Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shadow Pattern-Enhanced Building Height Extraction Using Very-High-Resolution Image

Building height is valuable for a variety of foci in urban studies. The traditional field investigations are not practical for the updates of massive building height in a large-scale urban area. Given the relationship between building structures and their shadow sizes, the building shadow becomes practical for estimating its corresponding building height when its geometrical shape is visible in newly emerging very-high-resolution (VHR) images. However, the shadow shape of different buildings might vary significantly, posing a great challenge to determining the edge of shadow useful for predicting building height. This study proposes a shadow pattern classification system (ShadowClass) to summarize the varied shadow shapes into a number of pattern categories and employ a cutting-edge CNN model to classify the extracted shadows into a pattern for automatically determining the edge of a building shadow being useful for building height estimation. We integrated the proposed approach into two branches of the state-of-the-art approaches: shadow-based building height estimation with open cyberinfrastructure and shadow-based building height estimation with VHR image. The experimental results proved that the proposed method could be a practical solution for single and isolated buildings that have their complete shadow shape.
Remittances-Exchange Rate Nexus: Evidence from Pakistan

The major goal of this study was to estimate the remittances-exchange rate nexus in Pakistan. For this purpose, it adopted a two-step procedure to examine the short-run and long-run nexus between exchange rate and remittances in Pakistan from January 1980 to April 2018. In the first step, an ARMA-GARCH model was utilized along with the generated conditional variance as the measure of the volatility of remittances and rate of exchange, respectively. In the second step, ARDL framework was utilized to check both the long- and short-run nexus between rate of exchange and inflation. The result revealed that past remittances and exchange rate affected current remittances and rate of exchange, significantly. Furthermore, it was also shown that exchange rate has a significant and positive effect on remittances and the volatility of rate of exchange has a significant and positive effect on exchange rate in the long-run. The test of causality showed that a bidirectional causality exists between remittances and the volatility of remittances, as well as between rate of exchange and the volatility of rate of exchange. Thus, it is suggested that the government needs to formulate policies to maintain the stability of exchange rate. Moreover, strong capital and financial markets are required to mitigate the risk of exchange rates.Keywords: exchange rate, remittances, volatility
Are observations of the galaxy cluster A1689 consistent with a neutrino dark matter scenario

Recent weak and strong lensing data of the galaxy cluster A1689 are modelled by dark fermions that are quantum degenerate within some core. The gas density, deduced from X-ray observations up to 1 Mpc and obeying a cored power law, is taken as input, while the galaxy mass density is modelled. An additional dark matter tail may arise from cold or warm dark matter, axions or non-degenerate neutrinos. The fit yields that the fermions are degenerate within a 430-kpc radius. The fermion mass is a few eV and the best case involves three active plus three sterile neutrinos of equal mass, for which we deduce 1.51 ± 0.04 eV. The eV mass range will be tested in the KATRIN experiment.
Atmospheric Dispersion Effects in Weak Lensing Measurements

The wavelength dependence of atmospheric refraction causes elongation of finite-bandwidth images along the elevation vector, which produces spurious signals in weak gravitational lensing shear measurements unless this atmospheric dispersion is calibrated and removed to high precision. Because astrometric solutions and point spread function (PSF) characteristics are typically calibrated from stellar images, differences between the reference stars’ spectra and the galaxies’ spectra will leave residual errors in both the astrometric positions ( Δ R ¯ ) and in the second moment (width) of the wavelength-averaged PSF (ΔV) for galaxies. We estimate the level of ΔV that will induce spurious weak lensing signals in PSF-corrected galaxy shapes that exceed the statistical errors of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) cosmic-shear experiments. We also estimate the Δ R ¯ signals that will produce unacceptable spurious distortions after stacking of exposures taken at different air masses and hour angles. Using standard galaxy and stellar spectral templates we calculate the resultant errors in the griz bands and find that atmospheric dispersion shear systematics, left uncorrected, are up to 6 and 2 times larger in g and r bands, respectively, than the thresholds at which they become significant contributors to the DES error budget, but can be safely ignored in i and z bands. For the stricter LSST requirements, the factors are about 30, 10, and 3 in g, r, and i bands, respectively. These shear systematic errors scale with observed zenith angle z as 〈 tan2 z〉, for which we take a nominal value of unity—simulations of DES and LSST suggest 0.6–1.0. We find that a simple correction linear in galaxy color is accurate enough to reduce dispersion shear systematics to insignificant levels in the r band for DES and i band for LSST, but still as much 5× above the threshold of significance for LSST r-band observations. More complex approaches to correction of the atmospheric dispersion signal will likely be able to reduce the systematic cosmic shear errors below statistical errors for LSST r band. But g-band dispersion effects remain large enough that it seems likely that induced systematics will dominate the statistical errors of both surveys, and cosmic-shear measurements should rely on the redder bands.
Dipolar versus multipolar dynamos: the influence of the background density stratification

