An evaluation of some measures of core inflation for the euro area

We examine two measures of core inflation which have been proposed in recent years: the limited-influence estimators of core inflation pioneered by Bryan and Cecchetti (1994); and the Edgeworth or variance-weighted price index discussed by Diewert (1995). We compare these measures with traditional 'Ex. Food & Energy'-type measures and evaluate them on the basis of two criteria: their ability to track movements in trend inflation; and their ability to predict future headline inflation. We do find evidence that traditional 'Ex. Food & Energy'-type measure of core inflation may be dominated by alternative measures and conclude that trimmed-mean measures of core inflation may be a useful input to the monetary policy process. These conclusions, nonetheless, are necessarily tentative and subject to strong caveats due to the short span of data on which inference can be drawn JEL Classification: E31core inflation, euro area, HICP

A first assessment of some measures of core inflation for the euro area

Core inflation plays an important role in the deliberations of monetary policymakers. In this paper we evaluate a number of measures of core inflation constructed using euro area data. In addition to the traditional exclusion-type core measures, we examine two newer ones, documenting their properties and evaluating their performance in terms of their ability to track underlying or trend inflation in real time. We focus on core measures derived from the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) as the European Central Bank has chosen to define its mandate for price stability in terms of this index, and because this is the only index of consumer prices that is compiled in an comparable manner across all members of the European Union. We document significant excess kurtosis in the cross-section distribution of price changes in the euro area, and show that several categories of prices are more volatile than those typically excluded from traditional measures of core inflation. Contrary to what one might expect, traditional measures of core inflation are not significantly less volatile than headline measures. We document the superior performance of alternative measures of core inflation in tracking trend inflation on average, but show that none of the various measures of core gave significant advance warning of the pickup in trend inflation at the beginning of 1999.Euro

Gaining deep knowledge of Android malware families through dimensionality reduction techniques

[Abstract] This research proposes the analysis and subsequent characterisation of Android malware families by means of low dimensional visualisations using dimensional reduction techniques. The well-known Malgenome data set, coming from the Android Malware Genome Project, has been thoroughly analysed through the following six dimensionality reduction techniques: Principal Component Analysis, Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning, Cooperative Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning, Curvilinear Component Analysis, Isomap and Self Organizing Map. Results obtained enable a clear visual analysis of the structure of this high-dimensionality data set, letting us gain deep knowledge about the nature of such Android malware families. Interesting conclusions are obtained from the real-life data set under analysis

Circular strings, wormholes and minimum size

The quantization of circular strings in an anti-de Sitter background spacetime is performed, obtaining a discrete spectrum for the string mass. A comparison with a four-dimensional homogeneous and isotropic spacetime coupled to a conformal scalar field shows that the string radius and the scale factor have the same classical solutions and that the quantum theories of these two models are formally equivalent. However, the physically relevant observables of these two systems have different spectra, although they are related to each other by a specific one-to-one transformation. We finally obtain a discrete spectrum for the spacetime size of both systems, which presents a nonvanishing lower bound.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX2e, minor change

Delving into Android Malware Families with a Novel Neural Projection Method

[Abstract] Present research proposes the application of unsupervised and supervised machine-learning techniques to characterize Android malware families. More precisely, a novel unsupervised neural-projection method for dimensionality-reduction, namely, Beta Hebbian Learning (BHL), is applied to visually analyze such malware. Additionally, well-known supervised Decision Trees (DTs) are also applied for the first time in order to improve characterization of such families and compare the original features that are identified as the most important ones. The proposed techniques are validated when facing real-life Android malware data by means of the well-known and publicly available Malgenome dataset. Obtained results support the proposed approach, confirming the validity of BHL and DTs to gain deep knowledge on Android malwar

Incidencia de alteraciones cardiovasculares en caballos criollos colombianos mediante diagnóstico ecocardiográfico

