Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 900-yr diatom and chrysophyte record of spring mixing and summer stratification from varved Lake Mina, west-central Minnesota, USA

A high-resolution, independent pollen-inferred paleoclimate record and direct algal seasonality data from the actual time of sediment deposition are used to interpret the high-resolution diatom and chrysophyte record of varved Lake Mina, west-central Minnesota, USA during AD 1116—2002. This direct algal seasonality information was obtained by splitting varves into constituent winter-spring and summer lamina, and separately analyzing the siliceous algae in each layer. Analyses of integrated, continuous four-year diatom and chrysophyte samples from a sedimentary sequence show that the time period AD 1116—1478 (ie, the Atlantic-centered `Medieval Climate Anomaly' (MCA)) was characterized by periods of vigorous and prolonged spring mixing, suggesting that ice-out occurred early. However, the warm summer temperatures in the MCA, particularly in a massive drought spanning AD 1300—1400, frequently caused the lake to stratify strongly, leading to nutrient depletion. During AD 1478—1870 (ie, the Atlantic-centered `Little Ice Age' (LIA)), Lake Mina was characterized by weak spring circulation and increasing nutrient depletion, suggesting late ice-out conditions. Strong summer stratification and/or nutrient depletion in both time periods is shown by the occurrence of the nutrient-poor oligotrophic taxon Cyclotella pseudostelligera. The diatom and chrysophyte assemblages of the period of Euro-American settlement AD 1870—2002 show higher nutrient availability and increased spring mixing intensity, as a result of forest clearance and increasingly earlier ice-out (documented in regional historical records).
Carbon and oxygen isotope time series from an 18-year Caribbean reef coral

Colonies of Montastrea annularis live near La Parguera, Puerto Rico, and may be 700 years old. Time series from 1964 to 1982 of δ13C and δ18O from a continuous core of these corals are compared to an adjacent environmental record. At the intraannual level, δ18O correlates well with water temperature. Changes in the amplitude of the δ18O signal between 1967 and 1976 are attributed to sampling frequency but may be also due to environmental changes such as salinity. Average annual δ18O, δ13C and sea surface temperature show similar trends for the period from 1964 to 1982 but especially from 1969 onwards. Changes in average annual values during this time interval are most likely due to water mass changes brought about by interannual variability of the North Atlantic circulation. Since water temperatures at La Parguera are representative of changes occurring in the wider Caribbean, the isotope record from La Parguera corals could be used as a proxy for large-scale environmental changes beyond the historical record through the Little Ice Age.
Coastal Resorts Morphology: The Cretan Experience

The increasing demand of international tourists for beach holidays has resulted in a rapid increase of the number of coastal resorts worldwide. As a result, substantial changes in the morphological and structural patterns of coastal resorts development have occurred. In seeking to add to the body of knowledge about coastal resorts morphology this paper draws on the Cretan experience using two methods of data collection: observation and secondary sources. A morphological model of a typical Cretan coastal resort is provided, depicting three zones of tourism activity: the high-density, the lower-density and the rural zone. The future prospects of resort developments are discussed and the conclusions and implications of the study are provided.
Coal sorption characteristics and coal surface tension

Underground coal mining in the Bulli Seam of Sydney Basin, Australia encounters the problems of coal and gas outburst as the coal contains high concentration of CO 2 , where certain parts of the seam have been found to be especially hard-to-drain. In order to better understand these problems, the influence of temperature and moisture on sorption capacity of bituminous coal was investigated at 35°C, 45°C and 55°C and at pressure up to 4 MPa. Based on the principle of surface chemistry, the reduced value of surface tension (RVST) was calculated and analysed. The theory of coal surface free energy was found to be capable of explaining coal sorption characteristics. These findings provide the basic knowledge for a better understanding of coal sorption characteristics associated with coal seam gas drainage, which will benefit ventilation and degasification design and hence help to prevent coal mine operations from gas outburst disaster.
Lone-Pair-Enabled Polymorphism and Photostructural Changes in Chalcogenide Glasses

S- and Se-based chalcogenide glasses are intrinsically metastable and exhibit a number of photo-induced effects unique to this class of materials, reversible photostructural changes and photo-induced anisotropy being major examples. These effects are usually interpreted in terms of the formation of valence alternation pairs and ‘wrong’ bonds. In this work, using density functional theory simulations, we demonstrate for the case example of As2S3 that a strong decrease in the optical band gap can be achieved if a polymorphic transformation of the local structure from orpiment to that of tetradymite takes place. For the formation of the latter, the presence of lone-pair electrons in near-linear atomic configurations is crucial. Our results represent a novel approach to understanding the photo-induced structural changes in chalcogenide glasses as being due to the presence of polymorphism, and will lead to their wider use in various photonic devices.
Seismicity in the Vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the Period October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2003

