Maybe Definitely – Definitely Maybe? EC Competition Law – Is the Time Ripe for Reform?

[Summary]. The aim of this article is to discuss whether the timing for the Commission’s Proposal for reforming the implementation of Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty is appropriate based on legal certainty considerations. The Proposal suggests to decentralise the day-to-day application of the EC antitrust rules further than is the case today and to abolish the present notification system whereby undertakings can apply for exemptions pursuant to Article 81(3) and negative clearances. The article provides examples showing that presently, the answers to certain legal questions of EC competition rules are vague or contradictory, and that if the proposed reform were to be implemented in its present form, the undertakings would have to carry the full risk for compliance with the competition rules but without a simple or straightforward way of obtaining guidance or legally binding exemptions or negative clearances. While recognising the need for a reform of the implementation system of the EC competition rules, the article argues that consistency and coherence in the understanding and application of the competition rules are a prerequisite to ensure legal certainty which, in turn, is a prerequisite for the implementation of the Commission’s plans to decentralise EC competition law application. It is therefore suggested that the time is not yet ripe for the type of reform proposed by the Commission and that efforts should instead focus on creating the basis for such a reform by adopting clear guidelines and/or binding legislation that secure the legal certainty of the undertakings that have to operate under the EC competition law framework

IRIS: A Generic Three-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Code

We present IRIS, a new generic three-dimensional (3D) spectral radiative transfer code that generates synthetic spectra, or images. It can be used as a diagnostic tool for comparison with astrophysical observations or laboratory astrophysics experiments. We have developed a 3D short-characteristic solver that works with a 3D nonuniform Cartesian grid. We have implemented a piecewise cubic, locally monotonic, interpolation technique that dramatically reduces the numerical diffusion effect. The code takes into account the velocity gradient effect resulting in gradual Doppler shifts of photon frequencies and subsequent alterations of spectral line profiles. It can also handle periodic boundary conditions. This first version of the code assumes Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) and no scattering. The opacities and source functions are specified by the user. In the near future, the capabilities of IRIS will be extended to allow for non-LTE and scattering modeling. IRIS has been validated through a number of tests. We provide the results for the most relevant ones, in particular a searchlight beam test, a comparison with a 1D plane-parallel model, and a test of the velocity gradient effect. IRIS is a generic code to address a wide variety of astrophysical issues applied to different objects or structures, such as accretion shocks, jets in young stellar objects, stellar atmospheres, exoplanet atmospheres, accretion disks, rotating stellar winds, cosmological structures. It can also be applied to model laboratory astrophysics experiments, such as radiative shocks produced with high power lasers.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A; 17 pages, 9 figures, 2 table

NLTE analysis of spectra: OBA stars

Methods of calculation of NLTE model atmosphere are discussed. The NLTE trace element procedure is compared with the full NLTE model atmosphere calculation. Differences between LTE and NLTE atmosphere modeling are evaluated. The ways of model atom construction are discussed. Finally, modelling of expanding atmospheres of hot stars with winds is briefly reviewed.Comment: in Determination of Atmospheric Parameters of B-, A-, F- and G-Type Stars, E. Niemczura et al. eds., Springer, in pres

Are social desirability scales desirable? A meta-analytic test of the validity of social desirability scales in the context of prosocial behavior

Social desirability (SD) scales have been used for decades in psychology and beyond. These scales are sought to measure individuals' tendencies to present themselves overly positive in self-reports, thus allowing to control for SD biases. However, research increasingly questions the validity of SD scales, proposing that SD scales measure substantive trait characteristics rather than response bias. To provide a large-scale empirical test of the validity of SD scales, we conducted a meta-analysis (k = 41; N = 8980) on the relation between SD scale scores and prosocial behavior in economic games (where acting in a prosocial manner is highly socially desirable). If SD scales measure what they are supposed to (namely, SD bias), they should be negatively linked to prosocial behavior; if SD scales measure socially desirable traits, they should be positively linked to prosocial behavior. Unlike both possibilities, the meta-analytic correlation between SD scores and prosocial behavior was close to zero, suggesting that SD scales neither clearly measure bias nor substantive traits. This conclusion was also supported by moderation analyses considering differences in the implementation of games and the SD scales used. The results further question the validity of SD scales with the implication that scholars and practitioners should refrain from using them

Spatiotemporal Modeling Encounters 3D Medical Image Analysis: Slice-Shift UNet with Multi-View Fusion

