Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends of infections and mortality due to hepatitis B virus (2005-2022) and the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study in Poland

Aim of the study To analyze the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and mortality in Poland according to sociodemographic characteristics, trends over time, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hepatitis B epidemiology. Material and methods We examined HBV infection cases and deaths reported by national registries and used Joinpoint analysis to estimate time trends in the years 2005-2021. To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HBV infection, we used monthly information and compared 2020-2022 with 2019. Results The Joinpoint analysis showed that in Poland between 2005 and 2021, there were pronounced decreasing trends of acute HBV infection, and during the pandemic period, acute HBV infection dramatically decreased (annual percent change, APC2019-2021 for men –57.65%, and women –42.10%, both ptrend < 0.05). There was a fluctuation in trends for chronic HBV infection, shifting from positive to negative in both genders in 2016, and over the pandemic, there were decreasing trends (APC2019-2021 for men –26.94% and women –28.96%, both ptrend < 0.05). From March to July 2022, the value of the diagnosis rate of HBV infection was lower compared to the respective months in 2019, but from September to December 2022, the rate changes were positive. Mortality due to HBV infection decreased in both genders, mainly within the 2005-2019 period. Conclusions During the COVID-19 pandemic, a sharp decrease in HBV diagnosis rates in Poland, especially in acute cases, was observed. However, trends of hepatitis B infection require further monitoring. It is necessary to introduce a national screening program that also encompasses the population of migrants and improve the linkage to care.
Possibilities of Archaeological Prospection by High‐resolution X‐band Satellite Radar – a Case Study from Syria

The launch of the first German radar satellite TerraSAR‐X in 2007 opened a new era in spaceborne radar remote sensing. So far the applicability for the high‐resolution prospection of upstanding and, especially, buried monuments was limited because of the low resolution of the former sensors. TerraSAR‐X, however, provides us with images with a spatial resolution of up to 1 m. The satellite operates in the so‐called X‐band with a frequency of 9.65 GHz. Therefore it is supposed that there is no possibility to penetrate the soil with this sensor. To testify and analyse the benefit of TerraSAR‐X in archaeological geophysics, we chose as a test site a Roman fortress in Syria. The site was chosen as we already have GPR data of the same area for a comparison and for the verification of the actual penetration depth. Our results revealed that it is possible to resolve superficial and even buried structures in the data set, which provides evidence that the X‐band waves can penetrate the soil. This paper shows our results of the survey and an estimation of the possible penetration depth of TerraSAR‐X. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Real-time Length Sensing of Braided Pneumatic Actuator using IR Time-of-Flight Sensor

Braided Pneumatic Actuators (BPAs) are used widely in robotics as artificial muscles because of their similar characteristics to biological muscles. When a BPA is pressurized, it expands in the radial direction and contracts in the longitudinal direction. The contraction generates a pulling force that is dependent on the input pressure and BPA length. Biological muscle also behaves in the same way where a pulling force is generated on a contraction. To control BPAs on a robot, the real-time pressure and length measurements are necessary. In this dissertation, I present a new method to measure length of BPAs in real-time using a time-of-flight IR sensor. The IR sensor VL53L0X is integrated inside an air-tight housing so that it can be mounted to one end of a BPA during pressurization. The sensor uses I2C communication protocol, hence only two wires are needed to be connected to the bus line for communication with a microcontroller. Additionally, more sensors can be added to a bus without significantly impacting the sampling delay performance. The proposed Time-of-Flight sensor has an average of 8.5% Root Mean Square Percentage Error, and the sampling frequency is up to 50Hz.
Plate margin deformation and active tectonics along the northern edge of the Yakutat Terrane in the Saint Elias Orogen, Alaska, and Yukon, Canada

Structural syntaxes, tectonic aneurysms, and fault-bounded fore-arc slivers are important tectonic elements of orogenic belts worldwide. In this study we used high-resolution topography, geodetic imaging, seismic, and geologic data to advance understanding of how these features evolved during accretion of the Yakutat Terrane to North America. Because glaciers extend over much of the orogen, the topography and dynamics of the glaciers were analyzed to infer the location and nature of faults and shear zones that lie buried beneath the ice. The Fairweather transform fault system terminates by oblique-extensional splay faulting within a structural syntaxis, where thrust faulting and contractional strain drive rapid tectonic uplift and rock exhumation beneath the upper Seward Glacier. West of the syntaxis, oblique plate convergence created a dextral shear zone beneath the Bagley Ice Valley that may have been reactivated by reverse faulting when the subduction megathrust stepped eastward during the last 5–6 Ma. The Bagley fault zone dips steeply through the upper plate to intersect the subduction megathrust at depth, forming a fault-bounded crustal sliver capable of partitioning oblique convergence into strike-slip and thrust motion. Since ca. 20 Ma the Bagley fault accommodated more than 50 km of dextral shearing and several kilometers of reverse motion along its southern flank during terrane accretion. The fault is considered capable of generating earthquakes because it is suitably oriented for reactivation in the contemporary stress field, links to faults that generated large historic earthquakes, and is locally marked by seismicity.
Seamount science scales undersea mountains: new research and outlook

