BackgroundMany different simulation frameworks, in different topics, need to treat realistic datasets to initialize and calibrate the system. A precise reproduction of initial states is extremely important to obtain reliable forecast from the model.Methodology/Principal FindingsThis paper proposes an algorithm to create an artificial population where individuals are described by their age, and are gathered in households respecting a variety of statistical constraints (distribution of household types, sizes, age of household head, difference of age between partners and among parents and children). Such a population is often the initial state of microsimulation or (agent) individual-based models. To get a realistic distribution of households is often very important, because this distribution has an impact on the demographic evolution. Usual techniques from microsimulation approach cross different sources of aggregated data for generating individuals. In our case the number of combinations of different households (types, sizes, age of participants) makes it computationally difficult to use directly such methods. Hence we developed a specific algorithm to make the problem more easily tractable.Conclusions/SignificanceWe generate the populations of two pilot municipalities in Auvergne region (France) to illustrate the approach. The generated populations show a good agreement with the available statistical datasets (not used for the generation) and are obtained in a reasonable computational time.

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The objective of this work was to model the spread of citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) considering the presence of a population of alternative hosts (Murraya paniculata). We developed a compartmental deterministic mathematical model for representing the dynamics of HLB disease in a citrus orchard, including delays in the latency and incubation phases of the disease in the plants and a delay period on the nymphal stage of Diaphorina citri, the insect vector of HLB in Brazil. The results of numerical simulations indicate that alternative hosts should not play a crucial role on HLB dynamics considering a typical scenario for the Recôncavo Baiano region in Brazil. Also, the current policy of removing symptomatic plants every three months should not be expected to significantly hinder HLB spread.