Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Assessment of the 2004 EU Merger Policy Reform

Based on a database of 326 merger cases scrutinized by the European Commission between 1990 and 2007, we evaluate the economic impact of the change in European merger legislation in 2004. We ? rst propose a general framework to assess merger policy effectiveness, which is based on standard oligopoly theory and makes use of stockmarket reactions as an external assessment of the merger and the merger control decision. We then focus on four different dimensions of effectiveness: 1) legal certainty; 2) frequency and determinants of type I and type II errors; 3) rent-reversion achieved by different merger policy tools; and 4) deterrence of anti-competitive mergers. To infer the economic impact of the merger policy reform, we compare the results of our four tests before and after its introduction. Our results suggest that the policy reform seems to have been only a modest improvement of European merger policy.
On Low Overlap among Search Results of Academic Search Engines

Number of published scholarly articles is growing exponentially. To tackle this information overload, researchers are increasingly depending on niche academic search engines. Recent works have shown that two major general web search engines: Google and Bing, have high level of agreement in their top search results. In contrast, we show that various academic search engines have low degree of agreement among themselves. We performed experiments using 2500 queries over four academic search engines. We observe that overlap in search result sets of any combination of academic search engines is significantly low and in most of the cases the search result sets are mutually exclusive. We also discuss implications of this low overlap.
Problems faced by food-caching corvids and the evolution of cognitive solutions

The scatter hoarding of food, or caching, is a widespread and well-studied behaviour. Recent experiments with caching corvids have provided evidence for episodic-like memory, future planning and possibly mental attribution, all cognitive abilities that were thought to be unique to humans. In addition to the complexity of making flexible, informed decisions about caching and recovering, this behaviour is underpinned by a motivationally controlled compulsion to cache. In this review, we shall first discuss the compulsive side of caching both during ontogeny and in the caching behaviour of adult corvids. We then consider some of the problems that these birds face and review the evidence for the cognitive abilities they use to solve them. Thus, the emergence of episodic-like memory is viewed as a solution for coping with food perishability, while the various cache-protection and pilfering strategies may be sophisticated tools to deprive competitors of information, either by reducing the quality of information they can gather, or invalidating the information they already have. Finally, we shall examine whether such future-oriented behaviour involves future planning and ask why this and other cognitive abilities might have evolved in corvids.
Selection on multiple characters Introduction

So far we’ve studied only the evolution of a single trait, e.g., height or weight. But organisms have many traits, and they evolve at the same time. How can we understand their simultaneous evolution? The basic framework of the quantitative genetic approach was first outlined by Russ Lande and Steve Arnold [2]. Let z1, z2, . , zn be the phenotype of each character that we are studying. We’ll use z̄ to denote the vector of these characters before selection and z̄∗ to denote the vector after selection. The selection differential, s, is also a vector given by
Measuring the Mean and Scatter of the X-Ray Luminosity-Optical Richness Relation for maxBCG Galaxy Clusters

Determining the scaling relations between galaxy cluster observables requires large samples of uniformly observed clusters. We measure the mean X-ray luminosity-optical richness (-N̄200) relation for an approximately volume-limited sample of more than 17,000 optically selected clusters from the maxBCG catalog spanning the redshift range 0.1 < z < 0.3. By stacking the X-ray emission from many clusters using ROSAT All-Sky Survey data, we are able to measure mean X-ray luminosities to ~10% (including systematic errors) for clusters in nine independent optical richness bins. In addition, we are able to crudely measure individual X-ray emission from ~800 of the richest clusters. Assuming a lognormal form for the scatter in the LX-N200 relation, we measure σln L = 0.86 ± 0.03 at fixed N200. This scatter is large enough to significantly bias the mean stacked relation. The corrected median relation can be parameterized by L̄X = eα(N̄200/40)β × 1042 h−2 ergs s−1, where α = 3.57 ± 0.08 and β = 1.82 ± 0.05. We find that X-ray-selected clusters are significantly brighter than optically selected clusters at a given optical richness. This selection bias explains the apparently X-ray-underluminous nature of optically selected cluster catalogs.
Taxi cab service optimization using spatio-temporal implementation to hot-spot analysis with taxi trajectories: a case study in Seoul, Korea