Conventional wisdom suggests that seamounts harbour high levels of biodiversity and endemism, play important roles in marine biogeography, are hotspots of biological carbon processing, and support substantial fisheries. However, since fewer than 300 seamounts have been thoroughly sampled, these generalizations remain largely untested. This has provided the motivation for a number of seamount-focused research projects in recent years, including CenSeam, a field project within the Census of Marine Life. This issue presents some of the research output facilitated by CenSeam. Here we summarize the main findings and provide a precis of future research directions highlighted by contributors to the issue. Recent studies show that seamounts can have comparable levels of benthic diversity and endemism to continental margins, but their communities also include a distinct composition of species that can attain higher biomass. Reported geographic differentiation among seamount communities suggests limited larval dispersal, local speciation, geographic isolation, or a combination of these processes. Genetic studies contained in the issue address these themes explicitly, documenting complex patterns of connectivity that depend on spatial scale and life history characteristics. Globally, seamount ecosystems are also under pressure from bottom-contact fishing and ocean acidification. Contributions detailing the footprint of trawling and a risk assessment confirm what has long been suspected: seamount ecosystems are highly vulnerable to disturbance by bottom trawling and recovery from fishing impacts is a lengthy process, likely requiring decades at a minimum. A predicted shallowing of the aragonite saturation horizon caused by ocean acidification is predicted to place deep-water corals at risk, but seamounts may yet provide a spatial/chemical refuge from these impacts. The issue concludes with a ‘myth-buster’ synthesis that updates the status of the various seamount ecological paradigms.
Simulating the spatial representativeness of the meteorological observed data on rugged terrain

The solar radiation incidence on the horizontal plane is not the true solar radiation (also called surface solar radiation) on the earth surface, it not take the influence of the rugged terrain into account. Topographic correction process is established which necessarily take integrated consideration of the geographic factors and the local topographic factors (i.e. slope, aspect, terrain inter-shielding effect). Based on the high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data and the horizontal solar radiation as the input data of topographic correction process, using the mountain solar radiation correction model to simulate the topographic correction process and to present the spatial distribution of surface solar radiation in China Ganzi region on June 30, 2010. Because of the influence of the rugged terrain, the spatial distribution of surface solar radiation is accompanied by the strong spatial heterogeneity, and the spatial representativeness of the observed data of meteorological station is limited. By use of the variogram model to calculate the spatial representativeness and to associate the strength of spatial representativeness with the distance. The results indicated that: 1) rugged terrain mainly makes the solar radiation the redistribution effect significantly on sunny/shady slope of local region, and the increase of slope has a subduction effect on radiation. The terrain factor is essential on determining the solar radiation over the complex terrain. 2) The spatial representativeness of Ganzi meteorological station is approximately 350 meters, the strength of spatial representativeness has the negatively correlation with the distance. There is a necessary to consider the spatial representativeness when verifying the retrieved data.
Visual perspective in autobiographical memories of self-incongruent episodes

ABSTRACT It is widely assumed that autobiographical memory relies on an integration of episodic memory with the self-model. We hypothesise that self-memory integration depends critically on self-congruence. More specifically, self-incongruent experiences such as those that elicit shame or guilt may be more difficult to integrate. Self-incongruence may affect both the semantic reports of memories and their phenomenological characteristics, in particular their visual perspective (1PP or 3PP, i.e., field or observer perspective), their affective valence, and their perceived centrality. Diary based memories were assigned to 4 categories (shame, guilt, negative, neutral) and were rated for the different phenomenological dimensions. We used a deep neural network, univariate and multilevel models to assess differences and relationships between different variables. We found that memories that elicited shame (but not guilt) showed more pronounced 3PP as compared to other experiences. Shameful episodes also elicited the most pronounced negative affect. A multilevel analysis revealed that the amount of shame that an episode elicited, and its semantic similarity with shame episodes, predicted higher 3PP, while affective valence did not. Our results show that self-incongruence affects memories both at the level of their semantic reports and their phenomenology, and thus contributes to a mechanistic understanding of self-memory integration.
High spatial resolution electron probe microanalysis of tephras and melt inclusions without beam-induced chemical modification

Wavelength dispersive analysis of tephra grains and melt inclusions by EPMA has been carried out using a focused beam of 3 µm diameter without detected loss of sodium or potassium in standard glasses, including anhydrous basalts, a slightly hydrated rhyolite and a sodium-rich intermediate composition. The ability to make analyses without chemical modification is strongly dependent upon current density at the analysis site. Analysis with narrow beams requires extremely low beam currents that are normally associated with energy dispersive analysis. Experiments indicate that a value of 0.1 nA/µm2 must not be exceeded, at least for moderately hydrated samples, if sodium loss is to be avoided. High resolution analysis without beam-induced analytical artefacts enables fully quantitative analysis of very distal and/or highly vesicular tephras and very small melt inclusions without the need to use post-analysis corrections. This development has enabled high quality analyses from crypto-tephra layers that were previously impossible to analyse, and has removed the potential for sampling bias within mixed tephra layers by making (in most cases) tephra grains accessible for analysis. The use of focused beams also increases the level of automation, and hence the cost-effectiveness of data collection. The current data suggest limits to the applicability of the beam conditions reported, and that they may lead to alkali loss in compositions most prone to beam-induced modification such as significantly hydrated and/or sodic tephras.
Analyzing the relationship of soil moisture and biophysical variables in wet and dry seasons at a rainfed and irrigated field in eastern Nebraska

