Tolerating Europe: An Experimental Pre-Test

My larger research project focuses on the question of how the European Union has achieved so much integration without a concurrent increase in identification. Most scholarship to date focuses on affective identity, and upon observing the lack of change or increase in decades, predicts a dire future for the European Union, which cannot move forward without creating some type of European citizen (Duchesne and Frognier 1995). I hypothesize that the European Union has actually become politically legitimate, even though its citizens do not express affective identification with the European Union. The literature shows that the public has awareness of positive externalities and the benefits of cost-sharing (Milner and Tingley 2012, Eichenberg 2005, Timmons 2005, Bartels 2002, Kinder, and Kiewiet 1979). Thus, they can reasonably make decisions about the policies they want controlled by the supranational level. This paper uses a between-subjects survey experiment with British and Irish citizens to focus on priming subjects to think about either national or supranational concerns. Prompts will lead them to consider efficiencies of cost or loss of sovereignty in two policy areas. The survey will then ask whether they think the EU or national governments should handle that policy area. If my hypothesis is correct, considering the efficiencies of cost-sharing should make respondents more likely to support European governance in a particular policy area than they would be without such framing. Identification simply cannot explain the puzzle of such significant advancements in integration—but legitimacy and tolerance can. Examining how many feel European, or identify with the EU on an emotional level, will explain the success of recent decades. Basing pessimistic predictions about the EU’s future on the disappointing results of such calculations about affective identification is therefore not borne out by the data on legitimacy. As Ernst Haas and Karl Deutsch both emphasize, loyalty to the EU will come as a byproduct of more pragmatic and instrumental actions (Haas 1964, Haas 1968, Deutsch 1957)

Pericentromeric organization at the fusion point of mouse Robertsonian translocation chromosomes

In mammals, Robertsonian (Rb) translocation (the joining of two telo/acrocentric chromosomes at their centromere to form a metacentric) is the most effective process in chromosomal evolution leading to speciation; its occurrence also affects human health (through the induction of trisomies) and the fertility of farm animals. To understand the mechanism of Rb translocation, we used the house mouse as a model system and studied the organization of pericentromeric satellite DNAs (satDNA) of telocentrics and Rb chromosomes, both minor and major satDNA. The chromosome-orientation fluorescence in situ hybridization (CO-FISH) technique was used to analyze the major satDNA. To detect the very small amount of minor satDNA, a procedure was developed that combines CO-FISH with primed in situ labeling and conventional FISH and is five times more sensitive than the CO-FISH procedure alone. It was found that both the major and the minor satDNA tandem repeats are oriented head-to-tail in telocentric and Rb chromosomes, and their polarity is always the same relative to the centromere. We suggest that all tandemly repetitive satDNAs in a species probably are locked into such a symmetry constraint as a universal consequence of chromosomal evolution. Rb translocation breakpoints were found localized within the minor satDNA of telocentrics, and these sequences contributed symmetrically to the formation of the centromeric region of the Rb chromosomes. These results are important for an understanding of the geometry of Rb translocations and suggest the study of DNA orientation as a new tool for investigating these rearrangements

Sampling innovations

Sampling theory has prospered extensively in the last century. The elegant mathematics and the vast number of applications are the reasons for its popularity. The applications involved in this thesis are in signal processing and communications and call out to mathematical notions in Fourier theory, spectral analysis, basic linear algebra, spline and wavelet theory. This thesis is divided in two parts. Chapters 2 and 3 consider uniform sampling of non-bandlimited signals and Chapters 4, 5, and 6 treat different irregular sampling problems. In the first part we address the problem of sampling signals that are not bandlimited but are characterized as having a finite number of degrees of freedom per unit of time. These signals will be called signals with a finite rate of innovation. We show that these signals can be uniquely represented given a sufficient number of samples obtained using an appropriate sampling kernel. The number of samples must be greater or equal to the degrees of freedom of the signal; in other words, the sampling rate must be greater or equal to the rate of innovation of the signal. In particular, we derive sampling schemes for periodic and finite length streams of Diracs and piecewise polynomial signals using the sinc, the differentiated sinc and the Gaussian kernels. Sampling and reconstruction of piecewise bandlimited signals and filtered piecewise polynomials is also considered. We also derive local reconstruction schemes for infinite length piecewise polynomials with a finite "local" rate of innovation using compact support kernels such as splines. Numerical experiments on all of the reconstruction schemes are shown. The first topic of the second part of this thesis is the irregular sampling problem of bandlimited signals with unknown sampling instances. The locations of the irregular set of samples are found by treating the problem as a combinatorial optimization problem. Search methods for the locations are described and numerical simulations on a random set and a jittery set of locations are made. The second topic is the periodic nonuniform sampling problem of bandlimited signals. The irregular set of samples involved has a structure which is irregular yet periodic. We develop a fast scheme that reduces the complexity of the problem by exploiting the special pattern of the locations. The motivation for developing a fast scheme originates from the fact that the periodic nonuniform set was also considered in the sampling with unknown locations problem and that a fast search method for the locations was sought. Finally, the last topic is the irregular sampling of signals that are linearly and nonlinearly approximated using Fourier and wavelet bases. We present variants of the Papoulis Gerchberg algorithm which take into account the information given in the approximation of the signal. Numerical experiments are presented in the context of erasure correction

