Asymptotic normality of the test statistics for the unified relative dispersion and relative variation indexes.

Dispersion indexes with respect to the Poisson and binomial distributions are widely used to assess the conformity of the underlying distribution from an observed sample of the count with one or the other of these theoretical distributions. Recently, the exponential variation index has been proposed as an extension to nonnegative continuous data. This paper aims to gather to study the unified definition of these indexes with respect to the relative variability of a nonnegative natural exponential family of distributions through its variance function.

Predicting local malaria exposure using a Lasso-based two-level cross validation algorithm.

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of local environmental factors to determine the fine-scale heterogeneity of malaria transmission and exposure to the vector. In this work, we compare a classical GLM model with backward selection with different versions of an automatic LASSO-based algorithm with 2-level cross-validation aiming to build a predictive model of the space and time dependent individual exposure to the malaria vector, using entomological and environmental data from a cohort study in Benin. Although the GLM can outperform the LASSO model with appropriate engineering, the best model in terms of predictive power was found to be the LASSO-based model.

Predicting in-hospital maternal mortality in Senegal and Mali.

Objective: We sought to identify predictors of in-hospital maternal mortality among women attending referral hospitals in Mali and Senegal.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological survey using data from a cluster randomized controlled trial (QUARITE trial) in 46 referral hospitals in Mali and Senegal, during the pre-intervention period of the trial (from October 1st 2007 to October 1st 2008). We included 89,518 women who delivered in the 46 hospitals during this period.