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    Hi Caroline,<br>
    <br>
    Thanks for reporting the error. We will check why the error is still
    occuring and get back to you as soon as we know.<br>
    <br>
    Best wishes,<br>
    Maren<br>
    (also part of the BaSTA-team)<br>
    <br>
    <br>
    <br>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">Am 28.08.2014 17:21, schrieb caroline
      chong:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote
      cite="mid:F81E7669-2583-409C-8DD1-40E057F8A935@gmail.com"
      type="cite">Hi Fernando,
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>I have just downloaded and tried the first model on my list
        that has a single categorical covariate, corresponding to three
        different groups (populations).</div>
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>Following "no errors were detected with the data" I get
        reported:</div>
      <div>Error in FUN(newX[, i], ...) : invalid 'type' (character) of
        argument.</div>
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>Following is the code, specifying a Gompertz model and fused
        covariate structure, and part of my input data matrix - but just
        let me know if the entire data set would be helpful in
        deciphering the problem and I will send that through. Many
        thanks for your suggestions with this.</div>
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>Meanwhile, we can report that the thinning appears to be
        working as our larger model is running smoothly at the moment -
        I'll keep you updated as/if it runs to completion!</div>
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>Thanks and</div>
      <div>best regards,</div>
      <div>Caroline</div>
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>
        <div>#with one categorical covariate (pop), in total 3 groups</div>
        <div>library(BaSTA)</div>
        <div>library(snowfall)</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>iM.spec <- read.csv("tristecat_inputMat3.csv")</div>
        <div>#colnames(iM.spec)[4:110]<- 1:107</div>
        <div>iM.spec.basta <- DataCheck(iM.spec, studyStart = 1,
          studyEnd = 107, autofix = rep(1, 7), silent = FALSE)</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>### basta</div>
        <div>tristeout <- basta(object = iM.spec.basta$newData,
          studyStart = 1, studyEnd = 107, nsim = 4, parallel = TRUE,
          ncpus = 4, updateJumps = TRUE, model = "GO", shape = "simple",
          covarsStruct = "fused", niter = 1000000, burnin= 5001,
          thinning = 100, lifeTable=TRUE)</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>input:</div>
        <div>
          <div>ID,birth,death,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,pop</div>
          <div>302,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>303,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>304,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>305,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>306,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>307,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>308,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>309,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>310,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>311,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>312,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>313,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>314,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>315,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>316,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>317,0,53,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>318,99,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>319,3,53,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
          <div>320,3,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,nariest</div>
        </div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>
          <div>On 21/08/2014, at 4:33 PM, Fernando Colchero wrote:</div>
          <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
          <blockquote type="cite">
            <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
              charset=ISO-8859-1">
            <div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space;
              -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">Hi Caroline,
              <div><br>
              </div>
              <div>    The latest version of BaSTA is not yet on CRAN
                but you can download it from <a moz-do-not-send="true"
                  href="http://basta.r-forge.r-project.org/#summary">http://basta.r-forge.r-project.org/#summary</a> and
                just follow the instructions to install it. This las
                version should have the fix for the error message you
                were getting when adding covariates. If this does not
                work, please let us know and we’ll go back to fixing it.</div>
              <div><br>
              </div>
              <div>    Could you fix the memory issue with the thinning?</div>
              <div><br>
              </div>
              <div>   Best,</div>
              <div><br>
              </div>
              <div>   Fernando<br>
                <div>
                  <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:
                    Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;
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                    letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal;
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                      <br>
                    </b></div>
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                    letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal;
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                    none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;
                    -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; widows:
                    2;"><b>Fernando Colchero</b></div>
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                    -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; widows:
                    2;">Assistant Professor</div>
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                    none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;
                    -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; widows:
                    2;">Department of Mathematics and Computer Science</div>
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                    2;">Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of
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                    none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;
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                    2;">Tlf.               +45 65 50 23 24</div>
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                      href="mailto:colchero@imada.sdu.dk">colchero@imada.sdu.dk</a></div>
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                    2;"><b>University of Southern Denmark</b></div>
                </div>
                <br>
                <div>
                  <div>On 16 Aug 2014, at 13:27, Caroline <<a
                      moz-do-not-send="true"
                      href="mailto:yfcaroline@gmail.com">yfcaroline@gmail.com</a>>
                    wrote:</div>
                  <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
                  <blockquote type="cite">
                    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;
                      charset=ISO-8859-1">
                    <div dir="auto">
                      <div>Hello, thanks Mirre-</div>
                      <div>you're correct about the excessive cpus  for
                        four sims- we realised that when analysing
                        different model settings.</div>
                      <div><br>
                      </div>
                      <div>We're currently assessing if the thinning
                        fixes the issues and will report back on the
                        outcomes as soon as we can.</div>
                      <div><br>
                      </div>
                      <div>Fernando, on the covariate names issue that
                        you mentioned is in fact a bug - can we look out
                        for the next version of basta with this fix
                        included, or secondarily can you suggest any
                        naming workarounds?</div>
                      <div><br>
                      </div>
                      <div>thanks muchly for your help,</div>
                      <div>caroline<br>
                        <br>
                        Sent from my i</div>
                      <div><br>
                        On 16/08/2014, at 1:03 PM, Mirre Simons <<a
                          moz-do-not-send="true"
                          href="mailto:mirresimons@gmail.com">mirresimons@gmail.com</a>>
                        wrote:<br>
                        <br>
                      </div>
                      <blockquote type="cite">
                        <div>An why 16 cpu for 4 sim? I dont think it
                          distributes a single sim across multiple cpu..<br>
                          <br>
                          Sent from my iPhone</div>
                        <div><br>
                          On 6 Aug 2014, at 14:08, caroline chong <<a
                            moz-do-not-send="true"
                            href="mailto:yfcaroline@gmail.com">yfcaroline@gmail.com</a>>
                          wrote:<br>
                          <br>
                        </div>
                        <blockquote type="cite">Dear Fernando,
                          <div><br>
                          </div>
                          <div>Thanks so much for your response. I'm
                            excited to hear that the covariate bug has
                            been able to be isolated. Looking forward to
                            the fix - could you suggest a timeline when
                            we can anticipate the next updated version
                            of BaSTA to be released?</div>
                          <div><br>
                          </div>
                          <div>On the memory issue, I am currently
                            running burnins of between 1000-8000 (as
                            below, speciesout <- basta(object =
                            iM.spec.basta$newData, studyStart =
                            1, studyEnd = 109, model = "GO", shape=
                            "simple", nsim = 4, parallel =
                            <div style="word-wrap: break-word;
                              -webkit-nbsp-mode: space;
                              -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">
                              <div>TRUE, ncpus = 16, updateJumps = TRUE,
                                niter = 2000000, burnin=
                                8001, lifeTable=TRUE) and encountering
                                the memory problems. Is this where you
                                meant the burnin to be specified?</div>
                              <div><br>
                              </div>
                              <div>Thanks again for your help,</div>
                              <div>Caroline.</div>
                              <div><br>
                              </div>
                              <div><br>
                              </div>
                              <div><br>
                              </div>
                            </div>
                            <div>
                              <div>On 05/08/2014, at 10:41 AM, Fernando
                                Colchero wrote:</div>
                              <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
                              <blockquote type="cite">
                                <div style="word-wrap: break-word;
                                  -webkit-nbsp-mode: space;
                                  -webkit-line-break:
                                  after-white-space;">Hi Caroline,
                                  <div><br>
                                  </div>
                                  <div>   Sorry for the late reply.
