Multiplex PI-Control for Consensus in Networks of Heterogeneous Linear Agents

In this paper, we propose a multiplex proportional-integral approach, for solving consensus problems in networks of heterogeneous nodes dynamics affected by constant disturbances. The proportional and integral actions are deployed on two different layers across the network, each with its own topology. Sufficient conditions for convergence are derived that depend upon the structure of the network, the parameters characterizing the control layers and the node dynamics. The effectiveness of the theoretical results is illustrated using a power network model as a representative example.Comment: 13 pages, 6 Figures, Preprint submitted to Automatic

Homicidio y precios de la tierra: un análisis espacial en Santiago de Cali

Since 2000, Cali has had the highest mean annual homicide rate among the major Colombian cities. The model of Mills (1972) is extended to include the homicide per commune (from 2005 to 2012) as a measure of social distance, and to quantify the effect of this phenomenon on land prices (mean appraisals). Using an annual panel, the estimates of the model --- the family violence rate being the instrumental variable --- show that an increase in the homicide rate of one unit reduces the appraisals by 1.6%. One plausible interpretation is that homicides operate as a regressive tax on property wealth in Cali because it is more concentrated in the communes of the lower socio-economic stratum, systematically expanding the intra-urban social distanceDesde el año 2000 Cali tuvo la tasa promedio anual de homicidio más alta entre las principales ciudades colombianas. Nosotros ampliamos el modelo de Mills (1972), incluyendo el homicidio por comunas (durante 2005-2012) como medida de distancia social, para cuantificar el efecto de este fenómeno sobre los precios de la tierra (avalúos medios). Empleando datos panel, las estimaciones del modelo ---- usando la violencia familiar como variable instrumental ---- evidencian que un crecimiento unitario de la tasa de homicidio reduce los avalúos hasta en espacial un 1,6%. Una interpretación plausible es que el homicidio opera como un impuesto regresivo sobre la riqueza inmueble, pues en Cali se concentra más en las comunas de menor estrato socio económico, ampliando sistemáticamente la distancia social intraurbana

Is There a Greater Statistically Significant Difference in the Clearance or Partial Clearance of Anogenital/Genital Warts When It Comes to Combination Therapies That Include Cryotherapy Versus Cryotherapy Alone?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in using combination therapies that include cryotherapy vs. cryotherapy alone in the clearance of genital/anogenital warts. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of three peer reviewed primary studies that were published between 2009-2014. DATA SOURCES: Review of a double-blind placebo-controlled study, a single-blinded randomized controlled study, and a randomized clinical comparative study from 2011. All sources were selected from PubMed based on the applicability to the clinical question and how accurately they answered the question regarding the patient population OUTCOMES: The outcomes of investigation were POEMs (Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters) that measured the overall level of clearance and partial clearance of warts. RESULTS: On et al., showed that after 17 weeks of therapy, the combination therapy of sinecatechins 15% ointment plus cryotherapy achieved 71% partial clearance vs. 52% on cryotherapy alone with a p-value of 0.2037. Gilson et al., at week 4, saw a 60% clearance with the combination of podophyllotoxin cream plus cryotherapy vs. 45% clearance of cryotherapy alone; although, these results weren’t considered statistically significant and by week 24 the clearance rate of either therapy was the same. Mi et al., showed a 32% clearance of anogenital warts with both the ALA-PDT plus cryotherapy and cryotherapy alone. It also showed a 94% clearance of genital warts with the combination therapy and a 50% clearance with the cryotherapy alone. CONCLUSIONS: In two of the three studies, it showed that there is a statistically significant improvement when using the combination therapies, specifically the combination of sinecatechins 15% ointment plus cryotherapy and the combination of ALA-PDT plus cryotherapy

Modeling the Adoption of Identification Standards Within the Healthcare Supply Chain

