Comparison of methods to analyse imprecise faecal coliform count data from environmental samples
Comparison of methods to analyse imprecise faecal coliform count data from environmental samples
复制标题
分析环境样本中不精确粪便大肠菌群计数数据的方法比较
DOI：
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发表时间：
2001
影响因子：
4.2
通讯作者：
Julio C. Soto
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Hélène Carabin;Gyorkos Tw;Lawrence Joseph;Pierre Payment;Julio C. Soto
Imprecise values arise when bacterial colonies are too numerous to be counted or when no colonies grow at a specific dilution. Our objective was to show the usefulness of multiple imputation in analysing data containing imprecise values. We also indicate that interval censored regression, which is faster computationally in situations where it applies, can be used, providing similar estimates to imputation. We used bacteriological data from a large epidemiological study in daycare centres to illustrate this method and compared it to a standard method which uses single exact values for the imprecise data. The data consisted of numbers of FC on children's and educators' hands, from sandboxes and from playareas. In general, we found that multiple imputation and interval censored regression provided more conservative intervals than the standard method. The discrepancy in the results highlights both the importance of using a method that best captures the uncertainty in the data and how different conclusions might be drawn. This can be crucial for both researchers and those who are involved in formulating and regulating standards for bacteriological contamination.
