A New Simulation Metric to Determine Safe Environments and Controllers for Systems with Unknown Dynamics

We consider the problem of extracting safe environments and controllers for reach-avoid objectives for systems with known state and control spaces, but unknown dynamics. In a given environment, a common approach is to synthesize a controller from an abstraction or a model of the system (potentially learned from data). However, in many situations, the relationship between the dynamics of the model and the \textit{actual system} is not known; and hence it is difficult to provide safety guarantees for the system. In such cases, the Standard Simulation Metric (SSM), defined as the worst-case norm distance between the model and the system output trajectories, can be used to modify a reach-avoid specification for the system into a more stringent specification for the abstraction. Nevertheless, the obtained distance, and hence the modified specification, can be quite conservative. This limits the set of environments for which a safe controller can be obtained. We propose SPEC, a specification-centric simulation metric, which overcomes these limitations by computing the distance using only the trajectories that violate the specification for the system. We show that modifying a reach-avoid specification with SPEC allows us to synthesize a safe controller for a larger set of environments compared to SSM. We also propose a probabilistic method to compute SPEC for a general class of systems. Case studies using simulators for quadrotors and autonomous cars illustrate the advantages of the proposed metric for determining safe environment sets and controllers.Comment: 22nd ACM International Conference on Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control (2019

Social Enterprise in Spain: A Diversity of Roots and a Proposal of Models

The term “social enterprise” was first used, at the end of the 1980s, by organisations that promoted the social and labour integration of persons at risk of social and labour exclusion and other similar social activities. The social economy sector has since slowly introduced this term to describe its entities in order to gain recognition by society, and it is working to promote a generally accepted definition of social enterprise’s behaviour based on the principles and values of the social economy (participation, general interest...). According to Article 5 of Spanish Law 5/2011 on the Social Economy, work integration social enterprises and so-called “special employment centres” are part of the social economy, and so are all firms and entities carrying out activities following the values and principles of the social economy sector. In this context, organisations of the social economy sector also are beginning to use the “social enterprise” concept. In Spain, a debate still exists regarding its exact definition. A mix of perspectives on this concept, with different nuances, can be observed. Besides, the current context of reduced governmental budgets and social services in Spain causes social organisations to adopt new approaches to this term of social enterprise, as this type of organisation is more likely to receive funds from the European Union. This paper’s objective is to analyse all perspectives on the concept of social enterprise as well as the various social enterprise models existing in Spain. The document structure is organized as follow. In the first section, we present the context and the main concepts related to social enterprises in this country. In the second section, we provide an analysis of changes in the evolution of social enterprise criteria to identify established models and emerging patterns. In the third section, we put forward another typology, based on institutionalisation stages. Finally, we conclude by recommending an approach to future work and provide a basic bibliography on the subject

Spanish medical students’ attitudes and views towards Mental Health and Psychiatry: a multicentric cross-sectional study.

Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes towards mental illness and psychiatry among fifth year Spanish medical students. Methods The study included 171 students from three medical schools located in different areas of Spain: Cádiz; UCA (n= 113), Madrid; San Pablo-CEU (n=22), and Barcelona; UAB (n=36). They responded, prior to their undergraduate medical course in psychiatry, to the AMI questionnaire to measure the attitudes towards mental illness and to Balon’s adapted questionnaire to investigate their view towards psychiatry. Results The students (93.4 %) had a positive attitude towards mental illness (AMI). Attitudes towards psychiatry were fairly positive with a few negative views, specifically regarding the role of psychiatrists (items 11 and 13) and the prestige of the specialty (item 16). There were some statistically significant differences between the three medical schools in the perception of psychiatry as a medical discipline. A better attitude towards mental illness was associated with a better view of the overall merits of psychiatry. Conclusions Findings suggest that Spanish medical students do not have a negative attitude towards mental illness and they have a good perception of psychiatry, although there are still some misconceptions about this specialty. These student’s attitudes could favor an appropriate management of patients suffering from mental illness

