Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Satellite-observed pollution from Southern Hemisphere biomass burning.

Biomass burning is a major source of pollution in the tropical Southern Hemisphere, and fine mode carbonaceous particles are produced by the same combustion processes that emit carbon monoxide (CO). In this paper we examine these emissions with data from the Terra satellite, CO profiles from the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument, and fine-mode aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The satellite measurements are used in conjunction with calculations from the MOZART chemical transport model to examine the 2003 Southern Hemisphere burning season with particular emphasis on the months of peak fire activity in September and October. Pollutant emissions follow the occurrence of dry season fires, and the temporal variation and spatial distributions of MOPITT CO and MODIS AOD are similar. We examine the outflow from Africa and South America with emphasis on the impact of these emissions on clean remote regions. We present comparisons of MOPITT observations and ground-based interferometer data from Lauder, New Zealand, which indicate that intercontinental transport of biomass burning pollution from Africa often determines the local air quality. The correlation between enhancements of AOD and CO column for distinct biomass burning plumes is very good with correlation coefficients greater than 0.8. We present a method using MOPITT and MODIS data for estimating the emission ratio of aerosol number density to CO concentration which could prove useful as input to modeling studies. We also investigate decay of plumes from African fires following export into the Indian Ocean and compare the MOPITT and MODIS measurements as a way of estimating the regional aerosol lifetime. Vertical transport of biomass burning emissions is also examined using CO profile information. Low-altitude concentrations are very high close to source regions, but further downwind of the continents, vertical mixing takes place and results in more even CO vertical distributions. In regions of significant convection, particularly in the equatorial Indian Ocean, the CO mixing ratio is greater at higher altitudes, indicating vertical transport of biomass burning emissions to the upper troposphere.
Optimization of Microarchitecture and Dataflow for Sparse Tensor CNN Acceleration

The inherent sparsity present in convolutional neural networks (CNNs) offers a valuable opportunity to significantly decrease the computational workload during inference. Nevertheless, leveraging unstructured sparsity typically comes with the trade-off of increased complexity or substantial hardware overheads for accelerators. To address these challenges, this research introduces an innovative inner join aimed at effectively reducing the size and power consumption of the sparsity-handling circuit. Additionally, a novel dataflow named Channel Stacking of Sparse Tensors (CSSpa) is presented, focusing on maximizing data reuse to minimize memory accesses – an aspect that significantly contributes to overall power consumption. Through comprehensive simulations, CSSpa demonstrates a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.6\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> speedup and a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$5.6\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> reduction in SRAM accesses when executing inference on the ResNet50 model, compared to the existing Sparten architecture. Furthermore, the implementation results reveal a notable <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2.32\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> enhancement in hardware resource efficiency and a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.3\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> improvement in energy efficiency compared to Sparten.
Intrinsic thermal expansion and tunability of thermal expansion coefficient in Ni-substituted Co2V2O7

Framework oxide materials are well-known for exhibiting not only negative thermal expansion (NTE), but also demonstrating thermal expansion that can be controlled using composition as a tuning parameter. In this work, we study the intrinsic thermal expansion properties of Co2V2O7, which has shown bulk linear NTE, and attempt to understand how substituting Ni2+ for Co2+ will affect the thermal expansion. The isomorphic solid solution is synthesized through solid-state methods and characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and neutron diffraction. The size difference between Ni2+ and Co2+ as well as the polyhedral volume of each Co2+ metal coordination environment in the crystal structure allows Ni2+ to partially be directed toward one crystallographic site over the other. Variable temperature synchrotron XRD data are employed to understand intrinsic thermal expansion. Across the solid solution, no intrinsic NTE is observed at the microscopic level, yet a degree of tunability in the thermal expansion coefficient with Ni substitution is demonstrated. The disparities between the intrinsic and bulk thermal expansion properties suggest that a morphological mechanism may have resulted in NTE in the bulk.
Sedimentation on a Humber saltmarsh

