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Point and interval estimation in the combination of bioassay results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

P. Armitage
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
B. M. Bennett
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
D. J. Finney
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Edinburgh
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Summary

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A procedure for combining evidence from different biological assays is shown to be equivalent both to generalized least-squares and to maximum-likelihood estimation. By appropriate nesting of hypotheses, the likelihood function can be used to test the agreement between the assays and to obtain probability limits for the combined estimate of potency. The properties of these limits are examined, with particular reference to the situation, unusual but not impossible in practice, in which the values of relative potency that they define consist of several disjoint segments instead of a single interval. The connexion with general theory of estimating linear functional relations is pointed out.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

References

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