Biostatistics Commons^™

The Use Of Penalized Regression Analysis To Identify County-Level Demographic And Socioeconomic Variables Predictive Of Increased Covid-19 Cumulative Case Rates In The State Of Georgia, Holly L. Richmond, Joana Tome, Haresh Rochani, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Gulzar H. Shah, Jessica S. Schwind

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Systemic inequity concerning the social determinants of health has been known to affect morbidity and mortality for decades. Significant attention has focused on the individual-level demographic and co-morbid factors associated with rates and mortality of COVID-19. However, less attention has been given to the county-level social determinants of health that are the main drivers of health inequities. To identify the degree to which social determinants of health predict COVID-19 cumulative case rates at the county-level in Georgia, we performed a sequential, cross-sectional ecologic analysis using a diverse set of socioeconomic and demographic variables. Lasso regression was used to identify variables …

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Transmission Potential, Iran, 2020, Kamalich Muniz-Rodriguez, Isaac Fung, Shayesteh R. Ferdosi, Sylvia Ofori, Yiseul Lee, Amna Tariq, Gerardo Chowell

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

To determine the transmission potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Iran in 2020, we estimated the reproduction number as 4.4 (95% CI 3.9–4.9) by using a generalized growth model and 3.5 (95% CI 1.3–8.1) by using epidemic doubling time. The reproduction number decreased to 1.55 after social distancing interventions were implemented.

Sars-Cov-2 Viral And Serological Testing When College Campuses Reopen: Some Practical Considerations, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Chi-Ngai Cheung, Andreas Handel

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted universities across the United States to close campuses in Spring 2020. Universities are deliberating whether, when, and how they should resume in-person instruction in Fall 2020. In this essay, we discuss some practical considerations for the use of 2 potentially useful control strategies based on testing: (1) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing followed by case-patient isolation and quarantine of close contacts, and (2) serological testing followed by an “immune shield” approach, that is, low social distancing requirements for seropositive persons. The isolation of case-patients and …

Epidemiology Of Cancers In Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm): A Protocol For Umbrella Review Of Systematic Reviews, Manoj Kumar Honaryar, Yelena Tarasenko, Maribel Almonte, Vitaly Smelov

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

While earlier studies on men having sex with men (MSM) tended to examine infection-related cancers, an increasing number of studies have been focusing on effects of sexual orientation on other cancers and social and cultural causes for cancer disparities. As a type of tertiary research, this umbrella review (UR) aims to synthesize findings from existing review studies on the effects of sexual orientation on cancer. Relevant peer-reviewed systematic reviews (SRs) will be identified without date or language restrictions using MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews, among others. The research team members will …

Evaluating The Importation Of Yellow Fever Cases Into China In 2016 And Strategies Used To Prevent And Control The Spread Of The Disease, Chao Li, Dan Li, Shirley Joann Smart, Lei Zhou, Peng Yang, Jianming Ou, Yi He, Ruiqi Ren, Tao Ma, Nijuan Xiang, Haitian Sui, Yali Wang, Jian Zhao, Chaonan Wang, Yeping Wang, Daxin Ni, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Dexin Li, Yangmu Huang, Qun Li

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

During the yellow fever epidemic in Angola in 2016, cases of yellow fever were reported in China for the first time. The 11 cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Angola, were identified in March and April 2016, one to two weeks after the peak of the Angolan epidemic. One patient died; the other 10 cases recovered after treatment. This paper reviews the epidemiological characteristics of the 11 yellow fever cases imported into China. It examines case detection and disease control and surveillance, and presents recommendations for further action to prevent additional importation of yellow fever into China.

A Call For Consistency In The Official Naming Of The Disease Caused By Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 In Non-English Languages, Lu Dong, Zhe Li, Isaac Fung

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

We investigated the adoption of World Health Organization (WHO) naming of COVID-19 into the respective languages among the Group of Twenty (G20) countries, and the variation of COVID-19 naming in the Chinese language across different health authorities. On May 7, 2020, we identified the websites of the national health authorities of the G20 countries to identify naming of COVID-19 in their respective languages, and the websites of the health authorities in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore and identify their Chinese name for COVID-19. Among the G20 nations, Argentina, China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey do …

Doubling Time Of The Covid-19 Epidemic By Province, China, Kamalich Muniz-Rodriguez, Gerardo Chowell, Chi-Hin Cheung, Dongyu Jia, Po-Ying Lai, Yiseul Lee, Manyun Liu, Sylvia Ofori, Kimberlyn M. Roosa, Lone Simonsen, Cecile Viboud, Isaac Fung

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

In China, the doubling time of the coronavirus disease epidemic by province increased during January 20–February 9, 2020. Doubling time estimates ranged from 1.4 (95% CI 1.2–2.0) days for Hunan Province to 3.1 (95% CI 2.1–4.8) days for Xinjiang Province. The estimate for Hubei Province was 2.5 (95% CI 2.4–2.6) days.