Abstract Sediment deposition was measured on two transects down the profile of Skeffling marsh in four short term studies, ranging from two tidal covers to a spring tide cycle, and in longer term studies of four intervals over 18 months. Sedimentation in Spartina and bare areas at the same elevation at the marsh front was measured to determine the role of Spartina in accretion, and the effect of two levels of stem density on short term deposition was compared. In terms of sediment deposition per number of tidal inundations at the different elevations, accretion was greatest on the upper parts of the marsh. At lower elevations, subjected to more frequent inundation, deposition generally increased with the number of tidal covers in three of the four short-term studies, although there was evidence of resuspension and/or bedload movement. During an autumn high spring tidal cycle, large amounts of sediment were deposited on the upper marsh (up to 4–5 mm), but very little sediment was retained on the lower marsh and erosion was observed on the bare mud at the marsh edge. The longer term studies revealed accretion at all sites on the marsh compared with the initial baseline measurements, ranging between 3.2 and 6.3 cm after 18 months, depending upon the transect and elevation. At both transects, accretion was generally continuous at the upper levels, but deposition was more variable in the lower zones, particularly the bare mud at the marsh edge. This area accreted the most during the summer months, but lost material during the winter of 1996–1997 while the upper zones continued to build up. There was no evidence to suggest that Spartina enhances deposition in the pioneer zone at Skeffling. The tide advances rapidly across the expanse of mudflats and scours channels around the vegetation at the marsh edge. Spartina is probably more effective as a sediment stabilizer during periods of erosion and any resulting net accretion is likely to be apparent only when measured over longer time scales.
Measuring the coach’s compassion through the eyes of their athletes: validity of The Compassionate Coach Scale as perceived by the adolescent athletes

ABSTRACT Objective This study aimed to adapt and test psychometric properties of the CCS-PA in adolescent athletes (The Compassionate Coach Scale as Perceived by the Adolescent Athletes – CCS-PAA). Method This study sample included 217 Portuguese adolescent athletes, who practiced different sports and completed self-reported instruments. The factor structure of the CCS-PAA was explored (through Confirmatory Factor Analysis) and its psychometric properties, convergent, external and discriminant validities, and gender invariance were examined. Results Results confirmed the plausibility of the hierarchical structure of the scale, constituted by one higher-order factor (perceived coach’s compassionate qualities) and two lower-order factors (compassionate engagement and compassionate actions). This scale showed high internal consistency, convergent, discriminant validities and it was invariant across gender. CCS-PAA demonstrated associations with social safeness, self-criticism, self-reassurance, perception of performance, and psychological well-being. Conclusions CCS-PAA seems to be a reliable measure to assess adolescent athletes’ perceptions of their coach’s compassionate qualities. This scale could be an important tool in the sports context, as it can help to identify a relationship between coach and athlete based on comprehension, support, and kindness in difficult and suffering times for the athlete, especially in a challenging stage of development: adolescence. Key Points What is already known about this topic: The importance of compassion supporting mental health in the sports context has been underlined. A coach-athlete relationship based on compassion has been associated with indicators of mental health. The importance of exploring the coaches’ compassionate skills towards athletes has been highlighted. What this topic adds: This study validated the measure for assessing an athlete’s perception of a coach’s compassionate qualities for the adolescent population. CCS-PAA demonstrated associations with social safeness, self-criticism, self-reassurance, perception of performance, and well-being. CCS-PAA could be an important tool in the sports context, helping to identify a coach-athlete relationship based on compassion in difficult times for the athlete, especially in a challenging stage of development: adolescence.
Decadal variability of the North Pacific Polar Front: Subsurface warming versus surface cooling

Over 200 hydrographic sections are used to trace the Polar Front defined as the southern boundary of the “pure” subarctic stratification with a pronounced, extremely cold, subsurface temperature minimum underlain by a temperature maximum. The front extends from 40°N off Japan to 57°N in the Gulf of Alaska where it retroflects and continues WSW with the Alaskan Stream. The front's decadal variability from 1977–1999 is examined along 150°E, 170°E, 175.5°E, and 180°E. At these longitudes the front is relatively stable, except for 170°E, where it shifts north‐south by 400 km every 6 years. Most time series reveal a subsurface warming of ∼1°C per decade, and a surface cooling, of the front. Since the subsurface temperature minimum is a remnant of winter convection, the subsurface warming signals an amelioration of the winter climate, whereas the summer climate becomes colder.
Equatorward moving auroral signatures of a flow burst observed prior to auroral onset