Earthquake activity in the Yucca Mountain from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003 (FY03) is assessed and compared with previous activity in the region. FY03 is the first reporting year since the 1992 M 5.6 Little Skull Mountain earthquake with no earthquakes greater than M 3.0 within 65 km of Yucca Mountain. In addition, FY03 includes the fewest number of earthquakes greater than M 2.0 in any reporting year since the LSM event. With 3075 earthquakes in the catalog, FY03 represents the second largest number of earthquakes (second to FY02) since FY96 when digital seismic network operations began. The largest event during FY03 was M 2.78 in eastern NTS and there were only 8 earthquakes greater than M 2.0.
Validation of measurements of water vapor from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE)

The Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) experiment is a solar occultation limb sounder which operates between 2.45 and 10.0 μm to measure the composition of the mesosphere, stratosphere, and upper troposphere. It flies onboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) which was launched in September 1991. Measurements are made of the transmittance of the atmosphere in a number of spectral channels as the Sun rises or sets behind the limb of the atmosphere. One of the channels, at 6.60 μm, is a broadband filter channel tuned to detect absorption in the ν2 band of water vapor. This paper describes efforts to validate the absolute and relative uncertainties (accuracy and precision) of the measurements from this channel. The HALOE data have been compared with independent measurements, using a variety of observational techniques, from balloons, from the ground, and from other space missions, and with the results of a two-dimensional model. The results show that HALOE is providing global measurements throughout the stratosphere and mesosphere with an accuracy within ±10% over most of this height range, and to within ±30% at the boundaries, and to a precision in the lower stratosphere of a few percent. The H2O data are combined with HALOE measurements of CH4 in order to test the data in terms of conservation of total hydrogen, with most encouraging results. The observed systematic behavior and internal consistency of the HALOE data, coupled with these estimates of their accuracy, indicate that the data may be used for quantitative tests of our understanding of the physical and chemical processes which control the concentration of H2O in the middle atmosphere.
Analysis of Meteorological Measurements made over Three Rainy Seasons and Rainfall Simulations in Sinazongwe District, Southern Province, Zambia

Zambia has frequently been affected by abnormal weather and droughts. Our research focused on the type of meteorological data required to assist farmers’ efforts to avoid the risks associated with these weather conditions. We conducted local meteorological observations from September 2007 to August 2010 at three sites in Sinazongwe District, Zambia. The three rainy seasons of this period coincided in sequence with La Nina (normal) and El Nino conditions. The mean annual precipitation for the three years of our study exceeded 1200 mm, which was considerably more than the regional annual average rainfall from 1970 to 2000 of around 800 mm per year. We used detailed analyses of intraseasonal variations in other meteorological elements to attempt to explain the high precipitation. Local circulation dominated in our research area, while heavy rain induced by convection in the afternoon and night might account for precipitation exceeding the norm. We numerically simulated meteorological conditions over the past decade to determine whether the annual precipitation observed since September 2007 indeed exceeded the norm. Intra-seasonal variations in precipitation, such as high rainfall in December during the 2007/2008 rainy season, a gradual increase in cumulative precipitation through 2008/2009, and high rainfall in February in the 2009/2010 rainy season were possibly controlled by El Nino – Southern Oscillation. Our results suggest that annual variations in precipitation are common in this area and that the precipitation we observed did not necessarily exceed the norm. Discipline: Agro-meteorology
Associations between low frequency variability modes and winter temperature extremes in Canada

Abstract Relationships between patterns of low frequency climate variability including the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the Quasi‐Biennial Oscillation (QBO), and the occurrence of Canadian winter temperature extremes are examined for the 1950–98 period. Composite analyses reveal that ENSO plays a dominant role in the frequency and duration of both cold and warm spells. In particular, the warm phase of ENSO is associated with a significant increase (decrease) in the occurrence of warm (cold) spells and the number of extreme warm (cold) days across most of Canada. The findings are generally the opposite for the cold ENSO phase. The singular value decomposition (SVD) technique further shows that ENSO‐like interdecadal sea surface temperature variability plays a significant role in the variability of winter cold and warm spells over Canada. Differences between the high and low index phases of the AO show a significantly higher frequency and duration of cold spells over eastern Canada during positive AO winters, while the frequency of winter warm spells increases over the Canadian Prairies. These results are also confirmed by the SVD analysis using northern hemisphere 1000‐hPa circulation. The QBO, as determined by the phase of the stratospheric winds, has an effect on the spatial pattern of Canadian extreme temperatures that is similar to that of the AO. The most significant result involves increases in the frequency of warm spells and the number of extreme warm days over the southern Prairies during the westerly phase of the QBO. The diagnostic results from this study improve the understanding of the imapact of the low frequency variability modes on temperature extremes over Canada. They may also assist in the attribution of past trends and variability in extremes, and potentially, provide insight into future changes to extreme temperature events.
Foreshock occurrence before large earthquakes

