Estimation of Probability Distributions for Individual Parameters Using Aggregate Population Data

Author(s):  
H. T. Banks ◽  
B. G. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Laura K. Potter ◽  
Yue Zhang
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1448-1498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre René ◽  
André Longtin ◽  
Jakob H. Macke

Understanding how rich dynamics emerge in neural populations requires models exhibiting a wide range of behaviors while remaining interpretable in terms of connectivity and single-neuron dynamics. However, it has been challenging to fit such mechanistic spiking networks at the single-neuron scale to empirical population data. To close this gap, we propose to fit such data at a mesoscale, using a mechanistic but low-dimensional and, hence, statistically tractable model. The mesoscopic representation is obtained by approximating a population of neurons as multiple homogeneous pools of neurons and modeling the dynamics of the aggregate population activity within each pool. We derive the likelihood of both single-neuron and connectivity parameters given this activity, which can then be used to optimize parameters by gradient ascent on the log likelihood or perform Bayesian inference using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. We illustrate this approach using a model of generalized integrate-and-fire neurons for which mesoscopic dynamics have been previously derived and show that both single-neuron and connectivity parameters can be recovered from simulated data. In particular, our inference method extracts posterior correlations between model parameters, which define parameter subsets able to reproduce the data. We compute the Bayesian posterior for combinations of parameters using MCMC sampling and investigate how the approximations inherent in a mesoscopic population model affect the accuracy of the inferred single-neuron parameters.


2021 ◽  
pp. 014107682110117
Author(s):  
Lucinda Hiam ◽  
Jon Minton ◽  
Martin McKee

Objectives In most countries, life expectancy at birth (e0) has improved for many decades. Recently, however, progress has stalled in the UK and Canada, and reversed in the USA. Lifespan variation, a complementary measure of mortality, increased a few years before the reversal in the USA. To assess whether this measure offers additional meaningful insights, we examine what happened in four other high-income countries with differing life expectancy trends. Design We calculated life disparity (a specific measure of lifespan variation) in five countries -- USA, UK, France, Japan and Canada -- using sex- and age specific mortality rates from the Human Mortality Database from 1975 to 2017 for ages 0--100 years. We then examined trends in age-specific mortality to identify the age groups contributing to these changes. Setting USA, UK, France, Japan and Canada Participants aggregate population data of the above nations. Main Outcome Measures Life expectancy at birth, life disparity and age-specific mortality. Results The stalls and falls in life expectancy, for both males and females, seen in the UK, USA and Canada coincided with rising life disparity. These changes may be driven by worsening mortality in middle-age (such as at age 40). France and Japan, in contrast, continue on previous trajectories. Conclusions Life disparity is an additional summary measure of population health providing information beyond that signalled by life expectancy at birth alone.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Browne ◽  
Alex M T Russell ◽  
Stephen Begg ◽  
Matthew Rockloff ◽  
En Li ◽  
...  

Background and aims: Both the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) and the Short Gambling Harms Screen (SGHS) purport to identify individuals harmed by gambling. However, there is dispute as to how much individuals are harmed, conditional on their scores from these instruments. We used an experienced utility framework to estimate the magnitude of implied impacts on health and wellbeing.Methods: We measured health utility using the Short Form Six-Dimension (SF-6D), and used this as a benchmark. All 2603 cases were propensity score weighted, to balance the affected group (i.e., SGHS 1+ or PGSI 1+ vs 0) with a reference group of gamblers with respect to risk factors for gambling harm. Weighted regression models estimated decrements to health utility scores attributable to gambling, whilst controlling for key comorbidities.Results: We found significant attributable decrements to health utility for all non-zero SGHS scores, as well as moderate-risk and problem gamblers, but not for PGSI low-risk gamblers. Applying these coefficients to population data, we find a similar total burden for both instruments, although the SGHS more specifically identified the subpopulation of harmed individuals. For both screens, outcomes on the SF-6D implies that about two-thirds of the ‘burden of harm’ is attributable to gamblers outside of the most severe categories.Discussion and Conclusions: Gambling screens have hitherto provided nominal category membership, and population surveys typically focus on problem gambling prevalence. These results quantify the health utility decrement for each category, allowing for tracking of the aggregate population impact based on all affected gamblers.


