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We present and validate the catalogue of Lyman-α forest fluctuations for 3D analyses using the Early Data Release (EDR) from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We used 88 511 quasars collected from DESI Survey Validation (SV) data and the first two months of the main survey (M2). We present several improvements to the method used to extract the Lyman-α absorption fluctuations performed in previous analyses from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In particular, we modify the weighting scheme and show that it can improve the precision of the correlation function measurement by more than 20 per cent. This catalogue can be downloaded from https://data.desi.lbl.gov/public/edr/vac/edr/lya/fuji/v0.3 , and it will be used in the near future for the first DESI measurements of the 3D correlations in the Lyman-α forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1D power spectrum P 1D of the Ly α forest provides important information about cosmological and astrophysical parameters, including constraints on warm dark matter models, the sum of the masses of the three neutrino species, and the thermal state of the intergalactic medium. We present the first measurement of P 1D with the quadratic maximum likelihood estimator (QMLE) from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey early data sample. This early sample of 54 600 quasars is already comparable in size to the largest previous studies, and we conduct a thorough investigation of numerous instrumental and analysis systematic errors to evaluate their impact on DESI data with QMLE. We demonstrate the excellent performance of the spectroscopic pipeline noise estimation and the impressive accuracy of the spectrograph resolution matrix with 2D image simulations of raw DESI images that we processed with the DESI spectroscopic pipeline. We also study metal line contamination and noise calibration systematics with quasar spectra on the red side of the Ly α emission line. In a companion paper, we present a similar analysis based on the Fast Fourier Transform estimate of the power spectrum. We conclude with a comparison of these two approaches and discuss the key sources of systematic error that we need to address with the upcoming DESI Year 1 analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite imagery is an indispensable tool in operational oil spills mapping. The smooth surface of oil sleeks make them visible in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery due to the low backscatter values making the oil spills distinctly dark in SAR images compared to the surrounding water. Oil extent delineation using SAR is very common but aside from using SAR images, optical satellite images are also of great help by capitalizing on the spectral characteristics of the oil surface to isolate the oil extents. The delineated extents are post-processed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) software where the oil spill area is calculated and published as oil extent maps. Though the area can be calculated, estimating the volume of oil present in the extent map remains to be a challenge. To answer this problem, this paper proposes a Physics-based solution to calculate the thickness of the oil by analysing local maxima in the reflectance spectrum of oil-covered water. Using this technique, oil thickness was estimated from Sentinel-2 multispectral images of an oil spill. It yielded an average oil thickness estimate of 0.560 ± 0.164 microns. The calculated thickness is used to estimate the volume of spilled oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) represent a spectrum of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders. Our study describes an IRD patient carrying ABCA4 and USH2A pathogenic biallelic mutations as a result of paternal uniparental disomy (UPD) in chromosome 1. The proband is a 9-year-old girl born from non-consanguineous parents. Both parents were asymptomatic and denied family history of ocular disease. Clinical history and ophthalmologic examination of the proband were consistent with Stargardt disease. Whispered voice testing disclosed moderate hearing loss. Next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing identified pathogenic variants in ABCA4 (c.4926C>G and c.5044_5058del) and USH2A (c.2276G>T). All variants were present homozygously in DNA from the proband and heterozygously in DNA from the father. No variants were found in maternal DNA. Further analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms confirmed paternal UPD of chromosome 1. This is the first known patient with confirmed UPD for two recessively mutated IRD genes. Our study expands on the genetic heterogeneity of IRDs and highlights the importance of UPD as a mechanism of autosomal recessive disease in non-consanguineous parents. Moreover, a long-term follow-up is essential for the identification of retinal features that may develop as a result of USH2A-related conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientia Agropecuaria is the property of Scientia Agropecuaria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This work was carried out in the "César Escalante Dellundé" Meat Company, in the province of Camagüey, Cuba, with the objective of evaluating its steam generation and distribution system. An energy efficiency of the fire-tube boiler of 87.41% was obtained, the heat losses to the environment of the non-insulated pipes amounted to 85,764.31 W, while the total hardness of the feed water to the boiler is 10.26 times above the standard value. Two alternatives for improvements were proposed, consisting of: 1) insulation of the pipes through which water vapor circulates with Mineral Wool, and 2) preheating the boiler feed water up to 70 °C. The application of both proposals of improvements will result in fuel savings of 23.56 kg/h, which allows stop releasing about 576 m3/h of combustion gases to the environment, along with an increase of the energy efficiency of the boiler of 0.10 %. The total investment cost necessary to implement the two proposed improvement alternatives reached a value of $ 8 117,35 Cuban pesos (CUP), which is recovered in 2.36 months considering the economic savings per year obtained, which amount to CUP $ 41 193.33 due to fuel not consumed in the boiler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood extent delineation from RADAR images usually entails manual thresholding per scene, which is not feasible when tackling large-scale floods that often covers multiple RADAR scenes. It is also computationally intensive when processed through traditional remote sensing techniques that limit its use during emergency situations. To hasten the production of flood maps from RADAR images during flooding incidents, a deep learning model using Fully connected Convolutional Neural Network (FCNN) has been developed to delineate flooded areas with minimal human intervention. The model was formulated from the data gathered during a flooding event captured by both Sentinel-1A SAR satellite and Planet's Dove optical satellites. Two pre-flood and one post-flood SAR scenes were used to detect the occurrence of water by analysing drops in backscatter values. The potential flood extents were verified using optical images which were then used to train the AI model. The model is currently being used operationally to map flood extent across the Philippines with no human intervention from data download to detection of flooded areas. The technique can detect floods across five Sentinel 1 scenes in less than four hours upon download of new satellite data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Updating of seasonal agricultural crop map is limited by the local knowledge of the mapper. Mapping of previously unaccounted agricultural plots involve massive field works aided by very high-resolution images. The phenological cycle of seasonal crops like sugarcane, with a range of ten (10) to twelve (12) months from planting to harvesting, exhibit a unique characteristic in terms of radar backscatter and time. In this paper, a pattern matching algorithm was tested to detect sugarcane plantations. Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), which was originally used for voice recognition, was used to detect sugarcane plantations from multitemporal Sentinel-1A images. Using known sugarcane plots, temporal signatures were gathered and used to detect other plantations in the area. The result helped the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in updating the inventory of sugarcane plantations faster with detection accuracy of more than 92 percent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational capability and connectivity are key elements for understanding how central vestibular neurons contribute to gaze-stabilizing eye movements during self-motion. In the well-characterized and segmentally distributed hindbrain oculomotor network of goldfish, we determined afferent and efferent connections along with discharge patterns of descending octaval nucleus (DO) neurons during different eye motions. Based on activity correlated with horizontal eye and head movements, DO neurons were categorized into two complementary groups that either increased discharge during both contraversive (type II) eye (e) and ipsiversive (type I) head (h) movements (eIhII) or vice versa (eIhII). Matching time courses of slow-phase eye velocity and corresponding firing rates during prolonged visual and head rotation suggested direct causality in generating extraocular motor commands. The axons of the dominant eIhII subgroup projected either ipsi- or contralaterally and terminated in the abducens nucleus, Area II, and Area I with additional recurrent collaterals of ipsilaterally projecting neurons within the parent nucleus. Distinct feedforward commissural pathways between bilateral DO neurons likely contribute to the generation of eye velocity signals in eIhII cells. The shared contribution of DO and Area II neurons to eye velocity storage likely represents an ancestral condition in goldfish that is clearly at variance with the task separation between mammalian medial vestibular and prepositus hypoglossi neurons. This difference in signal processing between fish and mammals might correlate with a larger repertoire of visuo-vestibular-driven eye movements in the latter species that potentially required a shift in sensitivity and connectivity within the hindbrain-cerebello-oculomotor network. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We describe the structure and function of neurons within the goldfish descending octaval nucleus. Our findings indicate that eye and head velocity signals are processed by vestibular and Area II velocity storage integrator circuitries whereas the velocity-to-position Area I neural integrator generates eye position solely. This ancestral condition differs from that of mammals, in which vestibular neurons generally lack eye position signals that are processed and stored within the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Sanidad Militar is the property of Direccion General de Sanidad Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

For the first time, we used computer simulations to study lift forces on two static disks placed side-by-side within a two-dimensional granular flow and found them to be either repulsive or attractive depending on the flow velocity and separation between the disks. Our simulations results reveal that differences in the flow velocity between the disks and outside of that region are closely correlated with the lift force. We propose an empirical function for the lift force based on this correlation and our dimensional analysis. The specific region where the measured velocity exhibits this correlation suggests that attractive lift is not a Bernoulli-like effect. Instead, we speculate that it might be explained by a force balance based on Coulomb's theory of passive failure in a Mohr-Coulomb material. Our results confirm that repulsive lift is due to the jamming of particles flowing between the disks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that the Philippines is archipelagic in nature and is exposed to disasters accentuated by climate change, water resource monitoring and management has been an important concern in the country. The design and implementation of an effective management scheme relies heavily on accurate, complete, and updated water resource inventories, usually in the form of maps and geodatabases. With the aim of developing a detailed and comprehensive database of all water resources in the Philippines, a 3-year project entitled "Development of the Philippine Hydrologic Dataset (PHD) for Watersheds from LiDAR Surveys", has been initiated by the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Various workflows has been developed to extract inland hydrologic features in the Philippines using accurate Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) and LiDAR point cloud data obtained through other government-funded programs, supplemented with other remotely-sensed imageries and ancillary information. Since the project covers national-scale mapping and inventory, the implementation was structured to be a collaborative effort between fifteen (15) State Universities/Colleges (SUCs) and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), along with multiple National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs). This paper presents the project's general structure, focusing mainly on its attempts and accomplishments in strengthening individual capacities of all involved SUCs, HEIs, and stakeholders utilizing hydrologic data for different applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically investigate optical properties of II–VI core–shell distribution mixtures made of two type-I sized-nanoshells as a plausible negative dielectric function material. The nonlocal optical response of the semiconductor QD is described by using a resonant excitonic dielectric function, while the shell response is modeled with Demangeot formula. Achieving the zero-loss at an optical frequency ω , i.e. , ϵ eff = ϵ eff ′ + i ϵ eff ″ with ϵ eff ′ < 0 and ϵ eff ″ = 0 , is of fundamental importance in nanophotonics. Resonant states in semiconductors provide a source for negative dielectric function provided that the dipole strength and the oscillator density are adequate to offset the background. Furthermore, the semiconductor offers the prospect of pumping, either optically or electrically, to achieve a gain mechanism that can offset the loss. We analyse optimal conditions that must be satisfied to achieve semiconductor-based negative index materials. By comparing with II–VI semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) previously reported in the literature, the inclusion of phonon and shell contributions in the ϵ eff along with the finite barrier Effective Mass Approximation (EMA) approach, we found similar qualitative behaviours for the ϵ eff . The lossless optical condition along with ϵ eff ′ < 0 is discussed in terms of sizes, volume fractions and embedding medium of the mixtures׳ distributions. Furthermore, we estimated optical power to maintain nanocrystals density in excited states and this value is less than that previously obtained in II–VI semiconductor QDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Universidad & Ciencia is the property of Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Presents potassium-argon dating of granitoids from the eastern central Patagonian Cordillera of Chile which yielded late Jurassic to Miocene dates. Description of the regional geology; Analytical procedures performed in the study; Age groups distinguished in the plutons exposed in the area of study.

