Inference in the presence of constraints

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One of the main goals of this project is to improve curve and surface estimation when data are limited but when input from scientific experts is available. A number of smoothing techniques exist for flexibly modeling data, and these techniques have good properties. It is possible to apply these techniques to forms of data which have been adjusted according to previously available science. Depending on the accuracy of the science, the resulting estimates should be better than those obtained from the unadjusted data. The technique of modifying the data, taking into account qualitative information, is called data sharpening. By employing data sharpening, scientists should be able to obtain improved estimates of quantities they are interested in (usually in the form of curves and surfaces), and they should also be able to obtain better predictions as a result. Software for data sharpening will be developed in order to handle a wide variety of modeling problems.