Rates of foreshock occurrence involving shallow M ≥ 6 and M ≥ 7 mainshocks and M ≥ 5 foreshocks were measured in two worldwide catalogs over ∼20-year intervals. The overall rates observed are similar to ones measured in previous worldwide and regional studies when they are normalized for the ranges of magnitude difference they each span. The observed worldwide rates were compared to a generic model of earthquake clustering based on patterns of small and moderate aftershocks in California. The aftershock model was extended to the case of moderate foreshocks preceding large mainshocks. Overall, the observed worldwide foreshock rates exceed the extended California generic model by a factor of ∼2. Significant differences in foreshock rate were found among subsets of earthquakes defined by their focal mechanism and tectonic region, with the rate before thrust events higher and the rate before strike-slip events lower than the worldwide average. Among the thrust events, a large majority, composed of events located in shallow subduction zones, had a high foreshock rate, while a minority, located in continental thrust belts, had a low rate. These differences may explain why previous surveys have found low foreshock rates among thrust events in California (especially southern California), while the worldwide observations suggests the opposite: California, lacking an active subduction zone in most of its territory, and including a region of mountain-building thrusts in the south, reflects the low rate apparently typical for continental thrusts, while the worldwide observations, dominated by shallow subduction zone events, are foreshock-rich. If this is so, then the California generic model may significantly underestimate the conditional probability for a very large (M ≥ 8) earthquake following a potential (M ≥ 7) foreshock in Cascadia. The magnitude differences among the identified foreshock-mainshock pairs in the Harvard catalog are consistent with a uniform distribution over the range of observation.
Cartographie automatique de zones à aléas de mouvements de terrain sur l'île de Tahiti à partir de données digitales

Absrruct. - This paper presents a new method based on different types of digital data (SPOT satellite scene, digital geological map and digital terrain model) for multicriterial analysis and digital mapping of landslides hazards in the Tahiti Island (French Polynesia, southern Pacific). The interest of three dimensional views combining the digital terrain model and the SPOT image for instability assessment, is outlined. After visual recognition, data are processed numerically to extract individual map for each risk factor. Pattern recognition and geographical information system (GIS) tools are used and described. Binarised risk factors maps are crossed to produce maps of risk accumulation for landslides. Further developments and improvements of the method are proposed.
A Novel Actor - Critic Motor Reinforcement Learning for Continuum Soft Robots

Reinforcement learning (RL) is explored for motor control of a novel pneumatic-driven soft robot modeled after continuum media with a varying density. This model complies with closed-form Lagrangian dynamics, which fulfills the fundamental structural property of passivity, among others. Then, the question arises of how to synthesize a passivity-based RL model to control the unknown continuum soft robot dynamics to exploit its input–output energy properties advantageously throughout a reward-based neural network controller. Thus, we propose a continuous-time Actor–Critic scheme for tracking tasks of the continuum 3D soft robot subject to Lipschitz disturbances. A reward-based temporal difference leads to learning with a novel discontinuous adaptive mechanism of Critic neural weights. Finally, the reward and integral of the Bellman error approximation reinforce the adaptive mechanism of Actor neural weights. Closed-loop stability is guaranteed in the sense of Lyapunov, which leads to local exponential convergence of tracking errors based on integral sliding modes. Notably, it is assumed that dynamics are unknown, yet the control is continuous and robust. A representative simulation study shows the effectiveness of our proposal for tracking tasks.
The theoretical approach of the solar organic Rankine cycle integrated with phase change material for the Hungarian region

Hungary is not only dependent on imports of natural gas and fossil fuels, but Hungary is also the lowest in renewable energy utilization; otherwise, only 11.3% compared to other Central European countries in renewable energy utilization, above 13%. The percentage of renewables in power generation quadrupled from 8% to 16% between 2010 and 2020, with most of the gains coming from the rapid expansion of solar energy, particularly after 2016. Regarding solar energy resource potential, Hungary has a daily total of around 3.2–3.6 kWh/m2 and a yearly total of about 1168–1314 kW.h/m2. This makes it a suitable location for putting solar thermal collectors in conjunction with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system. In this study, the authors analyzed solar thermal as a heat source to generate electricity with ORC using two types of working fluids (R245fa and R123). Hungary's weather data for a whole year is used as primary data to look for solar radiation characteristics and ambient temperature. Based on the general solar collector equation, the parabolic tube collector was selected as the best solar collector to utilize solar radiation by producing a maximum heat of around 654.68 kW. Therefore, the evacuated flat plate collector was selected as the solar collector that can produce the maximum outlet temperature of around 372.15 K with a similar size aperture area. Producing a temperature output from the solar collector for heat transfer in the ORC system and from the performance showed that R245fa resulted in better Wnet performance compared with R123 with values of 45.82 and 28.17 kW, respectively, under the same solar collector. Meanwhile, the material suitable for the thermal energy storage‐evaporator combination is organic phase change material using N‐Octacosane, which in the same temperature range (350–375 K) has the smallest ζ(T) value (1.08–1.103), so the mass required for the system is very efficient.
Regional Analysis of Rainfall-Depth-Duration Equation for South Italy

