Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the Product of Two  $\kappa$ – $\mu$  Random Variables and its Application to Double and Composite Fading Channels

In this paper, we perform a systematic investigation of the statistics associated with the product of two independent and non-identically distributed <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$ </tex-math></inline-formula> random variables. More specifically, we develop novel analytical formulations for many of the fundamental statistics of interest, namely, the probability density function, cumulative distribution function, and moment-generating function. Using these new results, closed-form expressions are obtained for the higher order moments, amount of fading and channel quality estimation index, while analytical formulations are obtained for the outage probability, average channel capacity, average symbol error probability, and average bit error probability. These general expressions can be reduced to a number of fading scenarios, such as the double Rayleigh, double Rice, double Nakagami-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$ </tex-math></inline-formula>/Nakagami-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and Rice/Nakagami-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, which all occur as special cases. Additionally, as a byproduct of the work performed here, formulations for the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu /\kappa$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$ </tex-math></inline-formula> composite fading model can also be deduced. To illustrate the efficacy of the novel expressions proposed here, we provide useful insights into the outage probability of a dual-hop system used in body area networks, and demonstrate the suitability of the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu /\kappa$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$ </tex-math></inline-formula> composite fading for characterizing shadowed fading in device-to-device channels.
Stratification of Diversity and Activity of Methanogenic and Methanotrophic Microorganisms in a Nitrogen-Fertilized Italian Paddy Soil

Paddy fields are important ecosystems, as rice is the primary food source for about half of the world’s population. Paddy fields are impacted by nitrogen fertilization and are a major anthropogenic source of methane. Microbial diversity and methane metabolism were investigated in the upper 60 cm of a paddy soil by qPCR, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and anoxic 13C-CH4 turnover with a suite of electron acceptors. The bacterial community consisted mainly of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Actinobacteria. Among archaea, Euryarchaeota and Bathyarchaeota dominated over Thaumarchaeota in the upper 30 cm of the soil. Bathyarchaeota constituted up to 45% of the total archaeal reads in the top 5 cm. In the methanogenic community, Methanosaeta were generally more abundant than the versatile Methanosarcina. The measured maximum methane production rate was 444 nmol gdwh-1, and the maximum rates of nitrate-, nitrite-, and iron-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) were 57 nmol, 55 nmol, and 56 nmol gdwh-1, respectively, at different depths. qPCR revealed a higher abundance of ‘Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens’ than methanotrophic NC10 phylum bacteria at all depths, except at 60 cm. These results demonstrate that there is substantial potential for AOM in fertilized paddy fields, with ‘Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens’ archaea as a potential important contributor.
Fast Automatic Airport Detection in Remote Sensing Images Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Fast and automatic detection of airports from remote sensing images is useful for many military and civilian applications. In this paper, a fast automatic detection method is proposed to detect airports from remote sensing images based on convolutional neural networks using the Faster R-CNN algorithm. This method first applies a convolutional neural network to generate candidate airport regions. Based on the features extracted from these proposals, it then uses another convolutional neural network to perform airport detection. By taking the typical elongated linear geometric shape of airports into consideration, some specific improvements to the method are proposed. These approaches successfully improve the quality of positive samples and achieve a better accuracy in the final detection results. Experimental results on an airport dataset, Landsat 8 images, and a Gaofen-1 satellite scene demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.
Near-Field and Plane-Wave Electromagnetic Coupling into a Slotted Circular Cylinder: Hard or TE Polarization

An analytically tractable model is proposed in this initial study of the electromagnetic phenomena that control our ability to synthesize, by using a near-field source, the effect of plane-wave coupling through an aperture into the interior of a vehicle under test. An integral equation for the tangential electric field in the slot aperture of a perfectly conducting, infinitesimally thin-walled circular cylinder is solved using a basis set of Chebyshev polynomials that are properly weighted according to the static edge condition. The resulting matrix elements from a Galerkin procedure are computed to high precision upon extracting the logarithmic singularity of the kernel of the integral operator. Exact expressions for the matrix elements, in the form of rapidly convergent series of elementary terms, are constructed by isolating another logarithmic function of the aperture width. A minimization of the mean-square error between the true plane-wave response and that due to a near-field line-source establishes the optimal complex source strength of the near-field source
Use of spherical harmonics for dislocation dynamics in anisotropic elastic media