Auspicious Symbols Of Rank And Status, Byron Breedlove, Isaac Fung

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Work published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Limited Early Warnings And Public Attention To Coronavirus Disease 2019 In China, January–February, 2020: A Longitudinal Cohort Of Randomly Sampled Weibo Users, Yuner Zhu, King-Wa Fu, Karen A. Grépin, Hai Liang, Isaac Fung

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objective:

Awareness and attentiveness have implications for the acceptance and adoption of disease prevention and control measures. Social media posts provide a record of the public’s attention to an outbreak. To measure the attention of Chinese netizens to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a pre-established nationally representative cohort of Weibo users was searched for COVID-19-related key words in their posts.

Methods:

COVID-19-related posts (N = 1101) were retrieved from a longitudinal cohort of 52 268 randomly sampled Weibo accounts (December 31, 2019–February 12, 2020).

Results:

Attention to COVID-19 was limited prior to China openly acknowledging human-to-human transmission on …

Short-Term Effects Of Ambient Ozone, Pm2. 5, And Meteorological Factors On Covid-19 Confirmed Cases And Deaths In Queens, New York., Atin Adhikari, Jingjing Yin

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, has been rapidly increasing in the United States. Boroughs of New York City, including Queens county, turn out to be the epicenters of this infection. According to the data provided by the New York State Department of Health, most of the cases of new COVID-19 infections in New York City have been found in the Queens county where 42,023 people have tested positive, and 3221 people have died as of 20 April 2020. Person-to-person transmission and travels were implicated in the initial spread of the outbreaks, but factors …

Molecular Typing Of Rickettsia Akari, Marina E. Eremeeva

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Rickettsia akari is an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes smallpox rickettsia. Rickettsia akari is an atypical member of the rickettsia spotted fever (SFG) group because it circulates in gamasid mites; however, only limited data are available regarding the degree of genetic diversity of R. akari isolates. We examined 13 isolates of R. akari isolated from humans, rodents, and ticks in the United States, the countries of the former USSR, and the former Yugoslavia for the period from 1946 to 2003 for diversity in the composition of tandem repeats (TR) and intergenic regions (IGR). Using the Tandem Repeat Finder software (http://tandem.bu.edu) …

Rickettsialpox – A Rare But Not Extinct Disease: A Review Of The Literature And New Directions, Marina Eremeeva, Kamalich Muniz-Rodriguez

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Smallpox rickettsia is an urban zoonosis caused by Rickettsia akari. To date, R. akari is the only characterized representative of the group of spotted fevers transmitted by the gamasid mite Liponyssoides sanguineus, which is common among peridomic rodents. This disease was first described in New York in 1946, and a few years later a similar outbreak occurred in the Ukrainian SSR. Numerous serological studies and diagnostics of sporadic cases of smallpox rickettsiosis suggest its widespread occurrence on the planet; however, the current geography and incidence of smallpox rickettsiosis is unknown. Smallpox rickettsiosis is characterized by the classic clinical triad of …

Nonparametric Misclassification Simulation And Extrapolation Method And Its Application, Congjian Liu

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The misclassification simulation extrapolation (MC-SIMEX) method proposed by Küchenho et al. is a general method of handling categorical data with measurement error. It consists of two steps, the simulation and extrapolation steps. In the simulation step, it simulates observations with varying degrees of measurement error. Then parameter estimators for varying degrees of measurement error are obtained based on these observations. In the extrapolation step, it uses a parametric extrapolation function to obtain the parameter estimators for data with no measurement error. However, as shown in many studies, the parameter estimators are still biased as a result of the parametric extrapolation …

Multiple Imputation Using Influential Exponential Tilting In Case Of Non-Ignorable Missing Data, Kavita Gohil

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Modern research strategies rely predominantly on three steps, data collection, data analysis, and inference. In research, if the data is not collected as designed, researchers may face challenges of having incomplete data, especially when it is non-ignorable. These situations affect the subsequent steps of evaluation and make them difficult to perform. Inference with incomplete data is a challenging task in data analysis and clinical trials when missing data related to the condition under the study. Moreover, results obtained from incomplete data are prone to biases. Parameter estimation with non-ignorable missing data is even more challenging to handle and extract useful …

Generalization Of Kullback-Leibler Divergence For Multi-Stage Diseases: Application To Diagnostic Test Accuracy And Optimal Cut-Points Selection Criterion, Chen Mo

