Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of localisation algorithms for teleseismic mid-ocean ridge earthquakes: The 1999 Gakkel ridge earthquake swarm and its geological interpretation

SUMMARY In 1999, an unusual earthquake swarm at the 85°E/85°N volcanic centre on the ultraslow spreading Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean, was detected teleseismically. The swarm lasted over 9 months and counted 252 events with mb≥ 3.1. It represents the strongest and largest ever recorded mid-ocean ridge earthquake swarm, and it occurred at a site where spreading rates are only about 10 mm yr–1. We relocated the earthquake swarm comparing the performance of three different localization algorithms: (1) the absolute least-squares routine HYPOSAT, (2) the absolute probabilistic routine NonLinLoc and (3) the relative least-squares routine Mlocate. The epicentres as calculated by each algorithm mostly did not agree within their error ellipses. Thus, the choice of location algorithm proved more critical than, for example, the choice of a local velocity model. We compiled a set of well-localized events which closely agree in at least two routines, mostly Mlocate and NonLinLoc. We conclude that the earthquake swarm of 1999 was related to a spreading episode and shows a complex interplay of tectonic and magmatic events. Our geological interpretation revealed three phases in swarm activity: In the first phase from January 17 up to February 1 fracturing of the crust took place, either as a result of or enabling magmatic intrusion. Seismicity in the second phase from February 2 to April 6 expanded along- and across axis. It showed signs of magmatic interaction, but a clear dyke migration pattern is absent. At the beginning of the third phase, a distinct break in the event rate suggested a change in the physical process, either an adjustment of the stress field to the new regime or a transition to an effusive stage.
Technical Note No. 4. An Assessment of the Young Lives Sampling Approach in Vietnam.

This paper outlines the sampling methodology used by Young Lives in Vietnam. The Vietnam team selected study sites with a pro-poor bias using purposive and random sampling approaches. This paper assessed this sampling methodology by comparing baseline data collected in 2002 with data from two nationally representative surveys the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey 2002 (VLSS 2002) and the Demographic and Health Survey 2002 (DHS 2002). Examination of the common variables in the different surveys – household characteristics, access to electricity and drinking water – indicates that the Young Lives sample includes households with less access to basic services and thus includes some biases. A comparison of wealth index scores reveals that Young Lives households are slightly poorer than the average Vietnamese household. These differences reflect the pro-poor sampling approach chosen by Young Lives in Vietnam. Despite these biases, it is shown that the Young Lives sample in Vietnam covers the diversity of children in the country. Therefore, while not suited for simple monitoring of child outcome indicators, the Young Lives sample will be an appropriate and valuable instrument for analysing causal relations, modelling child welfare, and its longitudinal dynamics in Vietnam.
Understanding the Impacts of Short‐Term Climate Variability on Drinking Water Source Quality: Observations From Three Distinct Climatic Regions in Tanzania

Climate change is expected to increase waterborne diseases especially in developing countries. However, we lack understanding of how different types of water sources (both improved and unimproved) are affected by climate change, and thus, where to prioritize future investments and improvements to maximize health outcomes. This is due to limited knowledge of the relationships between source water quality and the observed variability in climate conditions. To address this gap, a 20‐month observational study was conducted in Tanzania, aiming to understand how water quality changes at various types of sources due to short‐term climate variability. Nine rounds of microbiological water quality sampling were conducted for Escherichia coli and total coliforms, at three study sites within different climatic regions. Each round included approximately 233 samples from water sources and 632 samples from households. To identify relationships between water quality and short‐term climate variability, Bayesian hierarchical modeling was adopted, allowing these relationships to vary with source types and sampling regions to account for potentially different physical processes. Across water sources, increases in E. coli/total coliform levels were most closely related to increases in recent heavy rainfall. Our key recommendations to future longitudinal studies are (a) demonstrated value of high sampling frequency and temporal coverage (a minimum of 3 years) especially during wet seasons; (b) utility of the Bayesian hierarchical models to pool data from multiple sites while allowing for variations across space and water sources; and (c) importance of a multidisciplinary team approach with consistent commitment and sharing of knowledge.
Characterisation of antibiotic resistance gene clusters and their mobility within a collection of multi-drug resistant Salmonella spp

