Entropy, Multiproportional, and Quadratic Techniques for Inferring Detailed Migration Patterns from Aggregate Data

This paper presents techniques for inferring migration flows by migrant category from some available aggregate data. The data are in the form of marginal totals of migration flow matrices or prior information on certain cell values. A generalized estimation procedure is presented which incorporates both maximum likelihood and x^2 estimates. The duality results of the optimizing problems rely on the decomposition principle of Rockafellar. We prove the convergence of the general iterative procedure of which the well-known RAS and entropy methods are special cases. The validity of the methods is tested by comparison of estimates and observations for Austria and Sweden, using x^2 and absolute percentage deviation test statistics. The techniques are then applied to infer age-specific migration flows for Bulgaria. Algorithms and FORTRAN computer programs are also given

Value and risk reporting practice among listed companies in Belgium.

In this report we describe the general practices, among Belgian public firms, re voluntary disclosure. We provide an overall score, a subtotal for each of ten information categories, and individual scores. We find that only two subtotals, Management & Performance and Organization & Strategy, fare rather well almost across the board. The value drivers, in contrast, tend to come in among the lowest-ranked items, as does Risk Management. For two value drivers, Brands and Customers, around half of the companies even remain utterly silent. Across firms, there often is a pronounced right-skewness among the rankings for one subcategory. On more than half the items that could logically help determine value, more than half of the firms provide no information whatsoever.The top-performing companies are doing spectacularly better on Risk Management, and (relatively) worse on macro information. Manufacturing firms do best, both in terms of total rating as well as on most subcategories, followed by retail/distribution/media (RDM) and then Technology.Optimal; Value; Risk; Reporting; Companies; Firms; Disclosure; Information; Management; Performance; Strategy; Risk management; Brands; Manufacturing;

Monitoring international migration flows in Europe. Towards a statistical data base combining data from different sources

The paper reviews techniques developed in demography, geography and statistics that are useful for bridging the gap between available data on international migration flows and the information required for policy making and research. The basic idea of the paper is as follows: to establish a coherent and consistent data base that contains sufficiently detailed, up-to-date and accurate information, data from several sources should be combined. That raises issues of definition and measurement, and of how to combine data from different origins properly. The issues may be tackled more easily if the statistics that are being compiled are viewed as different outcomes or manifestations of underlying stochastic processes governing migration. The link between the processes and their outcomes is described by models, the parameters of which must be estimated from the available data. That may be done within the context of socio-demographic accounting. The paper discusses the experience of the U.S. Bureau of the Census in combining migration data from several sources. It also summarizes the many efforts in Europe to establish a coherent and consistent data base on international migration. The paper was written at IIASA. It is part of the Migration Estimation Study, which is a collaborative IIASA-University of Groningen project, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The project aims at developing techniques to obtain improved estimates of international migration flows by country of origin and country of destination

Naar een optimaal gebruik van biologische mest van kippen en geiten via compostering?

Optimaal gebruik van biologische mest is een cruciale schakel in de overgang naar een 100% biologische keten. Er zijn echter biologische mestsoorten die (nog) moeilijk toe te passen zijn. Denk aan kippenmest die niet op het kippenbedrijf zelf ingezet kan worden of verse stromest van herkauwers die niet op grasland uitgereden kan worden. Voorbehandeling van de mest kan de kwaliteit en het gebruiksgemak echter flink verhogen

Interdisciplinary Research on Healthy Aging: Introduction

Background: This is an introduction to a Special Collection of Demographic Research on Interdisciplinary Research on Healthy Aging. The collection is an outcome of an international conference in China on biodemography and multistate modeling in healthy aging research. Causal analysis is the common theme of the papers. Healthy aging is an outcome of pathways of causally related distant and proximate determinants and intervening factors that mediate the effects of the determinants. Objective: The objective is to introduce the papers in this SC and to highlight the place of multistate modeling in causal analysis. Methods: We adopt the common distinction between structural causal modeling and dynamic causal modeling. The papers in the SC concentrate on structural causal modeling. Multistate models (and, more particularly, the continuous-time Markov process model) are oriented more toward dynamic causal modeling. In dynamic causal modeling the causal dependencies are defined in terms of events (outcomes), exposure time, and transition rates that relate exposures to events. Results: The contributions to the SC illustrate the progress made in structural causal modeling in the study of healthy aging. Dynamic causal analysis, however, has progressed comparatively slowly. Contribution: The papers in the SC and the brief introduction to multistate modeling in causal analysis pave the way to enhanced causal analysis in the study of healthy aging and in demography

Multilevel use of image repository in the field of veterinary imaging and dissemination of training tools

[Extract] Until now the veterinary teaching environment is limited to static two dimensional materials. In order to improve the teaching experience we decided to adapt our educational PACS to build 2D and 3D viewing veterinary datasets. As entry level of education we setup a knowledge base consisting out of normal anatomy [1, 2]. The second step is the construction of an imaging atlas compared with the normal anatomy of every animal. The third step is the construction of a database containing a wide variety of radiopathology cases. The final level is the integration in an e-learning platform namely WikiVet [3] which is a collaborative initiative involving UK veterinary schools. The project is creating a comprehensive online knowledge base and will provide a reliable reference source to supersede Wikipedia for veterinary students, paramedics and graduates anywhere in the world, improving diagnostic skills using diagnostic imaging

Intercropping and fertilization strategies to progress sustainability of organic cabbage and beetroot production

Sustainably increasing organic vegetable crop productivity is needed to meet growing demands, considering replacement of conventional animal manures with alternative fertilizers. We investigated the effects of intercropping (IC) and different organic fertilization strategies, and their interactions, on the plant-soil system. A 2-year IC field experiment with white cabbage and beetroot was conducted with two compost-supplemented fertilization strategies (animal-based AF+C; plant-based PF+C) and one control with pig slurry (CONT). Root growth was measured with the minirhizotron method. Overall productivity of intercropping (IC) was lower or similar to that of monocropping (MC) systems with a land equivalent ratio of 0.8 in 2018 and 1.0 in 2019. IC affected rooting intensity in only few soil layers: at harvest (2018), beetroot IC had higher rooting intensity compared to beetroot MC in 0.25–0.75 m soil layer. Mycorrhizal colonization of beetroot roots was increased by 37 % under IC. CONT crops had the highest yield and nitrogen (N) accumulation in 2018. In 2019, yield, N and phosphorous (P) accumulation and soil enzyme activity were higher in the PF+C and CONT conditions than with AF+C. Potential N mineralization was 24–37 % higher under PF+C compared to CONT and AF+C, whereas hot water extractable P was highest under animal-based fertilization strategies (CONT: 8.66 mg kg−1, AF+C: 8.56 mg kg−1) compared to PF+C: 7.99 mg kg−1. Benefits of productivity and N-use-efficiency from complementary root growth and resource use were not found in cabbage-beetroot IC. Instead, displacement of sowing/planting dates in the second year decided the dominating species, supported by mycorrhiza in beetroot. This management practice reduced the level of competition and increased the overall productivity of the IC system compared to 2018. The plant-based fertilization strategy had higher soil fertility as indicated by potential N mineralization and similar P use efficiency and can replace pig slurry. The methods of IC and fertilization strategy interacted only on potential N mineralization. Long-term improvements are expected with compost-supplemented fertilization strategies owing to their high organic carbon and N inputs

Meeple Centred Design: A Heuristic Toolkit for Evaluating the Accessibility of Tabletop Games

Evaluation of accessibility within a tabletop context is much more complicated than it is within a video game environment. There is a considerable amount of variation in game systems, game mechanisms, and interaction regimes. Games may be entirely verbal, or completely non-verbal. They might be real-time or turn based, or based on simultaneous actions. They can be competitive or co-operative, or shift from one to the other during a single game session. They might involve visual pattern recognition or force players to memorise game state without visual cues. They may involve touch, or smell. They might involve social deduction or betrayal. They can encompass all sensory faculties, in differing degrees. Almost all games have accessibility considerations that should be taken into account, but there is currently no comprehensive tool by which this can be done that encompasses the rich variety of tabletop gaming interaction metaphors. In this paper, the authors discuss the heuristic lens that is used by the Meeple Centred Design tabletop accessibility project. This is a tool that has been applied to one hundred and sixteen games to date, and the full results of these have been published for analysis and consideration within the wider tabletop gaming community

Development and external validation of a model to predict complex treatment after RFA for Barrett's esophagus with early neoplasia

Background & Aims: Endoscopic eradication therapy for Barrett's esophagus (BE)-related neoplasia is safe and leads to complete eradication in the majority of patients. However, a subgroup will experience a more complex treatment course with a risk for failure or disease progression. Early identification of these patients may improve patient counseling and treatment outcomes. We aimed to develop a prognostic model for a complex treatment course. Methods: We collected data from a nationwide registry that captures outcomes for all patients undergoing endoscopic eradication therapy for early BE neoplasia. A complex treatment course was defined as neoplastic progression, treatment failure, or the need for endoscopic resection during the radiofrequency ablation treatment phase. We developed a prognostic model using logistic regression. We externally validated our model in an independent registry. Results: A total of 1386 patients were included, of whom 78 (6%) had a complex treatment course. Our model identified patients with a BE length of 9 cm or longer with a visible lesion containing high-grade dysplasia/cancer, and patients with less than 50% squamous conversion after radiofrequency ablation were identified as high risk for a complex treatment. This applied to 8% of the study population and included 93% of all treatment failures and 76% of all patients with advanced neoplastic progression. The model appeared robust in multiple sensitivity analyses and performed well in external validation (area under the curve, 0.84). Conclusions: We developed a prognostic model that identified patients with a BE length of 9 cm or longer and high-grade dysplasia/esophageal adenocarcinoma and those with poor squamous regeneration as high risk for a complex treatment course. The good performance in external validation suggests that it may be used in clinical management (Netherlands Trial Register: NL7039)