The two-component extreme value (TCEV) distribution, which is currently applied in Italy for the regional rainfall and flood frequency analysis, and its hierarchical parameter estimating procedure, are briefly reviewed. Then, a new rainfall-depth-duration equation, based on TCEV distribution and applicable for the hypothesis of both duration-dependent and duration independent parameters estimate, is proposed. Finally, for the investigated Italian geographical regions (Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, and Campania), the regionalization procedure is developed, and the rainfall-duration-frequency factor appearing in the rainfall-depth-duration equation is calibrated. The isoline maps of the mean rainfall having a duration equal to 24 h and of the exponent \in, appearing in the power equation linking the mean μ\i\dt of the TCEV distribution with the duration \it, are also plotted.
Wrist-Worn Sensor Validation for Heart Rate Variability and Electrodermal Activity Detection in a Stressful Driving Environment

Wearable sensors are widely used to gather psychophysiological data in the laboratory and real-world applications. However, the accuracy of these devices should be carefully assessed. The study focused on testing the accuracy of the Empatica 4 (E4) wristband for the detection of heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) metrics in stress-inducing conditions and growing-risk driving scenarios. Fourteen healthy subjects were recruited for the experimental campaign, where HRV and EDA were recorded over six experimental conditions (Baseline, Video Clip, Scream, No-Risk Driving, Low-Risk Driving, and High-Risk Driving) and by means of two measurement systems: the E4 device and a gold standard system. The overall quality of the E4 data was investigated; agreement and reliability were assessed by performing a Bland–Altman analysis and by computing the Spearman’s correlation coefficient. HRV time-domain parameters reported high reliability levels in Baseline (r > 0.72), Video Clip (r > 0.71), and No-Risk Driving (r > 0.67), while HRV frequency domain parameters were sufficient in Baseline (r > 0.58), Video Clip (r > 0.59), No-Risk (r > 0.51), and Low-Risk Driving (r > 0.52). As for the EDA parameters, no correlation was found. Further studies could enhance the HRV and EDA quality through further optimizations of the acquisition protocol and improvement of the processing algorithms.
Linking Public Service Availability to Village Welfare

This study aims to provide a village-level analysis explaining the link between the availability of essential services and welfare, which is scarce in this study area. The accessibility of state-provided facilities is related to poverty reduction. On the other hand, the village, the lowest administrative level in Indonesia, is entrusted with a particular delegation of authority and budget. Therefore, the efficient management of delegated authority and budget at the village-level should be reflected in good infrastructure. By employing logistic regression, this study examines the relationship between the village development's status as a proxy for people's welfare and the availability of essential services in Maluku and Maluku Utara, two neighboring provinces with significant differences in poverty rates. The main finding of this research is that infrastructure plays an important role in improving people's welfare at the village level. In addition, surprisingly, crimes contribute to the village's development.
Self-care interventions of community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction The current notion of “care in old age” should be reconceptualized in the ageing societies of the 21st century. Currently, “being old” means that one is actively involved in their care and has the desire to retain control and independence. Objective Understand and analyze the efficacy of interventions in the physical and psychological self-care practices of healthy community-dwelling older people. Methodology Systematic review and meta-analysis. The guidelines of the PRISMA guide were followed. The methodological quality of the studies was checked using Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care criteria, and the search was performed between 2016 and 2021. Results Of the 1,866 evaluated, 8 studies met the criteria. The systematic review reveals that self-care interventions focus on physical health-related variables but not on psychological variables. The meta-analysis shows that interventions significantly improve physical health-related variables (care visits, hospital admission, medication, and gait speed). Conclusion Self-care training programs should include psychological variables to increase health and well-being in healthy older people.
Atmospheric correction scheme for GLI in consideration of absorptive aerosol

This paper proposes scheme of absorptive aerosol correction for ocean color data of Global Imager (GLI). 380 nm band (GLI band 1) is used to detect absorptive aerosol, and to correct absorption. Spectral dependency of absorption is given empirically from GLI scenes with absorptive aerosol. It is built in GLI atmospheric correction. Satellite-derived water-leaving radiance is compared with in-situ data over East China Sea under presence of absorptive aerosol. Estimation error of water-leaving radiance is decreased from 79 to 49% at 380nm, though error still remained. The scheme applied to GLI data with absorptive aerosol, and it was confirmed that this atmospheric correction was effective.