xxii Acknowledgements.xxv Publications arising from this thesis.xxvi Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Use of antibiotics.1 1.2 Emergence of antibiotic resistance.3 1.2.1 Streptomycin resistance.5 1.2.2 Sulfonamide resistance.6 1.2.3 Tetracycline resistance.8 1.2.4 β-lactam resistance.9 1.2.5 Mercury resistance.12 1.3 Why antibiotic resistance is a concern? 15 1.4 How bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance? 16 1.5 Mobile genetic elements.18 1.5. 1 IS elements.18 iii 1.5. 2 Integrons.19 1.5. 3 Transposons.21 1.5. 4 Plasmids.27 1.6 Salmonella.29 1.6. 1 What is Salmonella? 29 1.6. 2 Antibiotic resistance in Salmonella and its cost.33 1.7 Aim of this research.35 Chapter 2: Materials and methods 2.1 Bacterial strains.37 2.1.1 Salmonella strains.37 2.1.2 E. coli strains.41 2.2 Bacterial media.42 2.2.1 MacConkey agar.42 2.2.2 Luria Bertani (LB) medium.42 2.3 DNA preparation.42 2.3. 1 Boiled DNA preparations.42 2.3. 2 DNA extraction by the phenol/chloroform method.43 2.3. 3 DNA extraction using the Corbett Robotics X-tractor Gene TM instrument.44 2.4 PCR amplification.45 2.5 Agarose gel electrophoresis.46 2.6 Restriction endonuclease analysis of DNA.46 2.7 Purification of PCR products.47 iv 2.8 DNA sequence analysis.47 2.9 Southern hybridisation.48 2.9. 1 DNA probe preparation.48 2.9. 2 Gel preparation.49 2.9. 3 Preparation of hybridisation apparatus.49 2.9. 4 The membrane transfer.50 2.9. 5 Hybridisation.50 2.9. 6 The membrane development.51 2.10 Small plasmid extraction.52 2.11 Large plasmid extraction.53 2.12 Preparing competent E. coli DH5α cells.53 2.13 Electroporation of E. coli DH5α cells . 54 2.14 Chemical transformation of E. coli JM109 cells.55 2.15 Conjugation experiments.55 2.16 Triparental mating experiments.57 2.17 Antibiotic resistance testing.57 Chapter 3: Primary PCR screening for strA, strB, sul2, tetA(A) and tetA(B) genes 3.
Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

OBJECTIVE Compared with radiotherapy alone, concurrent chemoradiotherapy significantly improves survival rates for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy, toxicity and long-term prognosis of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy. METHODS A total of 140 patients were enrolled and evaluated. Patients were received two cycles of docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy (docetaxel [50 mg/m(2): Day 1], cisplatin [60 mg/m(2): Day 4] and continuous 5-fluorouracil [600 mg/m(2)/day: Days 1-5]) during definitive radiotherapy. RESULTS The overall response rate was 97.1%. The 3 and 5-year overall survival rates were 83.3 and 79.2%, respectively. The 3 and 5-year disease-specific survival rates were 84.2 and 80.0%, respectively. Among patients with laryngeal or hypopharyngeal carcinoma, the 5-year laryngectomy-free survival rate was 64.9%. CONCLUSIONS Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil showed excellent survival and organ preservation rates for the patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
The role of renin–angiotensin system inhibition in the treatment of hypertension in metabolic syndrome: are all the angiotensin receptor blockers equal?

