Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic Detection of Optic Disc for the Extraction of Ocular Structure

Nowadays, some of the most common cause of visual impairment, and blindness are because of diabetes retinopathy, hypertension, glaucoma. These diseases can be detected through regular ophthalmologic examination. However, due to population growth, the ophthalmologists and the experts needed for examination is a limiting factor. So, a system for automatic recognition of these pathological cases will provide a great benefit. Regarding this aspect, the method proposed for the detection of Optic Disc is based on mathematical morphology along with Principal Component Analysis(PCA). It makes use of different operations such as generalized distance function (GDF), the stochastic watershed, and geodesic transformations. The implemented algorithm has been validated on five public databases obtaining promising results.
A deforming block model for the present‐day tectonics of Tibet

[1] We use GPS data from 45 sites across the Tibetan Plateau surveyed between 1991 and 2001 to study the distribution of strain in that part of the India-Eurasia collision zone. The plateau is cut by a few major, rapidly slipping strike-slip fault zones, with broadly distributed strain between those zones. The GPS velocities can be fit well by a simple deforming block model that combines uniform strain with the motion of blocks separated by the major known fault zones within the plateau. The boundaries of the four blocks in this model correspond to the major, rapidly slipping faults. A rigid block model with a smaller number of blocks fits the data poorly and can be rejected. We estimate that 5.9 ± 0.7 mm/yr of extension in the N69°W direction occurs on the Yadong-Gulu rift south of the plateau; localized extension may extend as far north as the Nyainqentanglha Range. We find 7.4 ± 0.7 mm/yr of right-lateral slip on the Karakorum-Jiali fault zone, significantly slower than that previously estimated from offset geologic features. Our deforming block model and a two-dimensional single-fault screw dislocation model give lower and upper bounds of 4.4 ± 1.1 and 10.3 ± 0.4 mm/yr on the slip rate on the Kunlun fault, respectively, comparable, in its highest, to the long-term slip rate observed geologically. The distributed deformation is surprisingly uniform over the Tibetan Plateau, Qaidam Basin, and Qilian Shan and approximates a combination of pure shear and uniaxial contraction with the same axes of maximum contraction, ∼N32°E. This strain field is a combination of shortening and extension that produces little net dilatation (1% area loss per million years) at present. The broadly distributed strain most likely represents slip on many faults, each with a relatively low slip rate. Distributed conjugate strike-slip faulting is the most plausible mechanism to produce the observed strains, as supported by the record of medium to large earthquakes within the plateau. The distributed deformation is just as important in the accommodation of the total India-Eurasia convergence as is slip on the major faults. The eastward motion of central Tibet is as large as 50% of the convergence rate between India and Eurasia. However, this eastward motion is not motion of a relatively undeforming block bounded by rapidly moving strike-slip faults, as suggested by past extrusion models. Instead, much of this eastward extrusion is driven by the internal extension of the plateau. Our inference is in agreement with the model of F. Shen et al. [2001] that suggested east-west extension, north-south contraction, and eastward plateau growth dominate the present tectonics of the Tibetan Plateau.
Empirical Detection Techniques of Insider Threat Incidents

Vital organizations have faced increasing challenges of how to defend against insider threats that may cause a severe damage to their assets. The nature of insider threats is more challenging than external threats, as insiders have a privileged access to sensitive assets of an organization. In fact, there are several studies that reviewed the insider threat detection approaches from taxonomical and theoretical perspectives. However, the protection against insider threat incidents requires empirical defense solutions. Hence, our study uniquely focuses on empirical detection approaches that are validated with empirical results. We propose a 10-question model that highlights different prospective of empirical detection approaches. Significant factors are also proposed to reveal the extent to which the detection approaches are effective against insider threat incidents (e.g., feature domains, protection coverage, classification techniques, simulated scenarios, performance and accuracy metrics, etc.). The objective of this paper is to enhance researchers’ efforts in the domain of insider attack by systemizing the detection techniques in comparable manner. It also highlights the challenges and gaps for further research to institute more effective solutions that can predict, detect, and prevent emerging attack incidents. Some recommendations for future research directions are also presented.
Analytical modeling of degradation product partitioning kinetics in source zones containing entrapped DNAPL