The adoption of identification standards and its associated technology in the healthcare supply chain has been slow over the past twenty five years, despite the evidence of the benefits that can be achieved. The widespread use of identification standards in the form of barcode labeled medical products can contribute to the reduction of point of care errors and can increase the efficiency of healthcare supply chain related processes. This research is focused on the analysis of the adoption of identification standards in the healthcare supply chain with a particular focus on the healthcare provider adoption challenges. The research is divided into two phases. The first phase develops an extensive literature review on technology adoption with a particular focus on data standards. This adoption process is compared with the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI); main conclusions from the identification standards literature are presented, and a conceptual model to explain the identification-standards adoption process is proposed. The second phase proposes a model for identification standards adoption using a system dynamics modeling approach. The model builds on previous findings associated to the factors affecting identification standards adoption and relates the specific elements to the adoption rate via a causal loop diagram (CLD). The model is formulated in two stages. In the first stage, the Bass Diffusion Model (BDM) of technology adoption is adapted to simulate the adoption of identification standards supporting technologies. The second stage uses most of the factors defined in the CLD to develop a simulation model. A sensitivity analysis identifies relevant model parameters that facilitated the design of interventions to move the adoption process forward. Finally, the effects of some possible interventions are simulated using the validated model. The model provides an illustration of the use of system dynamics models and diffusion theory to understand an important policy problem reported in the literature and not yet solved. Also this research informs real world practitioners and the academic community on issues like the lack of data and other challenging aspects of empirical research that can be addressed with the proposed model and methodology

The Persistence of Patriarchy in Latin America: An Analysis of Negative and Positive Trends

The last 25 years have seen the rise of women as political leaders in Latin America. There are now three female presidents, including Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina), and Dilma Rousseff (Brazil). This sociopolitical progress owes its success to the consolidation of democratic institutions, a strong feminist movements such as Argentina’s “Movimiento Nacional de Mujeres” and a strong regional push towards egalitarian legislation. According to ECLAC there are a number of important feminist movements in the region that catalyze egalitarian legislative changes. #NIUNAMENOS is one of such campaigns promoting zero tolerance against gender violence and aims is to decrease femicides. The presence of women movements is essential to Latin America’s democracy. Nevertheless, the reality of the majority of women in the region is still precarious, and the gendered experience of inequality among women in Latin America is incongruent with the democratic governance structures they live with. Violence against women rose 50% in the last decade and the region is responsible for 50% of the femicides worldwide. Seven of the countries in the region have criminalized femicides and violence against women, yet women experiencing gender violence are usually discouraged to seek help. The common denominator between the two experiences just described is the prevalence of patriarchy, a “system of social structures” and “practices” in which men create an oppressive gender gap that is expressed in violent forms. In Latin America violent practices keep women in an inferior position in society and disempower them. Gruber and Szoltysek (2012) proposed important markers to measure the intensity of patriarchy in a society. These markers include levels of literacy, age of marriage, and death rates of women. To measure and analyze this data is crucial to understand the clear contrasts in the experience of different women in the region. The purpose of my thesis is to navigate the social relations amongst genders in Latin America to illustrate the experience of women in the labor force, the household, and society with regards to violence and civil and political rights. The chapters identify different patriarchal mechanisms that subject women in the region. They also evaluate the impact that patriarchy has as neutralizer that prevents an egalitarian experience for all women in Latin America. The experience of women in the labor market and in the household can be predicted by some of the markers of patriarchy proposed by Gruber and Szoltysek (2012). Illiteracy rates of women compared to men is 46.6%, and this significance gap creates a predisposition for more men than women to be suitable for the labor market. A study by UNICEF revealed that 29% of underage women get married in Latin America compared to 11% in Europe. The high illiteracy rates coupled with underage marriage increase the intensity of patriarchy in a society, and in the case of Latin America the indicators are significant enough illustrate how women are at a disadvantage compared to men early in their lives. This reality reinforces gendered violence because gender gaps justify the inferiority of females when compared to males. This is especially palpable in capitalist societies where the unpaid labor of women in the household (Silvia Federici) remains both invisible and ignored, an invisibility that devalues the worth of women. Furthermore, Latin America’s class structures place a significant parts of women at a disadvantage. In fact 53% of the poor in Latin America believe that their next generation will not enjoy from a prosperous social mobility (CEPAL Social Panorama 2014, 113). The social preconditions just outlined clearly condemn women to face discrimination and disadvantages in the workplace, the household, and individually. My thesis will expand on the assessment of markers of patriarchy in dominant social relations in Latin America. Identifying and assessing such markers allows to map patriarchy quantifiably and qualitatively to understand its influence on the sociopolitical experience of different groups of women. The topic is especially relevant because it brings forth a dichotomous reality of societies that have successfully democratized but that are still colonized by patriarchy, in such a way that there is a space for some women to become leaders while most remain oppressed. The drastic contrast of both experiences are unique to the region of Latin America, making this study an important observation of both social progress and the effects of patriarchy on that progress. The research is also relevant in a global perspective because progress made by women in Latin America can help women struggling for rights in other regions. Latin America is clearly exemplifies the positive outcomes of social progress, but it is also a portrayal of the negative effects of high levels of patriarchy. Taking all into consideration, the sociopolitical reality of women in Latin America will be analyzed through the lens of patriarchy as defined above. The study is structured as follows. Chapter 1 provides an overview of women’s reality in Latin America using data and statistics to contextualize current trends. In Chapter 2 I use an upto- date data set to perform a means difference and regression analysis to provide a novel and original investigation of women’s reality in Latin America. A means difference analysis reveals the averages between two main groups and indicates if the difference is statistically significant. Due to the fact that chapter 2 reveals a positive growth in women’s political rights in Latin America, chapter 3 will explore the reasons for this growth. Finally, chapter 4 will synthesize and conclude the study above, providing closing remarks

