Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnitude frequency, spatial and temporal analysis of large seismicity catalogs: The Californian Experience

Recent years have seen a substantial increase in the amount of available seismic catalog data. Extracting information from these data, on a case-by-case basis is gradually becoming infeasible. In order to harness the influx of data, we need new methods that are objective and datadriven. These methods need to provide the community with models that are modest in their complexity and assumptions. This thesis undertakes the task of developing such methods that can be readily applied to large seismic catalogs. One of the main characteristics of earthquake phenomena is the power-law relation of moment release and frequency, i.e. the Gutenberg-Richter law. We developed a penalized likelihood-based method for spatial estimation of Gutenberg-Richter’s b-value. We used the obtained results to generate an earthquake forecast model for California. Our forecast shows a significant information gain with respect to the competing models. These results provide evidence for small amplitude, large-scale spatial b-value variations that can, in most cases, be attributed to inconsistencies in magnitude estimations. Another widely observed feature of seismicity is its multifractal spatial distribution. We developed an adaptive multifractal estimation method that reduces edge effects and improves precision. The method was successfully validated on synthetic fractals and used to assess the scaling properties of the widely studied diffusion-limited aggregation process. We developed also a condensation technique that allows accounting for the location uncertainty information in spatial analysis. We utilized these two approaches to investigate the spatial distribution of Southern Californian seismicity. Our analysis provided evidence for possible issues with the relocation procedure of the current catalog. This motivated us to re-locate the last three decades of Southern Californian seismicity by employing current state-of-the-art probabilistic non-linear methods. The outcome of these efforts is the new KaKiOS-15 catalog that contains the full expression of each event’s location uncertainty. Lastly, we developed a new fault network reconstruction method based on agglomerative clustering. We applied this method to the events in the condensed KaKiOS-15 catalog and obtained a fault network for Southern California. In retrospective tests, we were also able to demonstrate that the obtained fault network has significantly higher forecasting skills compared to commonly used methodologies.
Miocene magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy in the Mediterranean : extension of the astronomical polarity time scale

The first aim of this thesis was to extend the astronomical polarity time scale into the Miocene and to develop an integrated magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy for the middle to late Miocene marine record. The second aim was to establish an accurate chronology for the Miocene continental record on the basis of high-resolution magnetostratigraphic calibrations and hence to allow marine-continental correlations. The basis of all studies in this thesis lies without any doubt in extensive fieldwork. It is crucial that sections are sampled in sufficient detail; they need to be long, continuous, and must not show signs of hiatuses or drastically changing sedimentation rates.
Work-life condition of health work force during COVID-19: A study based on literature review

The COVID-19 epidemic is proving to be an unparalleled disaster in all facets, including health, sociological, economic, and financial. Aside from the fact that it may have a substantial influence on their health and well-being, health practitioners all over the world have risen to the challenge of treating COVID-19 patients. The primary goal of this research is to examine and evaluate the work-life balance of healthcare personnel during pandemics. This study conducted a systematic evaluation to determine the current situation of health workforces and to assess the impact of COVID-19 on health workforces. This paper began with 70 article reviews. A brief evaluation of 70 publications, 30 articles were chosen for the research based on area and analysis. After examining all of the publications, the study has found that the primary causes of depression, burnout, and suicidal thoughts include workload, anxiety, worry for safety, future earning uncertainty, and panic attack, and sleep disturbance, job stress, exhaustion, and dread. These characteristics affect workers' physical and mental well-being. Finally, it has an impact on their work-life balance and service quality. Future studies could include additional publications for better results and a review of other sectors. The government and organizations should provide more training, organizational assistance, support for healthcare practitioners' families, PPE, and mental health services. Regularly monitor the health of the healthcare workers and employ preventative measures. To alleviate work-related stress, higher-level management must recruit extra health personnel.
Bedrock Fractures Control Groundwater‐Driven Mountain Slope Deformations

Seasonal deformation of mountain rock slopes can be driven by groundwater infiltration and depletion. Such processes could explain our field observation in the Aletsch Valley, Switzerland, where GNSS‐derived 3D annual displacement amplitudes reach 3.4 cm. However, the physical mechanisms behind such groundwater‐driven surface displacements are not well understood. Here, we develop a fully coupled hydromechanical model to simulate the relevant processes in a valley slope embedded with numerous fractures of variable sizes. The magnitude and orientation of transient annual slope surface displacement obtained from our model are in overall agreement with the field observations. The key geological factors controlling the type and magnitude of reversible mountain slope deformations are fracture network geometry, fracture aperture, and regional stress field. We show that the heterogeneity and anisotropy of bedrock hydromechanical responses, originating from depth‐dependent variations of fracture properties, play a critical role in groundwater recharge and valley slope deformation. During recharge events, pore pressure perturbations migrate downward from the groundwater table and toward the receiving stream and the deep subsurface. This process driven by pressure diffusion and poroelastic stressing develops in the subsurface with a great reach of up to a few kilometers, called critical hydromechanical response zone, and controls surface deformation patterns. During groundwater recession, this hydromechanical response zone expands downward and ground surface displacement vectors rotate upwards. Our results suggest that slope surface deformation can inform about subsurface permeability structures and pore pressure fluctuations, which have important implications for understanding groundwater flow in fractured bedrock slopes.
Challenges for the Routine Application of Drones in Healthcare: A Scoping Review

Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have emerged as transformative tools in the healthcare sector, offering the potential to revolutionize medical logistics, emergency response, and patient care. This scoping review provides a comprehensive exploration of the diverse applications of drones in healthcare, addressing critical gaps in existing literature. While previous reviews have primarily focused on specific facets of drone technology within the medical field, this study offers a holistic perspective, encompassing a wide range of potential healthcare applications. The review categorizes and analyzes the literature according to key domains, including the transport of biomedical goods, automated external defibrillator (AED) delivery, healthcare logistics, air ambulance services, and various other medical applications. It also examines public acceptance and the regulatory framework surrounding medical drone services. Despite advancements, critical knowledge gaps persist, particularly in understanding the intricate interplay between technological challenges, the existing regulatory framework, and societal acceptance. This review highlights the need for the extensive validation of cost-effective business cases, the development of control techniques that can address time and resource savings within the constraints of real-life scenarios, the design of crash-protected containers, and the establishment of corresponding tests and standards to demonstrate their conformity.
The Prevalence of Impacted Maxillary Canine Amongst Libyan Population in Western Region: A Retrospective Study

Aims. This study aims to determine the prevalence of impacted maxillary canines and its distribution difference between gender, location, and side of impaction in western Libyan population using panoramic radiographs. Methods. A sample of 1300 panoramic radiographs were retrospectively examined for the presence of impacted maxillary canines. The radiographs were obtained from the records of various private clinics in the capital city of Tripoli. Results. 1100 out of 1300 radiographs were selected of the study; of which 56 had evidence of maxillary canine impaction with a prevalence of 5.1%. Canine impaction distribution among the genders, the percentage of impacted canines in males was 37% and in females was 63%. A higher percentage of impactions were seen in female and more often unilaterally 82.1% than bilaterally 17.9%. No differences were noted between the right and left side of impactions. Conclusion. The prevalence of maxillary impacted canines in the western Libyan population was found to be (5.1%) lies within the range reported in other populations. The maxillary canine impactions occurred more in females, unilaterally than bilaterally.
Founding Family Firms and Labor Cost Stickiness

We investigate the role of founding family control on labor cost stickiness. We argue that labor cost stickiness is a double-sided sword: While it can be interpreted as long-term commitment to employees and employment, it increases operating leverage, reduces operating performance, and thus jeopardizes long-term firm survival. Analyzing data from 17 European countries, we find that – consistent with socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory suggesting that founding family firms are more employee oriented – founding family firms exhibit greater labor costs stickiness than non-family firms, even after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity and under application of propensity score matching. In follow up tests, we find that the family firm effect is especially strong in industries in which labor is less protected and loss of labor is more detrimental. Furthermore, we find that abnormal high labor cost stickiness in family firms reduces profitability, apparently due to reductions in physical investments. Taken together, our results suggest that founding family firms accept sticky labor costs as a byproduct of socioemotional wealth considerations, but simultaneously take actions to limit associated costs, i.e. cutting non-labor investment at cost of lower profitability.
Absence of a Medieval Climate Anomaly, Little Ice Age and twentieth century warming in Skarvsnes, Lützow Holm Bay, East Antarctica

Abstract Palaeoclimate changes, such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age, are well-defined in the Northern Hemisphere during the past 2000 years. In contrast, these anomalies appear to be either absent, or less well-defined, in high-latitude regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we inferred environmental changes during the past two millennia from proxies in a sediment core from Mago Ike, an East Antarctic lake in Skarvsnes (Lützow Holm Bay). Variations in lake primary production were inferred from fossil pigments, sedimentological and geochemical proxies and combined with absolute diatom counts to infer past diatom productivity and community changes. Three distinct stratigraphic zones were recognized, resulting from a shift from marine to lacustrine conditions with a clear transition zone in between. The presence of open-water marine diatoms indicates a coastal zone seasonally free of sea ice between c. 2120–1500 cal yr bp. Subsequently, the lake became isolated from the ocean due to isostatic uplift. Freshwater conditions were established from c. 1120 cal yr bp onwards after which the proxies are considered highly sensitive to temperature changes. There is no evidence for a Medieval Climate Anomaly, Little Ice Age or twentieth century warming in our lake sediment record suggesting that studies that have imposed Northern Hemisphere climate anomalies onto Southern Hemisphere palaeoclimate records should be treated with caution.
Evaluation of e-vermicompost for tomato production

Vermicompost has a plethora of benefits that restores nutrient, stabilizes soil, and enhances soil fertility. The experiment was conducted at farmers’ field of Mymensingh and Jamalpur to evaluate the effect of e-vermicompost on tomato production during October 2019 to March 2020. There were five fertilizer treatments combination (T1: RCF-Recommended fertilizer (N120 P35 K70 S15 Zn2 B0.5), T2: 85 % RCF+3 t ha-1 vermicompost, T3: 85% RCF+1 t ha-1 e-vermicompost, T4: 70% RCF+3 t ha-1 e-vermicompost and T5: 70% RCF+1 t ha-1 e-vermicompost). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The fresh tomato fruits were harvested in three times. The fresh weight of tomato at Mymensingh ranged from 53.3 to 68.5 t ha-1 with the highest yield of 68.5 t ha-1 from the treatment T2 (85% RCF + 3 t ha-1 e-vermicompost). At Jamalpur, the yield ranged from 50.4 to 65.3 t ha-1 and the highest yield of 65.3 t ha-1 was recorded also from the treatment T2 (85% RCF+3 t ha-1 e-vermicompost). The lowest yield was obtained from the treatment T5 in both locations. The percent fresh yield increased over control (T1), was 24.5 and 18.3% in Mymensingh and Jamalpur, respectively. The highest gross margin was Tk. 762,225/-, which was obtained from the treatment T2 (85% RCF+3 t ha-1 e-vermicompost). The highest MBCR 2.80 (average of two locations) was obtained from the same treatment T2 (85% RCF+1 t ha-1 e-vermicompost). The results indicates that the application of e-vermicompost along with 85% recommended dose of chemical fertilizer is more profitable than the application of chemical fertilizer alone. Bangladesh J. Nuclear Agric, 37(1): 31-40, 2023
Interactive Effects of Inoculation with Two Isolates Providencia vermicola and Raoultella planticola and Two Levels of Mineral Fertilizers on Wheat Yield Increase

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of bio fertilizers produced from local isolates of Providencia vermicola and Raoultella planticola in field trials conducted during 2021-2022 at the Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Muthanna University, Bandar, Iraq, Using a completely randomized design with three replicates, microbial bio fertilizers were considered as the first factor, which included the use of single and double bacterial inoculums consisting of the above bacteria, while the second factor included two levels of fertilizers (0 and 50%) fertilizer recommendation. The experiment also included the use of two comparative treatments, the first with a full recommendation (160, 100 and 100 kg H-1) of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and the second a negative comparison treatment without the use of biological or chemical fertilizers. Characteristics of 1000-grain weight, grain yield, biomass and percentage of above-ground elements (N, K, P) at 50% flowering stage. The results showed the superiority of the double fertilization treatment (P.vermicola and R.planticola) in the characteristics of grain yield and the percentage of elements (nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus) over all bio fertilization treatments, as rates were recorded (7.21 μg H-1, 3.51%, 2.27%), 0.73%). The treatment with half the recommended amount of fertilizer was superior to the treatment with no added fertilizer on all the characteristics studied, as it recorded (48.5 g, 6.76 μg H-1, 20.88 μg H-1, 3.05%, 2.33%, 0.70 %), and treatment Showing an overlap between (P.vermicola and R.planticola), half of the fertilizer recommendations were significantly better than (4.24%, 2.96%, 0.81%) in terms of percentage of NPK elements.
Shallow cumulus rooted in photosynthesis

We study the interactions between plant evapotranspiration, controlled by photosynthesis (C3 and C4 grasses), and moist thermals responsible for the formation of shallow cumulus clouds (SCu). Our findings are based on a series of systematic numerical experiments at fine spatial and temporal scales using large eddy simulations explicitly coupled to a plant‐physiology model. The shading provided by SCu leads to strong spatial variability in photosynthesis and the surface energy balance. This in turn results in SCu characterized by less extreme and less skewed values of liquid water path. The larger water use efficiency of C4 grass leads to two opposite effects that influence boundary layer clouds: more vigorous and deeper thermals due to the larger buoyancy surface flux (positive effect) characterized by less moisture content (negative). We find that under these midlatitude and well‐watered soil conditions, SCu are characterized by a larger cloud cover and liquid water path over C4 grass fields.
The continental margin off southern Greenland: along-strike transition from an amagmatic to a volcanic margin

The southern part of the continental margin off southern West Greenland is an amagmatic margin that may have taken at least 30 and possibly more than 60 million years to form during the Cretaceous at an average extension rate of between 8.7 and 4.4 mm a -1. To its northwest and east are volcanic continental margins formed in the Early Tertiary when sea-floor spreading started above the hot North Atlantic plume head. The survival of the amagmatic margin means that plume head material could never have been present under it and therefore the plume head could not have had the circularly symmetric shape commonly depicted in the literature.
Shift to Digital Audit: A Study Investigating the Benefits and Challenges of Digitalization on the Audit Profession

