Download 17-03

Honnor TR, Johansen AM and Brettschneider JA

A nonparametric test for dependency between estimated local bulk movement patterns

Abstract: In many applied problems for which the spatial distribution of physical quantities is recorded over time, the temporal evolution of this spatial distribution is of interest. Further, comparison of the temporal evolution of different samples in a test of dependence may determine the existence of a relationship between the physical quantities represented in each sample. One such problem is the interaction between biomolecular species. We introduce the methods currently applied to this particular problem, including their drawbacks, before formulating an alternative methodology that both estimates local bulk movement patterns and compares between two such patterns in a test of dependence. Application to both simulated and real data sets indicate that our methodology may be effectively applied to the problem of interacting biomolecular species and a wider class of more general problems.