Liquid‐liquid equilibrium experiments indicate that there is a strong thermodynamic driving force for the reversible sequestration of cis‐dichloroethene (DCE) within microbially active dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zones containing chlorinated ethene solvents. Assessment of the importance of degradation product sequestration, however, requires accurate description of the mass transfer kinetics. Partitioning kinetics of cis‐DCE were assessed in a series of transport experiments conducted in sandy columns containing uniformly entrapped tetrachloroethene (PCE)‐nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPL). Effluent data from these experiments were simulated using an analytical solution adapted from the sorption literature. The solution permits interrogation of the relative importance of mass transfer resistance in the aqueous phase and NAPL. Column data and simulations suggest that the kinetic exchange of cis‐DCE may be described with mass transfer correlations developed for the dissolution of pure component NAPLs. Diffusive transport within the entrapped ganglia was relatively fast, offering limited resistance to mass exchange. These results (1) establish the applicability of dissolution‐based mass transfer correlations for modeling both absorption and dissolution of degradation products, (2) quantify the thermodynamic driving force for the partitioning of cis‐DCE in PCE‐NAPL by assessing the ternary phase behavior, and (3) guide incorporation and deployment of partitioning kinetics into multiphase compositional simulators when assessing or designing metabolic reductive dechlorination within DNAPL source zones. While focus is placed on examining degradation product partitioning in DNAPL source zones, results may also be useful when considering rate limitations in other liquid‐liquid partitioning processes, such as partitioning tracer tests.
Geodetic investigation of the 13 May 1995 Kozani‐Grevena (Greece) Earthquake

The Ms=6.6 13 May 1995 Kozani‐Grevena earthquake struck a region of low historical seismic activity which includes a 10‐year‐old triangulation network in northern Greece. After the earthquake, monuments from this network were occupied with GPS to measure co‐seismic displacements. Inversion of the co‐seismic displacement field to yield a source mechanism is achieved by use of a hybrid simplex‐Monte‐Carlo method which requires no a priori constraints. The model focal mechanism agrees well with the global CMT solution and locally observed aftershocks, but implies a significantly higher scalar moment than do seismological or SAR interferometry studies, and has a longer fault length than the model based on SAR interferometry.
The Hatton Basin and continental margin: Crustal structure from wide-angle seismic and gravity data

Results from a wide-angle seismic and gravity study between the Rockall Bank and the Iceland Basin in the North Atlantic are presented. Crustal and sedimentary structures are resolved in the Hatton Basin and across the Hatton continental margin (HCM) east of magnetic anomaly 24. The structure of the oceanic crust west of the anomaly is also determined. Gravity data support the seismic model in areas of good seismic coverage and are used to control the model where the wide-angle seismic data are poor. A two-layer sedimentary sequence is present both in the Hatton Basin and across the continental margin. The lower layer, with P wave velocity of about 4 km/s, is interpreted as pre-Eocene synrift sediments and is up to 3.5 km thick. A younger and thinner (1–2.5 km) postrift sequence, with a velocity of about 2 km/s, defines a strong velocity contrast, which suggests an erosional unconformity surface. The sedimentary structure is distinctly different from that in the Rockall Trough, where a third intermediate layer (Vp ≈ 3 km/s) occurs. The three-layer crust, characterized by two intracrustal reflections (PiP1 and PiP2) varies from 30 km thick under the Rockall Bank to about 15 km below the Hatton Basin, where it is stretched by a factor of 2 relative to onshore Ireland. The crust is thinnest below the Hatton Bank, where the presence of a single intracrustal reflection indicates that the lower crustal layer thins to below the seismic resolution limit. Below the HCM a region of thick lower crust with anomalously high velocity (Vp ≈ 7.2 km/s) is resolved by the seismic and gravity data. It is connected (west of anomaly 24) to a region of oceanic crust, which is thicker than in the Iceland Basin. These relationships between the thick lower crust below the HCM and the oceanic crust in the Iceland Basin are interpreted as evidence for magmatic underplating, consistent with previous models for the HCM. The inferred unconformity surface between the synrift and postrift layers may be due to regional uplift driven by upwelling of hot asthenosphere before anomaly 24 (early Eocene) time.
A compilation of spatial digital databases for selected U.S. Geological Survey nonfuel mineral resource assessments for parts of Idaho and Montana

This report compiles selected results from 13 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mineral resource assessment studies conducted in Idaho and Montana into consistent spatial databases that can be used in a geographic information system. The 183 spatial databases represent areas of mineral potential delineated in these studies and include attributes on mineral deposit type, level of mineral potential, certainty, and a reference. The assessments were conducted for five 1° x 2° quadrangles (Butte, Challis, Choteau, Dillon, and Wallace), several U.S. Forest Service (USFS) National Forests (including Challis, Custer, Gallatin, Helena, and Payette), and one Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Area (Dillon). The data contained in the spatial databases are based on published information: no new interpretations are made. This digital compilation is part of an ongoing effort to provide mineral resource information formatted for use in spatial analysis. In particular, this is one of several reports prepared to address USFS needs for science information as forest management plans are revised in the Northern Rocky Mountains.
Validation of the land water storage simulated by Organising Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE) with Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission provides measurements of spatiotemporal change in land water storage that may improve simulation results of land surface models (LSMs). We show that a transfer scheme recently developed within the Organising Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE) LSM significantly improves the simulated land water storage. Over large tropical rivers basins, model results without the transfer scheme provide significantly smaller amplitudes of water storage than observed by GRACE. Including the transfer scheme that accounts for water stored in the river systems and aquifers during its transfer to the oceans leads to predicted land water storage that are comparable to GRACE observations. Water stored in aquifers contributes about half the seasonal variation of water storage over large basins such as the Amazon, Congo, Yangtze, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mekong.
The developmental hierarchy and scarcity of replicative slender trypanosomes in blood challenges their role in infection maintenance

