Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Scale and Multi-Branch Transformer Network for Remaining Useful Life Prediction in Ion Mill Etching Process

Accurate prediction of the remaining useful life (RUL) of an ion mill is vital for optimizing the overall performance of the ion mill etching (IME) process. However, due to the uneven distribution of important information, and the poorly understood failure mechanisms, fault prognosis in this process presents significant challenges. Deep neural networks have shown promising results for extracting, without domain knowledge, relevant features from condition monitoring data. This study proposes a multi-scale and multi-branch Transformer network based on the vanilla Transformer to predict the RUL of ion mills. To extract features on various scales, multi-scale feature extraction first generates receptive fields of various sizes, which are then integrated to obtain feature representations. The multi-branch Transformer uses the parallel attention mechanism and long short-term memory (LSTM) to capture both the adjacent location information and the crucial information of a given timestamp. Handcrafted features are also incorporated as additional input to enhance the prediction accuracy of the model. The proposed model is evaluated on a dataset from a semiconductor IME process. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms other deep neural network and further highlight the practical feasibility of the proposed method.
Assessing the feasibility of converting waterbodies in abandoned brick kiln industry areas into culture fishery systems

Population growth and increasing affluence and the resultant demand for more building materials such as bricks is negatively affecting our environment. Brick industries affect the productivity of agricultural lands through extraction of huge amount of top soil for making bricks. In Asian countries like India and Bangladesh, agricultural land is generally given on lease by poor farmers to the brick manufacturers for a particular duration of time, generally 5 to 10 years. After the lease period, the used land is returned to the farmer in a deformed and unproductive state with numerous holes and pits. During rainy season, these depressions accumulate runoff water. Such waterbodies may be converted into productive ecosystems, which can perform important ecological functions and contribute to livelihood and income generation for the poor farmers. With this contention the present study was undertaken to assess the feasibility of converting aquatic bodies in abandoned brick kiln industry into culture fishery system. For the study, we selected a total of six ponds. Of these, four ponds were in abandoned brick kiln industry areas and two fish ponds were near human settlement. Standard methods for analysis of physico-chemical and biological parameters of water in such ponds followed by standard statistical analyses of the collected data were adopted for the study. The study showed that water properties in aquatic bodies in abandoned brick kiln industry are characterized by certain typical conditions particularly due to their surrounding land use type. The study revealed that such waterbodies may be utilized as fish ponds with appropriate management interventions. The study indicates the necessity for long-term and detailed ecological studies of such abandoned systems. The study also recommends investigation on prospects of aquaculture particularly, culturing air breathing fishes.
Development of a cliff‐top dune indicated by particle size and geochemical characteristics: Rubjerg Knude, Denmark

Particle size and geochemical data have been used to investigate the development of a large cliff‐top dune at Rubjerg Knude, located on the western coast of Jutland, Denmark. Textural parameters and geochemical ratios provided useful indicators of the dune sediment provenance and mode of evolution of the dune. The dune sediments themselves showed no significant spatial particle size trends and reflect a number of processes, including grainfall, wind‐ripple migration and avalanching (grainflow), which formed a high proportion of the deposits on both the stoss and lee sides of the present dune. Fine grainfall sediments, which have accumulated to form a sandplain in the lee of the dune, show fining and improved sorting with distance, and extend more than 2 km downwind of the dune crest. Comparison of the textural and geochemical data from Rubjerg Knude and other locations on the Jutland coast indicates that, although there is a contribution of sand to the dune from local marine sources, the main source of sand to the cliff‐top dune and sand plain sediments has been provided by the wind erosion of the underlying cliffs, which are composed of Weichselian age sandy glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine deposits. Optically stimulated luminescence dating indicated an apparent age for the sand at the base of 274 ± 14 years. If this date is reliable, it suggests that accumulation of the aeolian sand in this area began within approximately the last 300 years. Map and photographic evidence indicate that the modern high dune only began to form after 1885, apparently associated with an acceleration in the rate of coastal cliff retreat.
Climatic Control of the Geography of Clay Minerals Genesis

Abstract Concentrations of secondary clay minerals (mica, vermiculite, montmorillonite, chlorite, and kaolinite) in the A horizon of 99 U.S. soils were used in a stepwise regression with climate, parent material, and soil property variables to develop models of the occurrence and abundance of each clay mineral species. Climate–especially water balance estimates of soil water surplus, water deficit, and indicators of seasonality–were especially useful variables. These models correctly predicted the dominant (most abundant) clay minerals for 80 of the 99 sites even though the R 2 values for individual clays were modest. Maps of predicted and actual clay dominance are in good agreement. In addition, the models may be used to devise a weathering sequence of clay minerals from least to most stable (i.e., mica < montmorillonite < vermiculite < kaolinite). Weathering sequences based on existing models place vermiculite before montmorillonite. The models in this study suggest that vermiculite with aluminum as the.
Quality of Life of Polish Patients with Lymphoma Treated Systemically

Research on the quality of life has become of great importance. It is used by clinical researchers to compare the impact of treatment regimens on patients. The choice of treatment method may significantly depend on the patient’s opinion. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the method of a diagnostic questionnaire survey. The research tools were the authors’ questionnaire and the standardized WHOQOL-BREF. The study was conducted among patients with lymphoma, treated systemically. More than half of the surveyed patients assessed their overall quality of life as good (50%) and very good (6%), while the expressed satisfaction with health most often ranged from neutral (38%—neither good nor bad) to dissatisfactory (30%) and very dissatisfactory (6%). As regards the detailed domains, the area of physical functioning was rated the lowest, while for the remaining domains—psychological, social, environmental—values above average (60.38–64.30) were observed. Social support, particularly from the immediate family, resulted in a higher assessment of the quality of life. The occurrence of side effects related to anticancer treatment and the disease had a statistically significant impact on the decrease in the quality of life, particularly in the physical domain.
Mineralogical and trace element composition of clay-sized fractions from Albian siliciclastic rocks (Oliete Basin, NE Spain)

Abstract Mineralogical and geochemical techniques have been used to determine the role of minerals in controlling the trace element composition of a set of clay-sized fractions from Albian siliciclastic rocks in NE Spain. These clay-sized fractions are composed of kaolinite and illite, minor quantities of quartz, and accessory heavy minerals. Kaolinite has a smaller crystal size than illite, accounting for its relative concentration in these fractions. The mm-sized heavy minerals are rutile, Fe-Ti- and Fe-oxides, zircon, pyrite, cassiterite, monazite and xenotime. Geochemical data indicate that most of the trace elements are relatively concentrated in clay-sized fractions, except for Zr, Hf, Y and HREE. Statistical treatment shows three different associations in the clay-sized fractions: (1) Rb, Cs and Ba with clay phyllosilicates, especially illite; (2) REE with Th, Y and P phases; and (3) Sc, Cr and V with Ti- and Nb oxides. Therefore, these data do not support the dominant REE control by clay mineralogy that other authors have reported.
Estimation of wood volume and height of olive tree plantations using airborne discrete-return LiDAR data

The aim of this study is to analyze methodologies based on airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology of low pulse density points (0.5 m−2) for height and volume quantification of olive trees in Viver (Spain). A total of 29 circular plots, each with a radius of 20 m, were sampled and their volumes and heights were obtained by dendrometric methods. For these estimations, several statistics derived from LiDAR data were calculated in each plot. Regression models were used to predict volume and height. The results showed good performance for estimating volume (R2 = 0.70) and total height (R2 = 0.67).
Characterisation of ballen quartz and cristobalite in impact breccias: new observations and constraints on ballen formation

Ballen quartz and cristobalite in impactite samples from five impact structures (Bosumtwi, Chicxulub, Mien, Ries, and Rochechouart) were investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cathodoluminescence (CL), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy to better understand ballen formation. The occurrence of so-called “ballen quartz” has been reported from about one in five of the known terrestrial impact structures, mostly from clasts in impact melt rock and, more rarely, in suevite. “Ballen silica”, with either α-quartz or α-cristobalite structure, occurs as independent clasts or within diaplectic quartz glass or lechatelierite inclusions. Ballen are more or less spheroidal, in some cases elongate (ovoid) bodies that range in size from 8 to 214 μm, and either intersect or penetrate each other or abut each other. Based mostly on optical microscopic observations and Raman spectroscopy, we distinguish five types of ballen silica: α-cristobalite ballen with homogeneous extinction (type I); ballen α-quartz with homogeneous extinction (type II), with heterogeneous extinction (type III), and with intraballen recrystallisation (type IV); chert-like recristallized ballen α-quartz (type V). For the first time, coesite has been identified within ballen silica – in the form of tiny inclusions and exclusively within ballen of type I. The formation of ballen involves an impact-triggered solid-solid transition from α-quartz to diaplectic quartz glass, followed by the formation at high temperature of ballen of β-cristobalite and/or β-quartz, and finally back-transformation to α-cristobalite and/or α-quartz; or a solid-liquid transition from quartz to lechatelierite followed by nucleation and crystal growth at high temperature. The different types of ballen silica are interpreted as the result of back-transformation of β-cristobalite and/or β-quartz to α-cristobalite and/or to α-quartz with time. In nature, ballen silica has not been found anywhere else but associated with impact structures and, thus, these features could be added to the list of impact-diagnostic criteria.
An open database on inequality and polarization in length of life (1950–2021)

: Monitoring health is key for identifying priorities in public health planning and improving healthcare services. Life expectancy has conventionally been regarded as a valuable indicator to compare the health status of different populations. However, this measure is simply the mean of the distribution of the length of life and, as such, neglects individual disparities in health outcomes. Tracking the evolution of lifespan inequality is essential to promoting social justice and equity by identifying and addressing the root causes of these disparities. In this paper, we use life tables from the UN World Population Prospects to develop the most comprehensive database of lifespan inequality and polarization for 258 countries and areas for the period 1950– 2021. To help with the visualization and the use of these estimates, we have designed a user-friendly website that enables users to compute lifespan inequality for any group of countries of their choice. These extensive series on the distribution of lifespans provide access to crucial information for researchers, policy-makers, and the general public, thus representing a fundamental step towards a better understanding of health differences within and between nations.
Dynamics of circulations within the stratiform regions of squall lines, The

THE DYNAMICS OF CIRCULATIONS WITHIN THE STRATIFORM REGIONS OF SQUALL LINES A dynamic version of the two dimensional kinematic cloud model of Rutledge and Houze (1987) has been developed to investigate the effect of microphysics on circulations within the stratiform region associated with mesoscale convective systems. The design of the model allows for specified inputs of hydrometeors, water vapor and heat from the convective region. While there are some disadvantages to this approach, there are also distinct advantages: (1) the complexities of initialization and simulation of a realistic convective line are avoided and (2) many simulations (over 100) were conducted to examine the sensitivity of the results to many physical processes and assumptions. The 10-11 June 1985 PRE-STORM squall line is simulated first, with initialization based upon appropriate soundings, heat budgets and I-D cumulonimbus model results. A 5 km mesh size is used, a value between those typically used in cloud models and in mesoscale models. The model accurately simulates the evolution of the stratiform rain area with a transition zone broadening over time, especially late in the simulation after leading convective elements weaken. Significant ascent is simulated with peak intensities agreeing with observations. In-situ condensate production within the updraft contributes increasingly to the surface rainfall, an,d the ratio of condensate produced within the mesoscale updraft to that advected from the convective line generally agrees with previous water budgets of squall lines. Simulated horizontal flows agree qualitatively with observations, and include a sloping rear-inflow jet that develops with peak magnitudes approaching those observed. Surface rainfall is underestimated as in previous 2D models, possibly implying the importance of 3D convergent forcing of strong ascent in the anvil cloud. Although peak
3D scene reconstruction: why, when, and how?

Mobile robot designers frequently look to computer vision to solve navigation, obstacle avoidance, and object detection problems. Potential solutions using low-cost video cameras are particularly alluring. Recent results in 3D scene reconstruction from a single moving camera seem particularly relevant, but robot designers who attempt to use such 3D techniques have uncovered a variety of practical concerns. We present lessons-learned from developing a single-camera 3D scene reconstruction system that provides both a real-time camera motion estimate and a rough model of major 3D structures in the robot’s vicinity. Our objective is to use the motion estimate to supplement GPS (indoors in particular) and to use the model to provide guidance for further vision processing (look for signs on walls, obstacles on the ground, etc.). The computational geometry involved is closely related to traditional two-camera stereo, however a number of degenerate cases exist. We also demonstrate how SFM can use used to improve the performance of two specific robot navigation tasks.
Diet Is Associated with Frailty in Lung Cancer: A Possible Role of Gut Microbiota

This study investigated the associations between diet and frailty in lung cancer patients and the potential role of the gut microbiota involved. We assessed dietary intake and frailty status in 231 lung cancer patients by 3-day, 24-h dietary recalls and Fried frailty criteria, respectively, and collected 50 fecal samples for next-generation sequencing. A total of 75 (32.5%) patients were frail, which might be related to significantly lower intake of energy, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, niacin, leucine, some minerals, and a poorer dietary quality as indicated by the Chinese Healthy Eating Index (p < 0.05). Among these, carbohydrate (OR = 0.98; 95% CI 0.96–0.99; p = 0.010), calcium (OR = 0.99; 95% CI 0.99–1.00; p = 0.025), and selenium (OR = 1.03; 95% CI 1.00–1.06; p = 0.022) were all significantly associated with frailty. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the mean risk of frailty was 0.94 times lower (95% CI 0.90–0.99; p = 0.009) among participants with higher CHEI scores. Additionally, the frail patients demonstrated significantly lower gut microbiota β diversity (p = 0.001) and higher relative abundance of Actinobacteriota (p = 0.033). Frailty in lung cancer patients might be associated with insufficient nutrients intake and a poor dietary quality through gut microbiota regulation.
The Influence of Precipitation Variability and Partial Irrigation within Grid Cells on a Hydrological Simulation