Context: dynamo action in giant planets and rapidly rotating stars leads to a broad variety of magnetic field geometries including small scale multipolar and large scale dipole-dominated topologies. Previous dynamo models suggest that solutions become multipolar once inertia becomes influential. Being tailored for terrestrial planets, most of these models neglected the background density stratification. Aims: we investigate the influence of the density stratification on convection-driven dynamo models. Methods: three-dimensional nonlinear simulations of rapidly rotating spherical shells are employed using the anelastic approximation to incorporate density stratification. A systematic parametric study for various density stratifications and Rayleigh numbers allows to explore the dependence of the magnetic field topology on these parameters. Results: anelastic dynamo models tend to produce a broad range of magnetic field geometries that fall on two distinct branches with either strong dipole-dominated or weak multipolar fields. As long as inertia is weak, both branches can coexist but the dipolar branch vanishes once inertia becomes influential. The dipolar branch also vanishes for stronger density stratifications. The reason is the concentration of the convective columns in a narrow region close to the outer boundary equator, a configuration that favors non-axisymmetric solutions. In multipolar solutions, zonal flows can become significant and participate in the toroidal field generation. Parker dynamo waves may then play an important role close to onset of dynamo action leading to a cyclic magnetic field behavior. Conclusion: Our simulations also suggest that the fact that late M dwarfs have dipolar or multipolar magnetic fields can be explained in two ways. They may differ either by the relative influence of inertia or fall into the regime where both types of solutions coexist.
Meridional circulation from differential rotation in an adiabatically stratified solar/stellar convection zone

Meridional circulation in stellar convection zones is not generally well observed, but may be critical for the workings of MHD dynamos operating in these domains. Coriolis forces from differential rotation play a large role in determining what the meridional circulation is. Here, we consider the question of whether a stellar differential rotation that is constant on cylinders concentric with the rotation axis can drive a meridional circulation. Conventional wisdom says that it can not. Using two related forms of the governing equations that respectively estimate the longitudinal components of the curl of the meridional mass flux and the vorticity, we show that such differential rotation will drive a meridional flow. This is because to satisfy anelastic mass conservation, non-spherically symmetric pressure contours must be present for all differential rotations, not just ones that depart from constancy on cylinders concentric with the rotation axis. Therefore, the fluid is always baroclinic if differential rotation is present. This is because, in anelastic systems, the perturbation pressure must satisfy a Poisson type equation, as well as an equation of state and a thermodynamic equation. We support our qualitative reasoning with numerical examples, and show that meridional circulation is sensitive to the magnitude and form of departures from rotation constant on cylinders. The effect should be present in 3D global anelastic convection simulations, particularly those for which the differential rotation driven by global convection is nearly cylindrical in profile. For solar-like differential rotation, Coriolis forces generally drive a two-celled circulation in each hemisphere, with a second, reversed flow at high latitudes. For solar like turbulent viscosities, the meridional circulation produced by Coriolis forces is much larger than observed on the Sun. Therefore, there must be at least one additional force, probably a buoyancy force, which opposes the meridional flow to bring its amplitude down to observed values.
Galactic and cosmic Type Ia supernova (SNIa) rates: is it possible to impose constraints on SNIa progenitors?

