Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Horizontally Mounted Bender Elements for Measuring Anisotropic Shear Moduli in Triaxial Clay Specimens

Novel horizontally mounted bender element devices capable of high-quality transmission and reception of horizontally propagated shear waves polarized in orthogonal planes across the mid-height of a triaxial clay specimen are described. Mounting of these mini benders, in a T-shaped configuration, is in the pads of a radial strain belt on 100 mm diameter triaxial samples, or alternatively as bender probes (similar in concept to mid-height pore pressure probes) suitable for use on triaxial samples down to 38 mm diameter. This latter type may also be used in bench-top tests or on site. The effective fabrication procedures that have been developed are described. The instrumentation systems used to drive and receive signals are outlined, and estimates of the magnitude of the shear strains developed by the bender elements and the accuracy with which shear wave velocities can be determined are discussed. These new bender elements enable both anisotropic shear moduli to be measured over the same path length on a single triaxial specimen that can be taken to a wide variety of anisotropic stress states. Comparison with measurements using conventional platen-mounted bender elements suggests these may underestimate the shear modulus by up to 20%.
A homostiid arthrodire (placoderm fish) from the Early Devonian of the Burrinjuck area, New South Wales

Cavanosteus, a new genus of homostiid arthrodire, with C. australis (McCoy) as type species, is erected for new material from the Early Devonian (Emsian) of the Burrinjuck area, NSW. This new material compares closely with the holotype from Buchan, Victoria, identified as the central plates from the skull; it includes lower jawbones (infragnathals) lacking denticulation also closely similar to those of Homostius from the Middle Devonian of the Baltic Province and Scotland. The only bone from the dermal trunk armour referred to the new genus is an anterior dorsolateral plate. Relationships of other large Early Devonian arthrodires assigned to the family Homostiidae are discussed. Cavanosteus gen. nov. is probably the closest relative to the type genus known from the Early Devonian.
UDTIRI: An Open-Source Road Pothole Detection Benchmark Suite

— It is seen that there is enormous potential to leverage powerful deep learning methods in the emerging ﬁeld of urban digital twins. It is particularly in the area of intelligent road inspection where there is currently limited research and data available. To facilitate progress in this ﬁeld, we have developed a well-labeled road pothole dataset named Urban Digital Twins Intelligent Road Inspection (UDTIRI) dataset. We hope this dataset will enable the use of powerful deep learning methods in urban road inspection, providing algorithms with a more comprehensive understanding of the scene and maximizing their potential. Our dataset comprises 1000 images of potholes, captured in various scenarios with different lighting and humidity conditions. Our intention is to employ this dataset for object detection, semantic segmentation, and instance segmentation tasks. Our team has devoted signiﬁcant effort to conducting a detailed statistical analysis, and benchmarking a selection of representative algorithms from recent years. We also provide a multi-task platform for researchers to fully exploit the performance of various algorithms with the support of UDTIRI dataset.
Major crustal rotations in the Andean margin: Paleomagnetic results from the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile

Paleomagnetic analyses of Mesozoic lavas and dike swarms from the northern Chilean Coastal Cordillera, between 25.4°S and 26.4°S, reveal a clockwise rotation of about 42°. Magnetizations from lava flows of andesitic-basaltic composition of the Middle Jurassic La Negra Formation pass both fold and reversal tests and are interpreted as prefolding remanences. Five dike swarms of Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age yield similar directions to that obtained from the La Negra Formation. Four of the five swarms have mixed polarity, suggesting that they too carry a primary or very early remanence. The structural setting of the dikes suggests that they have not suffered any substantial tilting about nonvertical axes since acquisition of the remanence. The clockwise rotation of the area is believed to have been the consequence of transpressional deformation of mid–Late Cretaceous age, post-100 Ma, associated with abandonment of the Jurassic–Early Cretaceous magmatic arc in this region and its eastward migration to form a new mid–Late Cretaceous magmatic arc in the former back arc region. This younger arc is located east of the Coastal Cordillera and lies in the Central Valley region. The clockwise sense of rotation is consistent with other paleomagnetic data from northern Chile and southern Bolivia, south of the Arica Deflection in the Andean margin, although it is the largest yet reported. To the north of the Arica Deflection, paleomagnetic studies report counterclockwise rotations, and several large-scale models have been proposed to explain the overall pattern of rotations. Models include oroclinal bending of an originally straight margin, differential shortening across the margin at a preexisting bend which is subsequently tightened by the passive rotation of the limbs of the bend, and distributed shear throughout the margin as a consequence of oblique convergence at a preexisting bend. In contrast to these models, several workers have argued that rotation is better explained in terms of localized in situ rotations. We review these models in light of our results and present a domino-type model with blocks bounded by left-lateral faults and rotating clockwise in response to mid-Late Cretaceous transpression within a crustal scale shear zone. This is consistent with the observed strike-slip fault systems identified in the Coastal Cordillera.
Why Doesn’t the United States Have a European-Style Welfare State?

EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS REDISTRIBUTE income among their citizens on a much larger scale than does the U.S. government. European social programs are more generous and reach a larger share of citizens. European tax systems are more progressive. European regulations designed to protect the poor are more intrusive. In this paper we try to understand why. The literature on the size of government is rich and varied. However, here we do not focus on the size of government as such, but rather on the redistributive side of government policies. Thus our goal is in one sense narrower than answering the question, “What explains the size of government? ” since we focus on a single, but increasingly important, role of fiscal policy. Yet in another sense our focus is broader, because redistributive policies go beyond the government budget—think, for instance, of labor market policies. We consider economic, political, and behavioral explanations for these differences between the United States and Europe. Economic explanations focus on the variance of income and the skewness of the income distribution before taxes and transfers, the social costs of taxation, the volatility of income, and expected changes in income for the median voter. We conclude that most of these theories cannot explain the observed differences.
Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics

A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
A comparison of the vertical zonation of diatom, Foraminifera, and macrophyte assemblages in a coastal marsh; implications for greater paleo-sea level resolution

Researchers generally use only one type of plant or animal to study a particular marsh. Consequently, it has been impossible to directly compare zonations obtained using different groups between sites. To facilitate such comparison, cluster analysis of foraminiferal, diatom, and macrophyte data collected in transects from a tidal marsh at Zeballos, northwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was carried out. These analyses yielded three, six, and four mostly elevation-controlled assemblage zones, respectively. Physical parameters such as salinity and oxygen concentration affect the various taxa differently, resulting in significantly different assemblage boundaries between groups. A composite analysis of all groups yielded an assemblage zonation very similar to that obtained with the macrophytes alone. Although fewer assemblage zones were resolved with the composite analysis than with the diatom data alone, fewer sample misclassifications resulted in more precise elevation determinations. A second composite analysis using only foraminiferal and diatom data, which is more useful to paleo-sea level researchers, also gave four elevation controlled assemblage zones, although assemblage zone elevational boundaries differed slightly from those obtained with data from all groups. Our results will permit researchers working on diatoms, foraminifera or macrophytes to calibrate their zonations thus making it easier for workers in different fields to compare their results.
Fully Convolutional Neural Network for Fast Anomaly Detection in Crowded Scenes

We present an efficient method for detecting and localizing anomalies in videos showing crowded scenes. Research on {\it fully convolutional neural networks} (FCNs) has shown the potentials of this technology for object detection and localization, especially in images. We investigate how to involve temporal data, and how to transform a supervised FCN into an unsupervised one such that the resulting FCN ensures anomaly detection. Altogether, we propose an FCN-based architecture for anomaly detection and localization in crowded scenes videos. For reducing computations and, consequently, improving performance both with respect to speed and accuracy, we investigate the use of cascaded out-layer detection. Our architecture includes two main components, one for feature representation, and one for cascaded out-layer detection. Experimental results on Subway and UCSD benchmarks confirm that the detection and localization accuracy of our method is comparable to state-of-the-art methods, but at a significantly increased speed of 370 fps.
Post-Caledonian tectonics along the Billefjorden fault zone, Svalbard, and implications for the Arctic region

The north-south Billefjorden fault zone of northern Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago has been widely regarded as one of the classic areas for transpressional tectonics. The fault zone coincides with a late Caledonian shear zone and presently constitutes the eastern boundary of the main Devonian basin of northern Svalbard. Fold axial traces and thrust faults that developed in the Devonian to Permo-Carboniferous rocks parallel the strike of the fault zone. There is no evidence for the rotation of fold hinges, and nonaxial planar, transecting cleavages are lacking. Folds and thrusts with similar geometries affect the whole 60-km-wide Devonian basin fill. These observations, together with analyses of fault and fold patterns, indicate (A) pre-Devonian (Caledonian) left-lateral ductile shearing; (B) Late Silurian-Early Devonian extension; (C) Late Devonian-early Carboniferous inversion accompanied by folding of Devonian sedimentary rocks; (D) early Carboniferous extension followed by platform-wide subsidence into late Mesozoic time; (E) Late Cretaceous-Paleocene, east-west contraction, thrusting, and folding; and (E) post-Paleocene east-west extension. The Late Devonian deformation along the Billefjorden fault zone is compared with the Late Devonian to early Carboniferous Ellesmerian orogeny of the Canadian Arctic. The Late Devonian megashear model for the tectonic evolution of the North Atlantic region is not supported by the evidence from Svalbard.
Geomagnetic paleointensities by the Thelliers' method from submarine pillow basalts: Effects of seafloor weathering

Measurements of geomagnetic paleointensity using the Thelliers' double-heating method in vacuum have been made on 10 specimens of submarine pillow basalt obtained from 7 fragments dredged from localities 700,000 years old or younger. In the magnetic minerals, the titanium/iron ratio parameter x and the cation deficiency (oxidation) parameter x were determined by X-ray diffraction and Curie temperature measurement. Fresh material (z ≅ 0) provided excellent results: most of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) could be thermally demagnetized before the magnetic minerals became altered, and the NRM-TRM lines were straight and well constrained, and geologically reasonable paleointensities were obtained. Somewhat oxidized material (z ≅ 0.2) also provided apparently valid paleointensities: values were similar to those from fresh specimens cut from the same fragments, although only half or less of the NRM could be thermally demagnetized before alteration of the magnetic minerals. More highly oxidized material (z ≅ 0.6) gave a result seriously in error: the paleointensity value is much too low, because of continuous disproportionation of titanomaghemite during the heating experiments and because seafloor weathering had decreased the NRM intensity. From limited published data, the extent of oxidation of titanomagnetite to cation deficient titanomaghemite in pillow basalt exposed on the seafloor appears to be approximately z = 0.3 at 0.2–0.5 m.y. , z = 0.6 at 1 m.y. , and z = 0.8–1.0 at 10–100 m.y. This implies that valid paleointensities can be obtained from exposed submarine basalt, but only if the basalt is younger than a few hundred thousand years. Equally good paleointensities were obtained from strongly magnetized (L-type) basalt and moderately magnetized (L-type) basalt. The degree of low-temperature oxidation of cubic iron-titanium oxides in submarine basalts correlates very well with the diminution of amplitude of linear magnetic anomalies when both are compared as a function of crustal age. Systematic radial variation of Curie temperature is a primary feature of submarine basalt pillows, so that estimation of the oxidation parameter z from the Curie temperature alone by assuming a value for x can be in error. Reasonably precise and self-consistent values of both x and z can be obtained if both the cubic cell dimension and the Curie temperature of the cubic oxide are measured.
Seasonal evolution of meltwater generation, storage and discharge at a non‐temperate glacier in Svalbard

In glacierized catchments, meteorological inputs driving surface melting are translated into runoff outputs mediated by the glacier hydrological system: analysis of the relationship between meteorology and diurnal and seasonal patterns of runoff should reflect the functioning of that system, with the role of meltwater storage likely to be of particular importance. Daily meltwater storage is determined for a glacier at 78 °N in the Svalbard archipelago, by comparing inputs calculated from a surface energy balance model with measured outputs (proglacial discharge). Solar radiation, air temperature, wind speed and proglacial discharge are then analysed by regression and time‐series methods, in order to assess the meteorology–discharge relationship and its variation at diurnal and seasonal time‐scales. The recorded discharge time‐series can be divided into two contrasting intervals: up to early August, proglacial discharge was high and variable, mean hydrographs showed little indication of diurnal cycling, ARIMA models of discharge indicated a non‐seasonal, moving‐average generating process, and there was a net loss of meltwater from storage; from early August, proglacial discharge was low and relatively invariable, but with clearer diurnal cycles, regression models of discharge showed substantially improved correlations with air temperature and solar radiation, ARIMA models indicated a non‐seasonal, autoregressive generating process, and eventually a seasonal component, and there was a net gain in meltwater storage. The transition between the two periods is brief compared with the duration of the melt season. The runoff response to meteorology therefore lacks the strongly progressive element previously identified in mid‐latitude glacierized catchments. In particular, the glacier hydrological system only appears responsive to diurnal forcing following the depletion of the seasonal snowpack meltwater store. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Conspectus of 'Helichrysum' Mill. sect. Stoechadina (DC.) Gren. & Godr. (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae)

Es presenta un conspectus de Helichrysum sect. Stoechadina (DC.) Gren. aamp; Godr. Es reconeixen vuit especies i cinc subespecies. Per cada taxo acceptat es relacionen tots el sinonims trobats a la bibliografia, a partir de l'estudi dels protolegs, el material tipus i els nombrosos exemplars d'herbari que comprenen tota l'area de distribucio i la variabilitat de cada especie. S'aporten notes sobre l'area de distribucio. Quatre noms han estat lectotipificats y es presenten tambe referencies sobre lectotipificacions previes.
Mean Structure and Diurnal Cycle of Southeast Atlantic Boundary Layer Clouds: Insights from Satellite Observations and Multiscale Modeling Framework Simulations

AbstractThe mean structure and diurnal cycle of southeast (SE) Atlantic boundary layer clouds are described with satellite observations and multiscale modeling framework (MMF) simulations during austral spring (September–November). Hourly resolution cloud fraction (CF) and cloud-top height (HT) are retrieved from Meteosat-9 radiances using modified Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) algorithms, whereas liquid water path (LWP) is from the University of Wisconsin microwave satellite climatology. The MMF simulations use a 2D cloud-resolving model (CRM) that contains an advanced third-order turbulence closure to explicitly simulate cloud physical processes in every grid column of a general circulation model. The model accurately reproduces the marine stratocumulus spatial extent and cloud cover. The mean cloud cover spatial variability in the model is primarily explained by the boundary layer decoupling strength, whereas a boundary layer .
Optimizing Sampling for Data Freshness: Unreliable Transmissions with Random Two-way Delay

In this paper, we study a sampling problem in which fresh samples of a signal (source) are sent through an unreliable channel to a remote estimator, and acknowledgments are sent back over a feedback channel. Both the forward and feedback channels are subject to random transmission times. Motivated by distributed sensing, the estimator can estimate the real-time value of the source signal by combining the signal samples received through the channel and noisy signal observations collected from a local sensor. We prove that the estimation error is a non-decreasing function of the Age of Information (AoI) for received signal samples and design an optimal sampling strategy that minimizes the long-term average estimation error. The optimal sampler design follows a threshold strategy: If the last transmission was successful, the source waits until the expected estimation error upon delivery exceeds a threshold and then sends out a new sample. If the last transmission fails, the source immediately sends out a new sample without waiting. The threshold is the unique root of a fixed-point equation and can be solved with low complexity (e.g., by bisection search). In addition, the proposed sampling strategy is also optimal for minimizing the long-term average of general non-decreasing functions of the AoI. Its optimality holds for general transmission time distributions of the forward and feedback channels.
On Numerical Integration of Sea Bed Logging EM Models

This paper presents an alternative method to evaluate numerically the Fourier-Bessel integrals occurring in many electromagnetic field models used in the interpretation of geophysical data. In particular the interest is in the sea-bed-logging layered earth problem with a horizontal electric dipole (HED) in an anisotropic media when the lateral coordinate ρ is large (on the order of 10 km) resulting in highly oscillatory integrals that are difficult to evaluate numerically. The method replaces the real axis integration with a mathematically equivalent complex contour integration that converges exponentially when the product of the integration variable λ and the horizontal coordinate ρ is large. Example computations are made for the three components of the electric field for a standard form of the onedimensional HED layered earth model. Analytic and numerical forms are compared for the primary fields and show good agreement.
Relative impacts of ENSO and Indian Ocean dipole/zonal mode on east SADC rainfall

The current paper is an observational study that investigates the October to December (OND) rainfall variability over the east Southern African Development Community (SADC) mainland region in relation to El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean dipole zonal mode (IODZM) for the period 1950–1999. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of OND rainfall field revealed that the north–south aligned areas of the eastern SADC are located in different covariability regions. This meridionally aligned dipole rainfall anomaly configuration is captured only in the dominant principal component (PC1), making it possible for the opposing rainfall anomalies of the two regions to have a common trigger. However, ENSO which is the standard attribute for regional rainfall variability failed dismally to adequately explain this dipole rainfall anomaly pattern. Instead, there appears to be consistent evidence through statistical techniques which strongly indicates the likelihood of the participation of only the positive IODZM phase events in the creation of the positive dipole rainfall phase (i.e. simultaneous floods over the northeast and droughts over the southeast of the SADC region). Since the negative IODZM phase events can hardly be linked to the reverse rainfall pattern, it implies that the positive and negative rainfall dipoles have fundamentally different causes. Thus, contrary to convectional knowledge, the ENSO association to this dipole rainfall anomaly pattern is by no means robust and could be symptomatic of the well‐known ENSO–IODZM connection. Interestingly, however, when analysed over the 31‐year overlapping segments, IODZM's once significant independent influence on this dipole rainfall seems to be diminishing gradually as from the early 1990s, whereas that of ENSO is correspondingly being reinforced. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society