Optimizing the sample size to estimate growth in I-214 poplar plantations at definitive tree density for bioenergetic production

ArticleIn Europe, over the last decades, the arboriculture for woody biomass production has significantly expanded, often using poplar plantations. In order to maximize prod uction, the flexibility of the cultivation algorithms becomes necessary. For this reason, it is necessary to apply monitoring tools for the evaluation and estimate of the wood productions, without significantly affect the production costs. In particular, f or the estimate of the productions, the choice of the sample size is of particular importance. The aim of this study was to verify a simplified sampling approaches in poplar plantations characterized by constant tree density. The research was conducted in a poplar plantation on the Tuscan hills (Italy). The surveys were carried out each year for 13 years, from 4 to 16 years old. Through different statistical techniques, the change in the social position of each tree over time was evaluated. The results show ed that the social position of each tree has been characterized by the first years after the plantation. Consequently, the estimate of the productions can be carried out by analysing the diameter increment of 10% of the trees, included in the diameter clas ses around the medium - sized tree at the time of the survey. This study provided a valid method for forest managers characterized by a simplified approach useful to estimate the growth and yield of hybrid poplars. This method will permit reliable biomass es timates, but also a reduction of the costs in the sampling activities in the field

Sparse sampling of signal innovations

Sparse sampling of continuous-time sparse signals is addressed. In particular, it is shown that sampling at the rate of innovation is possible, in some sense applying Occam's razor to the sampling of sparse signals. The noisy case is analyzed and solved, proposing methods reaching the optimal performance given by the Cramer-Rao bounds. Finally, a number of applications have been discussed where sparsity can be taken advantage of. The comprehensive coverage given in this article should lead to further research in sparse sampling, as well as new applications. One main application to use the theory presented in this article is ultra-wide band (UWB) communications

Does Thinning Intensity Affect Wood Quality? An Analysis of Calabrian Pine in Southern Italy Using a Non-Destructive Acoustic Method

In the middle of XIX century, Calabrian pine was planted in southern Italy to increase the forest cover in mountainous areas. Many of these forest stands were never managed, since they were considered non-profitable for wood production. Therefore, in order to promote timber value, it is fundamental to study, more deeply, the characteristics and management options for this species. The acoustic technologies applied to predict the mechanical and physical properties of timber are well-established practices in forest research. In this study, we hypothesized that the tree stand density could influence the dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOEd) and, therefore, the future wood quality. We specifically aimed to verify if different management options, when applied, could influence the timber quality of Calabrian pine growing in similar environmental conditions. The study was conducted in the Aspromonte National Park (Calabria, Southern Italy). We derived the MOEd values from data obtained by the acoustic velocity measured through the TreeSonic™ timer. Calabrian pine trees were selected in stands where different intensities of thinning were applied eleven years before this study began (no thinning, thinning 25%, thinning 50%, and thinning 75%). The percentage refers to the number of trees cut with respect to the total number of occurring trees. The analyses were conducted on a total of 804 trees (201 trees for each intensity of thinning). A strong positive correlation was observed between the acoustic velocity, the thinning treatments and diameter at breast height (DBH). The thinning realized at 25% induced better tree wood quality. We also analyzed the best predictors for MOEd estimation, using variables easily measurable in the field, such as tree diameter, tree height, or their transformations (number of trees per hectare, basal area per hectare). We provide, here, a useful tool for predicting the wood stiffness in relation to stand parameters easily measurable in forest inventories

Reconstruction of irregularly sampled discrete-time bandlimited signals with unknown sampling locations

The purpose of this paper is to develop methods that can reconstruct a bandlimited discrete-time signal from an irreg- ular set of samples at unknown locations. We define a solution to the problem using first a geometric and then an algebraic point of view. We find the locations of the irregular set of samples by treating the problem as a combinatorial optimization problem. We employ an exhaustive method and two descent methods: the random search and cyclic coordinate methods. The numerical simulations were made on three types of irregular sets of locations: random sets; sets with jitter around a uniform set; and periodic nonuniform sets. Furthermore, for the periodic nonuniform set of locations, we de- velop a fast scheme that reduces the computational complexity of the problem by exploiting the periodic nonuniform structure of the sample locations in the DFT