Dress and Womanhood of Ancient Rome

Fashion transcends its own role of imagery, as it becomes the medium through which individuals express their place in society. Fashion history would not consider the ancient world as part of the history of the discipline. Nevertheless, the function of dress in ancient cultures like that of Rome has definitely helped shape social hierarchies that are still present today. Clothing structured Roman society deeply, just as class, race, and sexuality did. Scholar Kelly Olson (2002) defines the function of clothing as part of a sign system. This study argues that dress in ancient Rome goes beyond this idea, in that it is not only a tool that provides certain signs, but it also communicates deep messages of social inequalities. This thesis focuses on exploring the experience that women had in classical antiquity with respect to the different perception other social groups had about their dress. To do this, the thesis carefully dissects ancient pieces of clothing by texture, fabric, color, and overall design to analyze the impact each element and component had on ancient Roman culture

Enhancing insect predators using semiochemicals and artificial selection

Artificial selection of a predatory species and the use of semiochemicals have been studied to enhance the performance of natural enemies. In the first study, three trials of artificial selection were conducted to enhance the survival of a Coleomegilla maculata from Iowa on Leptinotarsa decemlineata eggs. No oviposition was observed by these females when fed L. decemlineata eggs for sixty days. In the third trial, C. maculata first instars were fed on punctured L. decemlineata eggs and A. pisum. Adults were mated and oviposition by C. maculata was obtained only on L. decemlineata eggs and Acyrthosiphon pisum. Fifty-two percent of C. maculata survived to adult stage in the first generation, and 46% survived to the adult stage in the second generation. The time of larval transfer (\u3e 24 hr after eclosion) may be an important factor to enhance survival of C. maculata larvae on L. decemlineata. First instar C. maculata that feed on the chorion of unhatched and hatched eggs may increase body size and successfully feed on L. decemlineata eggs. The second study in this thesis evaluated whether the attractant 2-phenylethanol, available commercially as the product Benallure[trademark symbol], can enhance the predation rate of predatory insects on L. decemlineata eggs and Ostrinia nubilalis egg masses in either corn or potato plants, respectively. In summer 2001, Benallure[trademark symbol] (2-phenylethanol) was tested as an attractant to enhance predation of L. decemlineata eggs by predatory insects on potato plants. The type of damage was characterized as damage due to either piercing-sucking or chewing predators. There was a tendency for higher L. decemlineata egg masses damage in lure treated plots compared to untreated plots. In summer 2002, a second experiment was conduced to determine if 2-phenylethanol could enhance the predation of O. nubilalis egg masses by predatory insects. 2-phenylethanol was placed in the middle of experimental plots and O. nubilalis egg mortality was monitored. The total O. nubilalis egg masses predation was 34% in lure treated plot compared to 28% in control plot. The attraction of the natural enemy, C. maculata and Chrysopidae species, with 2-phenylethanol enhanced the level of egg mass predation of L. decemlineata and O. nubilalis. More research is needed to better understand the interaction of 2-phenylethanol with biotic factors as pollen or alternative food sources for the prey