epidemiology

On 'Sexual contacts and epidemic thresholds,' models and inference for Sexual partnership distributions

Recent work has focused attention on statistical inference for the population distribution of the number of sexual partners based on survey data. The characteristics of these distributions are of interest as components of mathematical models for the …

An Assessment of Preferential Attachment as a Mechanism for Human Sexual Network Formation

Recent research into the properties of human sexual–contact networks has suggested that the degree distribution of the contact graph exhibits power–law scaling. One notable property of this power–law scaling is that the epidemic threshold for the …

Interval Estimates for Epidemic Thresholds in Two-Sex Network Models

Epidemic thresholds in network models of heterogeneous populations characterized by highly right-skewed contact distributions can be very small. When the population is above the threshold, an epidemic is inevitable and conventional control measures …

Likelihood-Based Inference for Stochastic Models of Sexual Network Formation

Sexually-Transmitted Diseases (STDs) constitute a major public health concern. Mathematical models for the transmission dynamics of STDs indicate that heterogeneity in sexual activity level allow them to persist even when the typical behavior of the …

An Assessment of Preferential Attachment as a Mechanism for Human Sexual Network Formation

Recent research into the properties of human sexual contact networks has suggested that the degree distribution of the contact graph exhibits power-law scaling. One notable property of this power-law scaling is that for a range of scaling exponents, …

Statistical Evidence Tells Tails of Human Sexual Contacts

There has been a growing interest in the application of social network theory to the epidemiology of sexually-transmitted diseases (STD). This interest arises from recognition that STDs are transmitted through binary contacts and, consequently, …