Controlled Information Fusion with Risk-Averse CVaR Social Sensors

Consider a multi-agent network comprised of risk averse social sensors and a controller that jointly seek to estimate an unknown state of nature, given noisy measurements. The network of social sensors perform Bayesian social learning - each sensor fuses the information revealed by previous social sensors along with its private valuation using Bayes' rule - to optimize a local cost function. The controller sequentially modifies the cost function of the sensors by discriminatory pricing (control inputs) to realize long term global objectives. We formulate the stochastic control problem faced by the controller as a Partially Observed Markov Decision Process (POMDP) and derive structural results for the optimal control policy as a function of the risk-aversion factor in the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) cost function of the sensors. We show that the optimal price sequence when the sensors are risk- averse is a super-martingale; i.e, it decreases on average over time.Comment: IEEE CDC 201

Paysage Solidaire report

The objective was knowledge transfer on the use of medicinal and nutritive plants. In view of a North-South framework of transfer of knowledge, an expert in Ayurvedic medicine from Sri Lanka shared his experience with a Canadian (Montreal) community. Besides its proximity to a church and a kindergarten, the selected site is also adjacent to housing and near to the Port of Montreal. With the participation of the community, the “Paysage Solidaire” project consists of cultivating fruits and vegetables on underutilized urban spaces in order to regenerate neighborhoods through urban horticulture

Paysage solidaire : vers des infrastructures urbaines fertiles

Réunion: Aménager des milieux de vie viables, 78e Congrès de l'association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS), Université de Montréal, Mai 10-14, 2010Bien que plus de 80% de la population du Québec soit urbaine, l’infrastructure qui la dessert reste hétérogène et les citadins n’ont pas accès à des services uniformes: la présence d’espaces publics ou de magasins de proximité offrant des aliments frais est irrégulière comme l’a démontré Bertrand à travers les publications intitulées: Les disparités dans l'accès à des aliments santé à Montréal. Comment verdir l’infrastructure des quartiers défavorisés et leur accessibilité à une nourriture saine ? Comment rendre nos villes plus inclusives? Paysage solidaire est un projet de recherche-action qui intègre l’agriculture urbaine à l’échelle d’un arrondissement par le biais du verdissement social. Il consiste à transformer des friches urbaines et des espaces sous-exploités en espaces cultivés (maraîchers et fruitiers) par le biais de la mobilisation citoyenne et des groupes communautaires. Des sites sélectionnés sont transformés en espaces publics fertiles et participent au verdissement fécond de l’infrastructure de la ville. Dans un premier temps, le contexte et les enjeux de l’arrondissement dans lequel est ancré ce projet seront présentés ; ensuite le processus d’implantation de Paysage solidaire ainsi que de sa contribution à l’amélioration des conditions de vie urbaine seront discutés à travers les thèmes de l’aménagement, la protection de l’environnement, l’éducation, la santé et la cohésion sociale

Estimating Emotion Contagion on Social Media via Localized Diffusion in Dynamic Graphs

We present a computational approach for estimating emotion contagion on social media networks. Built on a foundation of psychology literature, our approach estimates the degree to which the perceivers' emotional states (positive or negative) start to match those of the expressors, based on the latter's content. We use a combination of deep learning and social network analysis to model emotion contagion as a diffusion process in dynamic social network graphs, taking into consideration key aspects like causality, homophily, and interference. We evaluate our approach on user behavior data obtained from a popular social media platform for sharing short videos. We analyze the behavior of 48 users over a span of 8 weeks (over 200k audio-visual short posts analyzed) and estimate how contagious the users with whom they engage with are on social media. As per the theory of diffusion, we account for the videos a user watches during this time (inflow) and the daily engagements; liking, sharing, downloading or creating new videos (outflow) to estimate contagion. To validate our approach and analysis, we obtain human feedback on these 48 social media platform users with an online study by collecting responses of about 150 participants. We report users who interact with more number of creators on the platform are 12% less prone to contagion, and those who consume more content of `negative' sentiment are 23% more prone to contagion. We will publicly release our code upon acceptance

Anxiolysis for laceration repair in children: a survey of pediatric emergency providers in Canada

Objectives: Intranasal dexmedetomidine is a potentially effective anxiolytic but its role in pediatric laceration repair is only emerging. Future trials and clinical adoption of intranasal dexmedetomidine depend on understanding pediatric emergency providers’ practice patterns surrounding anxiolysis and perceived barriers to intranasal dexmedetomidine for anxiolysis during suture repair in children. Our objectives were to characterize these parameters to inform future research and facilitate clinical adoption. Methods: We conducted an online survey of pediatric emergency physician members of Pediatric Emergency Research Canada from September to December 2020. Questions pertained to perceptions of anxiolysis for suture repair, with a focus on intranasal dexmedetomidine. The primary outcome was anxiolysis for suture repair. Data were reported using descriptive statistics. Results: The response rate was 155/225 (68.9%). During suture repair, 127/148 (86%) believed that \u3e 25% of young children experience distress requiring physical restraint. 116/148 (78%) would provide anxiolysis, mainly intranasal benzodiazepines (100/148, 68%). Only 6/148 (4%) would provide intranasal dexmedetomidine but 95/148 (64%) would consider it if there was evidence of benefit. The most common perceived barriers to intranasal dexmedetomidine included inadequate personal experience (114/145, 79%) and lack of access (60/145, 41%). Conclusions: Most Canadian pediatric emergency providers believe that laceration repair in a young child is distressing. Despite questionable efficacy, most would provide intranasal benzodiazepines, but would consider intranasal dexmedetomidine if there was evidence of benefit

Intranasal Dexmedetomidine for Procedural Distress in Children: A Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: Intranasal dexmedetomidine (IND) is an emerging agent for procedural distress in children. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effectiveness of IND for procedural distress in children. DATA SOURCES: We performed electronic searches of Medline (1946-2019), Embase (1980-2019), Google Scholar (2019), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (1981-2019), and Cochrane Central Register. STUDY SELECTION: We included randomized trials of IND for procedures in children. DATA EXTRACTION: Methodologic quality of evidence was evaluated by using the Cochrane Collaboration\u27s risk of bias tool and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system, respectively. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with adequate sedation. RESULTS: Among 19 trials ( LIMITATIONS: The adequacy of sedation was subjective, which possibly led to biased outcome reporting. CONCLUSIONS: Given the methodologic limitations of included trials, IND is likely more effective at sedating children compared to oral chloral hydrate and oral midazolam. However, this must be weighed against the potential for adverse cardiovascular effects