Currently there are demands for maximization of taxi services and also for saving fuel usage within massive cities. Spatial big data extracted from taxi service records and GPS can be used to suggest optimal routing options to achieve these goals. The taxi cab ride data contains 7,000 unique taxies being serviced in Seoul, South Korea. In this study one week worth of data with the size of 3.13GB were used. Also road network data provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), which contains 19,229 nodes and 22,192 links, and census map provided by Statistics Korea were used as base-map. Lastly floating population data of Seoul city area, gathered with mobile phones, has been used as an index of demand for taxi service. By using taxi cab ride data, which contains trajectory with time and 2D coordinates, and information about whether passenger is on the taxi or not, hot spots were analyzed for 1) taxies without passengers whom are available to pick-up passengers, 2) places where people are experiencing difficulty hailing a taxi due to high demand for taxi. Combination of these two types of hot spots can provide new insight for both public and commercial sectors to maximize the efficiency of taxi service and to reduce idle fuel usage. Afterwards the floating population data is used to provide indices for taxi usage in Seoul area, providing further insights. Utilizing the time stamp records on the taxi GPS data, hourly based hot spots for both 'demand' and 'supply' for taxi cab ride can be derived, and this outcome can be practically used to guide taxi drivers to high demanding places and avoid high supplying places.
Dynamic Control in Path-Planning with Real-Time Heuristic Search

Real-time heuristic search methods, such as LRTA*, are used by situated agents in applications that require the amount of planning per action to be constant-bounded regardless of the problem size. LRTA* interleaves planning and execution, with a fixed search depth being used to achieve progress towards a fixed goal. Here we generalize the algorithm to allow for a dynamically changing search depth and a dynamically changing (sub-)goal. Evaluation in path-planning on videogame maps shows that the new algorithm significantly outperforms fixed-depth, fixed-goal LRTA*. The new algorithm can achieve the same quality solutions as LRTA*, but with nine times less computation, or use the same amount of computation, but produce four times better quality solutions. These extensions make real-time heuristic search a practical choice for path-planning in computer video-games.
Integrated Hydrographical Basin Management. Study Case – Crasna River Basin

Hydrographical basins are important from hydrological, economic and ecological points of view. They receive and channel the runoff from rainfall and snowmelt which, when adequate managed, can provide fresh water necessary for water supply, irrigation, food industry, animal husbandry, hydrotechnical arrangements and recreation. Hydrographical basin planning and management follows the efficient use of available water resources in order to satisfy environmental, economic and social necessities and constraints. This can be facilitated by a decision support system that links hydrological, meteorological, engineering, water quality, agriculture, environmental, and other information in an integrated framework. In the last few decades different modelling tools for resolving problems regarding water quantity and quality were developed, respectively water resources management. Watershed models have been developed to the understanding of water cycle and pollution dynamics, and used to evaluate the impacts of hydrotechnical arrangements and land use management options on water quantity, quality, mitigation measures and possible global changes. Models have been used for planning monitoring network and to develop plans for intervention in case of hydrological disasters: floods, flash floods, drought and pollution. MIKE HYDRO Basin is a multi-purpose, map-centric decision support tool for integrated hydrographical basin analysis, planning and management. MIKE HYDRO Basin is designed for analyzing water sharing issues at international, national and local hydrographical basin level. MIKE HYDRO Basin uses a simplified mathematical representation of the hydrographical basin including the configuration of river and reservoir systems, catchment hydrology and existing and potential water user schemes with their various demands including a rigorous irrigation scheme module. This paper analyzes the importance and principles of integrated hydrographical basin management and develop a case study for Crasna river basin, with the use of MIKE HYDRO Basin advanced hydroinformatic tool for integrated hydrographical basin analysis, planning and management.
On the linear force-free fields in bounded and unbounded three-dimensional domains

Les champs de Beltrami (ou sans-force) lineaires sont des champs tri-dimensionnels a divergence nulle et verifiant l'equation rotB = αB ou α est une constante reelle connue ou inconnue. Ces champs apparaissent dans plusieurs domaines de la physique tels que la mecanique des fluides, la physique des plasmas, l'astrophysique et l'electromagnetisme. Dans ce papier, nous presentons quelques nouveaux resultats concernant des problemes aux limites associes dans des domaines tri-dimensionnels bornes (simplement ou multiplement connexes) et non-bornes (cylindre semi-infini et exterieur d'un domaine). Ces resultats concernent essentiellement l'existence, l'unicite, la regularite et les proprietes d'energie des solutions.
Labour Market Prospects of Swiss Career Entrants after Completion of Vocational Education and Training

ABSTRACT This study seeks to find the reasons for the rising risk of unemployment for people who have completed basic vocational education and training (VET) in Switzerland. We focus on the long-term structural shift on the demand side of the labour market and its consequences for new entrants' chances of employment in the labour force. A detailed analysis of the development of vacancies for such ‘career entrants' in the time period 2001 to 2011 suggests that neither a growing occupational mismatch nor a general shift in the level of education to the disadvantage of workers with vocational education can be made responsible for the rising unemployment of labour market entrants. Instead, the available evidence indicates that a diminishing part of the vacancies suited for VET graduates remains open to entrants because of the increasing job requirements with regard to work experience and further education. Basic vocational education and training alone is increasingly less a guarantee for a smooth entry into the working world.
Bathymetric ability of SPOT-5 multi-spectral image in shallow coastal water

