Inflation and Relative Price Dispersion in Canada: An Empirical Assessment

The authors investigate empirically the relationship between different aspects of inflation and relative price dispersion in Canada using a Markov regime-switching Phillips curve. They examine three theories that explain movements in relative price dispersion: the signal extraction model, the extension of the signal extraction model, and the menu cost model. The authors show that expected inflation, which is captured by the menu cost model, is the aspect of inflation that is most closely associated with relative price dispersion. Furthermore, this result seems robust to different specifications. The authors, however, cannot completely discard inflation uncertainty (the signal extraction model), especially when using core inflation. They also observe a strong asymmetry regarding the impact of positive and negative unexpected inflation on relative price dispersion using total inflation, but this asymmetry is not observed for core inflation. This suggests that the strong asymmetry arises mainly from the presence of components typically associated with supply shocks, and not from the presence of downward nominal rigidities, as Aarstol (1999) proposes, following Ball and Mankiw (1992a,b).Inflation and prices

Evaluation of mineralogy per geological layers by Approximate Bayesian Computation

We propose a new methodology to perform mineralogic inversion from wellbore logs based on a Bayesian linear regression model. Our method essentially relies on three steps. The first step makes use of Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) and selects from the Bayesian generator a set of candidates-volumes corresponding closely to the wellbore data responses. The second step gathers these candidates through a density-based clustering algorithm. A mineral scenario is assigned to each cluster through direct mineralogical inversion, and we provide a confidence estimate for each lithological hypothesis. The advantage of this approach is to explore all possible mineralogy hypotheses that match the wellbore data. This pipeline is tested on both synthetic and real datasets

Biocompatibility of an x-shaped zirconium implant in deep sclerectomy in rabbits

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the mid-term biocompatibility of a new x-shaped implant made of zirconium in an animal model of glaucoma surgery. Methods: Preoperatively, ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM), intraocular pressure (IOP) and outflow facility (OF) data were acquired. Upon surgery, one eye was chosen randomly to receive an implant, while the other received none. Ten rabbits went through a 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 6-month follow-up. IOP was measured regularly, UBM performed at 1, 3 and 6months after surgery. At the end of the follow-up, OF was again measured. Histology sections were analyzed. Results: For both groups IOP control was satisfactory, while OF initially increased at month 1 to resume preoperative values thereafter. Eyes with implants had larger filtration blebs which decreased faster than in eyes without the implant. Drainage vessel density, inflammatory cell number and fibrosis were higher in tissues near the implant. Conclusions: The zirconium implant initially promoted the positive effects of the surgery (IOP control, OF increase). Nevertheless, after several months, foreign body reactions and fibrosis had occurred on some implants that restrained the early benefit of such a procedure. Modifications of the zirconium implant geometry could enhance the overall success rat

Efficient extensions of communication values

We study values for transferable utility games enriched by a communication graph. The most well-known such values are component-efficient and characterized by some link-deletion property. We study efficient extensions of such values: for a given component-efficient value, we look for a value that (i) satisfies efficiency, (ii) satisfies the link-deletion property underlying the original component-efficient value, and (iii) coincides with the original component-efficient value whenever the underlying graph is connected. Béal et al. (2015) prove that the Myerson value (Myerson, 1977) admits a unique efficient extension, which has been introduced by van den Brink et al. (2012). We pursue this line of research by showing that the average tree solution (Herings et al., 2008) and the compensation solution (Béal et al., 2012a) admit similar unique efficient extensions, and that there exists no efficient extension of the position Value (Meessen, 1988; Borm et al., 1992). As byproducts, we obtain new characterizations of the average tree solution and the compensation solution, and of their efficient extensions

Efficient extension of the Myerson value

We study values for transferable utility games enriched by a communication graph (CO-games) where the graph does not necessarily affect the productivity but can influence the way the players distribute the worth generated by the grand coalition. Thus, we can envisage values that are efficient instead of values that are component efficient. For CO-games with connected graphs, efficiency and component efficiency coincide. In particular, the Myerson value (Myerson, 1977) is efficient for such games. Moreover, fairness is characteristic of the Myerson value. We identify the value that is efficient for all CO-games, coincides with the Myerson value for CO-games with connected graphs, and satisfies fairness

Weak convergence of particle swarm optimization

Particle swarm optimization algorithm is a stochastic meta-heuristic solving global optimization problems appreciated for its efficacity and simplicity. It consists in a swarm of particles interacting among themselves and searching the global optimum. The trajectory of the particles has been well-studied in a deterministic case and more recently in a stochastic context. Assuming the convergence of PSO, we proposed here two CLT for the particles corresponding to two kinds of convergence behavior. These results can lead to build confidence intervals around the local minimum found by the swarm or to the evaluation of the risk. A simulation study confirms these properties

A fine-tuned global distribution dataset of marine forests

Species distribution records are a prerequisite to follow climate-induced range shifts across space and time. However, synthesizing information from various sources such as peer-reviewed literature, herbaria, digital repositories and citizen science initiatives is not only costly and time consuming, but also challenging, as data may contain thematic and taxonomic errors and generally lack standardized formats. We address this gap for important marine ecosystem-structuring species of large brown algae and seagrasses. We gathered distribution records from various sources and provide a fine-tuned dataset with ~2.8 million dereplicated records, taxonomically standardized for 682 species, and considering important physiological and biogeographical traits. Specifically, a flagging system was implemented to signal potentially incorrect records reported on land, in regions with limiting light conditions for photosynthesis, and outside the known distribution of species, as inferred from the most recent published literature. We document the procedure and provide a dataset in tabular format based on Darwin Core Standard (DwC), alongside with a set of functions in R language for data management and visualization.FCT: (SFRH/BPD/111003/2015) / (SFRH/BSAB/150485/2019) / (SFRH/BD/144878/2019)(PTDC/MAREST/6053/2014) / MARFOR (BIODIVERSA/004/2015) / UIDB/04326/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

La Junta de Patrimonio de Italia: un laboratorio político (1576-1596)

El artículo analiza las particularidades de la Junta de Patrimonio de Italia, activa entre 1576 y 1596. A través de la presentación de sus miembros, los dos primeros apartados tratan de perfilar la lógica socio-gubernamental que subyace en su creación. Formada por miembros permanentes y provisionales, el cariz de este órgano presenta particularismos hasta la fecha ignorados por la historiografía. En la segunda parte nos detendremos en analizar dos casos que permiten medir la finalidad de la Junta y, sobre todo, su funcionalidad en la toma de decisión regia. Así, las consultas de la Junta en torno a la numeración del reino de Nápoles (1590) y al tema de las visitas de inspección (1576) permiten arrojar alguna luz sobre el dinamismo de los procedimientos de la concertación política y sobre la necesidad, a partir del último tercio del siglo xvi, de dinamizar las herramientas de la negociación entre la corona y los reinos

Aproximación al conflicto de jurisdicción como mecanismo de regulación del poder en la Corte de Felipe II

This article proposes an analysis of the conflicts of jurisdiction at the court of Philip II from a socio-political perspective. The aim is to show that such conflicts made it possible to balance power relationships both between institutions and individuals. Thus, far from constituting an obstacle to good governance, jurisdictional disputes would have allowed to negociate political positions at court.Este artículo propone un análisis de los conflictos de jurisdicción en la Corte de Felipe II en clave sociopolítica. Se trata de mostrar que tales conflictos permitían equilibrar las relaciones de poder tanto entre instituciones como interpersonales. Así, lejos de constituir un obstáculo al buen gobierno, los litigios por competencia hubieran permitido negociar posiciones políticas en la Corte