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, as well as new Type 2 diabetes. MetS consists of visceral obesity, elevated blood pressure, impaired glucose metabolism, atherogenic dyslipidaemia (elevated triglycerides and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), as well as other metabolic abnormalities. The underlying pathophysiology seems to be largely, but not uniquely, attributable to insulin resistance. Existing antihypertensive drugs were designed to lower blood pressure rather than to modify the metabolic abnormalities associated with hypertension. This review considers the role of renin–angiotensin system inhibition and especially the use of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) in the treatment of hypertension in MetS. There are differences among ARBs. Among them is the uricosuric effect of losartan. Furthermore, telmisartan may function as a partial agonist of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ).
H i in Molecular Clouds: Irradiation by FUV Plus Cosmic Rays

We extend the analytic theory presented by Sternberg et al. and Bialy & Sternberg for the production of atomic hydrogen (H i) via far-ultraviolet (FUV) photodissociation at the boundaries of dense interstellar molecular (H2) clouds to also include the effects of penetrating (low-energy) cosmic rays (CRs) for the growth of the total H i column densities. We compute the steady-state abundances of the H i and H2 in one-dimensional gas slabs in which the FUV photodissociation rates are reduced by depth-dependent H2 self-shielding and dust absorption and the CR ionization rates are either constant or reduced by transport effects. The solutions for the H i and H2 density profiles and the integrated H i columns depend primarily on the ratios I UV/Rn and ζ/Rn, where I UV is the intensity of the photodissociating FUV field, ζ is the H2 CR ionization rate, n is the hydrogen gas density, and R is the dust surface H2 formation rate coefficient. We present computations for a wide range of FUV field strengths, CR ionization rates, and dust-to-gas ratios. We develop analytic expressions for the growth of the H i column densities. For Galactic giant molecular clouds (GMCs) with multiphased (warm/cold) H i envelopes, the interior CR zones will dominate the production of the H i only if ζ≳4.5×10−16×(MGMC/106M⊙)−1/2 s−1, where M GMC is the GMC mass, and including attenuation of the CR fluxes. For most Galactic GMCs and conditions, FUV photodissociation dominates over CR ionization for the production of the H i column densities. Furthermore, the CRs do not affect the H i-to-H2 transition points.
Organizational readiness and its contributing factors to adopt KM processes: A conceptual model

The main purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model that can be used to assess the organizational readiness and its contributing factors for KM process adoption. The authors propose that the organizational readiness should be assessed considering both organizational and individual factors. The model has been developed by integrating KM infrastructure and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). This model will enrich the KM literature, especially on KM readiness, while being the basis for other researchers and authors to develop further.
Breast-conserving surgery with or without radiotherapy: pooled-analysis for risks of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and mortality.

BACKGROUND The objective of the study was to investigate whether radiotherapy or its omission after breast-conserving surgery has measurable consequences on local tumor growth and patient survival. METHODS We conducted a pooled analysis of published randomized clinical trials that compared radiotherapy versus no radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery. The outcomes studied were ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and patient death from any cause. The pooled relative risks (RRs) were estimated with a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochran Q test. RESULTS A search of the literature identified 15 trials with a pooled total of 9422 patients available for analysis. The relative risk of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence after breast-conserving surgery, comparing patients treated with no radiotherapy or radiotherapy, was 3.00 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.65 to 3.40). Mortality data were available for 13 trials with a pooled total of 8206 patients. The relative risk of mortality was 1.086 (95% CI = 1.003 to 1.175), corresponding to an estimated 8.6% (95% CI = 0.3% to 17.5%) relative excess mortality if radiotherapy was omitted. CONCLUSION Omission of radiotherapy is associated with a large increase in risk of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and with a small increase in the risk of patient mortality.
Unravelling Metastable Markovian Open Quantum Systems

We analyse the dynamics of metastable Markovian open quantum systems by unravelling their average dynamics into stochastic trajectories. We consider several examples of quantum reset processes, including a simple three-state model whose metastability is of classical type, and a two-qubit model that features a metastable decoherence free subspace. In the three-state model, the trajectories exhibit classical metastable phenomenology: fast relaxation into distinct phases and slow transitions between them. This extends the existing correspondence between classical and quantum metastability. It enables the computation of committors for the quantum phases, and the mechanisms of rare transitions between them. For the two-qubit model, the decoherence-free subspace appears in the unravelled trajectories as a slow manifold on which the quantum state has a continuous slow evolution. This provides a classical (non-metastable) analogue of this quantum effect. We discuss the general implications of these results, and we highlight the useful role of quantum reset processes for analysis of quantum trajectories in metastable systems.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and risk of incident hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Several studies reported an association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the risk of incident hypertension. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to obtain a precise and reliable estimate of the nature and magnitude of this association. We systematically searched Ovid-MEDLINE up to March 2021 for observational studies in which NAFLD was diagnosed in adults using blood-based panels, imaging techniques or liver biopsy and with a follow-up ≥1 year. Measures of association from individual studies were meta-analyzed using random-effects models. Of the 1108 titles initially scrutinized, we included 11 cohort studies with data on 390 348 participants (52% male) and a mean follow-up of 5.7 years. In the overall analysis, NAFLD was associated with a moderately increased risk of incident hypertension (hazard ratio 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.38-2.01; test for overall effect z = 5.266; P < 0.001). There was significant heterogeneity among the studies (P < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses showed that estimates were not affected by geographical location, duration of follow-up and adjustment for baseline blood pressure values. On the other hand, the magnitude of the association was lower in studies that adjusted for baseline adiposity compared with those that did not, explaining part of the observed heterogeneity. No significant publication bias was detected by funnel plot analysis and Egger’s and Begg’s tests. This large meta-analysis indicates that NAFLD is associated with a ~1.6-fold increased risk of developing hypertension. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of NAFLD severity in terms of inflammation and fibrosis on incident hypertension.
Polarization Evolution of Fast Radio Burst Sources in Binary Systems

Recently, some fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been reported to exhibit complex and diverse variations in Faraday rotation measurements (RM) and polarization, suggesting that dynamically evolving magnetization environments may surround them. In this paper, we investigate the Faraday conversion (FC) effect in a binary system involving an FRB source and analyze the polarization evolution of FRBs. For a strongly magnetized high-mass companion binary, when an FRB with ∼100% linear polarization passes through the radial magnetic field of the companion star, the circular polarization (CP) component will be induced and oscillate symmetrically around the point with the degree of CP equal to zero, the rate and amplitude of the oscillation decrease as the frequency increases. The very strong plasma column density in the HMCBs can cause CP to oscillate with frequency at a very drastic rate, which may lead to depolarization. Near the superior conjunction of the binary orbit, the DM varies significantly due to the dense plasma near the companion, and the significant FC also occurs in this region. As the pulsar moves away from the superior conjunction, the CP gradually tends toward zero and then returns to its value before incidence. We also investigate the effect of the rotation of the companion star. We find that a sufficiently significant RM reversal can be produced at large magnetic inclinations and the RM variation is very diverse. Finally, we apply this model to explain some polarization observations of PSR B1744-24A and FRB 20201124A.
Sparse Sampling Transformer with Uncertainty-Driven Ranking for Unified Removal of Raindrops and Rain Streaks

In the real world, image degradations caused by rain often exhibit a combination of rain streaks and raindrops, thereby increasing the challenges of recovering the underlying clean image. Note that the rain streaks and raindrops have diverse shapes, sizes, and locations in the captured image, and thus modeling the correlation relationship between irregular degradations caused by rain artifacts is a necessary prerequisite for image deraining. This paper aims to present an efficient and flexible mechanism to learn and model degradation relationships in a global view, thereby achieving a unified removal of intricate rain scenes. To do so, we propose a Sparse Sampling Transformer based on Uncertainty-Driven Ranking, dubbed UDR-S2Former. Compared to previous methods, our UDR-S2Former has three merits. First, it can adaptively sample relevant image degradation information to model underlying degradation relationships. Second, explicit application of the uncertainty-driven ranking strategy can facilitate the network to attend to degradation features and understand the reconstruction process. Finally, experimental results show that our UDR-S2Former clearly outperforms state-of-the-art methods for all benchmarks.
Certification of non-Gaussian Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen steering