Optical Remote Sensing offers an alternative to traditional hydrographic surveys for measuring water depth, with the advantage of low cost and large area. The multi-spectral image of SPOT-5 with the high resolution provides possibility for bathymetric mapping. In order to estimate the image's potential for the retrieval of water depth, we use single-band model and dual-band model separately to inverse the water depth with worked example from Naozhou Island in Guangdong, China. The actual depth is derived from the chart to establish inversion models and to assess the accuracy of inversed water depth based on the criterions of the mean relative error and the mean square error. The result illustrates that the dual-band model is superior to the single-band model and the red-band model is superior to the green-band model. Compared with the other segments of water depth, the mean relative errors in shallow water between 0m and 5m are the biggest, which make the overall errors of all models big. However, the dual-band model is relatively better than the single-band model in shallow water, its mean relative error is about 22%, and its mean square error is about 1.87m. We have a conclusion that the multi-spectral image of SPOT-5 has a good ability to inverse water depth, and its high resolution can describe more detail topographic information under water. Bathymetry by Remote Sensing becomes an important assistant means for traditional bathymetry methods.
Instantaneous and Cumulative Influences of Competition on Impulsive Choices in Domestic Chicks

This study examined instantaneous and cumulative effects of competitive interactions on impulsiveness in the inter-temporal choices in domestic chicks. Chicks were trained to peck colored beads to gain delayed food rewards (1 or 6 grains of millet delivered after a delay ranging between 0 and 4.5 s), and were tested in binary choices between a small–short delay option (SS) and a large–long delay alternative (LL). To examine whether competitive foraging instantaneously changes impulsiveness, we intraindividually compared choices between two consecutive tests in different contexts, one with competitors and another without. We found that (1) the number of the choice of LL was not influenced by competition in the tests, but (2) the operant peck latency was shortened by competition, suggesting a socially enhanced incentive for food. To further examine the lasting changes, two groups of chicks were consecutively trained and tested daily for 2 weeks according to a “behavioral titration” procedure, one with competitors and another without. Inter-group comparisons of the choices revealed that (3) choice impulsiveness gradually decreased along development, while (4) the chicks trained in competition maintained a higher level of impulsiveness. These results suggest that competitive foraging causes impulsive choices not by direct/contextual modification. Causal link between the instantaneous enhancement of incentive and the gradual effects on impulsiveness remains to be examined. Some (yet unspecified) factors may be indirectly involved.
Abnormal vessel behavior detection in port areas based on Dynamic Bayesian Networks

Automatic recognition of abnormal situations in harbor environments is approached in this paper with a system based on Dynamic Bayesian Networks. The area under surveillance is partitioned in zones of different sizes and shapes by means of an Instantaneous Topological Map, on which events are detected and inference is carried out. The model is trained with synthetic normal trajectories of ships and vessels mooring in the port, and each time a new trajectory is presented to the system, comparisons with the normal behaviors stored in the network are performed. If no match is found, an abnormal situation is declared and countermeasures can be taken. The algorithm has been tested in a real port with simulated data in order to evaluate the false alarm rate and the abnormal detection capabilities of the proposed approach.
Degenerative spondylolisthesis.

There are two main kinds of spondylolisthesis: Isthmic and Degenerative (see diagram below). In isthmic spondylolisthesis, a fracture in the posterior part of the vertebrae leads to instability or a slip. In the case of degenerative spondylolisthesis, the failure is generally either where the facets join together to form the “joints” in the spine or in the surrounding ligaments. If the joints or ligaments become lax, vertebrae can slip forward over the one below it.
Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery in pediatric urology: an update

Laparoscopic procedures for urological diseases in children, such as nephrectomy, pyeloplasty and orchiopexy, have proven to be safe and effective with outcomes comparable to open procedures. The main drawback has been the relatively steep learning curve for this procedure that is associated with technical difficulties such as suturing and anastomosis. More recently, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RAS) has gained enormous popularity in adult urology and is increasingly being adopted around the world; however, few pediatric urology series have been reported. RAS has several advantages over conventional laparoscopic surgery, mainly the simplification and precision of exposure and suturing. The robotic arms move in real time with an increased degree of freedom and a magnified, 3-dimensional view. These features render RAS ideal for complex reconstructive surgery in a pediatric urological population. This review discusses the role of RAS in pediatric urology, provides technical aspects of RAS and offers a critical summary of current knowledge on its indications and outcomes. Almost all operations that are classically performed as open or conventional laparoscopic reconstructive surgeries for children with urological anomalies could be replaced by RAS and this procedure may be established as an alternative minimally invasive surgery in the future.
Environmental Analysis of Bluefin Tuna: Identifying its Preferred Habitat in the Mediterranean Sea

