Dário Ferreira is Assistant Professor at the University of Beira Interior, Portugal. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics (2006) from the University of Beira Interior, and a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics (2001) from the University of Évora, Portugal. His research interests lie in statistical inference for linear mixed models, particularly the estimation of variance components via algebraic structures and stochastic methodologies.Dietrich von Rosen is Professor in Statistics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Adjunct Professor at Linköping University, Sweden. Dr. Von Rosen holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics (1986) from Stockholm University. He is Editor-in-Chief of the "Journal of Multivariate Analysis" and has authored or co-authored the books "Advanced Multivariate Statistics with Matrices" (2005) and "Bilinear Regression Analysis: An Introduction" (2018), both published by Springer.Nikolaos Limnios has been Professor (exceptional calss) at the University of Technology of Compiègne, France, since 1993. He holds a Ph.D. (1983) and a Doctorat d'Etat (1991) from the University of Technology of Compiègne. From October 2025 he is an Emeritus Professor at UTC. His research interests lie in stochastic processes (diffusion and Poisson approximation), statistical inference for stochastic processes, semi-Markov processes, and their applications in reliability, biostatistics, seismology, insurance, and finance. Dr. Limnios has participated in the editorial boards of several journals in the fields of probability and statistics and operation research. He has authored or co-authored several books, including "Semi-Markov Processes and Reliability" (Birkhäuser, 2001), "Semi-Markov Chains and Hidden Semi-Markov Models towards Applications" (Springer, 2008) and ‘’Discrete-time Semi-Markov Random Evolutions and Their Applications’’ (Springer, 2023).Sandra Ferreira is Assistant Professor at the University of Beira Interior, Portugal. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics (2006) from the University of Beira Interior and a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics (2001) from the University of Évora, Portugal. Her research interests lie in the fields of statistics and applied mathematics, particularly in statistical inference in linear models and the examination of statistical distributions.