2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ilyas ◽  
Shaheen Abbas ◽  
Afzal Ali

In this study, we present a univariate probability distribution through application of the three Sub and Super Exponential heavier-longer and lighter-shorter tails fitting. This univariate family includes the Lognormal, Gamma and Weibull distribution, the adequacy of the distribution tails is obtained by adequate Fitting Tests and descriptive Criterion. It emphasizes on tail values and is independent of the number of intervals. In this regards the time series analysis for the last three centuries of the logarithm population data sets over to Karachi region (from1729 to1946 and from 1951 to 2018) is used, which contains irregular and regular length and peaks, That peaks /tails fitting is attained by methods for validation and normality tests and defined by stochastic depiction. In other hand, Weibull and Lognormal distribution tails are found as heavier distribution by two validation tests (Maximum Likelihood Estimation and probability of correct selection), In the final section, the univariate probability distributions are used to Monte Carlo simulation for generating the actual population data, it indicates that the heavy-tailed Lognormal and Weibull distributions are also fitted contract than the more commonly seen lighter tailed Gamma distribution. So, the Monte Carlo Simulation performs the appropriate Lognormal and Weibull distributions for irregular and regular data and generate data values (298 and 69) from duration of 1729 to 2020 and 1951 to 2020. Copyright(c) The Author


1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 197-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Steel

AbstractWhilst lithopanspermia depends upon massive impacts occurring at a speed above some limit, the intact delivery of organic chemicals or other volatiles to a planet requires the impact speed to be below some other limit such that a significant fraction of that material escapes destruction. Thus the two opposite ends of the impact speed distributions are the regions of interest in the bioastronomical context, whereas much modelling work on impacts delivers, or makes use of, only the mean speed. Here the probability distributions of impact speeds upon Mars are calculated for (i) the orbital distribution of known asteroids; and (ii) the expected distribution of near-parabolic cometary orbits. It is found that cometary impacts are far more likely to eject rocks from Mars (over 99 percent of the cometary impacts are at speeds above 20 km/sec, but at most 5 percent of the asteroidal impacts); paradoxically, the objects impacting at speeds low enough to make organic/volatile survival possible (the asteroids) are those which are depleted in such species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-117
Author(s):  
Novia Zalmita ◽  
Muhajirah Muhajirah ◽  
Abdul Wahab Abdi

One that influences human resource indicators is education. The teacher is a profession as a job of academic specialization in a relatively long time in college. Understanding related to teacher competence is very important to have by a prospective teacher because it can affect the quality of performance as a professional teacher. The teacher's competence is known as pedagogic, professional, social and personality competencies. The issue in this study is how the competency of the teacher of the Department of Geography Education FKIP Unsyiah as a prospective teacher of geography? The purpose of this study was to determine the competence of teachers in the Department of Geography Education FKIP Unsyiah as prospective geography teachers. Quantitative description approach is used in this study to find answers to the issue. The population in this study were students of the Department of Geography Education FKIP Unsyiah class of 2015 and 2016 who had been declared to have passed the Micro Teaching and Magang Kependidikan 3 course totaling 50 people. Because the population is small and can be reached, the determination of the sample using total sampling techniques so that the sample in this study is the whole population. Data collection is done by distributing test questions to respondents. The data was analyzed using the descriptive statistics percentage formula. The results of the study indicate that the level of teacher competence of Geography Education Department students as prospective teachers is in the moderate category, namely as many as 22 respondents (44%). A total of 12 respondents (24%) were in the high category, 15 respondents (30%) were in the low category and 1 respondent (2%) were in the very low category.


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