Variance functions and Taylor's law of fluctuation scaling The variance function of a family of nonnegative random variables (rvs) gives the variance of each rv as a function of its mean, assuming each rv has finite mean and finite variance. Variance functions were invented to assist statistical analyses of agricultural experiments. They have since (under
Modeling the Seasonal Transmission Dynamics of Measles Measles, a highly contagious infection caused by the measles virus, is a major public-health problem worldwide. Since the monthly data of measles cases exhibit a seasonally fluctuating pattern, based on the measles model in Earn et al. (Science 287(2000), 667-670) we propose a susceptible, exposed, infectious, and recovered (SEIR) model with periodic
Land use change, disease, and population growth in subsistence agriculture: escaping the curse of poverty trap The extremely poor generally rely on their immediate natural environment for subsistence and suffer high rates of morbidity and mortality due to infectious diseases. We present a framework for modeling the ecology of poverty, focusing on the exemplar drivers:
