<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Dear BaSTA,<div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The lifetables I produce with BaSTA invariable show no deaths in the first age interval, but this is because the ages are rounded to 1: </div><div><br></div><div>
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<colgroup><col width="65" span="6" style="width:65pt">
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<td height="15" width="65" style="height:15.0pt;width:65pt">StartAge</td>
<td width="65" style="width:65pt">EndAge</td>
<td width="65" style="width:65pt">nx</td>
<td width="65" style="width:65pt">lx</td>
<td width="65" style="width:65pt">dx</td>
<td width="65" style="width:65pt">mx</td>
</tr>
<tr height="15" style="height:15.0pt">
<td height="15" align="right" style="height:15.0pt">0</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">2826</td>
<td align="right">0</td>
<td align="right">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="15" style="height:15.0pt">
<td height="15" align="right" style="height:15.0pt">1</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">2826</td>
<td align="right">2415</td>
<td align="right">0.8545648</td>
</tr>
<tr height="15" style="height:15.0pt">
<td height="15" align="right" style="height:15.0pt">2</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">411</td>
<td align="right">295</td>
<td align="right">0.7177616</td>
</tr>
<tr height="15" style="height:15.0pt">
<td height="15" align="right" style="height:15.0pt">3</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">116</td>
<td align="right">91</td>
<td align="right">0.7844828</td>
</tr>
<tr height="15" style="height:15.0pt">
<td height="15" align="right" style="height:15.0pt">4</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">25</td>
<td align="right">22</td>
<td align="right">0.88</td>
</tr>
<tr height="15" style="height:15.0pt">
<td height="15" align="right" style="height:15.0pt">5</td>
<td align="right">6</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
</tr>
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</tbody></table><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>The documentation says that:</div><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">DeathAges<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A vector of ages at death. These can be precise (e.g. 5.4 yrs) or rounded to the integer year (e.g. 5 yrs).</div></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">I don't know if this would change the model fit, but I suspect that precise DeathAges would eliminate the unrealistic "zero" for mx (or qx) during the first time interval.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I can't find in the BaSTA manual the instruction to produce the DeathAges vector as precise real numbers. Any help would be appreciated.</span></div><div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span></div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>All the best!</div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><br></div><div style="font-size: 12px; "> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Cliff Cunningham</div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><br></div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> Professor</div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Biology Department</div><div style="font-size: 12px; "> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Duke University</div><div style="font-size: 12px; "> 130 Science Drive</div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Durham NC 27708<br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Phone 919-660-7356<br></div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><br></div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><a href="http://www.biology.duke.edu/cunningham">http://www.biology.duke.edu/cunningham</a></div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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