Abstract The effects of natural and anthropogenic heterogeneity on a hydrological simulation are evaluated using a distributed biosphere hydrological model (DBHM) system. The DBHM embeds a biosphere model into a distributed hydrological scheme, representing both topography and vegetation in a mesoscale hydrological simulation, and the model system includes an irrigation scheme. The authors investigated the effects of two kinds of variability, precipitation variability and the variability of irrigation redistributing runoff, representing natural and anthropogenic heterogeneity, respectively, on hydrological processes. Runoff was underestimated if rainfall was placed spatially uniformly over large grid cells. Accounting for precipitation heterogeneity improved the runoff simulation. However, the negative runoff contribution, namely, the situation that mean annual precipitation is less than evapotranspiration, cannot be simulated by only considering the natural heterogeneity. This constructive model shortcom.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF STABILIZED SOIL CONSTRUCTION USING LAB AND FIELD SEISMIC TESTING

Current pavement design practice for stabilized soils specifies a 28-day modulus and stiffness value. There is a need to evaluate performance after 5 to 7 days to ensure efficient constructability. There is a large disconnect between quality management programs not only for design and construction, but between lab and field evaluations during construction. The difference in design and measured parameters, lab and field, for performance evaluation does not permit a direct comparison. Current quality management techniques do not permit assessment of the true performance of the pavement construction. Seismic wave based testing offers considerable potential for quality assessment of stabilized soils. Surface wave analysis can be used to assess low-strain or seismic modulus of stabilized soils in the field while travel-time analysis and free-free resonance testing can be used to estimate seismic modulus of laboratory specimens. Lab and field seismic moduli are directly related, thus permitting seismic analysis to bridge the gaps encountered by current quality management techniques. This paper presents lab and field seismic testing protocol and results which indicate its effectiveness as a combined quality management technique.
Energy-Efficient Multichannel Hybrid MAC Protocol for IoT-Enabled WBAN Systems

Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enabled wireless body area networks (WBANs) are resource-constrained in nature (energy, bandwidth, and time-slot resources); hence, their performance in healthcare monitoring often deteriorates as the number of active IoT devices sharing the network increases. Consequently, improving the network efficiency of IoT-enabled WBAN systems is essential for improving healthcare monitoring. Hence, we propose an energy-efficient multichannel hybrid medium access control (MAC) (MC-HYMAC) protocol that combines the benefits of the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) and time division multiple access (TDMA) protocols to improve the overall performance of IoT-enabled WBAN systems. We also proposed an adaptive power control scheme, time-slot management scheme, channel utilization mechanism, and dynamic back-off time policy to improve the overall network efficiency. In addition, we applied a finite-state discrete-time Markov model to determine the traffic arrival pattern and analyze the transition states of biomedical devices to facilitate optimal decision-making for enhanced overall performance of the network. Standard metrics, such as energy efficiency, throughput, delay, packet drop ratio, and network lifetime, were used to evaluate and compare the existing MAC protocols.
Laboratory Assessment of an In-Place Inclinometer Chain for Structural and Geotechnical Monitoring

The necessity of early warning systems to ensure people’s safety requires the usage of real-time monitoring instrumentation. To meet the required real-time monitoring performance, in-place inclinometer systems represent one of the most common solutions to obtain accurate measures over time. This paper presents the results of a laboratory tests campaign performed on the prototypes and preproduction samples of an in-place inclinometer chain for structural and geotechnical monitoring applications. First, each element sensor has been calibrated to reach a proper level of measure accuracy. Eventually, laboratory tests are carried out on both a single instrument (element) and on the complete measurement chain (system). The adopted centering device, obtained as a combination of a Cardan joint and four spring plungers avoids bending of elements by preventing fictitious displacement measurements and permits the creation of a kinematic chain that accommodates the displacements of a grooveless tube. A specially designed and constructed test set-up that permits assigning a movement to each node has been employed to test a specifically designed centering device and check the system stability over time. Different scenarios have been investigated to determine the accuracy and repeatability of the measures in replicating real cases. The results demonstrated the necessity of validating a measurement chain by analyzing its overall behavior and not limiting the study on the performances of a single element.