• Applications of Information Theory to Epidemiology collects recent research findings on the analysis of diagnostic information and epidemic dynamics. • The collection includes an outstanding new review article by William Benish, providing both a historical overview and new insights. • In research articles, disease diagnosis and disease dynamics are viewed from both clinical medicine and plant pathology perspectives. Both theory and applications are discussed. • New theory is presented, particularly in the area of diagnostic decision-making taking account of predictive values, via developments of the predictive receiver operating characteristic curve. • New applications of information theory to the analysis of observational studies of disease dynamics in both human and plant populations are presented.

• Applications of Information Theory to Epidemiology collects recent research findings on the analysis of diagnostic information and epidemic dynamics. • The collection includes an outstanding new review article by William Benish, providing both a historical overview and new insights. • In research articles, disease diagnosis and disease dynamics are viewed from both clinical medicine and plant pathology perspectives. Both theory and applications are discussed. • New theory is presented, particularly in the area of diagnostic decision-making taking account of predictive values, via developments of the predictive receiver operating characteristic curve. • New applications of information theory to the analysis of observational studies of disease dynamics in both human and plant populations are presented.

Applies traditional epideiologic methods for determining disease etiology to the real-life applications of public health and health services research. This text contains a chapter on the development and use of systematic reviews and one on epidemiology and the law.

This concise, conceptually rich, and accessible book is a rallying cry for a return to the study and discussion of epidemiologic theory: what it is, why it matters, how it has changed over time, and its implications for improving population health and promoting health equity. By tracing its history and contours from ancient societies on through the development of--and debates within--contemporary epidemiology worldwide, Dr. Krieger shows how epidemiologic theory has long shaped epidemiologic practice, knowledge, and the politics of public health.

Fuzzy Logic in Action: Applications in Epidemiology and Beyond, co-authored by Eduardo Massad, Neli Ortega, Laécio Barros, and Cláudio Struchiner is a remarkable achievement. The book brings a major paradigm shift to medical sciences exploring the use of fuzzy sets in epidemiology and medical diagnosis arena. The volume addresses the most significant topics in the broad areas of epidemiology, mathematical modeling and uncertainty, embodying them within the framework of fuzzy set and dynamic systems theory. Written by leading contributors to the area of epidemiology, medical informatics and mathematics, the book combines a very lucid and authoritative exposition of the fundamentals of fuzzy sets with an insightful use of the fundamentals in the area of epidemiology and diagnosis. The content is clearly illustrated by numerous illustrative examples and several real world applications. Based on their profound knowledge of epidemiology and mathematical modeling, and on their keen understanding of the role played by uncertainty and fuzzy sets, the authors provide insights into the connections between biological phenomena and dynamic systems as a mean to predict, diagnose, and prescribe actions. An example is the use of Bellman-Zadeh fuzzy decision making approach to develop a vaccination strategy to manage measles epidemics in São Paulo. The book offers a comprehensive, systematic, fully updated and self- contained treatise of fuzzy sets in epidemiology and diagnosis. Its content covers material of vital interest to students, researchers and practitioners and is suitable both as a textbook and as a reference. The authors present new results of their own in most of the chapters. In doing so, they reflect the trend to view fuzzy sets, probability theory and statistics as an association of complementary and synergetic modeling methodologies.