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The Kullback-Leibler divergence (KL), which captures the disparity between two distributions, has been considered as a measure for determining the diagnostic performance of an ordinal diagnostic test. This study applies KL and further generalizes it to comprehensively measure the diagnostic accuracy test for multi-stage (K > 2) diseases, named generalized total Kullback-Leibler divergence (GTKL). Also, GTKL is proposed as an optimal cut-points selection criterion for discriminating subjects among different disease stages. Moreover, the study investigates a variety of applications of GTKL on measuring the rule-in/out potentials in the single-stage and multi-stage levels. Intensive simulation studies are conducted to compare the performance …

Social Ecological Factors Affecting Substance Abuse In Ghana (West Africa) Using Photovoice, Ahmed Kabore, Evans Afriyie-Gyawu, James Awuah, Andrew R. Hansen, Ashley Walker, Melissa Hester, Moussa Aziz Wonadé Sié, Dhruv Medarametla, Nicolas Meda

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Introduction: substance abuse is an important public health issue affecting West Africa; however, there is currently a dearth of literature on the actions needed to address it. The aim of this study was to assess the risks and protective factors of substance abuse in Ghana, West Africa, using the photovoice method.

Methods: this study recruited and trained 10 participants in recovery from substance abuse and undergoing treatment in the greater Accra region of Ghana on the photovoice methodology. Each participant received a disposable camera to take pictures that represented the risk and protective factors pertinent to substance abuse …

Mental Health And Gun Violence: A Link Held By Misperception, Neil Morte, Kelly L. Sullivan

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Among People With Cardiovascular Diseases In Southeast Georgia, Chimuanya Okoli, Stacy Carswell, Sewuese Akuse, Kelly L. Sullivan

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States. Proper treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease is essential and can be challenged by non-disclosed use of complementary or alternative treatments. The objective of this study was to assess which demographics were associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and if education affects the use of CAM.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a stratified random sample of residents of Southeastern Georgia. Sampling was stratified by urban/rural residence in order to reach sufficient rural residents. Participants that indicated they had been diagnosed with hypertension or …

Quasi-Likelihood Ratio Tests For Homoscedasticity Of Variance In Linear Regression, Lili Yu, Varadan Sevilimedu, Robert Vogel, Hani Samawi

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Two quasi-likelihood ratio tests are proposed for the homoscedasticity assumption in the linear regression models. They require few assumptions than the existing tests. The properties of the tests are investigated through simulation studies. An example is provided to illustrate the usefulness of the new proposed tests.

Safety Constraint Optimization Of Combination Drug Therapy In Hypertension Clinical Trials, Victor Chukwu

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In Clinical Practice, combination drug therapy has become common in treating many disease conditions. The purpose of these combinations is often to ensure optimal efficacy and to reduce adverse effects that may arise from monotherapy. Clinical trials have also been conducted to ensure efficacy and safety of these combinations before they are introduced into the market. However, adverse effects still occur with combination therapies. The objective of this study is to (1) To determine a region of optimum doses of Drug A and Drug B in combination while focusing on efficacy alone (2) To determine a region of optimum doses …

Variable Selection In Accelerated Failure Time (Aft) Frailty Models: An Application Of Penalized Quasi-Likelihood, Sarbesh R. Pandeya

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Variable selection is one of the standard ways of selecting models in large scale datasets. It has applications in many fields of research study, especially in large multi-center clinical trials. One of the prominent methods in variable selection is the penalized likelihood, which is both consistent and efficient. However, the penalized selection is significantly challenging under the influence of random (frailty) covariates. It is even more complicated when there is involvement of censoring as it may not have a closed-form solution for the marginal log-likelihood. Therefore, we applied the penalized quasi-likelihood (PQL) approach that approximates the solution for such a …

Earthquake Exposures And Mental Health Outcomes In Children And Adolescents From Phulpingdanda Village, Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study, Jessica S. Schwind, Clara B. Formby, Susan L. Santangelo, Stephanie A. Norman, Rebecca Brown, Rebecca Hoffman Frances, Elisabeth Koss, Dibesh Karmacharya

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background

Mental health issues can reach epidemic proportions in developed countries after natural disasters, but research is needed to better understand the impact on children and adolescents in developing nations.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed to examine the relationship between earthquake exposures and depression, PTSD, and resilience among children and adolescents in Phulpingdanda village in Nepal, 1 year after the 2015 earthquakes, using the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, respectively. To quantify exposure, a basic demographic and household questionnaire, including an earthquake exposure assessment tool for children and …

Inpatient And Outpatient Infection As A Trigger Of Cardiovascular Disease: The Aric Study, Logan Cowan, Pamela L. Lutsey, James S. Pankow, Kunihiro Matsushita, Junichi Ishigami, Kamakshi Lakshminarayan

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background

Acute infections are known cardiovascular disease (CVD) triggers, but little is known regarding how CVD risk varies following inpatient versus outpatient infections. We hypothesized that in‐ and outpatient infections are associated with CVD risk and that the association is stronger for inpatient infections.