Significance African trypanosomes cause important human and animal disease in sub-Saharan Africa. The parasites sustain infections through replication as slender forms and by immune evasion through antigenic variation. By a quorum-sensing-dependent process, slender forms develop to stumpy forms that are adapted for transmission by tsetse flies. Here, we establish the hierarchy of developmental commitment between slender and stumpy forms, demonstrating that cell cycle arrest and transcriptome adaptation precede morphological change. We also demonstrate, at the single-cell level, that slender cells that are able to replicate form an exceptionally small proportion of the bloodstream population. This challenges the long-held paradigm that bloodstream trypanosomes sustain the infection through replication and antigenic variation.
Storm flow from hardwood‐forested and cleared watersheds in New Hampshire

Changes in storm flow as a result of forest clearing by cutting of trees and subsequent applications of herbicides were determined for a small mountainous watershed in New Hampshire by using a paired watershed as a control. Reduction of transpiration and interception losses produced wetter soils with less opportunity for storing rainfall. Consequently, quick flow volumes and instantaneous peaks were nearly always increased during the growing season. The absence of the hardwood forest canopy also caused earlier and more rapid snowmelt and affected most spring storm flow events involving snow water. In contrast, storm events occurring after soil moisture recharge in the fall and before the start of spring snowmelt were unaffected by forest clearing. Although the spring and summer storm flow changes were readily detectable, their magnitude was not great. The maximum increase in individual quick flow was 30 mm for the summer streamflow season and just over 50 mm during spring snowmelt. Mean quick flow changes were much lower. The relatively small amount of forest clearing currently taking place in New England headwaters should not increase downstream flood potential.
Discrimination between induced, triggered, and natural earthquakes close to hydrocarbon reservoirs: A probabilistic approach based on the modeling of depletion‐induced stress changes and seismological source parameters

Earthquakes occurring close to hydrocarbon fields under production are often under critical view of being induced or triggered. However, clear and testable rules to discriminate the different events have rarely been developed and tested. The unresolved scientific problem may lead to lengthy public disputes with unpredictable impact on the local acceptance of the exploitation and field operations. We propose a quantitative approach to discriminate induced, triggered, and natural earthquakes, which is based on testable input parameters. Maxima of occurrence probabilities are compared for the cases under question, and a single probability of being triggered or induced is reported. The uncertainties of earthquake location and other input parameters are considered in terms of the integration over probability density functions. The probability that events have been human triggered/induced is derived from the modeling of Coulomb stress changes and a rate and state‐dependent seismicity model. In our case a 3‐D boundary element method has been adapted for the nuclei of strain approach to estimate the stress changes outside the reservoir, which are related to pore pressure changes in the field formation. The predicted rate of natural earthquakes is either derived from the background seismicity or, in case of rare events, from an estimate of the tectonic stress rate. Instrumentally derived seismological information on the event location, source mechanism, and the size of the rupture plane is of advantage for the method. If the rupture plane has been estimated, the discrimination between induced or only triggered events is theoretically possible if probability functions are convolved with a rupture fault filter. We apply the approach to three recent main shock events: (1) the Mw 4.3 Ekofisk 2001, North Sea, earthquake close to the Ekofisk oil field; (2) the Mw 4.4 Rotenburg 2004, Northern Germany, earthquake in the vicinity of the Söhlingen gas field; and (3) the Mw 6.1 Emilia 2012, Northern Italy, earthquake in the vicinity of a hydrocarbon reservoir. The three test cases cover the complete range of possible causes: clearly “human induced,” “not even human triggered,” and a third case in between both extremes.
Sex-stratified analysis of national trends and outcomes in isolated tricuspid valve surgery