We compute the Type Ia supernova rates in typical elliptical galaxies by varying the progenitor models for Type Ia supernovae. To do that a formalism which takes into account the delay distribution function (DTD) of the explosion times and a given star formation history is adopted. Then the chemical evolution for ellipticals with baryonic initial masses 10 10 , 10 11 and 10 12 M⊙ is computed, and the mass of Fe produced by each galaxy is precisely estimated. We also compute the expected Fe mass ejected by ellipticals in typical galaxy clusters (e.g. Coma and Virgo), under different assumptions about Type Ia SN progenitors. As a last step, we compute the cosmic Type Ia SN rate in an unitary volume of the Universe by adopting several cosmic star formation rates and compare it with the available and recent observational data. Unfortunately, no firm conclusions can be derived only from the cosmic SNIa rate, neither on SNIa progenitors nor on the cosmic star formation rate. Finally, by analysing all our results together, and by taking into account previous chemical evolution results, we try to constrain the best Type Ia progenitor model. We conclude that the best progenitor models for Type Ia SNe are still the single degenerate model, the double degenerate wide model, and the empirical bimodal model. All these models require the existence of prompt Type Ia supernovae, exploding in the first 100 Myr since the beginning of star formation, although their fraction should not exceed 15-20% in order to fit chemical abundances in galaxies.
Antitruncated stellar light profiles in the outer regions of STAGES spiral galaxies: Bulge or disc related?

We present a comparison of azimuthally averaged radial surface brightness µ(r) profiles and analytical bulge–disc decompositions (de Vaucouleurs, r 1/4 bulge plus exponential disc) for spiral galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys V -band imaging from the Space Telescope A901/2 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES). In the established classification scheme, antitruncated µ(r) profiles (Type III) have a broken exponential disc with a shallower region beyond the break radius rbrk. The excess light at large radii (r > rbrk) can either be caused by an outer exponential disc (Type III-d) or an extended spheroidal component (Type III-s). Using our comparisons, we determine the contribution of bulge light at r > rbrk for a large sample of 78 (barred/unbarred, Sa-Sd) spiral galaxies with outer disc antitruncations (µbrk > 24magarcsec 2 ). In the majority of cases (� 85 per cent), evidence indicates that excess light at r > rbrk is related to an outer shallow disc (Type III-d). Here, the contribution of bulge light at r > rbrk is either negligible (� 70 per cent) or too little to explain the antitruncation (� 15 per cent). However in the latter cases, bulge light can affect the measured disc properties (e.g. µbrk, outer scalelength). In the remaining cases (� 15 per cent), light at r > rbrk is dominated by the bulge (Type III-s). Here, for most cases the bulge profile dominates at all radii and only occasionally (3 galaxies, � 5 per cent) extends beyond that of a dominant disc and explains the excess light at r > rbrk. We thus conclude that in the vast majority of cases antitruncated outer discs cannot be explained by bulge light and thus remain a pure disc phenomenon.
DEEP OPTICAL OBSERVATIONS OF UNUSUAL NEUTRON STAR CALVERA WITH THE GTC

Calvera is an unusual, isolated neutron star with a pure thermal X-ray spectrum typical of central compact objects in supernova remnants. On the other hand, its rotation period and spin-down rate are typical of ordinary rotation-powered pulsars. It was discovered and studied through X-rays, and has not yet been detected in other spectral domains. We present deep optical imaging of the Calvera field, obtained with the Gran Telescopio Canarias, in the and bands. Within the vicinity of of Calvera, we detected two point-like objects that were invisible at previous shallow observations. However, accurate astrometry showed that neither of them can be identified with the pulsar. We put new upper limits of and on its optical brightness. We also reanalyzed all available archival X-ray data on Calvera. Comparison of the Calvera thermal emission parameters and upper limits on optical and non-thermal X-ray emission with respective data on rotation-powered pulsars shows that Calvera might belong to the class of ordinary middle-aged pulsars, if we assume that its distance is in the range of 1.5–5 kpc.
Development and construction of MAROON-X