Large-scale dislocation dynamics simulations usually involve several millions of interacting dislocation segments. The stress at a point and interaction force between two segments need to be computed many times during simulations. We evaluate the cost versus accuracy of using spherical harmonics series to approximate the anisotropic elastic Green’s function in calculating stresses and forces between segments. The stress at a point is obtained by analytically integrating the spherical harmonics series once and the forces by integrating it analytically twice. We analyze the convergence and cost of using this approach and describe the elements of a fast implementation. We find that the cost of the force and stress calculations grows quadratically with the accuracy for a fixed anisotropy ratio.
Precipitation Patterns and Trends in the Metropolitan Area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This study investigated changes in mean and extreme precipitation in the metropolitan area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in an attempt to find the effects of urban areas on precipitation patterns. Precipitation data were obtained from a gridded (8-km spacing) historical climatic dataset for Wisconsin for 1950-2006. The MannKendall test and the Sen’s slope test were applied to investigate temporal trends. Monthly wind directions were examined against monthly precipitation patterns. Main findings from the study include the following: (1) Annual precipitation significantly increased in the northern part of the study area during 1950-2006, whereas extreme precipitation showed virtually no trends; (2) The metropolitan area showed a distinctive center of low precipitation in selected months; (3) Extreme precipitation showed a more localized pattern than annual precipitation; and (4) Wind directions reasonably explained the spatial distributions of monthly precipitation with respect to the urban area. The results suggest signals of urban influence on precipitation, which need to be corroborated by more detailed investigation on precipitation characteristics.
Seroprevalence of small ruminant caprine arthritis encephalitis lentivirus among goats from selected small ruminant farms in Selangor, Malaysia

Background and Aim: Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) is an important viral disease of small ruminants particularly in dairy goats with severe social and economic implication. Hence, this study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of CAE virus (CAEV) among goat population in selected small ruminant farms in Selangor and the risk factors associated with the occurrence of the disease. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from a total of 91 goats selected at random. Blood serum was harvested and used for competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test to detect antibodies against CAE virus. Results: The result obtained showed that 8/91 (8.8%) of the goats were seropositive for CAEV. In addition, biosecurity management, source of origin and sex of the animal were observed to be important risk factors associated with the occurrence of CAE in goats. Conclusion: The findings of this study affirmed that the seroprevalence of CAEV infection among goat population in small ruminant farms in Selangor, Malaysia, is low. However, there is need to institute strict control measures such as testing and culling positive animals or separation of infected animals from those that tested negative to the disease for effective eradication of the disease.
Spatial Diffusivity and Availability of Intracellular Calmodulin

Calmodulin (CaM) is the major pathway that transduces intracellular Ca2+ increases to the activation of a wide variety of downstream signaling enzymes. CaM and its target proteins form an integrated signaling network believed to be tuned spatially and temporally to control CaM's ability to appropriately pass signaling events downstream. Here, we report the spatial diffusivity and availability of CaM labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP)-CaM, at basal and elevated Ca2+, quantified by the novel fluorescent techniques of raster image scanning spectroscopy and number and brightness analysis. Our results show that in basal Ca2+ conditions cytoplasmic eGFP-CaM diffuses at a rate of 10 μm2/s, twofold slower than the noninteracting tracer, eGFP, indicating that a significant fraction of CaM is diffusing bound to other partners. The diffusion rate of eGFP-CaM is reduced to 7 μm2/s when a large (646 kDa) target protein Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II is coexpressed in the cells. In addition, the presence of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, which can bind up to 12 CaM molecules per holoenzyme, increases the stoichiometry of binding to an average of 3 CaMs per diffusive molecule. Elevating intracellular Ca2+ did not have a major impact on the diffusion of CaM complexes. These results present us with a model whereby CaM is spatially modulated by target proteins and support the hypothesis that CaM availability is a limiting factor in the network of CaM-signaling enzymes.
High land‐use intensity exacerbates shifts in grassland vegetation composition after severe experimental drought

