Parameter estimators of random intersection graphs with thinned communities

This paper studies a statistical network model generated by a large number of randomly sized overlapping communities, where any pair of nodes sharing a community is linked with probability $q$ via the community. In the special case with $q=1$ the model reduces to a random intersection graph which is known to generate high levels of transitivity also in the sparse context. The parameter $q$ adds a degree of freedom and leads to a parsimonious and analytically tractable network model with tunable density, transitivity, and degree fluctuations. We prove that the parameters of this model can be consistently estimated in the large and sparse limiting regime using moment estimators based on partially observed densities of links, 2-stars, and triangles.Comment: 15 page

The GROUSE project III: Ks-band observations of the thermal emission from WASP-33b

In recent years, day-side emission from about a dozen hot Jupiters has been detected through ground-based secondary eclipse observations in the near-infrared. These near-infrared observations are vital for determining the energy budgets of hot Jupiters, since they probe the planet's spectral energy distribution near its peak. The aim of this work is to measure the Ks-band secondary eclipse depth of WASP-33b, the first planet discovered to transit an A-type star. This planet receives the highest level of irradiation of all transiting planets discovered to date. Furthermore, its host-star shows pulsations and is classified as a low-amplitude delta-Scuti. As part of our GROUnd-based Secondary Eclipse (GROUSE) project we have obtained observations of two separate secondary eclipses of WASP-33b in the Ks-band using the LIRIS instrument on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). The telescope was significantly defocused to avoid saturation of the detector for this bright star (K~7.5). To increase the stability and the cadence of the observations, they were performed in staring mode. We collected a total of 5100 and 6900 frames for the first and the second night respectively, both with an average cadence of 3.3 seconds. On the second night the eclipse is detected at the 12-sigma level, with a measured eclipse depth of 0.244+0.027-0.020 %. This eclipse depth corresponds to a brightness temperature of 3270+115-160 K. The measured brightness temperature on the second night is consistent with the expected equilibrium temperature for a planet with a very low albedo and a rapid re-radiation of the absorbed stellar light. For the other night the short out-of-eclipse baseline prevents good corrections for the stellar pulsations and systematic effects, which makes this dataset unreliable for eclipse depth measurements. This demonstrates the need of getting a sufficient out-of-eclipse baseline.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Seamless nowcasting system development at the Finnish Meteorological Institute

Presentación realizada en la 3rd European Nowcasting Conference, celebrada en la sede central de AEMET en Madrid del 24 al 26 de abril de 2019

Forest inventory attribute estimation using airborne laser scanning, aerial stereoimagery, radargrammetry and interferometry - Finnish experiences of the 3D techniques

Three-dimensional (3D) remote sensing has enabled detailed mapping of terrain and vegetation heights. Consequently, forest inventory attributes are estimated more and more using point clouds and normalized surface models. In practical applications, mainly airborne laser scanning (ALS) has been used in forest resource mapping. The current status is that ALS-based forest inventories are widespread, and the popularity of ALS has also raised interest toward alternative 3D techniques, including airborne and spaceborne techniques. Point clouds can be generated using photogrammetry, radargrammetry and interferometry. Airborne stereo imagery can be used in deriving photogrammetric point clouds, as very-high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are used in radargrammetry and interferometry. ALS is capable of mapping both the terrain and tree heights in mixed forest conditions, which is an advantage over aerial images or SAR data. However, in many jurisdictions, a detailed ALS-based digital terrain model is already available, and that enables linking photogrammetric or SAR-derived heights to heights above the ground. In other words, in forest conditions, the height of single trees, height of the canopy and/or density of the canopy can be measured and used in estimation of forest inventory attributes. In this paper, first we review experiences of the use of digital stereo imagery and spaceborne SAR in estimation of forest inventory attributes in Finland, and we compare techniques to ALS. In addition, we aim to present new implications based on our experiences

Extracting Urban Morphology for Atmospheric Modeling from Multispectral and SAR Satellite Imagery

This paper presents an approach designed to derive an urban morphology map from satellite data while aiming to minimize the cost of data and user interference. The approach will help to provide updates to the current morphological databases around the world. The proposed urban morphology maps consist of two layers: 1) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and 2) land cover map. Sentinel-2 data was used to create a land cover map, which was realized through image classification using optical range indices calculated from image data. For the purpose of atmospheric modeling, the most important classes are water and vegetation areas. The rest of the area includes bare soil and built-up areas among others, and they were merged into one class in the end. The classification result was validated with ground truth data collected both from field measurements and aerial imagery. The overall classification accuracy for the three classes is 91 %. TanDEM-X data was processed into two DEMs with different grid sizes using interferometric SAR processing. The resulting DEM has a RMSE of 3.2 meters compared to a high resolution DEM, which was estimated through 20 control points in flat areas. Comparing the derived DEM with the ground truth DEM from airborne LIDAR data, it can be seen that the street canyons, that are of high importance for urban atmospheric modeling are not detectable in the TanDEM-X DEM. However, the derived DEM is suitable for a class of urban atmospheric models. Based on the numerical modeling needs for regional atmospheric pollutant dispersion studies, the generated files enable the extraction of relevant parametrizations, such as Urban Canopy Parameters (UCP).Peer reviewe

Insulin autoantibodies as determined by competitive radiobinding assay are positively correlated with impaired beta-cell function — The Ulm-Frankfurt population study

Out of a random population of 4208 non-diabetic pupils without a family history of Type I diabetes 44 (1.05%) individuals had islet cell antibody (ICA) levels greater or equal to 5 Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) units. 39 of these ICA-positives could be repeatedly tested for circulating insulin autoantibodies (CIAA) using a competitive radiobinding assay. The results were compared with the insulin responses in the intravenous glucose tolerance tests (IVGTT) and with HLA types. Six pupils were positive for CIAA. All of them had complement-fixing ICA, and 5 of them were HLA-DR4 positive. Three of the 6 showed a first-phase insulin response below the first percentile of normal controls. Our data indicate that in population-based studies CIAA can be considered as a high risk marker for impaired beta-cell function in non-diabetic ICA-positive individuals

Colonic Involvement in a Patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia

Various gastrointestinal infiltrations have been described in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Here, we report a 69-year-old man with CLL and anaemia in whom the macroscopic finding of colonoscopy was normal, but the histological specimens revealed lymphocytic leukemia in ileum and in colon. If a CLL patient has any symptoms suggesting a possible GI manifestation of the haematologic disease or anaemia not explained by bone marrow infiltration or hemolysis, the diagnostic evaluation should include endoscopies with adequate biopsies

Cardiorespiratory Coupling in Asthmatic Children

The relationship between cardiac and respiratory autonomic control has been suggested to be altered in several respiratory disorders. However, and despite the increasing prevalence of asthma, there are not studies assessing the cardiorespiratory coupling (CRC) with respect to the asthmatic status. Since altered autonomic control has been suggested to play a major role in asthma, in this work overnight CRC was assessed in a group of 67 children who underwent a three-month inhaled corticosteroids treatment. After treatment completion, CRC was reduced (p < 0.005) in the subjects without or with a low risk of asthma, whereas it kept unchanged in those with a worse prognosis, suggesting that an altered interaction between cardiac and respiratory activity might be related with an increased risk of asthma