Optimal Grid-Based Filtering for Crop Phenology Estimation with Sentinel-1 SAR Data

In the last decade, suboptimal Bayesian filtering (BF) techniques, such as Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) and Particle Filtering (PF), have led to great interest for crop phenology monitoring with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. In this study, a novel approach, based on the Grid-Based Filter (GBF), is proposed to estimate crop phenology. Here, phenological scales, which consist of a finite number of discrete stages, represent the one-dimensional state space, and hence GBF provides the optimal phenology estimates. Accordingly, contrarily to literature studies based on EKF and PF, no constraints are imposed on the models and the statistical distributions involved. The prediction model is defined by the transition matrix, while Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) is employed to define the observation model. The approach is applied on dense time series of dual-polarization Sentinel-1 (S1) SAR images, collected in four different years, to estimate the BBCH stages of rice crops. Results show that 0.94 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.98, 5.37 ≤ RMSE ≤ 7.9 and 20 ≤ MAE ≤ 33.This research was funded in part by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (State Agency of Research, AEI) and the European Funds for Regional Development (EFRD) under Projects TEC2017-85244-C2-1-P and PID2020-117303GB-C22, and in part by the University of Alicante (ref. VIGROB-114)

Motives for international cooperation on R&D and innovation: empirical evidence from Argentinean and Spanish firms

This paper focuses on the strategic motives and firm characteristics that influence cooperation for R&D and innovation among Argentinean and Spanish firms. On the basis of a review of different theoretical perspectives we propose and apply a taxonomy of motives for inter-firm technological cooperation. We combined quantitative and qualitative methodologies, developing a database of 540 innovative firms and conducting a survey that obtained evidence from 104 of these firms, supplemented by information gathered from 19 in-depth interviews. Our results show that technological cooperation is not easy to achieve and determined by a complex interplay of intentions and practical opportunities. The lack of convergence in the motives for cooperation creates un-favourable conditions and affects negatively the initiation of the cooperation processes. These differences together with asymmetries in access to funding are important obstacles to cooperation with implications in the administration of national policy incentives and its regulation mechanisms.This research has been financed by CSIC (Spain) and CONICET (Argentina), Ref. 2007-AR0072.Edwards Schachter, ME.; Castro-Martínez, E.; Sánchez-Barrioluengo, M.; Anllo, G.; Fernandez De Lucio, I. (2013). Motives for international cooperation on R&D and innovation: empirical evidence from Argentinean and Spanish firms. International Journal of Technology Management. 62(2-4):128-151. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2013.055162S128151622-

The decay Z -> neutrino antineutrino photon in the Standard Model

A complete study of the one-loop induced decay Z -> neutrino antineutrino photon is presented within the framework of the Standard Model. The advantages of using a nonlinear gauge are stressed. We have found that the main contributions come from the electric dipole and the magnetic dipole transitions of the Z gauge boson and the neutrino, respectively. We obtain a branching ratio B=7.16E-10, which is about four orders of magnitude smaller than the bound recentely obtained by the L3 collaboration and thus it leaves open a window to search for new physics effects in single-photon decays of the Z boson.Comment: REVTEX,15 pp, 5 eps figures, Approved for publication in Physical Review

Eye Coinfections

Ocular infections are an ophthalmologic emergency that threatens the eye’s integrity, which may result in a poor visual outcome; hence, it requires prompt treatment. The most common microorganisms involved in eye infection are the bacteria, followed by virus and fungi; however the prevalence depends on the geographic location. It is essential to know The etiologic agent of the ocular infection ocular infections and their antibiotic sensitivity because the geographical situation and the urbanization level of the studied population will determine their prevalence. Recently have been described eye coinfections, where at least two microorganisms can infect at the same time and the same anatomic site. Several coinfections have been published, bacteria-bacteria, bacteria-fungus, bacteria-virus, fungus-yeast, fungus-virus, parasite-bacteria, etc. Eye coinfections represent a particular challenge for the ophthalmologists; coinfections are difficult to diagnose because often the clinical characteristic is atypical and mimics different clinical pictures. In addition, eye coinfections respond poorly to antibiotics and usually present an aggressive clinical course. In these circumstances, it is common for patients to receive multiple treatments when they should be receiving a specific treatment. Several risk factors are important to develop coinfections, e.g., trauma, dry eye, use of contact lenses, and comorbidities (diabetes and immunosuppression). Coinfections have been described in keratitis, conjunctivitis, and endophthalmitis. The study of polymicrobial biofilms has been increasing, and in the medical area, the role played by biofilms in confections has been associated with virulence factors; hence, biofilm formation is also considered a determinant virulence factor for pathogenesis in the host. Coinfection diagnosis is an important topic in order to obtain a specific and timely diagnosis. Microbiological and molecular approaches are proposed to identify etiological agents. Delay in diagnosis affects the sensitivity to specific treatments and the evolution of infection. Treatment and prognosis are supported by a specific diagnosis

Fermion contribution to the static quantities of arbitrarily charged vector bosons

We present an analysis of the one-loop contribution from left- and right-handed fermions to the static electromagnetic properties of an arbitrarily charged no self-conjugate vector boson $V$. Particular emphasis is given to the case of a no self-conjugate neutral boson $V^0$. Regardless the electric charge of the $V$ boson, a fermionic loop can induce the two CP-even form factors but only one CP-odd. As a result the corresponding electric dipole moment is directly proportional to the magnetic quadrupole moment. The CP-odd form factor might be severely suppressed since it requires the presence of both left- and right-handed fermions. The behavior of the form factors is analyzed for several scenarios of the fermion masses in the context of the decoupling theorem.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Journal of Physics

Scalar meson dynamics in Chiral Perturbation Theory

A comparison of the linear sigma model (L$\sigma$M) and Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT) predictions for pion and kaon dynamics is presented. Lowest and next-to-leading order terms in the ChPT amplitudes are reproduced if one restricts to scalar resonance exchange. Some low energy constants of the order $p^4$ ChPT Lagrangian are fixed in terms of scalar meson masses. Present values of these low energy constants are compatible with the L$\sigma$M dynamics. We conclude that more accurate values would be most useful either to falsify the L$\sigma$M or to show its capability to shed some light on the controversial scalar physics.Comment: 9 pages, REVTeX 4.0. Final version accepted for publicatio

Electromagnetic Form Factors of a Massive Neutrino

Electromagnetic form factors of a massive neutrino are studied in a minimally extended standard model in an arbitrary $R_{\xi}$ gauge and taking into account the dependence on the masses of all interacting particles. The contribution from all Feynman diagrams to the charge, magnetic, and anapole form factors, in which the dependence on the masses of all particles as well as on gauge parameters is accounted for exactly, are obtained for the first time in explicit form. The asymptotic behavior of the magnetic form factor for large negative squares of the momentum of an external photon is analyzed and expression for the anapole moment of a massive neutrino is derived. The results are generalized to the case of mixing between various generations of the neutrino. Explicit expressions are obtained for the charge, magnetic, and electric dipole and anapole transition form factors as well as for the transition electric dipole moment.Comment: 16 pares with 5 figures in pdf forma

The capitalist labour process : concepts and connections

The Conference of Socialist Economists (CSE) and Capital & Class were central in creating the conditions for a labour process debate. However, while the journal has continued to publish some articles on labour process issues, the debate has become associated primarily with the annual International Labour Process Conference. This article explores shifts in the nature and focus of debates, emphasizing continuity between the traditions as well as change. By contrasting early attempts in the journal to uncover 'immanent laws' of the capitalist labour process to more recent writings on core theory, contemporary trends in labour power and capitalist political economy are outlined and evaluated

Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal