Optimal designs for mixed models in experiments based on ordered units

We consider experiments for comparing treatments using units that are ordered linearly over time or space within blocks. In addition to the block effect, we assume that a trend effect influences the response. The latter is modeled as a smooth component plus a random term that captures departures from the smooth trend. The model is flexible enough to cover a variety of situations; for instance, most of the effects may be either random or fixed. The information matrix for a design will be a function of several variance parameters. While data will shed light on the values of these parameters, at the design stage, they are unlikely to be known, so we suggest a maximin approach, in which a minimal information matrix is maximized. We derive maximin universally optimal designs and study their robustness. These designs are based on semibalanced arrays. Special cases correspond to results available in the literature.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-AOS518 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Efficient Two-Stage Group Testing Algorithms for Genetic Screening

Efficient two-stage group testing algorithms that are particularly suited for rapid and less-expensive DNA library screening and other large scale biological group testing efforts are investigated in this paper. The main focus is on novel combinatorial constructions in order to minimize the number of individual tests at the second stage of a two-stage disjunctive testing procedure. Building on recent work by Levenshtein (2003) and Tonchev (2008), several new infinite classes of such combinatorial designs are presented.Comment: 14 pages; to appear in "Algorithmica". Part of this work has been presented at the ICALP 2011 Group Testing Workshop; arXiv:1106.368

Some results on 2n−m2^{n-m} designs of resolution IV with (weak) minimum aberration

It is known that all resolution IV regular $2^{n-m}$ designs of run size $N=2^{n-m}$ where $5N/16<n<N/2$ must be projections of the maximal even design with $N/2$ factors and, therefore, are even designs. This paper derives a general and explicit relationship between the wordlength pattern of any even $2^{n-m}$ design and that of its complement in the maximal even design. Using these identities, we identify some (weak) minimum aberration $2^{n-m}$ designs of resolution IV and the structures of their complementary designs. Based on these results, several families of minimum aberration $2^{n-m}$ designs of resolution IV are constructed.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/08-AOS670 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Frame difference families and resolvable balanced incomplete block designs

Frame difference families, which can be obtained via a careful use of cyclotomic conditions attached to strong difference families, play an important role in direct constructions for resolvable balanced incomplete block designs. We establish asymptotic existences for several classes of frame difference families. As corollaries new infinite families of 1-rotational $(pq+1,p+1,1)$-RBIBDs over $\mathbb{F}_{p}^+ \times \mathbb{F}_{q}^+$ are derived, and the existence of $(125q+1,6,1)$-RBIBDs is discussed. We construct $(v,8,1)$-RBIBDs for $v\in\{624,1576,2976,5720,5776,10200,14176,24480\}$, whose existence were previously in doubt. As applications, we establish asymptotic existences for an infinite family of optimal constant composition codes and an infinite family of strictly optimal frequency hopping sequences.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1702.0750