Space-time codes with controllable ML decoding complexity for any number of transmit antennas

We construct a class of linear space-time block codes for any number of transmit antennas that have controllable ML decoding complexity with a maximum rate of 1 symbol per channel use. The decoding complexity for $M$ transmit antennas can be varied from ML decoding of $2^{\lceil \log_2M \rceil -1}$ symbols together to single symbol ML decoding. For ML decoding of $2^{\lceil \log_2M \rceil - n}$ ($n=1,2,...$) symbols together, a diversity of $\min(M,2^{\lceil \log_2M \rceil-n+1})$ can be achieved. Numerical results show that the performance of the constructed code when $2^{\lceil \log_2M \rceil-1}$ symbols are decoded together is quite close to the performance of ideal rate-1 orthogonal codes (that are non-existent for more than 2 transmit antennas).Comment: 5 pages, to appear in ISIT, June 2007, Nice, Franc

Fourier Ptychography with Scheimpflug Optics for Multi-Aperture Applications

We present a new optical configuration using the Scheimpflug principle for Fourier ptychography microscopy. This configuration minimizes the aberrations present in the off-axis lenses of a multi-aperture Fourier ptychography setup. A 3D printed setup was used to demonstrate the experimental implementation

Updated analysis of π\piN elastic scattering data to 2.1~GeV: The Baryon Spectrum

We present the results of energy-dependent and single-energy partial-wave analyses of $\pi$N elastic scattering data with laboratory kinetic energies below 2.1~GeV. Resonance structures have been extracted using Breit-Wigner fits, speed plots, and a complex plane mapping of the associated poles and zeroes. This is the first set of resonance parameters from a VPI analysis constrained by fixed-t dispersion relations. We have searched our solutions for structures which may have been missed in our previous analyses, finding candidates in the $S_{11}$ and $F_{15}$ partial-wave amplitudes. Our results are compared with those found by the Karlsruhe, Carnegie-Mellon$-$Berkeley, and Kent State groups.Comment: 25 pages of text plus 5 figures. Revtex file and postscript figures available via anonymous FTP at ftp://clsaid.phys.vt.edu/pub/pi

Miniature Fourier Ptychography Microscope using Raspberry Pi Camera and Hardware

We report a Fourier ptychography setup using a raspberry pi camera sensor and its lens in reversed configuration. In this work data acquisition was performed by means of a raspberry pi board which eliminates the requirement of a computer for data acquisition thus allowing a miniaturized system for remote data acquisition costing around £100

Sensitivity to the pion-nucleon coupling constant in partial-wave analyses of elastic pi-N and NN scattering and pion photoproduction

We summarize results obtained in our studies of the pion-nucleon coupling constant. Several different techniques have been applied to pi-N and NN elastic scattering data, and the existing database for single-pion photoproduction. The most reliable determination comes from pi-N elastic scattering. The sensitivity in this reaction was found to be greater, by at least a factor of 3, when compared with analyses of NN elastic scattering or single-pion photoproduction.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure. Talk given at the Uppsala workshop on the pion-nucleon coupling constan

Conspiracy in the Time of Corona: Automatic detection of Emerging Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in Social Media and the News

Abstract Rumors and conspiracy theories thrive in environments of low confi- dence and low trust. Consequently, it is not surprising that ones related to the Covid-19 pandemic are proliferating given the lack of scientific consensus on the virus’s spread and containment, or on the long term social and economic ramifications of the pandemic. Among the stories currently circulating are ones suggesting that the 5G telecommunication network activates the virus, that the pandemic is a hoax perpetrated by a global cabal, that the virus is a bio-weapon released deliberately by the Chinese, or that Bill Gates is using it as cover to launch a broad vaccination program to facilitate a global surveillance regime. While some may be quick to dismiss these stories as having little impact on real-world behavior, recent events including the destruction of cell phone towers, racially fueled attacks against Asian Americans, demonstrations espousing resistance to public health orders, and wide-scale defiance of scientifically sound public mandates such as those to wear masks and practice social distancing, countermand such conclusions. Inspired by narrative theory, we crawl social media sites and news reports and, through the application of automated machine-learning methods, discover the underlying narrative frame- works supporting the generation of rumors and conspiracy theories. We show how the various narrative frameworks fueling these stories rely on the alignment of otherwise disparate domains of knowledge, and consider how they attach to the broader reporting on the pandemic. These alignments and attachments, which can be monitored in near real-time, may be useful for identifying areas in the news that are particularly vulnerable to reinterpretation by conspiracy theorists. Understanding the dynamics of storytelling on social media and the narrative frameworks that provide the generative basis for these stories may also be helpful for devising methods to disrupt their spread

Fungal Air Spora Survey over Cow Shed in Bangalore, India

A fungal air spora survey of indoor and outdoor air samples of cow shed at Hessaraghatta village of Bangalore city, India was carried out by Andersen two stage sampler using an malt extract agar media were collected fortnightly from January 2011 to December 2011. Indoor air harbored maximum fungal spores (7808.36 CFU/m3) in comparison to outdoor air (7610.68 CFU/m3). Altogether, total 29 species belonging to 13 genera with unidentified fungi were isolated from indoor environment of the cow shed, when compared to 26 species belonging to 12 genera with unidentified fungi were isolated from outdoor environment of the cow shed. Summer season was found to harbored maximum fungal spores in comparison to winter and rainy. The present study helped in preparation of fungal calendars for the region, which may useful for clinicians to identify the cause of fungal spore related problem affecting human life