We report on the development and construction of a new fiber-fed, red-optical, high-precision radial-velocity spectrograph for one of the twin 6.5m Magellan Telescopes in Chile. MAROON-X will be optimized to find and characterize rocky planets around nearby M dwarfs with an intrinsic per measurement noise floor below 1ms-1. The instrument is based on a commercial echelle spectrograph customized for high stability and throughput. A microlens array based pupil slicer and double scrambler, as well as a rubidium-referenced etalon comb calibrator will turn this spectrograph into a high-precision radial-velocity machine. MAROON-X will undergo extensive lab tests in the second half of 2016.
Truck and Cross-Docking Scheduling in the Flower Export Sector in Colombia

The Colombian flower sector accounts for approximately 4% of the country’s total exports. The logistics of flower exports involve urban or peri-urban internal transport to international airports. Trucks with flowers face major problems related to heavy traffic and long queues at the airport parking areas and unloading docks creating congestion and emissions. We study both a queue management system and a scheduling system for trucks, similar to those used in container terminals, with provisions for road traffic for realistic-sized problems. We used real data from our previous studies and from external sources to test our model. The results are discussed and analyzed, taking into consideration the constraints of the actual airport operations and the flower business. The results show that the current operation of the airport cargo terminal can be significantly improved with both queue management and scheduling systems. We finally discuss the implementation of these two systems.
CLT for supercritical branching processes with heavy-tailed branching law

Consider a branching system with particles moving according to an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process with drift $\mu>0$ and branching according to a law in the domain of attraction of the $(1+\beta)$-stable distribution. The mean of the branching law is strictly larger than $1$ implying that the system is supercritical and the total number of particles grows exponentially at some rate $\lambda>0$. It is known that the system obeys a law of large numbers. In the paper we study its rate of convergence. We discover an interesting interplay between the branching rate $\lambda$ and the drift parameter $\mu$. There are three regimes of the second order behavior: $\cdot$ small branching, $\lambda <(1+1/\beta) \mu$, then the speed of convergence is the same as in the stable central limit theorem but the limit is affected by the dependence between particles. $\cdot$ critical branching, $\lambda =(1+1/\beta) \mu$, then the dependence becomes strong enough to make the rate of convergence slightly smaller, yet the qualitative behaviour still resembles the stable central limit theorem $\cdot$ large branching, $\lambda > (1+1/\beta) \mu$, then the dependence manifests much more profoundly, the rate of convergence is substantially smaller and strangely the limit holds a.s.
Humoral immune response in COVID-19 patients and novel design of lateral flow assay strip for simultaneous rapid detection of IgA/IgM/ IgG antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus

At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus (CoV) appeared in Wuhan, China and has since spread to several countries and regions throughout the world. The disease caused by the novel CoV has been officially named CoV disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study provides additional data for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies in COVID-19 patients in Vietnam. The study also presents the development of a lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) strip for rapid simultaneous detection of the IgA/IgM/IgG antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in COVID-19 patients. The properties of the LFA test strip were evaluated by testing specimens from COVID-19 positive and negative patients confirmed by real-time PCR. Reproducibility and repeatability reached 100%. The LFA test strip did not show any cross-reactivity with 13 different pathogens and did not interfere with anticoagulants. The sensitivity and specificity of the LFA test strips were evaluated with 633 clinical samples and were found to be 91.06% and 98.74%, respectively. The Kappa statistics showed almost perfect agreement and correlation between our test strip and real-time PCR results (k coefficient = 0.902). From the obtained results, it could be suggested that the LFA test strip is a useful tool for rapid detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 to accelerate epidemiological surveillance, to determine the situation of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and to increase the diagnostic accuracy of the real-time PCR method for COVID-19. © 2023 Ngo, et al.
THE ROTATION OF THE HOT GAS AROUND THE MILKY WAY