Methods and Results

Coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke cases were identified and adjudicated in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study). Hospital discharge diagnosis codes and Medicare claims data were used to identify infections diagnosed in in‐ and outpatient settings. A case‐crossover design and conditional logistic regression were used to compare in‐ and outpatient …

In Memoriam: Irina V. Tarasevich, Marina Eremeeva

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Article published in New Microbes and New Infections.

Presence Of Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia Coli In Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents Utilized As Water Reuse For Irrigation, Asli Aslan, Zach A. Coles, Anunay Bhattacharya, Oghenekpaobor Oyibo

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Providing safe water through water reuse is becoming a global necessity. One concern with water reuse is the introduction of unregulated contaminants to the environment that cannot be easily removed by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The occurrence of ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli through the treatment stages of a WWTP (raw sewage, post-secondary, post-UV and post-chlorination) was investigated from January to May 2016. The highest concentrations of antibiotic resistant E. coli in the effluent were detected in April after rainfall. Ampicillin-resistant E. coli was the most common at the post UV and chlorination stages comprising 63% of …

Data On The Risk Perceptions Of Beach Water Safety In Coastal Georgia, Jeffery A. Jones, Asli Aslan, Rakhi Trivedi, Maria I. Olivas, Mikayla Hoffmann

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

These data reflect the perceptions of beach water quality drawn from a convenience sample of 238 visitors to Georgia (USA) beaches collected in June–July 2017 and are related to the research article entitled “Water quality and the perception of risk: a study of Georgia, USA, beachgoers” (Jones et al., 2018) [1]. Data were collected both via an online survey distributed through Facebook and through in-person questionnaires collected directly on the beaches.

Using The Roc Curve To Measure Association And Evaluate Prediction Accuracy For A Binary Outcome, Jingjing Yin, Robert L. Vogel

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

This review article addresses the ROC curve and its advantage over the odds ratio to measure the association between a continuous variable and a binary outcome. A simple parametric model under the normality assumption and the method of Box-Cox transformation for non-normal data are discussed. Applications of the binormal model and the Box-Cox transformation under both univariate and multivariate inference are illustrated by a comprehensive data analysis tutorial. Finally, a summary and recommendations are given as to the usage of the binormal ROC curve.

Using Ranked Auxiliary Covariate As A More Efficient Sampling Design For Ancova Model: Analysis Of A Psychological Intervention To Buttress Resilience, Rajai Jabrah, Hani Samawi, Robert Vogel, Haresh Rochani, Daniel Linder

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

Drawing a sample can be costly or time consuming in some studies. However, it may be possible to rank the sampling units according to some baseline auxiliary covariates, which are easily obtainable, and/or cost efficient. Ranked set sampling (RSS) is a method to achieve this goal. In this paper, we propose a modified approach of the RSS method to allocate units into an experimental study that compares L groups. Computer simulation estimates the empirical nominal values and the empirical power values for the test procedure of comparing L different groups using modified RSS based on the regression approach in analysis …

Evaluating The Efficiency Of Treatment Comparison In Crossover Design By Allocating Subjects Based On Ranked Auxiliary Variable, Yisong Huang, Hani Samawi, Robert Vogel, Jingjing Yin, Worlanyo E. Gato, Daniel Linder

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

The validity of statistical inference depends on proper randomization methods. However, even with proper randomization, we can have imbalanced with respect to important characteristics. In this paper, we introduce a method based on ranked auxiliary variables for treatment allocation in crossover designs using Latin squares models. We evaluate the improvement of the efficiency in treatment comparisons using the proposed method. Our simulation study reveals that our proposed method provides a more powerful test compared to simple randomization with the same sample size. The proposed method is illustrated by conducting an experiment to compare two different concentrations of titanium dioxide nanofiber …

Estimation Of P(X > Y) When X And Y Are Dependent Random Variables Using Different Bivariate Sampling Schemes, Hani M. Samawi, Amal Helu, Haresh Rochani, Jingjing Yin, Daniel Linder

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

The stress-strength models have been intensively investigated in the literature in regards of estimating the reliability θ = P (X > Y) using parametric and nonparametric approaches under different sampling schemes when X and Y are independent random variables. In this paper, we consider the problem of estimating θ when (X, Y) are dependent random variables with a bivariate underlying distribution. The empirical and kernel estimates of θ = P (X > Y), based on bivariate ranked set sampling (BVRSS) are considered, when (X, Y) are paired dependent continuous random variables. The estimators obtained are compared to their counterpart, bivariate simple random …