An empirical analysis of price setting behaviour in the Netherlands in the period 1998-2003 using micro data

In this paper we examine pricing behaviour of retail firms in the Netherlands during 1998-2003 using a large database with monthly price quotes of 49 articles, representing different product types. We have conducted this study in order to gain in sight in the degree of nominal rigidity of consumer prices in the Netherlands. We find that prices of energy and unprocessed food are most flexible, whereas prices of services are stickiest. A multivariate analysis shows that firm size matters with prices being stickiest in small firms and most flexible in large firms and in retail firms consisting of the owners only. Furthermore, we investigate pass-through effects of VAT changes in prices. We find that VAT increases are almost completely passed on to consumers. Finally, there is some evidence indicating that pricing behaviour of retail firms was different during the introduction of the euro than in the period directly preceding it. JEL Classification: E31, D49, C41Cox regression, frequency of price change, nominal rigidity of prices

Guidable Local Hamiltonian Problems with Implications to Heuristic Ans\"atze State Preparation and the Quantum PCP Conjecture

We study 'Merlinized' versions of the recently defined Guided Local Hamiltonian problem, which we call 'Guidable Local Hamiltonian' problems. Unlike their guided counterparts, these problems do not have a guiding state provided as a part of the input, but merely come with the promise that one exists. We consider in particular two classes of guiding states: those that can be prepared efficiently by a quantum circuit; and those belonging to a class of quantum states we call classically evaluatable, for which it is possible to efficiently compute expectation values of local observables classically. We show that guidable local Hamiltonian problems for both classes of guiding states are $\mathsf{QCMA}$-complete in the inverse-polynomial precision setting, but lie within $\mathsf{NP}$ (or $\mathsf{NqP}$) in the constant precision regime when the guiding state is classically evaluatable. Our completeness results show that, from a complexity-theoretic perspective, classical Ans\"atze selected by classical heuristics are just as powerful as quantum Ans\"atze prepared by quantum heuristics, as long as one has access to quantum phase estimation. In relation to the quantum PCP conjecture, we (i) define a complexity class capturing quantum-classical probabilistically checkable proof systems and show that it is contained in $\mathsf{BQP}^{\mathsf{NP}[1]}$ for constant proof queries; (ii) give a no-go result on 'dequantizing' the known quantum reduction which maps a $\mathsf{QPCP}$-verification circuit to a local Hamiltonian with constant promise gap; (iii) give several no-go results for the existence of quantum gap amplification procedures that preserve certain ground state properties; and (iv) propose two conjectures that can be viewed as stronger versions of the NLTS theorem. Finally, we show that many of our results can be directly modified to obtain similar results for the class $\mathsf{MA}$.Comment: 61 pages, 6 figure

Complexity of the Guided Local Hamiltonian Problem: Improved Parameters and Extension to Excited States

Recently it was shown that the so-called guided local Hamiltonian problem -- estimating the smallest eigenvalue of a $k$-local Hamiltonian when provided with a description of a quantum state ('guiding state') that is guaranteed to have substantial overlap with the true groundstate -- is BQP-complete for $k \geq 6$ when the required precision is inverse polynomial in the system size $n$, and remains hard even when the overlap of the guiding state with the groundstate is close to a constant $\left(\frac12 - \Omega\left(\frac{1}{\mathop{poly}(n)}\right)\right)$. We improve upon this result in three ways: by showing that it remains BQP-complete when i) the Hamiltonian is 2-local, ii) the overlap between the guiding state and target eigenstate is as large as $1 - \Omega\left(\frac{1}{\mathop{poly}(n)}\right)$, and iii) when one is interested in estimating energies of excited states, rather than just the groundstate. Interestingly, iii) is only made possible by first showing that ii) holds.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure

Історія України в джерелознавчих дослідженнях З. Анусіка

Рецензія на монографію: Zbigniew Anusik, Studia i szkice staropolskie, Łódź 2011, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, s. 853 (Збігнев Анусік. Старопольські дослідження і нариси (Лодзь, 2011)

Safety and Guaranteed Stability Through Embedded Energy-Aware Actuators

Safety is essential for robots in unknown environments, especially when there is physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI). Control over energy, or passivity, is an effective safety mechanism. However, when the control algorithm is implemented in a discrete-time computer, computation and communication delays readily lead to loss of passivity and to instability. In this paper, a way to make the actuators aware of the energy that they inject into the system is presented. Passivity and stability are then always guaranteed, even in situations of total communication loss. These Embedded Energy-Aware Actuators are a model-free passivity and safety layer that make complex robotic systems dependable, well-behaved and safe. The proposed method is validated in simulation and experiments

