A mathematical system for human implantable wound model studies

In this work, we present a mathematical model, which accounts for two fundamental processes involved in the repair of an acute dermal wound. These processes include the inflammatory response and fibroplasia. Our system describes each of these events through the time evolution of four primary species or variables. These include the density of initial damage, inflammatory cells, fibroblasts and deposition of new collagen matrix. Since it is difficult to populate the equations of our model with coefficients that have been empirically derived, we fit these constants by carrying out a large number of simulations until there is reasonable agreement between the time response of the variables of our system and those reported by the literature for normal healing. Once a suitable choice of parameters has been made, we then compare simulation results with data obtained from clinical investigations. While more data is desired, we have a promising first step towards describing the primary events of wound repair within the confines of an implantable system

The A∞ Deformation Theory of a Point and the Derived Categories of Local Calabi-Yaus

Let A be an augmented algebra over a semi-simple algebra S. We show that the Ext algebra of S as an A-module, enriched with its natural A-infinity structure, can be used to reconstruct the completion of A at the augmentation ideal. We use this technical result to justify a calculation in the physics literature describing algebras that are derived equivalent to certain non-compact Calabi-Yau three-folds. Since the calculation produces superpotentials for these algebras we also include some discussion of superpotential algebras and their invariants

Inequality as entitlements over labour

The modern study of economic inequality is based on the distribution of entitlements over goods and services. But social commentators at least since Rousseau have been concerned with a different aspect of economic inequality: that it implies that one person is entitled to command another person for their own personal ends. I call this inequality as entitlements over labour. I propose to measure entitlements over labour by calculating the extent to which top income groups can afford to buy the labour of others for the purpose of their personal consumption. Unlike standard inequality measures, this measure is not welfarist, but instead has its normative basis in relations of domination, hierarchy and social status between people. I estimate entitlements over labour in three high-inequality and two low-inequality countries and argue that inequality as entitlements over labour is socially and politically salient, capturing a side of inequality neglected by standard measures

Faces of inequality: a mixed methods approach to multidimensional inequalities

This paper presents a new mixed methods approach to measuring and understanding multidimensional inequalities, and applies it to new data for Mexico City. We incorporate quantitative and qualitative dimensions of inequality, integrating the concerns of both economists and sociologists. The method combines standard quantitative income gradients with two new ways of conceptualizing qualitative inequalities that relate to lived experiences, all based on the same underlying income distribution. First, we introduce the method of qualitative income gradients, or what we call inequalities of lived experience. These compare qualitative experiences in fields such as work, or health and education services, across the entire income distribution. Second, we describe lived experiences of inequality, which are experiences of social hierarchy, stigma, or domination, including those associated with categorical inequalities of gender or race. This portrayal of inequality combines the representativeness of quantitative approaches with the depth and nuance of qualitative analyses of lived experience and social relations

F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2004

Examines national and state obesity rates and government policies. Focuses on setting a baseline of current policies and programs, and offers a comprehensive look at their range and quality

Inequality, living standards and growth: two centuries of economic development in Mexico

Historical wage and incomes data are informative both as normative measures of living standards, and as indicators of patterns of economic development. We show that, given limited historical data, median incomes are most appropriate for measuring welfare and inequality, while urban unskilled wages can be used to test dualist models of development. We present a new dataset including both series in Mexico from 1800 to 2015 and find that both have historically failed to keep up with aggregate growth: per worker GDP is now over eight times higher than in the nineteenth century, while unskilled urban real wages are only 2.2 times higher, and median incomes only 2.0 times. From the perspective of inequality and social welfare, our findings confirm that there is no automatic positive relationship between economic growth and rising living standards for the majority. From the perspective of development, we argue that these findings are consistent with a dual economy model based on Lewis’s assumption of a reserve army of labour, and explain why Kuznets's predicted decline in inequality has not occurred

Taxation, Non-Tax Revenue and Democracy: New Evidence Using New Cross-Country Data

taxation, non-tax revenue, accountability, resource curse.A large body of cross-country econometric research has investigated the possibility of a political resource curse, by which access to extensive natural resources reduces the extent of democracy and accountability. However, this literature has been plagued by problematic data and correspondingly inappropriate model specification. Dominant theories of the political resource curse focus on the political consequences of differences in the composition of government revenue, with greater reliance on non-tax revenue undermining democracy. However, most studies do not actually test this relationship: owing to the poor quality of government revenue data, they have focused instead on the impact of total resource income on democracy – a reasonable, but imperfect, approximation of the actual theory. Meanwhile, the robustness of those few studies that have focused on government revenue specifically is undermined by poor data quality. We overcome this problem by drawing on the newlycreated ICTD Government Revenue Dataset, which dramatically improves the quality of existing data and allows us to test directly the connection between the composition of government revenue and democracy. Employing this new data we re-test the most compelling econometric approaches from the existing literature, finding support for the existence of a political resource curse.DfID, NORA

Monopoles from Rational Maps

The moduli space of charge k SU(2) BPS monopoles is diffeomorphic to the moduli space of degree k rational maps between Riemann spheres. In this note we describe a numerical algorithm to compute the monopole fields and energy density from the rational map. The results for some symmetric examples are presented.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Phys. Lett.