This report details the preliminary study performed for the development of the feeding and breeding habitat of bluefin tuna (BFT) in the Mediterranean Sea derived from satellite remote sensing data. The related bibliography on BFT is synthesized in order to elaborate criterion for each habitat and a first guess for the parameterization. Potential use of the habitat mapping for the BFT fisheries management and control are also described.
Probabilistic Reasoning about Actions in Nonmonotonic Causal Theories

We present the language PC+ for probabilistic reasoning about actions, which is a generalization of the action language C+ that allows to deal with probabilistic as well as nondeterministic effects of actions. We define a formal semantics of PC+ in terms of probabilistic transitions between sets of states. Using a concept of a history and its belief state, we then show how several important problems in reasoning about actions can be concisely formulated in our formalism.
A2E Induces IL-1ß Production in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells via the NLRP3 Inflammasome

Aims With ageing extracellular material is deposited in Bruch’s membrane, as drusen. Lipofuscin is deposited in retinal pigment epithelial cells. Both of these changes are associated with age related macular degeneration, a disease now believed to involve chronic inflammation at the retinal-choroidal interface. We hypothesise that these molecules may act as danger signals, causing the production of inflammatory chemokines and cytokines by the retinal pigment epithelium, via activation of pattern recognition receptors. Methods ARPE-19 cells were stimulated in vitro with the following reported components of drusen: amyloid-ß (1-42), Carboxyethylpyrrole (CEP) modified proteins (CEP-HSA), Nε-(Carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) modified proteins and aggregated vitronectin. The cells were also stimulated with the major fluorophore of lipofuscin: N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E). Inflammatory chemokine and cytokine production was assessed using Multiplex assays and ELISA. The mechanistic evaluation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway was assessed in a stepwise fashion. Results Of all the molecules tested only A2E induced inflammatory chemokine and cytokine production. 25 µM A2E induced the production of significantly increased levels of the chemokines IL-8, MCP-1, MCG and MIP-1α, the cytokines IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α, and the protein VEGF-A. The release of IL-1ß was studied further, and was determined to be due to NLRP3 inflammasome activation. The pathway of activation involved endocytosis of A2E, and the three inflammasome components NLRP3, ASC and activated caspase-1. Immunohistochemical staining of ABCA4 knockout mice, which show progressive accumulation of A2E levels with age, showed increased amounts of IL-1ß proximal to the retinal pigment epithelium. Conclusions A2E has the ability to stimulate inflammatory chemokine and cytokine production by RPE cells. The pattern recognition receptor NLRP3 is involved in this process. This provides further evidence for the link between A2E, inflammation, and the pathogenesis of AMD. It also supports the recent discovery of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in AMD.
Septins are involved at the early stages of macroautophagy in S. cerevisiae

ABSTRACT Autophagy is a conserved cellular degradation pathway wherein double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes capture long-lived proteins, and damaged or superfluous organelles, and deliver them to the lysosome for degradation. Septins are conserved GTP-binding proteins involved in many cellular processes, including phagocytosis and the autophagy of intracellular bacteria, but no role in general autophagy was known. In budding yeast, septins polymerize into ring-shaped arrays of filaments required for cytokinesis. In an unbiased genetic screen and in subsequent targeted analysis, we found autophagy defects in septin mutants. Upon autophagy induction, pre-assembled septin complexes relocalized to the pre-autophagosomal structure (PAS) where they formed non-canonical septin rings at PAS. Septins also colocalized with autophagosomes, where they physically interacted with the autophagy proteins Atg8 and Atg9. When autophagosome degradation was blocked in septin-mutant cells, fewer autophagic structures accumulated, and an autophagy mutant defective in early stages of autophagosome biogenesis (atg1Δ), displayed decreased septin localization to the PAS. Our findings support a role for septins in the early stages of budding yeast autophagy, during autophagosome formation. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Highlighted Article: Septin proteins, which form cytoskeletal filaments and bind membranes, are required for efficient assembly of functional autophagic structures in budding yeast cells.
Traveling Path Recommendation Using Temporal Transit Patterns

In this work, we aim to collectively recommend traveling paths by leveraging the check-in data through mining the moving behaviors of users. We call such traveling paths as Temporal Transit Patterns (TTP), which capture the representative traveling behaviors over consecutive locations, from the big check-in data. To achieve such goal, we propose a novel Temporal Transit Pattern Mining method (TTPM-method), which devises an unsupervised mechanism that automatically summarizes the representative travel patterns us guarantee better time efficiency lower and memory usage. Based on the mined TTP, a novel system, TTP-Rec, is then developed. TTP-Rec not only allows users to specify starting/end locations, but also provides the flexibility of the time constraint requirement (i.e., the expected duration of the trip). Considering a sequence of check-in points as a traveling path, we mine the frequent sequences with a ranking mechanism to achieve the goal. Our TTP-Rec targets at travelers who are unfamiliar to the objective area/city and have time limitation in the trip.