                                    Actually, about your first enquiry,
                                    we found a bug that produced that
                                    error. We need to update the version
                                    of BaSTA that fixes that bug. About
                                    the memory problem, based on the
                                    information you sent us I think the
                                    issue is that you have a very large
                                    dataset and that you are running the
                                    model for many iterations. I quick
                                    fix will be to specify the argument
                                    burnin = 200 or even larger, the
                                    default value is 20. The advantage
                                    is that you will keep much fewer
                                    iterations, reducing the amount of
                                    memory you use, while you’ll also
                                    reduce serial autocorrelation. Let
                                    us know if this solves the issue.</div>
                                  <div><br>
                                  </div>
                                  <div>   Best,</div>
                                  <div><br>
                                  </div>
                                  <div>   Fernando</div>
                                  <div>
                                    <div>
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                                        orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><b>Fernando
                                          Colchero</b></div>
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                                        orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Assistant
                                        Professor</div>
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                                        orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Department
                                        of Mathematics and Computer
                                        Science</div>
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                                        orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Max-Planck
                                        Odense Center on the
                                        Biodemography of Aging</div>
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                                                  +45 65 50 23 24</div>
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                                        orphans: 2; widows: 2;">Email  
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                                          href="mailto:colchero@imada.sdu.dk">colchero@imada.sdu.dk</a></div>
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                                                 Campusvej 55, 5230,
                                        Odense, Dk</div>
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                                        orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><b>University
                                          of Southern Denmark</b></div>
                                    </div>
                                    <br>
                                    <div>
                                      <div>On 03 Aug 2014, at 01:46,
                                        Caroline Chong <<a
                                          moz-do-not-send="true"
                                          href="mailto:caroline.chong@anu.edu.au">caroline.chong@anu.edu.au</a>>
                                        wrote:</div>
                                      <br
                                        class="Apple-interchange-newline">
                                      <blockquote type="cite"><br>
                                        <blockquote type="cite">
                                          <blockquote type="cite"><br>
                                            Thanks Owen, Fernando<br>
                                            <br>
                                            We are encountering problems
                                            with memory usage when
                                            running basta<br>
                                            analyses (using the latest
                                            version), and would be most
                                            grateful for<br>
                                            your suggestions on how to
                                            resolve the following
                                            situation. We're<br>
                                            running basta on a 64-bit
                                            linux and are able to
                                            commence basta runs<br>
                                            successfully (both in serial
                                            and parallel), but rapidly
                                            occupy 128 GB<br>
                                            RAM and all available swap
                                            (90 GB). The number of
                                            iterations is<br>
                                            currently set to 2 million
                                            but we have also attempted 1
                                            million. We<br>
                                            are keen to run the final
                                            analyses, and will look
                                            forward to your<br>
                                            feedback (and from the basta
                                            community) with great
                                            anticipation.<br>
                                            <br>
                                            - All iterations are
                                            currently stored in the PAR
                                            matrix. Is it<br>
                                            possible to store only the
                                            thinned chain in memory and
                                            write the full<br>
                                            chain to disc every (for
                                            example) 100000 iterations?<br>
                                            <br>
                                            - If so, would this be a
                                            reasonably straightforward
                                            alteration to<br>
                                            implement in the current
                                            basta version, and what
                                            would this look like?<br>
                                            <br>
                                            - Alternatively, could you
                                            please advise of any other
                                            methods to<br>
                                            reduce memory useage?<br>
                                            <br>
                                            Example of basta commands
                                            are below. I am aiming to
                                            compare model<br>
                                            types (exponential,
                                            gompertz, logistic) run for
                                            each of 30 or more<br>
                                            species:<br>
                                            <br>
                                            for (s in
                                            1:length(species.list))<br>
                                            {<br>
                                            <br>
                                            ### iterate through species
                                            list, read input matrix file<br>
                                            species     <-
                                            species.list[s] <br>
                                            iM.spec <-
                                            read.delim(paste("inputmatg.",
                                            species, ".txt", sep=""),<br>
                                            header=T, sep=",")
                                            colnames(iM.spec)[4:112]<-
                                            1:109<br>
                                            <br>
                                            iM.spec[,4:112] <-
                                            sapply(iM.spec[,4:112],
                                            as.character)<br>
                                            iM.spec[,4:112] <-
                                            sapply(iM.spec[,4:112],
                                            as.numeric)<br>
                                            <br>
                                            ### perform data check on
                                            imput matrix<br>
                                            iM.spec.basta <-
                                            DataCheck(iM.spec,
                                            studyStart = 1, studyEnd =