Role of educational level in the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQL) among rural Spanish women

BACKGROUND: The impact of obesity on health-related quality of life (HRQL) has been little explored in rural areas. The goal of this study is to ascertain the association between obesity and HRQL among Spanish women living in a rural area, and the influence of their educational level. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with personal interview of 1298 women (aged 18 to 60) randomly selected from the electoral rolls of 14 towns in Galicia, a region in the north-west of Spain. HRQL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. The association between body mass index (BMI) and suboptimal scores in the different HRQL dimensions was summarised using odds ratios (ORs), obtained from multivariate logistic regression models. Separate analyses were conducted for women who had finished their education younger than 16 years old and women with secondary education to assess differences in the relationship between BMI and HRQL according to educational level. RESULTS: Among women with primary or lower education, obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of suboptimal values in the following dimensions: Physical functioning (OR: 1.97; 95%CI: 1.22-3.18); Role-physical (OR: 1.81; 95%CI: 1.04-3.14); General health (OR: 1.76; 95%CI: 1.10-2.81); and Role-emotional (OR: 2.52; 95%CI: 1.27-5.03). In women with higher education, physical functioning was the only dimension associated with obesity (OR: 2.02: 95%CI 0.83-4.97). CONCLUSION: The impact of obesity on women's HRQL is greater among those with a lower educational level. This group registered higher prevalence of obesity and poorer self-perceived health.This study was funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant 001/05).S

Physical activity levels, ownership of goods promoting sedentary behaviour and risk of myocardial infarction: results of the INTERHEART study

Aims: To evaluate the association between occupational and leisure-time physical activity (PA), ownership of goods promoting sedentary behaviour, and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in different socio-economic populations of the world. Studies in developed countries have found low PA as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, however, the protective effect of occupational PA is less certain. Moreover, ownership of goods promoting sedentary behaviour may be associated with an increased risk. Methods: In INTERHEART, a casecontrol study of 10 043 cases of first MI and 14 217 controls who did not report previous angina or physical disability completed a questionnaire on work and leisure-time PA. Results: Subjects whose occupation involved either light [multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.78, confidence interval (CI) 0.710.86] or moderate (OR 0.89, CI 0.800.99) PA were at a lower risk of MI, whereas those who did heavy physical labour were not (OR 1.02, CI 0.881.19), compared with sedentary subjects. Mild exercise (OR 0.87, CI 0.810.93) as well as moderate or strenuous exercise (OR 0.76, CI 0.690.82) was protective. The effect of PA was observed across countries with low, middle, and high income. Subjects who owned both a car and a television (TV) (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.27, CI 1.051.54) were at higher risk of MI compared with those who owned neither. Conclusion: Leisure-time PA and mild-to-moderate occupational PA, but not heavy physical labour, were associated with a reduced risk, while ownership of a car and TV was associated with an increased risk of MI across all economic regions

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome-related disorders in a large adult population in Turkey

BACKGROUND: There are few existing large population studies on the epidemiology of metabolic syndrome-related disorders of Turkey. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome-related disorders in the Turkish adult population, to address sex, age, educational and geographical differences, and to examine blood pressure, body mass index, fasting blood glucose and serum lipids in Turkey. METHODS: This study was executed under the population study "The Healthy Nutrition for Healthy Heart Study" conducted between December 2000 and December 2002 by the Health Ministry of Turkey. Overall, 15,468 Caucasian inhabitants aged over 30 were recruited in 14 centers in the seven main different regions of Turkey. The data were analyzed with the Students' t, ANOVA or Chi-Square tests. RESULTS: Overall, more than one-third (35.08 %) of the participants was obese. The hypertensive people ratio in the population was 13.66 %, while these ratios for DM and metabolic syndrome were 4.16 % and 17.91 %, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension, metabolic syndrome and obesity were higher in females than males, whereas diabetes mellitus was higher in males than females. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and related disorders were found to be significantly different across educational attainments for both men and women. The prevalence of hypertension increased with age, while it was remarkable that in the age group of 60–69 years, prevalence of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome reached a peak value and than decreased. For obesity, the peak prevalence occurred in the 50–59 year old group. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and related disorders were found to be significantly different according to geographical region. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome, particularly among women, is one of the major public health problems in Turkey. Interestingly, obesity prevalence is relatively high, but the prevalence of hypertension and hypercholesterolemia is relatively low in Turkish people. Future studies may focus on elucidating the reasons behind this controversy. Our findings may be helpful in formulating public health policy and prevention strategies on future health in Turkey

