6,612 research outputs found
Asymptotically optimal cooperative wireless networks with reduced signaling complexity
This paper considers an orthogonal amplify-and-forward (OAF) protocol for cooperative relay communication over Rayleigh-fading channels in which the intermediate relays are permitted to linearly transform the received signal and where the source and relays transmit for equal time durations. The diversity-multiplexing gain (D-MG) tradeoff of the equivalent space-time channel associated to this protocol is determined and a cyclic-division-algebra-based D-MG optimal code constructed. The transmission or signaling alphabet of this code is the union of the QAM constellation and a rotated version of QAM. The size of this signaling alphabet is small in comparison with prior D-MG optimal constructions in the literature and is independent of the number of participating nodes in the network
Prehistoric psychotropic consumption in Andean Chilean mummies
Hallucinogenic plants are often regarded as the main source of psychoactive drugs in antiquity to reach deep altered states of consciousness^1,2^. Many researchers believe this was particularly true during the Tiwanaku empire expansion, circa (500-1000 A.D.), along the Atacama Desert of Chile. Highly decorated snuffing tablets and tubes are often found as grave goods during this period^3,4,5,6,7,8^. Until now the type of drugs consumed in this paraphernalia has been unclear. From the modern city of Arica, naturally mummified human bodies with abundant hair provided a unique opportunity to test for hallucinogenic plants consumed in Andean prehistory. Analysis by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry demonstrated the presence of harmine. The Banisteriopsis vine, commonly called Ayahuasca, was the probable source. This is the first confirmed evidence of psychoactive plant consumption in pre-Hispanic Andean populations along the Atacama coastal region. Of the 32 mummy hair samples analyzed 3 males tested positive for harmine. This alkaloid aids in the catalysis and synergic effects of powerful hallucinogenic drugs. The consumption of harmine was likely related to medicinal practices and not exclusively ingested by shamans. Another important aspect of this evidence is that Banisteriopsis is an Amazon plant. It does not grow in the Atacama coastal region. Thus, our findings reveal extensive plant trade networks in antiquity between the coast, desert, highlands, and Amazon basin. The excellent preservation of human organic specimens, the use of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry allowed us to map and demonstrate the consumption of psychoactive compound plants in Andean prehistory. In addition, our findings open the door for future studies to debate the consumption and social role of ancient psychoactive and hallucinogenic plants
The segregation of starless and protostellar clumps in the Hi-GAL l=224deg region
Stars form in dense, dusty structures, which are embedded in larger clumps of
molecular clouds often showing a clear filamentary structure on large scales (>
1pc). One of the best-studied regions in the Hi-GAL survey can be observed
toward the l=224deg field. Here, a filamentary region has been studied and it
has been found that protostellar clumps are mostly located along the main
filament, whereas starless clumps are detected off this filament and are
instead found on secondary, less prominent filaments. We want to investigate
this segregation effect and how it may affect the clumps properties. We mapped
the 12CO(1-0) line and its main three isotopologues toward the two most
prominent filaments observed toward the l=224deg field using the Mopra radio
telescope, in order to set observational constraints on the dynamics of these
structures and the associated starless and protostellar clumps. Compared to the
starless clumps, the protostellar clumps are more luminous, more turbulent and
lie in regions where the filamentary ambient gas shows larger linewidths. We
see evidence of gas flowing along the main filament, but we do not find any
signs of accretion flow from the filament onto the Hi-GAL clumps. We analyze
the radial column density profile of the filaments and their gravitational
stability. The more massive and highly fragmented main filament appears to be
thermally supercritical and gravitationally bound, assuming that all of the
non-thermal motion is contributing thermal-like support, suggesting a later
stage of evolution compared to the secondary filament. The status and
evolutionary phase of the Hi-GAL clumps would then appear to correlate with
that of the host filament.Comment: Accepted for publication on "Astronomy and Astrophysics
Laminar fMRI: applications for cognitive neuroscience
The cortex is a massively recurrent network, characterized by feedforward and feedback connections between brain areas as well as lateral connections within an area. Feedforward, horizontal and feedback responses largely activate separate layers of a cortical unit, meaning they can be dissociated by lamina-resolved neurophysiological techniques. Such techniques are invasive and are therefore rarely used in humans. However, recent developments in high spatial resolution fMRI allow for non-invasive, in vivo measurements of brain responses specific to separate cortical layers. This provides an important opportunity to dissociate between feedforward and feedback brain responses, and investigate communication between brain areas at a more fine- grained level than previously possible in the human species. In this review, we highlight recent studies that successfully used laminar fMRI to isolate layer-specific feedback responses in human sensory cortex. In addition, we review several areas of cognitive neuroscience that stand to benefit from this new technological development, highlighting contemporary hypotheses that yield testable predictions for laminar fMRI. We hope to encourage researchers with the opportunity to embrace this development in fMRI research, as we expect that many future advancements in our current understanding of human brain function will be gained from measuring lamina-specific brain responses
A Systematic Approach for Evaluating Satellite Communications Systems
The aerospace environment imposes straight opera- tive conditions so every electronic system usually needs to be validated for these. The same way, communica- tion systems need to be evaluated before their intro- duction in aerospace applications. In the paper we present a new methodology for the evaluation of com- munication systems in space applications. The meth- odology aims, by abstraction, at identifying all the critical aspects for the evaluation and at defining a standard and reusable framework in order to be appli- cable to any Communication Systems. The methodol- ogy has been applied for the evaluation of three Data Bus for satellite communications: 1553, 1-Wire and Profibus DP RS 485 based systems have been analyzed and evaluate
- …