                                            109,<br>
                                            autofix = rep(1, 7), silent
                                            = FALSE)<br>
                                            <br>
                                            ### basta<br>
                                            speciesout <-
                                            basta(object =
                                            iM.spec.basta$newData,
                                            studyStart = 1,<br>
                                            studyEnd = 109, model =
                                            "GO", shape= "simple", nsim
                                            = 4, parallel =<br>
                                            TRUE, ncpus = 16,
                                            updateJumps = TRUE, niter =
                                            2000000, burnin= 8001,<br>
                                            lifeTable=TRUE)<br>
                                            }<br>
                                            Example input matrix showing
                                            data for the first three
                                            individuals of<br>
                                            species1 only, for brevity:<br>
                                            <br>
"ID","birth","death","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","21","22","23","24","25","26","27","28","29","30","31","32","33","34","35","36","37","38","39","40","41","42","43","44","45","46","47","48","49","50","51","52","53","54","55","56","57","58","59","60","61","62","63","64","65","66","67","68","69","70","71","72","73","74","75","76","77","78","79","80","81","82","83","84","85","86","87","88","89","90","91","92","93","94","95","96","97","98","99","100","101","102","103","104","105","106","107","108","109"<br>
"1",1,0,68,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0<br>
"2",2,0,68,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0<br>
"3",3,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0<br>
                                            <br>
                                            <br>
                                            My second query is as per
                                            last week regarding the
                                            "Error in FUN(newX[,<br>
                                            i], ...) : invalid 'type'
                                            (character) of argument"
                                            error encountered<br>
                                            when attempting to include a
                                            single or multiple
                                            covariates<br>
                                            (particularly of type
                                            categorical), but re-posted
                                            here to the mailing<br>
                                            list in case the community
                                            can also help out. Do you
                                            have any<br>
                                            suggestions on how to code
                                            or name categorical
                                            covariates to<br>
                                            circumvent this error?<br>
                                            <br>
                                            Many thanks for your help,<br>
                                            best regards<br>
                                            Caroline.<br>
                                            <br>
                                            <br>
                                            <br>
                                            On 21 Jul 2014, at 23:52,
                                            caroline <<a
                                              moz-do-not-send="true"
                                              href="mailto:caroline.chong@anu.edu.au">caroline.chong@anu.edu.au</a>>
                                            wrote:<br>
                                            <br>
                                            Dear Owen/Fernando,<br>
                                            <br>
                                            I was wondering whether you
                                            had any updated advice on
                                            how to code a<br>
                                            single or multiple
                                            categorical covariates to
                                            avoid the "FUN(newX[,i])"<br>
                                            error (similarly reported by
                                            Richard on 30 May 2014). I
                                            have checked<br>
                                            that the covariate names do
                                            not start with the same
                                            characters and<br>
                                            have also tried simplified
                                            names (a, b, c) to no avail
                                            so far. I would<br>
                                            be most happy to provide you
                                            with some of my data set if
                                            that would be<br>
                                            helpful for more context and
                                            to find the solution. I also
                                            intend to<br>
                                            use basta with both
                                            categorical and numeric
                                            covariates so would<br>
                                            appreciate any suggestions
                                            you may have on covariate
                                            naming.<br>
                                            <br>
                                            Also, I would be grateful
                                            for your advice on
                                            deciphering the following<br>
                                            (run on a cluster with 32
                                            cpus available):<br>
                                            <br>
                                            iM.spec.basta <-
                                            DataCheck(iM.spec,
                                            studyStart = 1, studyEnd =
                                            109,<br>
                                            autofix = rep(1, 7), silent
                                            = FALSE)<br>
                                            <br>
                                            exspeciesout <-
                                            basta(object =
                                            iM.spec.basta$newData,
                                            studyStart = 1,<br>
                                            studyEnd = 109, model =
                                            "EX", shape= "simple", nsim
                                            = 4, parallel =<br>
                                            TRUE, ncpus = 16,
                                            updateJumps = TRUE, niter =
                                            2000000, burnin= 8001,<br>
                                            lifeTable=TRUE)<br>
                                            <br>
                                            Total MCMC computing time:
                                            10.48 hours.<br>
                                            <br>
                                            Survival parameters
                                            converged appropriately.<br>
                                            DIC was calculated.<br>
                                            Error: cannot allocate
                                            vector of size 109.5 Gb<br>
                                            Execution halted<br>
                                            Warning message:<br>
                                            system call failed: Cannot
                                            allocate memory<br>
                                            <br>
                                            Warmest thanks for your
                                            assistance,<br>
                                            with best regards,<br>
                                            Caroline.<br>
                                            <br>
                                            <br>
                                            <br>
                                            On 01/11/2013, at 8:54 AM,
                                            Owen Jones wrote:<br>
                                            <br>
                                            <blockquote type="cite">Dear
                                              Caroline,<br>
                                              <br>
                                              This is a possible bug in
                                              one of the sub-functions
                                              in basta that<br>
                                              deals with the covariates.