Genetic diversity of the potato cyst nematode in the Netherlands

The potato cyst nematodes Globodera rostochiensis (Woll.) Skarbilovich and G. pallida (Stone) originate from the Andes region in South America and have been introduced into Western Europe since 1850. Both species are successful colonizers. Once primary founders have established vital populations, an area is rapidly colonized by secondary founding events. The mode of spread results in patchy distribution patterns. Analyses of the processes that influence the spatial variations in virulence are of major importance for the control by means of host plant resistance. The ability to unravel the mosaic distribution patterns of the two species and their pathotypes enables breeders and growers to anticipate on the dynamics of virulent populations. The aim of this thesis was to analyse the intra- and interspecific variation of G. rostochiensis and G. pallida in the Netherlands and to obtain insight in the processes that determine the spatial variations in protein, DNA and (a)virulence polymorphisms.interspecific variationThe molecular variation between the sibling species G.rostochiensis and G.pallida is remarkably large. The RAPD technique revealed a total of 250 DNA fragments, of which only nine DNA fragments were common to both species (Chapter 3). Similar results were obtained with the AFLP assay. A total of 1000 AFLP fragments was amplified, of which only 64 fragments could be identified in both species (Chapter 4). These results agreed with previous investigations using 2-DGE and show that morphologically nearly indistinguishable organisms can be quite distinct the molecular level.The extensive genetic differentiation of G.rostochiensis and G . pallida offers perspectives for the development of a diagnostic assay. In addition the PCR technique enables the amplification of species specific fragments from small numbers of cysts extracted from soil samples. For example, G. rostochiensis specific DNA fragments can be amplified from single juveniles (Chapter 1).intraspecific variationThe intraspecific variation of G.rostochiensis as revealed by RAPDs and AFLPs is relatively low (Chapter 3 and 4). The proportion of polymorphic DNA fragments among nine G. rostochiensis populations was 19% and 15.8%, respectively. Three clusters of populations were identified and each cluster could be described by one or more specific DNA fragments.The intraspecific variation of G.pallida, as revealed with RAPDs or AFLPs, is larger in comparison with G.rostochiensis (Chapter 3 and 4). The proportion of polymorphic RAPD fragments among 17 populations was 46%. For the AFLP assay this figure was 23% polymorphic AFLP fragments among 15 populations. The majority of the populations displayed a continuous range of variations. Only a few clearly diverged clusters could be discriminated on the basis of specific DNA fragments.Various groups have applied the RAPD technique to study the genetic divergence among conspecific populations of plant parasitic nematodes. The validity of this technique was evaluated in chapter 4 by comparison of the clustering of 36 G.pallida populations based on RAPD and 2-DGE data. Both data sets demonstrated that the majority of the G.pallida populations were not clearly differentiated from each other. The overall correlation between the distance matrices derived from both data sets was low. Careful examination of the separate dendrograms showed similarity in clustering only for clearly diverged populations or groups of populations.Although the AFLP and RAPD technique are simple, fast and require only minute amounts of biological material, they are not suitable to resolve the subtle differences among potato cyst nematode populations. Quantitative variation in allele frequencies is often not resolved with those techniques, which is, among others, due to the virtual inability to recognize co-dominant alleles and the non-linear amplification of DNA fragments. In chapter 6 and 7 the genetic variation was studied by analysing pools of individuals with 2-DGE. The ratios between the protein quantities produced by the codominant alleles are appropriate measures for the allele frequencies. The correctness of this method has been confirmed by 2-DGE of single individuals (De Boer etal ., 1992)bottleneck effects on the secondary foundersThe intraspecific variation among potato cyst nematode populations in Europe is predominantly determined by the genetic constitution of the primary founders, directly or indirectly introduced from South America, and the effect of random genetic drift on the secondary founders. To obtain insight in these processes, 226 G.pallida populations from the Netherlands were analyzed with 2- DGE. The results strongly suggest that these populations originate from one source, or in case of multiple introductions, from a number of sources with a similar genetic makeup.The genetic differentiation of the 226 G.pallida populations indicate that the colonization of the Netherlands has been accompanied by extensive random genetic drift. Only a limited proportion of the populations appeared to be identical. It is also shown, that the bottleneck effects differ between regions. Significant variation in population structure was observed between the three investigated areas. The genetic variation within G.pallida populations from north Friesland and the IJsselmeerpolders is in general smaller than within populations from the northeast Netherlands. A plausible explanation for this phenomena is the low multiplication rate of potato cyst nematodes due to wider crop rotation schemes in the IJsselmeerpolders and north Friesland. These factors result in a slow expansion of newly founded populations, which enhances the effect of drift.gene-pool similarity conceptThe gene-pool similarity concept rests on the hypothesis that in the absence of selection pressure by host plant resistance, degrees of similarity between populations revealed by molecular techniques are also reflected at virulence loci, including those not yet resolved. To test this concept, the genetic variation revealed by 2-DGE among 102 G.pallida populations was compared with the variation in virulence towards two resistant cultivars. This analysis showed that a decrease in genetic distance among populations is accompanied with a decrease in variation in virulence. In addition it is demonstrated that the gene pool similarity concept is also applicable to loci determining the variation in fitness among populations. The variation in Pf/Pi values among the 102 populations on Désirée is in general smaller between closely related populations than between distantly related populations.breeding for resistanceBreeding for resistance has been dominated by trial-and-error approaches, which has stimulated the view that control by means of host plant resistance is unavoidably a short-term approach due to the 'appearance' of virulent populations. The pervasive myth that breeding for resistance against potato cyst nematodes is a lost arms race is challenged by the results of this thesis. Until recently it was assumed that the genetic variation of G.pallida in the Netherlands was too large to produce potato cultivars with broad-spectrum resistance. In this thesis it is shown that the genetic diversity introduced from the Andes region has been limited and that the variation among the Dutch G.pallida populations is mainly the result of random genetic drift. The elaborate analysis of 226 Dutch G.pallida populations offers perspectives to obtain potato cultivars with broad and durable resistance. The gene pool similarities revealed by 2-DGE can be used as guidance in testing the effectiveness of new sources of resistance

A Musical instrument in MEMS

In this work we describe a MEMS instrument that resonates at audible frequencies, and with which music can be made. The sounds are generated by mechanical resonators and capacitive displacement sensors. Damping by air scales unfavourably for generating audible frequencies with small devices. Therefore a vacuum of 1.5 mbar is used to increase the quality factor and consequently the duration of the sounds to around 0.25 s. The instrument will be demonstrated during the MME 2010 conference opening, in a musical composition especially made for the occasion