Presents a study which focused on the origin of fold and thrust belts in the Patagonian Cordillera of southern South America. Interpretation of a link between subduction of the ridge and formation of the fold and thrust belt; Elements of the subduction regime; Age of belt deformation in the region.

The rehabilitation or intensified use of Imperata grasslands will require a much better understanding of their area, distribution, and characteristics. We generated estimates of the area of Imperata grasslands in tropical Asia, and suggested a typology of Imperata grasslandsthat may be useful to define the pathways toward appropriate land use intensification. We conclude that the area of Imperata grasslands in Asia is about 35 million ha. This is about 4% of the total land area. The countries with the largest area of Imperata grasslands are Indonesia (8.5 million ha) and India (8.0 million ha). Those with the largest proportion of their surface area covered with Imperata are Sri Lanka (23%). the Philippines (17%). and Vietnam (9%). Laos, Thailand.Myanmar. and Bangladesh evidently all have similar proportions of their land area infested with Imperata (about 3 to 4%). Malaysia (< 1%), Cambodia (1%), and the southern part of China (2%) have but a minorproportion of their total land area in Imperata. The species was found widely distributed on the full range of soil orders. It occupied both fertile (e.g. some of the Inceptisols and Andisols) and infertilesoils (Ultisols and Oxisols) across a wide range of climates and elevations. Imperata lands fall into four mapping scale-related categories: Mega-grasslands, macro-grasslands, meso-grasslands. and micro-grasslands. The mega-grasslands are often referred to as 'sheet Imperata'. They are the large contiguous areas of Imperata that would appear on small-scale maps of say 1: 1,000,000. We propose that this basic typology be supplemented with a number of additional components that have a key influence on intensification pathways: land quality, marketaccess. and the source of power for tillage. The typology was applied in a case study of Indonesian villages in the vicinity of Imperata grasslands. We propose an international initiative to map and derive a more complete and uniform picture of the area of the Imperata grasslands [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este trabajo se utiliza el método de Conversión Fermentativa de fuentes azucaradas, aplicado desde 1925 obtenido a través de fermentación de soluciones de glucosa, sacarosa o melazas de caña, mediante la utilización de hongos en este caso Aspergillus níger. La solución azucarada que se utilize en este caso es la miel final del proceso de fabricación de azúcar. La miel seleccionada, es decir, la que responde a las exigencias de la biosíntesis, se diluye y se le adiciona ferrocianuro de potasio y oxalatos de amonio para precipitar cationes indeseables, luego se esteriliza y se le ajusta el pH entre 6.8 y 7.0. En los fermentadores de siembra se realiza el crecimiento y activación del hongo (Aspergillus sp) mediante la inoculación con esporas y el suministro de aire estéril a un medio de concentración adecuada, al que se le han añadido las sales nutrientes. Terminada la fermentación, que dura entre 7 y 8 días, se separa el micelio del hongo y se procede a medir la acidez final. Para la realización de este trabajo se utilizó el hongo Aspergillus níger, procedente del ICIDCA (Ciudad de La Habana); el mismo fue cultivado en cuñas de Agar Saboraud Dextrosa durante 7 días a 30° C, hasta observar abundante esporulación. Se realizaron numerosos pases a frascos con el mismo medio, con el objetivo de multiplicar el número de esporas. Los frascos conteniendo los cultivos se almacenan a 4ª C.En la realización del experimento, una vez preparados los medios de cultivos, se colocaron en una Zaranda termostatizada donde estaba garantizada una temperatura estable de 30°C y una agitación de 250 r.p.m, por el período de ocho días y se tomaron muestras diarias para determinar el comportamiento del pH y de la formación de ácido cítrico, los análisis de peso húmedo y acidez se midieron al inicio y al final de la fermentación. En el trabajo no se pudo determinar la concentración final de ácido cítrico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]