Related papers: Pool samples to efficiently estimate pathogen prev…
In identifying infected patients in a population, group testing is an effective method to reduce the number of tests and correct the test errors. In the group testing procedure, tests are performed on pools of specimens collected from…
Pooling specimens, a well-accepted sampling strategy in biomedical research, can be applied to reduce the cost of studying biomarkers. Even if the cost of a single assay is not a major restriction in evaluating biomarkers, pooling can be a…
Nonprobability (convenience) samples are increasingly sought to stabilize estimations for one or more population variables of interest that are performed using a randomized survey (reference) sample by increasing the effective sample size.…
Mathematical methods together with measurements of single-cell dynamics provide unprecedented means to reconstruct intracellular processes that are only partly or indirectly accessible experimentally. To obtain reliable reconstructions the…
When testing for a disease such as COVID-19, the standard method is individual testing: we take a sample from each individual and test these samples separately. An alternative is pooled testing (or "group testing"), where samples are mixed…
We consider the problem of choosing the best of $n$ samples, out of a large random pool, when the sampling of each member is associated with a certain cost. The quality (worth) of the best sample clearly increases with $n$, but so do the…
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions such as universities and workplaces implemented testing regimens with every member of some population tested longitudinally, and those testing positive isolated for some time. Although the…
The vast majority of models for the spread of communicable diseases are parametric in nature and involve underlying assumptions about how the disease spreads through a population. In this article we consider the use of Bayesian…
In this paper, we propose algorithms that leverage a known community structure to make group testing more efficient. We consider a population organized in disjoint communities: each individual participates in a community, and its infection…
Current pooling rules for multiply imputed data assume infinite populations. In some situations this assumption is not feasible as every unit in the population has been observed, potentially leading to over-covered population estimates. We…
Large scale disease screening is a complicated process in which high costs must be balanced against pressing public health needs. When the goal is screening for infectious disease, one approach is group testing in which samples are…
In this paper, we propose algorithms that leverage a known community structure to make group testing more efficient. We consider a population organized in connected communities: each individual participates in one or more communities, and…
Major advances in public health have resulted from disease prevention. However, prevention of a new infectious disease by vaccination or pharmaceuticals is made difficult by the slow process of vaccine and drug development. We propose an…
Suppose that we are interested in the comparison of two independent categorical variables. Suppose also that the population is divided into subpopulations or groups. Notice that the distribution of the target variable may vary across…
Large-scale testing is crucial in pandemic containment, but resources are often prohibitively constrained. We study the optimal application of pooled testing for populations that are heterogeneous with respect to an individual's infection…
In this paper we describe a new technique for the comparison of populations of DNA strands. Comparison is vital to the study of ecological systems, at both the micro and macro scales. Existing methods make use of DNA sequencing and cloning,…
To improve the precision of inferences and reduce costs there is considerable interest in combining data from several sources such as sample surveys and administrative data. Appropriate methodology is required to ensure satisfactory…
We consider the estimation of densities in multiple subpopulations, where the available sample size in each subpopulation greatly varies. This problem occurs in epidemiology, for example, where different diseases may share similar…
Background: Rapid testing for an infection is paramount during a pandemic to prevent continued viral spread and excess morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine whether alternative testing strategies based on sample pooling can…
DNA samples are often pooled, either by experimental design, or because the sample itself is a mixture. For example, when population allele frequencies are of primary interest, individual samples may be pooled together to lower the cost of…