As a fundamental part of computational healthcare, Computer Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provide volumetric data, making the development of algorithms for 3D image analysis a necessity. Despite being computationally cheap, 2D Convolutional Neural Networks can only extract spatial information. In contrast, 3D CNNs can extract three-dimensional features, but they have higher computational costs and latency, which is a limitation for clinical practice that requires fast and efficient models. Inspired by the field of video action recognition we propose a new 2D-based model dubbed Slice SHift UNet (SSH-UNet) which encodes three-dimensional features at 2D CNN's complexity. More precisely multi-view features are collaboratively learned by performing 2D convolutions along the three orthogonal planes of a volume and imposing a weights-sharing mechanism. The third dimension, which is neglected by the 2D convolution, is reincorporated by shifting a portion of the feature maps along the slices' axis. The effectiveness of our approach is validated in Multi-Modality Abdominal Multi-Organ Segmentation (AMOS) and Multi-Atlas Labeling Beyond the Cranial Vault (BTCV) datasets, showing that SSH-UNet is more efficient while on par in performance with state-of-the-art architectures

The positive effect of blue luminescent pathways on urban park visitor’s affective states: A virtual reality online study measuring facial expressions and self-reports

The colour blue often elicits feelings of calmness and contentment, for which evidence has largely been provided in daytime settings. It is unclear whether pathways illuminated in blue, for example, in urban recreational park areas at night confers the same positive impact on night time park visitors. To tackle this open empirical question, we investigated how adding blue self-luminous pavement to park lighting at night time affects park visitors’ emotions compared to conventional white street light illumination. Our goal is to inform design decisions aimed at enhancing the emotional well-being of people outdoors at night in urban environments. Participants’ emotional response was captured at four different time points while watching a video of a walk in a virtual urban park at night, which was lit with white street lights only or with the addition of blue luminescent pavement on the walked paths (between-subject design). To capture visitor’s emotions, we used a simplified version of the Geneva Emotion Wheel (GEW) instrument and online facial expression recognition technology as subjective (self-reports) and objective (physiological) measures of emotion, respectively. The results of the GEW self-reports showed that the addition of a blue self-luminous pavement in a park during night time yielded more positive affect than standard white lighting in park visitors for the first half of the walk. In the second half of the walk through the park, participants’ affective states seemed to equalize between the two lighting conditions. In contrast, sensory data on facial expressions indicated no difference between participants’ emotional states over the whole walk in the two experimental conditions. Consistent with the positive emotional state perceived in the second half of the walk, the state of relaxation experienced after the walk also did not differ between the two lighting conditions. Furthermore, participants’ relaxation judgements after the park walk were more negative overall for females than the more neutral ratings of males. Our results highlight the importance of lighting colour at night for the design of future affect-smart cities that may consider individual and group characteristics with the ultimate intent of promoting public well-being

Transgenic CD8αβ co-receptor rescues endogenous TCR function in TCR-transgenic virus-specific T cells.

Genetically engineered virus-specific T cells (VSTs) are a platform for adoptive cell therapy after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, redirection to a tumor-associated antigen by the introduction of a transgenic T-cell receptor (TCR) reduces anti-viral activity, thereby impeding the possibility of preventing or treating two distinct complications-malignant relapse and viral infection-with a single cell therapy product. Availability of CD8αβ co-receptor molecules can significantly impact class I restricted T-cell activation, and thus, we interrogated whether transgenic CD8αβ improves anti-viral activity mediated by native VSTs with or without a co-expressed transgenic TCR (TCR8). Our existing clinical VST manufacturing platform was adapted and validated to engineer TCR+ or TCR8+ VSTs targeting cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus. Simultaneous anti-viral and anti-tumor function of engineered VSTs was assessed in vitro and in vivo. We used pentamer staining, interferon (IFN)-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot), intracellular cytokine staining (ICS), cytotoxicity assays, co-cultures, and cytokine secretion assays for the in vitro characterization. The in vivo anti-tumor function was assessed in a leukemia xenograft mouse model. Both transgenic CD8αβ alone and TCR8 had significant impact on the anti-viral function of engineered VSTs, and TCR8+ VSTs had comparable anti-viral activity as non-engineered VSTs as determined by IFN-γ ELISpot, ICS and cytotoxicity assays. TCR8-engineered VSTs had improved anti-tumor function and greater effector cytokine production in vitro, as well as enhanced anti-tumor function against leukemia xenografts in mice. Incorporation of transgenic CD8αβ into vectors for TCR-targetable antigens preserves anti-viral activity of TCR transgenic VSTs while simultaneously supporting tumor-directed activity mediated by a transgenic TCR. Our approach may provide clinical benefit in preventing and treating viral infections and malignant relapse post-transplant