The hot gaseous halos of galaxies likely contain a large amount of mass and are an integral part of galaxy formation and evolution. The Milky Way has a 2 × 10 6 -->? > K halo that is detected in emission and by absorption in the O vii resonance line against bright background active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and for which the best current model is an extended spherical distribution. Using XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer data, we measure the Doppler shifts of the O vii absorption-line centroids toward an ensemble of AGNs. These Doppler shifts constrain the dynamics of the hot halo, ruling out a stationary halo at about 3 &sgr; -->? > and a co-rotating halo at 2 &sgr; -->? > , and leading to a best-fit rotational velocity of v φ = 183 ± 41 -->? > km s−1 for an extended halo model. These results suggest that the hot gas rotates and that it contains an amount of angular momentum comparable to that in the stellar disk. We examined the possibility of a model with a kinematically distinct disk and spherical halo. To be consistent with the emission-line X-ray data, the disk must contribute less than 10% of the column density, implying that the Doppler shifts probe motion in the extended hot halo.
Coffea canephora: Heterotic Crosses Indicated by Molecular Approach

The genus Coffea comprises more than 100 species, of which the most commercially important are Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora. The latter is a self-incompatible plant with high natural genetic variability. The detection of polymorphism at the DNA level by molecular markers allowed significant progress with the selection of superior plants. The objective of this study was the molecular characterization of C. canephora using microsatellite markers. To this end, a population of forty-four C. canephora genotypes and one C. arabica genotype, was evaluated with 21 primers. These primers identified 61 alleles in the population and between 2 and 5 alleles per locus. The information index indicated a high level of polymorphism of the analyzed markers. According to the observed and expected heterozygosity, the genetic diversity in the population is high. The overall inbreeding coefficient of the population detected high heterozygosity and zero inbreeding within this population. Genetic diversity among the accessions was also evaluated by the unweighted pair-group method based on arithmetic averages (UPGMA). Six groups were formed based on Mojena’s cutting rule and three using the Bayesian approach. These results confirmed the existence of genetic diversity, genetic variability and a potential for selection in future breeding efforts involving the 45 genotypes studied.
Thermal characteristics of a B8.3 flare observed on July 04, 2009

Abstract We explore the temporal evolution of flare plasma parameters including temperature (T) - differential emission measure (DEM) relationship by analyzing high spectral and temporal cadence of X-ray emission in 1.6-8.0 keV energy band, recorded by SphinX (Polish) and Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS; Indian) instruments, during a B8.3 flare which occurred on July 04, 2009. SphinX records X-ray emission in 1.2-15.0 keV energy band with the temporal and spectral cadence as good as 6 μs and 0.4 keV, respectively. On the other hand, SOXS provides X-ray observations in 4-25 keV energy band with the temporal and spectral resolution of 3 s and 0.7 keV, respectively. We derive the thermal plasma parameters during impulsive phase of the flare employing well-established Withbroe-Sylwester DEM inversion algorithm.
Evaluation of Metal–Semiconductor Contact Quality: Correlation of 1/f Noise and Nonlinearity

Measurement of 1/f noise emerges as a valuable tool for contact quality evaluation, which simultaneously provides information about the 1/f noise magnitude and nonlinearity of the contact. This article investigates experimentally the correlation of current–voltage characteristics nonlinearity and 1/f noise for the metal–semiconductor–metal structure. It was found that the nonlinearity and 1/f noise originate from metal–semiconductor contact. The relative 1/f noise of weak-nonlinear, roughly ohmic contact, is proportional to the parameter describing the nonlinearity. Further increase of contact nonlinearity, by decreasing the temperature, substantially increases the 1/f noise magnitude. The efforts to develop low-noise semiconductor devices should be focused on avoiding even weak nonlinearity of contacts because it results in substantial 1/f noise.