                                              <br>
                                              <br>
                                              We're investigating and
                                              will get back to you
                                              shortly.<br>
                                              <br>
                                              Best wishes,<br>
                                              Owen<br>
                                              <br>
                                              <br>
                                              <br>
                                              <br>
                                              On 1 Nov 2013, at 14:01,
                                              caroline <<a
                                                moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                href="mailto:caroline.chong@anu.edu.au">caroline.chong@anu.edu.au</a>>
                                              wrote:<br>
                                              <br>
                                              <blockquote type="cite">Dear
                                                All,<br>
                                                <br>
                                                I am running a simple
                                                Gompertz model with one
                                                categorical<br>
                                                covariate, species
                                                (coded as species SPEC =
                                                 a, b, c.... ah for<br>
                                                simplicity). After
                                                running DataCheck with
                                                autofix set to on, I<br>
                                                encounter the following
                                                error "in
                                                FUN(newX[,i]...)" -
                                                would you<br>
                                                have any experience with
                                                a similar situation, and
                                                could provide any<br>
                                                help or suggestions on
                                                how to interpret and
                                                trouble-shoot the<br>
                                                problem? I am unsure as
                                                to how to decipher where
                                                the error lies.<br>
                                                N.b. this data set seems
                                                to run ok when I do not
                                                include the<br>
                                                covariate matrix.<br>
                                                <br>
                                                Very grateful for your
                                                help,<br>
                                                best regards<br>
                                                Caroline.<br>
                                                <br>
                                                Caroline Chong<br>
                                                Postdoctoral Fellow<br>
                                                Research School of
                                                Biology<br>
                                                Australian National
                                                University, Canberra ACT<br>
                                                <br>
                                                speciesout <-
                                                basta(object =
                                                inputMat2$newData,
                                                studyStart = 1,<br>
                                                studyEnd = 109,
                                                covarsStruct =
                                                "all.in.mort", nsim = 4,
                                                parallel =<br>
                                                TRUE, ncpus = 4,
                                                updateJumps = TRUE,
                                                niter = 100000) No
                                                problems<br>
                                                were detected with the
                                                data.<br>
                                                <br>
                                                Error in FUN(newX[, i],
                                                ...) : invalid 'type'
                                                (character) of<br>
                                                argument<br>
                                              </blockquote>
                                            </blockquote>
                                            <br>
                                            <br>
                                            <br>
                                          </blockquote>
                                        </blockquote>
                                      </blockquote>
                                    </div>
                                    <br>
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                              </blockquote>
                            </div>
                            <br>
                          </div>
                        </blockquote>
                        <blockquote type="cite"><span>_______________________________________________</span><br>
                          <span>Basta-users mailing list</span><br>
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                              href="mailto:Basta-users@lists.r-forge.r-project.org">Basta-users@lists.r-forge.r-project.org</a></span><br>
                          <span><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://lists.r-forge.r-project.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/basta-users">https://lists.r-forge.r-project.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/basta-users</a></span><br>
                        </blockquote>
                      </blockquote>
                    </div>
                  </blockquote>
                </div>
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      <pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
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