Objective Female sex is a known risk factor for cardiac surgery, and tricuspid valve (TV) disease is more common in women. There are few data on sex-stratified surgical outcomes for isolated TV surgery. An administrative database was used to compare acute in-hospital outcomes between men and women undergoing isolated TV surgery. Methods Patients aged >18 who underwent TV repair or replacement from 2004 to 2013 were identified using the National Inpatient Sample. Patients were excluded if they had congenital heart disease, endocarditis, or were undergoing concomitant cardiac surgeries except coronary bypass. Results were weighted to represent national averages. Sex-stratified analysis was performed using propensity score matching to compare in-hospital mortality, postoperative complications and hospital costs. Results Over 10 years, women represented 58% of the 5005 TV surgeries performed. With propensity matching, hospital mortality (7.9% vs 7.7%; P=0.99) and median length of stay (11 vs 11 days; P=0.99) were similar between men and women. However, median hospital charges were higher for men ($166 000 vs $155 000; P=0.04). Conclusion Isolated TV surgery is rare, but women more commonly undergo the procedure. In-hospital mortality was similar between men and women after propensity matching, but remains markedly high for both men and women in comparison to that reported for left-sided isolated valve surgery.
A stable carbon isotopic study of types 1 and 2 carbonaceous chondrites

Fourteen Cl and C2 carbonaceous chondrites were studied by a technique of stepped combustion in order to distinguish differences in the abun­ dance, distribution and isotopic composition of refractory (600 <T < 1300C) carbon fractions. Specifically, the distribution and abundance of 13C-rich carbonaceous matter was qualitatively investigated to provide data on diagnostic patterns and inter­ group relations, and to identify possible differences between Antarctic and non­ Antarctic Cl and C2 meteorites. The data reveal that the Cl and C2 groups possess different carbon isotope profiles, which could be useful as an aid to classifica­ tion. Furthermore, the carbon isotope profiles for Antarctic and non-Antarctic C2 meteorites are dissimilar, suggesting fundamental differences in the sources sampled by the two groups, or alternatively, that an Antarctic weathering process has affected C2 meteorites residing within and on the ice sheets.
Incorporating fault zone head wave and direct wave secondary arrival times into seismic tomography: Application at Parkfield, California

We present a three‐dimensional (3D) P wave velocity (Vp) model of the Parkfield region that utilizes existing P wave arrival time data, including fault zone head waves (FZHWs), and data from direct wave secondary arrivals (DWSAs). The first‐arrival and DWSA travel times are obtained as the global‐ and local‐minimum travel time paths, respectively. The inclusion of FZHWs and DWSAs results in as much as a 5% and a 10% increase in the across‐fault velocity contrast, respectively, for the Vp model at Parkfield relative to that of Thurber et al. [2006]. Viewed along strike, three pronounced velocity contrast regions are observed: a pair of strong positive velocity contrasts (SW fast), one NW of the 1966 Parkfield earthquake hypocenter and the other SE of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake hypocenter, and a strong negative velocity contrast (NE fast) between the two hypocenters. The negative velocity contrast partially to entirely encompasses peak coseismic slip estimated in several slip models for the 2004 earthquake, suggesting that the negative velocity contrast played a part in defining the rupture patch of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake. Following Ampuero and Ben‐Zion (2008), the pattern of velocity contrasts is consistent with the observed bilateral rupture propagation for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake. Although the velocity contrasts also suggest bilateral rupture propagation for the 1966 Parkfield earthquake, the fault is creeping to the NW here, i.e., exhibiting velocity‐strengthening behavior. Thus, it is not surprising that rupture propagated only SE during this event.
Deep convection observed by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager on board Meteosat 8: Spatial distribution and temporal evolution over Africa in summer and winter 2006

[1] We analyze the spatial distribution of deep convection and its diurnal cycle and life cycle over Africa in June and December 2006. We investigate regions of distinct temporal evolution and of largest frequency of occurrence of deep convection (hereinafter referred to as convective activity), and we define and identify the deep convective stage from space observations. The analysis is based on hourly, half-hourly, and quarter-hourly brightness temperature (BT) observations of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on board Meteosat 8. Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches are utilized. In the Eulerian approach, diurnal cycles and spatial distributions of BTs are calculated as averages on a local solar time (LST) and pixel basis. In the Lagrangian approach we use a stand-alone algorithm that tracks deep convective systems. Deep convection is frequently found over mountainous regions and exhibits a distinct diurnal cycle over large lakes. Local maxima of convective activity and origin of tracked systems are observed over the ocean off the west coast of Africa early in the morning. Over land the diurnal cycle of deep convective systems starts with strong rates of BT change in the formative stage, continues with the minimum BT around 1530 LST (start of the mature stage), and reaches the maximum cold cloud cover at 1730 LST (end of mature stage). The maximum number of split events marks the center of the dissipation stage at ∼1930 LST. A time shift of 1–2 h to earlier times is found in December. The life cycle analysis perfectly complements the diurnal cycle analysis and reveals characteristics of deep convective systems around the time of minimum BT10.8. Extreme rates of BT change and area expansion rates successively increase with decreasing temporal resolution. Thus quarter-hourly measurements are needed to observe the most vigorous updraft and downdraft events.