This study intends to evaluate the perceived benefits and challenges that these technologies offer in the context of digitalization, to one of the most suitable professions for the particular procedure; the audit profession. A qualitative study was conducted to gain a better grasp of the implications of digitalization on audit tools in the audit profession. This is accomplished by conducting ten (10) semi-structured interviews with professional auditors, emphasizing interpretation. It has been found that this study backs up some of the conclusions of prior research on the issue of digital auditing. Conclusively, the empirical findings of this study support the assumption that auditors believe digitalization will become even more popular in the future and that it will not result in job losses, as prior studies have suggested.
The Excavation of Bronze Age and Iron Age Settlements at Trevisker, St. Eval, Cornwall

Summary The site was first occupied in the Bronze Age by a small agricultural settlement, consisting of two circular timber houses with ancillary structures and ditches. One house was eventually replaced by a stone structure. A single radiocarbon determination suggests that the settlement is to be dated within the period 1700–1300 B.C. The Iron Age settlement of Trevisker Round was probably established in the second century B.C., if not earlier. An original inner enclosure, half an acre in area, housing a single defended farmstead, was later superseded by a larger defended enclosure, 3 acres in area, also with circular timber houses and occupation areas. This occupation was followed at the end of the first century A.D., by a Romano-British phase of occupation, which lasted until the middle of the second century.
Determining the Optimal Energy Level of Virtual Monoenergetic Images in Dual-Source CT for Diagnosis of Bowel Obstruction and Colitis

Images from 64 patients undergoing an enhanced abdominal-pelvis scan at portal phase in dual-energy CT mode for the diagnosis of colitis or bowel obstruction were retrospectively analyzed. Acquisitions were performed on a third-generation dual-source CT (DSCT) 100/Sn150 kVp. Mixed images were generated, as well as virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) at 40/50/60/70 keV. Objective image quality was assessed on VMIs and mixed images by measuring contrast, noise and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Noise, smoothing and overall image quality were subjectively analyzed by two radiologists using Likert scales. For both patient groups, the noise decreased significantly according to the energy level from 40 to 60 keV by −47.2 ± 24.0% for bowel obstruction and −50.4 ± 18.2% for colitis. It was similar between 60 and 70 keV (p = 0.475 and 0.059, respectively). Noise values were significantly higher in VMIs than in mixed images, except for 70 keV (p = 0.53 and 0.071, respectively). Similar results were observed for contrast values, with a decrease between 40 and 70 keV of −56.3 ± 7.9% for bowel obstruction −56.2 ± 10.9% for colitis. The maximum CNR value was found at 60 keV compared to other energy levels and mixed images, but there was no significant difference with the other energy levels apart from 70 keV (−9.7 ± 9.8%) for bowel obstruction and 40 keV (−6.6 ± 8.2%) and 70 keV (−5.8 ± 9.2%) for colitis. The VMIs at 60 keV presented higher scores for all criteria for bowel obstruction and colitis, with no significant difference in smoothing score compared to mixed images (p = 0.119 and p = 0.888, respectively).
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor: An emerging player in breast cancer pathogenesis and its potential as a drug target (Review)

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Metastatic breast cancer is incurable and is a major cause of shortened patient survival. The different molecular types of breast cancer make targeted therapy difficult and a complex challenge. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor that has been implicated in the metabolism of xenobiotic ligands. AhR is activated by numerous exogenous and endogenous ligands and participates in multiple physiological processes, including proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. AhR expression is upregulated in certain breast cancer subtypes, including estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, and has been implicated in the development and progression of breast cancer. Over the last two decades, AhR and its ligands have emerged as novel biological targets for the treatment of breast cancer. Both AhR agonists and antagonists may be effective in inhibiting critical activities of breast cancer. The present review evaluates the role and underlying mechanisms of AhR and its ligands in breast cancer and demonstrates the potential of exploiting AhR as a novel target for breast cancer therapy.
Energy Prices and Inflation Expectations: Evidence from Households and Firms

I investigate how households and firms adjust their inflation expectations when experiencing an increase in their energy prices. I use monthly panel survey data in combination with a difference-in-difference approach to show that households increase their inflation expectations when they personally experience an increase in their electricity prices. This result is inconsistent with full-information rational expectations but can be rationalized by households extrapolating their personal experience. The effect is driven by low-income households, households who are uninformed about past inflation, and those not trusting the ECB. Due to households extrapolating, their inflation forecasts become less accurate and diverge more from professional forecasts. Contrary to households, firms do not extrapolate energy price increases to their inflation expectations. Thus, decision-makers in firms form their expectations similarly to high-income households.