or monitOS.
kernelshap makes permutation SHAP practical past eight features, then fixes the kernel weights it had wrong.
filtro moves to S7 and multiplies its feature-scoring methods in a single release.
modeltime.resample exists to keep backtesting working as tidymodels shifts underneath it.
modeltime.ensemble wakes after four years, and the work is all tune 2.0 compatibility.
shapviz refines its SHAP plots release by release while chasing ggplot2's moving target.
hstats settled into maintenance after its 1.0 restructuring, with model coverage the only thing still growing.
See all EpiNow2 alternatives → · See all monitOS alternatives →
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. EpiNow2 and monitOS are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. EpiNow2 and monitOS are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
Top EpiNow2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "EpiNow2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/epinow2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
Top monitOS alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "monitOS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/monitos for the full list with editorial commentary on each.