Non-Gaussian quantum states are a known necessary resource for reaching a quantum advantage and for violating Bell inequalities in continuous variable systems. As one kind of manifestation of quantum correlations, Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen steering enables verification of shared entanglement even when one of the subsystems is not characterized. However, how to detect and classify such an effect for non-Gaussian states is far from being well understood. Here, we present an efficient non-Gaussian steering criterion based on the high-order observables and conduct a systematic investigation into the hierarchy of non-Gaussian steering criteria. Moreover, we apply our criterion to three experimentally-relevant non-Gaussian states under realistic conditions and, in particular, propose a feasible scheme to create multi-component cat states with tunable size by performing a suitable high-order quadrature measurement on the steering party. Our work reveals the fundamental characteristics of non-Gaussianity and quantum correlations, and offers new insights to explore their applications in quantum information processing.
A Survey of Imbalanced Learning on Graphs: Problems, Techniques, and Future Directions

Graphs represent interconnected structures prevalent in a myriad of real-world scenarios. Effective graph analytics, such as graph learning methods, enables users to gain profound insights from graph data, underpinning various tasks including node classification and link prediction. However, these methods often suffer from data imbalance, a common issue in graph data where certain segments possess abundant data while others are scarce, thereby leading to biased learning outcomes. This necessitates the emerging field of imbalanced learning on graphs, which aims to correct these data distribution skews for more accurate and representative learning outcomes. In this survey, we embark on a comprehensive review of the literature on imbalanced learning on graphs. We begin by providing a definitive understanding of the concept and related terminologies, establishing a strong foundational understanding for readers. Following this, we propose two comprehensive taxonomies: (1) the problem taxonomy, which describes the forms of imbalance we consider, the associated tasks, and potential solutions; (2) the technique taxonomy, which details key strategies for addressing these imbalances, and aids readers in their method selection process. Finally, we suggest prospective future directions for both problems and techniques within the sphere of imbalanced learning on graphs, fostering further innovation in this critical area.
Joint Active User Detection, Channel Estimation, and Data Detection for Massive Grant-Free Transmission in Cell-Free Systems

Cell-free communication has the potential to significantly improve grant-free transmission in massive machine-type communication, wherein multiple access points jointly serve a large number of user equipments to improve coverage and spectral efficiency. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for joint active user detection (AUD), channel estimation (CE), and data detection (DD) for massive grant-free transmission in cell-free systems. We formulate an optimization problem for joint AUD, CE, and DD by considering both the sparsity of the data matrix, which arises from intermittent user activity, and the sparsity of the effective channel matrix, which arises from intermittent user activity and large-scale fading. We approximately solve this optimization problem with a box-constrained forward-backward splitting algorithm, which significantly improves AUD, CE, and DD performance. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework through simulation experiments.
InsertNeRF: Instilling Generalizability into NeRF with HyperNet Modules

Generalizing Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) to new scenes is a significant challenge that existing approaches struggle to address without extensive modifications to vanilla NeRF framework. We introduce InsertNeRF, a method for INStilling gEneRalizabiliTy into NeRF. By utilizing multiple plug-and-play HyperNet modules, InsertNeRF dynamically tailors NeRF's weights to specific reference scenes, transforming multi-scale sampling-aware features into scene-specific representations. This novel design allows for more accurate and efficient representations of complex appearances and geometries. Experiments show that this method not only achieves superior generalization performance but also provides a flexible pathway for integration with other NeRF-like systems, even in sparse input settings. Code will be available https://github.com/bbbbby-99/InsertNeRF.