We present observations of a substorm that occurred on February 25, 2008. Auroral onset was observed with a multi‐spectral (λ = 427.8, 557.7 and 630.0 nm) and white light all sky imager at Gillam, Canada. An equatorward moving diffuse auroral patch was observed in the λ = 630.0 nm images at least six minutes prior to auroral onset. This form emerged from the background noise poleward of the eventual onset arc and intensified as it moved equatorward. Auroral expansion onset occurred when this form reached the onset arc location. Flows were detected by THEMIS probes P3 (TH‐D) and P4 (TH‐E) near X ∼ −11 RE nearly 90 seconds prior to auroral expansion. A small discrete arc was observed in the λ = 557.7 nm images at the westward and equatorward edge of the diffuse 630.0 nm patch nearly 2 minutes prior to expansion onset, suggesting a field‐aligned current of a substorm current wedge geometry. We conclude that the equatorward moving λ = 630.0 nm diffuse auroral patch was generated by processes associated with an earthward moving flow burst that formed prior to auroral substorm onset.
Epidemiology Update of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in Uruguay: Subtyping, Environmental Surveillance and Zoonotic Transmission

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection is an emergent zoonotic disease of increasing concern in developed regions. HEV genotype 3 (HEV-3) is mainly transmitted through consumption of contaminated food in high-income countries and is classified into at least 13 subtypes (3a–3n), based on p-distance values from complete genomes. In Latin America, HEV epidemiology studies are very scant. Our group has previously detected HEV3 in clinical cases, swine, wild boars, captive white-collared peccaries, and spotted deer from Uruguay. Herein, we aimed to provide novel insights and an updated overview of the molecular epidemiology of zoonotic HEV in Uruguay, including data from wastewater-based surveillance studies. A thorough analysis of HEV whole genomes and partial ORF2 sequences from Uruguayan human and domestic pig strains showed that they formed a separate monophyletic cluster with high nucleotide identity and exhibited p-distance values over the established cut-off (0.093) compared with reference subtypes’ sequences. Furthermore, we found an overall prevalence of 10.87% (10/92) in wastewater, where two samples revealed a close relationship with humans, and animal reservoirs/hosts isolates from Uruguay. In conclusion, a single, new HEV-3 subtype currently circulates in different epidemiological settings in Uruguay, and we propose its designation as 3o along with its reference sequence.
Three deep Alpine‐permafrost boreholes in Svalbard and Scandinavia

The presence and thermal character of permafrost reflect past and present surface energy balances plus the heat flux from the Earth's interior. Analysis of permafrost ground temperatures constitutes a key research tool for detecting thermal anomalies caused by twentieth‐century warming. Three deep boreholes in alpine permafrost were drilled in Svalbard and Scandinavia and form part of the latitudinal transect of mountain permafrost boreholes through the mountains of Europe established under the EU PACE (Permafrost and Climate in Europe) project. The northernmost borehole in the transect, at Janssonhaugen (depth 102 m), western Svalbard (78°10′46′′N, 16°28′01′′E, 270 m ASL) was drilled in May 1998. In Scandinavia, boreholes were drilled at Tarfalaryggen (depth 100 m), northern Sweden (67°55′09′′N, 18°38′29′′E, 1550 m ASL) in March 2000 and at Juvvasshøe (depth 129 m), southern Norway (61°40′32′′N, 08°22′04′′E, 1894 m ASL) in August 1999. Permafrost thickness at Janssonhaugen is estimated as approximately 220 m. The temperature profiles on Tarfalaryggen and Juvvasshøe show anomalously low geothermal gradients, indicating low heat flow through thick permafrost (∼350 m and ∼380 m respectively). Palaeoclimatic analysis based on inversion modelling of the ground temperature measurements at Janssonhaugen shows near surface warming of 1.5 ± 0.5 °C during the twentieth century. Both the Tarfalaryggen and Juvvasshøe boreholes also reveal thermal anomalies, which reflect a surface warming over the past decades, with a magnitude of approximately 0.5–1.0 °C. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Release of Contaminants from Melting Spray Ice of Industrial Wastewaters

This study was carried out to investigate organic and inorganic contaminant removal from melting spray ice produced from aerated stabilization basin treated pulp mill wastewater and the oil sands tailings pond water. The influence of the feedwater characteristics and the ice column contaminant concentration and distribution patterns induced by the degree of freezing during the spraying on the release of impurities were examined. The contaminant separation efficiency was not significantly influenced by the characteristics of the wastewaters. A dramatic decrease of chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, conductivity, color (pulp mill effluent), and Cl\u-. and SO-\(2/4) (oil sands tailings pond water) concentration in the early meltwater occurred in all ice columns produced with drainwater formation during spraying. Most impurities entrapped within the ice columns had moved to the bottom of the columns, therefore a greater volume of high-quality meltwater was produced. Release of impurities from these ice columns was best described using a power equation. Reduction of meltwater impurity concentration was much slower when the impurities were distributed uniformly in the ice columns as occurred when no drainwater was produced during spraying. In this case, the decay of the meltwater impurity concentration was best predicted using an exponential function. Preferential release of one type of contaminant over others occurred under some experimental conditions.
Eddy-induced mixed layer shallowing and mixed layer/thermocline exchange