Climate change projections anticipate increased frequency and intensity of drought stress, but grassland responses to severe droughts and their potential to recover are poorly understood. In many grasslands, high land‐use intensity has enhanced productivity and promoted resource‐acquisitive species at the expense of resource‐conservative ones. Such changes in plant functional composition could affect the resistance to drought and the recovery after drought of grassland ecosystems with consequences for feed productivity resilience and environmental stewardship. In a 12‐site precipitation exclusion experiment in upland grassland ecosystems across Switzerland, we imposed severe edaphic drought in plots under rainout shelters and compared them with plots under ambient conditions. We used soil water potentials to scale drought stress across sites. Impacts of precipitation exclusion and drought legacy effects were examined along a gradient of land‐use intensity to determine how grasslands resisted to, and recovered after drought. In the year of precipitation exclusion, aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in plots under rainout shelters was −15% to −56% lower than in control plots. Drought effects on ANPP increased with drought severity, specified as duration of topsoil water potential ψ < −100 kPa, irrespective of land‐use intensity. In the year after drought, ANPP had completely recovered, but total species diversity had declined by −10%. Perennial species showed elevated mortality, but species richness of annuals showed a small increase due to enhanced recruitment. In general, the more resource‐acquisitive grasses increased at the expense of the deeper‐rooted forbs after drought, suggesting that community reorganization was driven by competition rather than plant mortality. The negative effects of precipitation exclusion on forbs increased with land‐use intensity. Our study suggests a synergistic impact of land‐use intensification and climate change on grassland vegetation composition, and implies that biomass recovery after drought may occur at the expense of biodiversity maintenance.
How to conduct research of rare autoimmune diseases

Abstract Rare autoimmune diseases are difficult to conduct researches in spite of present era with advanced scientific progress. Research using genetic approach is a promising way since genetic findings implicate causality of diseases. Still, there are multiple obstacles preventing genetic studies of rare diseases. Here, we list up the problems and propose solutions for them with detailed examples. The biggest problem is that it is difficult to collect a substantial number of DNA samples from patients with rare diseases. We propose to collaborate not only with academic institutions and hospitals but with patients’ groups. Detailed examples include studies about Takayasu arteritis (TAK), relapsing polychondritis, and systemic sclerosis. In TAK, we identified IL12B, a key gene which seems to play a central role in the disease. After getting evidence of IL12p40 encoded by IL12B as a possible therapeutic target by showing similarities of the genetic background between TAK and ulcerative colitis, we performed a pilot clinical study of ustekinumab, a monoclonal antibody against IL12p40 for patients with refractory TAK and obtained good response. This is a good example of how genetic findings in a rare disease lead to development of new therapeutic option.
Geomorphic stasis and spatiotemporal scales of stratigraphic completeness

Alluvial stratigraphic records are notoriously incomplete. All stratigraphic sections within sedimentary basins experience varying episodes of erosion and geomorphic stasis during their accumulation. This has detrimental effects on the completeness of paleoclimatic and paleobiologic records. Here we evaluate the resultant stratigraphic incompleteness using a physical experiment with self-organized vertical scales of topography and lateral scales of geomorphic stasis. First, we document how stratigraphic completeness improves as the temporal discretization interval coarsens, and show that the primary cause of the missing time shifts from stasis to erosion as the discretization is coarsened. Second, we demonstrate that the debilitating effect of finer temporal resolution can be predictably offset by compositing records across a wider area, and present a new two-dimensional formulation of stratigraphic completeness. These findings imply systematic shifts in taphonomic preservation, and by extension, the quality of paleobiologic and paleoclimatic proxy records.
Formation of grain boundary second phase in BaTiO3 polycrystal under a high DC electric field at elevated temperatures

The microstructure of the damaged area created during a ﬂ ash sintering event in BaTiO 3 was examined by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and electron energy loss spectrometry (EELS) measurement. A DC electric ﬁ eld of 133V / cm was applied to a fully-densi ﬁ ed BaTiO 3 body prepared by conventional sintering, and the specimen temperature was elevated at a constant heating rate. The ﬂ ash sintering event, at which the electric current in the specimen abruptly increases at the threshold ﬁ eld and temperature, took place at 890°C. After the ﬂ ash event, tunnellike physical damage was observed in the direction of the ﬁ eld through the specimen. Formation of grain boundary second phase layers around the damaged area was con ﬁ rmed by HRTEM observations. The grain boundary second layer was a crystalline phase with a low Ba / Ti atomic ratio of less than one. The temperature in some of the grain boundaries must increase by Joule heating during the ﬂ ash event, thus the chemical composition in the vicinity of the grain boundaries changed due to vaporization of the Ba cations, resulting in the formation of the grain boundary second phase layers.
Modest-2: a Summary

This is a summary paper of MODEST-2, a workshop held at the Astronomical Institute “Anton Pannekoek” in Amsterdam, 16-17 December 2002. MODEST is a loose collaboration of people interested in MOdelling DEnse STellar systems, particularly those interested in modelling these systems using all the available physics (stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, hydrodynamics and the interplay between the three) by defining interfaces between different codes. In this paper, we summarize 1) the main advances in this endeavour since MODEST-1; 2) the main science goals which can be and should be addressed by these types of simulations; and 3) the most pressing theoretical and modelling advances that we identified.
Contextual Influences on Implicit Evaluation: A Test of Additive Versus Contrastive Effects of Evaluative Context Stimuli in Affective Priming

Drawing on two alternative accounts of the affective priming effect (spreading activation vs. response interference), the present research investigated the underlying processes of how evaluative context stimuli influence implicit evaluations in the affective priming task. Employing two sequentially presented prime stimuli (rather than a single prime), two experiments showed that affective priming effects elicited by a given prime stimulus were more pronounced when this stimulus was preceded by a context prime of the opposite valence than when it was preceded by a context prime of the same valence. This effect consistently emerged for pictures (Experiment 1) and words (Experiment 2) as prime stimuli. These results suggest that the impact of evaluative context stimuli on implicit evaluations is mediated by contrast effects in the attention to evaluative information rather than by additive effects in the activation of evaluative information in associative memory.
Cross-sectional study of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in horses. Part 1: Prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli represents a significant problem. However, the carriage of such bacteria by horses in the UK has not been well characterised. OBJECTIVES To estimate the prevalence of nasal carriage of MRSA and faecal carriage of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli amongst horses in the general equine community of the mainland UK. METHODS A cross-sectional study of horses recruited by 65 randomly selected equine veterinary practices was conducted, with nasal swabs and faecal samples collected. Faecal samples were cultured for antimicrobial-resistant E. coli. Nasal swabs were cultured for staphylococcal species; methicillin-resistant isolates identified as S. aureus were characterised by SCCmec and spa gene typing. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to calculate prevalence estimates with adjustment for clustering at practice and premises levels. Spatial variation in risk of antimicrobial resistance was also examined. RESULTS In total, 650 faecal samples and 678 nasal swabs were collected from 692 horses located on 525 premises. The prevalence of faecal carriage of E. coli with resistance to any antimicrobial was 69.5% (95% CI 65.9-73.1%) and the prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli was 6.3% (95% CI 4.1-9.6%). The prevalence of nasal carriage of MRSA was 0.6% (95% CI 0.2-1.5%). Spatial analysis indicated variation across the UK for risk of carriage of resistant and multidrug-resistant (resistant to more than 3 antimicrobial classes) E. coli. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE Carriage of MRSA by horses in the community appears rare, but the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli (including ESBL-producing E. coli) is higher. A high prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria could have significant health implications for the horse population of the UK.
Ecological succession of adult necrophilous insects on neonate Sus scrofa domesticus in central North Carolina

The necrophilous insect fauna on carcasses varies seasonally and geographically. The ecological succession of insects arriving to decaying neonate pig carcasses in central North Carolina during late summer was sampled using a novel vented-chamber collection method. We collected six blow fly species, flesh flies, house flies and 10 beetle taxa, including four species of scarab beetles. Necrophilous fly activity dominated the early decomposition stages, whereas beetle numbers remained low until day 4. By day 7, more than 50% of the pig carcasses were skeletonized and they attracted few insects. Differences in the taxa and successional patterns documented in this experiment and a previous study in the same location highlight the ecological variation in such investigations, and underscore the need for standardization, as well as for ecological succession studies on finer geographic scales.
Industry 4.0 key research topics: A bibliometric review

The digitalization phenomenon and the growing adoption of innovative technologies is favoring the transformation of organizations into Cyber Physical Systems. The transition towards this new organizational system is often labeled as Industry 4.0. The attention to this topic is increasing lately, even if heterogeneous denominations and approaches are adopted to addresses this phenomenon. This article aims to shed some light between twelve different approaches of industry 4.0 described in literature. Conducting a bibliometric review, the paper identifies the key topics related to Industry 4.0 by the literature available.