Recent years have seen an explosion in new kinds of data on infectious diseases, including data on social contacts, whole genome sequences of pathogens, biomarkers for susceptibility to infection, serological panel data, and surveillance data. The Handbook of Infectious Disease Data Analysis provides an overview of many key statistical methods that have been developed in response to such new data streams and the associated ability to address key scientific and epidemiological questions. A unique feature of the Handbook is the wide range of topics covered. Key features Contributors include many leading researchers in the field Divided into four main sections: Basic concepts, Analysis of Outbreak Data, Analysis of Seroprevalence Data, Analysis of Surveillance Data Numerous case studies and examples throughout Provides both introductory material and key reference material

Gaussian Markov Random Field (GMRF) models are most widely used in spatial statistics - a very active area of research in which few up-to-date reference works are available. This is the first book on the subject that provides a unified framework of GMRFs with particular emphasis on the computational aspects. This book includes extensive case-studies and, online, a c-library for fast and exact simulation. With chapters contributed by leading researchers in the field, this volume is essential reading for statisticians working in spatial theory and its applications, as well as quantitative researchers in a wide range of science fields where spatial data analysis is important.

Statistical Methods for Spatio-Temporal Systems presents current statistical research issues on spatio-temporal data modeling and will promote advances in research and a greater understanding between the mechanistic and the statistical modeling communities. Contributed by leading researchers in the field, each self-contained chapter starts with an introduction of the topic and progresses to recent research results. Presenting specific examples of epidemic data of bovine tuberculosis, gastroenteric disease, and the U.K. foot-and-mouth outbreak, the first chapter uses stochastic models, such as point process models, to provide the probabilistic backbone that facilitates statistical inference from data. The next chapter discusses the critical issue of modeling random growth objects in diverse biological systems, such as bacteria colonies, tumors, and plant populations. The subsequent chapter examines data transformation tools using examples from ecology and air quality data, followed by a chapter on space-time covariance functions. The contributors then describe stochastic and statistical models that are used to generate simulated rainfall sequences for hydrological use, such as flood risk assessment. The final chapter explores Gaussian Markov random field specifications and Bayesian computational inference via Gibbs sampling and Markov chain Monte Carlo, illustrating the methods with a variety of data examples, such as temperature surfaces, dioxin concentrations, ozone concentrations, and a well-established deterministic dynamical weather model.

Researchers in spatial statistics and image analysis are familiar with Gaussian Markov Random Fields (GMRFs), and they are traditionally among the few who use them. There are, however, a wide range of applications for this methodology, from structural time-series analysis to the analysis of longitudinal and survival data, spatio-temporal models, graphical models, and semi-parametric statistics. With so many applications and with such widespread use in the field of spatial statistics, it is surprising that there remains no comprehensive reference on the subject.

Gaussian Markov Random Fields: Theory and Applications provides such a reference, using a unified framework for representing and understanding GMRFs. Various case studies illustrate the use of GMRFs in complex hierarchical models, in which statistical inference is only possible using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. The preeminent experts in the field, the authors emphasize the computational aspects, construct fast and reliable algorithms for MCMC inference, and provide an online C-library for fast and exact simulation.

This is an ideal tool for researchers and students in statistics, particularly biostatistics and spatial statistics, as well as quantitative researchers in engineering, epidemiology, image analysis, geography, and ecology, introducing them to this powerful statistical inference method.

This richly illustrated textbook covers modern statistical methods with applications in medicine, epidemiology and biology. Firstly, it discusses the importance of statistical models in applied quantitative research and the central role of the likelihood function, describing likelihood-based inference from a frequentist viewpoint, and exploring the properties of the maximum likelihood estimate, the score function, the likelihood ratio and the Wald statistic. In the second part of the book, likelihood is combined with prior information to perform Bayesian inference. Topics include Bayesian updating, conjugate and reference priors, Bayesian point and interval estimates, Bayesian asymptotics and empirical Bayes methods. It includes a separate chapter on modern numerical techniques for Bayesian inference, and also addresses advanced topics, such as model choice and prediction from frequentist and Bayesian perspectives. This revised edition of the book "Applied Statistical Inference" has been expanded to include new material on Markov models for time series analysis. It also features a comprehensive appendix covering the prerequisites in probability theory, matrix algebra, mathematical calculus, and numerical analysis, and each chapter is complemented by exercises. The text is primarily intended for graduate statistics and biostatistics students with an interest in applications.

Statistical Methods for Spatio-Temporal Systems presents current statistical research issues on spatio-temporal data modeling and will promote advances in research and a greater understanding between the mechanistic and the statistical modeling communities. Contributed by leading researchers in the field, each self-contained chapter starts with an introduction of the topic and progresses to recent research results. Presenting specific examples of epidemic data of bovine tuberculosis, gastroenteric disease, and the U.K. foot-and-mouth outbreak, the first chapter uses stochastic models, such as point process models, to provide the probabilistic backbone that facilitates statistical inference from data. The next chapter discusses the critical issue of modeling random growth objects in diverse biological systems, such as bacteria colonies, tumors, and plant populations. The subsequent chapter examines data transformation tools using examples from ecology and air quality data, followed by a chapter on space-time covariance functions. The contributors then describe stochastic and statistical models that are used to generate simulated rainfall sequences for hydrological use, such as flood risk assessment. The final chapter explores Gaussian Markov random field specifications and Bayesian computational inference via Gibbs sampling and Markov chain Monte Carlo, illustrating the methods with a variety of data examples, such as temperature surfaces, dioxin concentrations, ozone concentrations, and a well-established deterministic dynamical weather model.

Recent years have seen an explosion in new kinds of data on infectious diseases, including data on social contacts, whole genome sequences of pathogens, biomarkers for susceptibility to infection, serological panel data, and surveillance data. The Handbook of Infectious Disease Data Analysis provides an overview of many key statistical methods that have been developed in response to such new data streams and the associated ability to address key scientific and epidemiological questions. A unique feature of the Handbook is the wide range of topics covered. Key features Contributors include many leading researchers in the field Divided into four main sections: Basic concepts, Analysis of Outbreak Data, Analysis of Seroprevalence Data, Analysis of Surveillance Data Numerous case studies and examples throughout Provides both introductory material and key reference material

This richly illustrated textbook covers modern statistical methods with applications in medicine, epidemiology and biology. Firstly, it discusses the importance of statistical models in applied quantitative research and the central role of the likelihood function, describing likelihood-based inference from a frequentist viewpoint, and exploring the properties of the maximum likelihood estimate, the score function, the likelihood ratio and the Wald statistic. In the second part of the book, likelihood is combined with prior information to perform Bayesian inference. Topics include Bayesian updating, conjugate and reference priors, Bayesian point and interval estimates, Bayesian asymptotics and empirical Bayes methods. It includes a separate chapter on modern numerical techniques for Bayesian inference, and also addresses advanced topics, such as model choice and prediction from frequentist and Bayesian perspectives. This revised edition of the book "Applied Statistical Inference" has been expanded to include new material on Markov models for time series analysis. It also features a comprehensive appendix covering the prerequisites in probability theory, matrix algebra, mathematical calculus, and numerical analysis, and each chapter is complemented by exercises. The text is primarily intended for graduate statistics and biostatistics students with an interest in applications.