The effects of eddies on the mixed layer and on the transfer of properties between the mixed layer and thermocline are studied in a high-resolution model of an unstable front. A spring scenario is considered, with a mixed layer maintained against surface warming by wind mixing. Tilting of the buoyancy gradients by ageostrophic flow is found to shallow the mixed layer over the front, giving a mixed layer as shallow as 10 m in some places, compared with the equilibrium Monin-Obukhov depth of ? 30 m away from the front. Variations of mixed layer depth with time and lateral advection lead to a subduction field that is substantially different from the vertical velocity field. Vertical velocities associated with the growing instabilities push tongues of a ventilation tracer, initially only present within the surface layer, down to depths of up to 100 m. After 24 days a quarter of this ventilation tracer has been deposited in the thermocline. Conversely, the vertical motions pull nutrients from the thermocline up into the mixed layer, giving enhanced surface values along the front. In the basin average the geostrophic eddies give vertical eddy diffusivities for a ventilation tracer of O(3 - 10×10? 4m2s? 1).
Towards a detection of grassland cutting practices with dual polarimetric TerraSAR-X data

In this study, polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) parameters are analysed and compared with in situ measurements in order to develop a methodology for detecting cutting practices within grassland areas. The grasslands were monitored with TerraSAR-X radar imaging in dual polarization HH/VV mode and are located near the banks of the Kasari River, close to the Baltic Sea coast of Estonia. The parameters analysed include HH, VV, HH + VV, and HH – VV backscatter, HH/VV polarimetric coherence magnitude and phase, T12 polarimetric coherence magnitude and phase, and also dual polarimetric entropy, alpha, and alpha dominant parameters. Using these parameters derived from the dual polarimetric TerraSAR-X data set, it was virtually impossible to distinguish tall grass (height >30 cm) from short grass (height <30 cm). On the other hand, it proved feasible to detect areas where grass had been cut and left on the ground. Several parameters showed specific behaviour for the state of grassland and the most notable change was found in the dual polarimetric dominant scattering alpha angle. This angle changed from 10° to 25° after tall grass had been cut and left on the ground. This behaviour of the dominant scattering alpha angle can effectively be described using a particle scattering model for vegetation backscattering.
CREEP EFFECTS ON STATIC AND CYCLIC INSTABILITY OF GRANULAR SOILS

Stability postulates by Drucker and by Hill are applicable to solid metal. When applied to granular material exhibiting nonassociated flow, these concepts of stability imply that the material may be unstable when exposed to certain stress paths inside the failure surface. Series of triaxial tests on fully saturated and partly saturated specimens of sand have previously been performed under drained and undrained conditions to study the regions of stable and unstable behavior. The stability postulates by Drucker and by Hill do not capture the conditions for stable and unstable behavior of granular materials. Granular materials may become unstable if the state of stress is located above the instability line for the material. Presented here is a series of experiments conducted on loose sand that compresses during shear. In these tests the sand is allowed to creep over different periods of time resulting in movement of the yield surface. The influence of the new location of the yield surface on the static and cyclic instability of the sand is studied and discussed.
Influence of physical and chemical properties on the low-frequency complex conductivity of peat

Organic layers are heterogeneous in space and their composition changes over time. This poses challenges to ecohydrologists, subsurface hydrologists and ground engineers in characterizing subsurface peat structures and predicting their behaviour over time. Peat deposits can be characterized by performing electrical surveys, provided that the complex conductivity of peat is understood and connected to its physical and chemical properties. Low-frequency (0.1–1000 Hz) induced polarization measurements were carried out to investigate the correlation between the chemical and physical properties of several peat samples and their electrical properties. A Cole-Cole model was fit to the peat spectra to obtain the model parameters and study their relationship with the sample properties. All the samples were characterized by analysing their degree of humification, water content, organic content, cation exchange capacity, pH and conductivity of the pore-fluid. Two significant correlations between physical, chemical and electrical properties are found. The peat bulk conductivity is directly correlated with the pore fluid conductivity, whereas the degree of humification of peat shows an inverse correlation with the phase angle. This study presents results that have implications for peatland characterization with frequency dependent or single frequency analysis of induced polarization measurements.