SAR-to-Optical Image Translation Based on Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks - Optimization, Opportunities and Limits

Due to its all time capability, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing plays an important role in Earth observation. The ability to interpret the data is limited, even for experts, as the human eye is not familiar to the impact of distance-dependent imaging, signal intensities detected in the radar spectrum as well as image characteristics related to speckle or steps of post-processing. This paper is concerned with machine learning for SAR-to-optical image-to-image translation in order to support the interpretation and analysis of original data. A conditional adversarial network is adopted and optimized in order to generate alternative SAR image representations based on the combination of SAR images (starting point) and optical images (reference) for training. Following this strategy, the focus is set on the value of empirical knowledge for initialization, the impact of results on follow-up applications, and the discussion of opportunities/drawbacks related to this application of deep learning. Case study results are shown for high resolution (SAR: TerraSAR-X, optical: ALOS PRISM) and low resolution (Sentinel-1 and -2) data. The properties of the alternative image representation are evaluated based on feedback from experts in SAR remote sensing and the impact on road extraction as an example for follow-up applications. The results provide the basis to explain fundamental limitations affecting the SAR-to-optical image translation idea but also indicate benefits from alternative SAR image representations

A Detection Of H-alpha In An Exoplanetary Exosphere

We report on a search for H-alpha absorption in four exoplanets. Strong features at H-alpha are observed in the transmission spectra of both HD 189733b and HD 209458b. We attempt to characterize and remove the effects of stellar variability in HD 189733b, and along with an empirical Monte Carlo test the results imply a statistically significant transit-dependent feature of (-8.72+/-1.48)x10^-4 integrated over a 16 Angstrom band relative to the adjacent continuum. We interpret this as the first detection of this line in an exoplanetary atmosphere. A previous detection of Ly-alpha in HD 189733b's atmosphere allows us to calculate an excitation temperature for hydrogen, T_exc=2.6x10^4 K. This calculation depends significantly on certain simplifying assumptions. We explore these assumptions and argue that T_exc is very likely much greater than the radiative equilibrium temperature (the temperature the planet is assumed to be at based on stellar radiation and the planetary distance) of HD 189733b. A large T_exc implies a very low density that is not in thermodynamic equilibrium the planet's lower atmosphere. We argue that the n=2 hydrogen required to cause H-alpha absorption in the atmosphere is created as a result of the greater UV flux at HD 189733b, which has the smallest orbit and most chromospherically active central star in our sample. Though the overall integration of HD 209458b's transmission spectrum over a wide band is consistent with zero, it contains a dramatic, statistically significant feature in the transmission spectrum with reflectional symmetry. We discuss possible physical processes that could cause this feature. Our remaining two targets (HD 147506b and HD 149026b) do not show any clear features, so we place upper limits on their H-alpha absorption levels.Comment: 42 total pages (preprint format), 9 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Functional immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern after fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose or infection in patients with blood cancer

Summary Patients with blood cancer continue to have a greater risk of inadequate immune responses following three COVID-19 vaccine doses and risk of severe COVID-19 disease. In the context of the CAPTURE study (NCT03226886) we report immune responses in 80 patients with blood cancer who received a fourth dose of BNT162b2. We measured neutralising antibody titres (NAbT) using a live virus microneutralization assay against wild-type (WT), Delta, Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 and T cell responses against WT and Omicron BA.1 using an activation-induced marker (AIM) assay. The proportion of patients with detectable NAb titres and T cell responses after the fourth vaccine dose increases compared to those after the third vaccine dose. Patients who received B cell-depleting therapies within 12 months before vaccination have the greatest risk of not having detectable NAbT. In addition, we report immune responses in 57 patients with breakthrough infections after vaccination

Heterozygous BTNL8 variants in individuals with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare condition following SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with intestinal manifestations. Genetic predisposition, including inborn errors of the OAS-RNAseL pathway, has been reported. We sequenced 154 MIS-C patients and utilized a novel statistical framework of gene burden analysis, burdenMC, which identified an enrichment for rare predicted-deleterious variants in BTNL8 (OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 3.5-5.3, P < 10-6). BTNL8 encodes an intestinal epithelial regulator of Vγ4+γδ T cells implicated in regulating gut homeostasis. Enrichment was exclusive to MIS-C, being absent in patients with COVID-19 or bacterial disease. Using an available functional test for BTNL8, rare variants from a larger cohort of MIS-C patients (n = 835) were tested which identified eight variants in 18 patients (2.2%) with impaired engagement of Vγ4+γδ T cells. Most of these variants were in the B30.2 domain of BTNL8 implicated in sensing epithelial cell status. These findings were associated with altered intestinal permeability, suggesting a possible link between disrupted gut homeostasis and MIS-C-associated enteropathy triggered by SARS-CoV-2

Are American Homeowners Locked into Their Houses? The Impact of Housing Market Conditions on State-to-State Migration

U.S. policymakers are concerned that negative home equity arising from the severe housing market decline may be constraining geographic mobility and consequently serving as a factor in the nation's persistently high unemployment rate. Indeed, the widespread drop in house prices since 2007 has increased the share of homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. At the same time, migration across states and among homeowners has fallen sharply. Using a logistic regression framework to analyze data from the Internal Revenue Service on state-to-state migration between 2006 and 2009, the authors discover evidence that house lock decreases mobility but find it has a negligible impact on the national unemployment rate. A one-standard deviation increase in the share of underwater nonprime households in the origin state reduces the outflow of migrants from the origin to the destination state by 2.9 percent. When aggregated across the United States, this decrease in mobility reduces the national state-to-state migration rate by 0.05 percentage points, resulting in roughly 110,000 to 150,000 fewer individuals migrating across state lines in any given year. Assuming that all of these discouraged migrants were job-seekers who were previously unemployed before relocating and then found a job in their new state would reduce the nation's unemployment rate by at most one-tenth of a percentage point in a given year. The cumulative effect over this period would yield an unemployment rate of 9.0 percent versus 9.3 percent in 2009. Recognizing that not all state-to-state migrants are job-seekers, not all job-seekers were previously unemployed, and not all previously unemployed job-seekers will successfully find work in their new location yields an unemployment rate that is virtually unchanged from the actual one that prevailed from 2006 to 2009