Regional differences in multidimensional aspects of health: findings from the MRC cognitive function and ageing study

BACKGROUND: Differences in mortality and health experience across regions are well recognised and UK government policy aims to address this inequality. Methods combining life expectancy and health have concentrated on specific areas, such as self-perceived health and dementia. Few have looked within country or across different areas of health. Self-perceived health, self-perceived functional impairment and cognitive impairment are linked closely to survival, as well as quality of life. This paper aims to describe regional differences in healthy life expectancy using a variety of states of health and wellbeing within the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS). METHODS: MRC CFAS is a population based study of health in 13,009 individuals aged 65 years and above in five centres using identical study methodology. The interviews included self-perceived health and measures of functional and cognitive impairment. Sullivan's method was used to combine prevalence rates for cognitive and functional impairment and life expectancy to produce expectation of life in various health states. RESULTS: The prevalence of both cognitive and functional impairment increases with age and was higher in women than men, with marked centre variation in functional impairment (Newcastle and Gwynedd highest impairment). Newcastle had the shortest life expectancy of all the sites, Cambridgeshire and Oxford the longest. Centre differences in self-perceived health tended to mimic differences in life expectancy but this did not hold for cognitive or functional impairment. CONCLUSION: Self-perceived health does not show marked variation with age or sex, but does across centre even after adjustment for impairment burden. There is considerable centre variation in self-reported functional impairment but not cognitive impairment. Only variation in self-perceived health relates to the ranking of life expectancy. These data confirm that quite considerable differences in life experience exist across regions of the UK beyond basic life expectancy

The Diet of Diabetic Patients in Spain in 2008–2010: Accordance with the Main Dietary Recommendations—A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: No previous study has assessed the diet of the diabetic patients in the general population of an entire country in Europe. This study evaluates accordance of the diet of diabetic adults in Spain with nutritional recommendations of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), American Diabetes Association (ADA), and the Mediterranean diet (MD). Methods and Findings: Cross-sectional study conducted in 2008-2010 among 12,948 persons representative of the population aged ≥18 years in Spain. Usual food consumption was assessed with a dietary history. EASD accordance was defined as ≥6 points on a score of 12 nutritional goals, ADA accordance as ≥3 points on a score of 6 goals, and MD accordance as ≥7 points on the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener. In the 609 diagnosed diabetic individuals, the diet was rich in saturated fat (11.2% of total energy), but trans fat intake was relatively low (1.1% energy) and monounsaturated fat intake was high (16.1% energy). Carbohydrate intake was relatively low (41.1% energy), but sugar intake was high (16.9% energy). Intake of cholesterol (322 mg/day) and sodium (3.1 g/day) was also high, while fiber intake was insufficient (23.8 g/day). EASD accordance was observed in 48.7% diabetic patients, ADA accordance in 46.3%, and MD accordance in 57.4%. The frequency of EASD, ADA and MD accordance was not statistically different between diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetic individuals. Conclusions: Only about half of diabetic patients in Spain have a diet that is consistent with the major dietary recommendations. The lack of dietary differences between diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetic individuals reflects deficiencies in diabetes managementThe ENRICA study is funded by Sanofi-Aventis. Additional funding is obtained from FIS grant PI09/1626 and from the ‘Cátedra UAM de Epidemiología y Control del Riesgo Cardiovascular