Páginas 61-68Recurso ElectrónicoEl trabajo se realizó en la ciudad de Ibagué con 47 caballos criollos colombianos con un peso medio de 282 ± 20 kg con una edad media de 6 ± 1,4 años. Todos sospechosos de padecer alteraciones cardiacas, con tos persistente, disnea e intolerancia al ejercicio. En el examen semiológico, mediante toma de pulso, frecuencia cardiaca, auscultación de sonidos cardiacos y pulmonares para determinar signología que reflejarán una afección cardiovascular, resultaron 25 equinos con signos evidentes de padecer alteraciones cardiacas. Se hizo evaluación con ecocardiografías en modo B y M, con el animal en reposo físico. Posteriormente se procedió a ejercitarlos, por veinte minutos, para tomar nuevamente y en forma inmediata el pulso, la frecuencia cardiaca, hacer auscultación cardiopulmonar y ecocardiografía en modo B y M, con el fin de detectar anormalidades cardiacas que no fueron mostradas por el animal en reposo. De estos, cinco mostraron insuficiencia mitral y dos presentaron arritmias cardiacas. Se construyeron intervalos de confianza, usando distribución de probabilidad exacta para una binomial, determinando así la probabilidad de que un equino sospechoso manifestara insuficiencia mitral (entre el 3,55 % y 23,10 %) o de que apareciera arritmia (entre el 0,05 % y el 11,29 %), igual probabilidad para la arritmia por vagotonía.ABSTRACT. The work was carried out in Ibague, with 47 Colombian Creole horses, between 250 and 350 kg with 6 ± 1,4 years-old, suspected of suffering cardiac alterations, persistent cough, dyspnea and exercise intolerance. After the semiological examination, with taking the pulse, heart rate, auscultation of heart and lung sounds to determine signs that reflected a cardiovascular affection, twenty-five horses showed evident signs of suffering heart alterations, evaluating them with B and M mode echocardiography and with the animal in physical rest, proceeding to exercise them for twenty minutes and taking the pulse and the heart frequency immediately, auscultating the heart again to detect heart abnormalities that were not shown by the animal in rest. According to test results, five showed mitral insufficiency and two had cardiac arrhythmias. As the sample size of the equine cardiac diseases is small, intervals of trust were built using distribution of exact probability for a binomial one, determining the probability that a suspected equine manifested mitral insufficiency it would be between 3,55 % and 23,10 %; or that arrhythmia appeared (between 0,05 % and 11,29 %),the same probability for the arrhythmia by vagotonia

Sustentabilidad, eficiencia energética y niveles de iluminación para sistemas de alumbrado en edificios no residenciales

En este documento se hace un análisis energético para determinar la cantidad de energía eléctrica utilizada en los sistemas de alumbrado, en watts por metro cuadrado, en Edificios representativos de la Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica (FIME) y compararlo con lo recomendado por la normatividad vigente de nuestro país, de esta forma se pretende determinar una línea base para encontrar una mejor opción en cuanto a sistemas de alumbrado se refiere. Así mismo, se determina el nivel de iluminación en luxes de estos espacios para determinar si el espacio cuenta con un Nivel de Iluminación Satisfactorio o No satisfactorio (Insuficiente o Excesivo) de acuerdo a la normatividad vigente. Finalmente, se pretende identificar aquellos lugares que puedan disminuir los requerimientos de energía eléctrica y mejorar el sistema de iluminación en aras de la sustentabilidad

Streptococcus pyogenes polymyxin B-resistant mutants display enhanced exportal integrity

The ExPortal protein secretion organelle in Streptococcus pyogenes is an anionic phospholipid-containing membrane microdomain enriched in Sec translocons and postsecretion protein biogenesis factors. Polymyxin B binds to and disrupts ExPortal integrity, resulting in defective secretion of several toxins. To gain insight into factors that influence ExPortal organization, a genetic screen was conducted to select for spontaneous polymyxin B-resistant mutants displaying enhanced ExPortal integrity. Whole-genome resequencing of 25 resistant mutants revealed from one to four mutations per mutant genome clustered primarily within a core set of 10 gene groups. Construction of mutants with individual deletions or insertions demonstrated that 7 core genes confer resistance and enhanced ExPortal integrity through loss of function, while 3 were likely due to gain of function and/or combinatorial effects. Core resistance genes include a transcriptional regulator of lipid biosynthesis, several genes involved in nutrient acquisition, and a variety of genes involved in stress responses. Two members of the latter class also function as novel regulators of the secreted SpeB cysteine protease. Analysis of the most frequently isolated mutation, a single nucleotide deletion in a track of 9 consecutive adenine residues in pstS, encoding a component of a high-affinity P(i) transporter, suggests that this sequence functions as a molecular switch to facilitate stress adaptation. Together, these data suggest the existence of a membrane stress response that promotes enhanced ExPortal integrity and resistance to cationic antimicrobial peptides