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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 October 2016
The stellar phase of Thermally-Pulsating Asymptotic giant branch is the last major evolutionary stage of intermediate-mass stars which afterwards evolve into planetary nebulae. The TP-AGB phase is affected by mass-loss and instabilities which notoriously make its theoretical modelling uncertain. This review focuses on the effects such modelling has on stellar population models for galaxies, with particular focus on the high-z Universe where galaxies are young and contain a large number of short-living TP-AGB stars. I shall present the models, discuss how different prescriptions for the treatment of the TP-AGB affect the theoretical integrated spectral energy distribution and how these compare to galaxy data, and discuss implications for the PN nebulae luminosity function stemming from the various assumptions. Finally I shall discuss the inclusion of hot evolved stars on stellar population models and how they compare to data for old galaxies at our present time.