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Statistical Programs
College of Agriculture University of Idaho
Seminar Announcement
"Applied Statistics in Agriculture"
Bayesian Nonparametric Bioassay Estimation

Presented By
Dr. Bahman Shafii

Statistical Programs
College of Agriculture
University of Idaho

Tuesday, October 20
3:30 P. M.
Room 62
College of Agriculture

      Estimation of unknown pesticide levels in experimental samples is an important aspect of many agricultural and environmental studies. Such measurements are often made utilizing a “standard” dose response curve. This methodology compares the biological response of a target organism at known dosages to the response of the same organism exposed to an unknown sample. These “bioassays” are typically more efficient in time and resources than direct chemical assessment of the unknown sample. The form and choice of the standard curve, however, is subjective and can influence the estimation of the unknown dose. Problems may also arise when incomplete or preliminary information is available for determining the standard curve. One means of reducing the effects of these problems is to use a more generalized nonparametric estimation technique. This work will outline an alternative bioassay method based on a Bayesian nonparametric standard curve estimation framework. Empirical results will be demonstrated using data from a trichorpyr herbicide dose-response trial on lettuce germination.


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