The objective of this chapter is to show results from eight years of soil moisture measurements under a rainfed agroecosystem in a region that is uniquely situated in a transition zone between almost exclusively rainfed agriculture to the east and almost exclusively irrigated agriculture to the west. Soil moisture sensors were installed at four depths (10 cm, 25 cm, 50 cm, and 100 cm) in Intensive Management Zones (IMZ's) for the purpose of determining crucial plant-soil moisture relationships under maize and soybeans, both irrigated and rainfed conditions,, as part of the Carbon Sequestration Project (CSP) at Mead, NE. The eight years (2002-2009) of soil moisture data utilized in this study captured a range of different growing season conditions ranging from drought and flash drought events to periods significantly above-average precipitation. Soil moisture at the rainfed site correlated well with precipitation over the entirety of the study period. However, this paper shows that timing of precipitation was often more important to differences in average seasonal soil moisture than total growing season (MayOctober) precipitation, as total growing season precipitation did not always reflect within-season variability of precipitation. This paper shows that shallow soil moisture was most reflective of an incipient wet or dry spell within a season and deeper soil moisture was most reflective of longer-term dryness or wetness. Data from a nearby irrigated field were also analyzed to further demonstrate the importance of variability and timing of precipitation within a season, as it was critical to scheduling irrigation treatments at the irrigated site.
Identification de mécanismes d'endommagement de stratifiés carbone-époxyde par couplage de l'émission acoustique et de la thermographie infrarouge

Ce travail de recherche porte sur la caracterisation de l'endommagement des materiaux composites carbone/epoxyde stratifies unidirectionnels. L'une des difficultes associee a son utilisation et qui limite encore son developpement tient en particulier a la variabilite inherente a son comportement, liee notamment a la presence de defauts induits en service. Ce travail de recherche propose une etude de l'endommagement par le biais d'un couplage de deux methodes de suivi non destructives : l'emission acoustique (EA) et la thermographie infrarouge (TI). L'enjeu est d'analyser les correlations spatiales et temporelles des evenements acoustiques et thermiques mesures lors de la sollicitation du materiau. A cette fin, la caracterisation par EA, et en particulier l'identification des mecanismes d'endommagement, est realisee par le biais d'algorithmes de reconnaissance de forme non supervises et de descripteurs acoustiques. Quant a la TI, les champs de temperature obtenus sont utilises pour determiner les champs de sources de chaleur qui mettent en evidence le comportement thermomecanique du materiau. Cette demarche s'appuie sur des arguments thermodynamiques et l'equation de la chaleur, un traitement du signal au vu du caractere bruite et discret de ces mesures ainsi qu'une modelisation micromecanique pour rendre compte de la conductivite thermique anisotrope du composite. Une premiere campagne experimentale permet de caracteriser le materiau par le biais de techniques classiques (essais de traction) et ultrasonores en immersion. L'endommagement genere et les correlations entre les evenements acoustiques et thermiques sont ensuite etudies lors d'une seconde campagne experimentale sous sollicitations quasi-statiques de traction puis sous sollicitations cycliques de fatigue uniaxiale. Ces etudes confirment la concordance des manifestations acoustiques et des dissipations thermiques pour un certain nombre de mecanismes d'endommagement.
Surface climate of the interior of the Lambert Glacier basin, Antarctica, from automatic weather station data

Data from six automatic weather stations deployed around the interior of the Lambert Glacier basin, Antarctica, at surface elevations of 1830-2741 m are used to compile a surface climatology of this part of interior Antarctica for the period 1994-96. The stations measure air pressure, near-surface wind speed and air temperature at several levels, wind direction and firn temperatures. The topography of the basin, which extends more than 800 km inland, controls the katabatic wind regime and strongly influences the surface climate of the region. Windiest sites are on the steep coastal slopes, and within the depression of the Lambert and Mellor Ice Streams where the flow is topographically channelled. Surface winds here show greater seasonal variation in speed but less variation in direction than elsewhere. The annual mean temperatures on the relatively steep slopes on the eastern side of the basin are 4-5°C warmer than at equivalent altitude on the western side. During winter, near-synchronous synoptic temperature and pressure increases occur throughout the basin to at least 1000 km from the coast. There is a consistent pattern of diurnal wind variation in the summer at all stations, with maximum wind speed at about 0900 LST (local solar time), and the most easterly direction at 1300 LST.
The Impact Properties in Glass Laminate Aluminum Reinforced Epoxy

— In the last decade, due to their unique properties such as optimal impact resistance and toughness, fiber-metal laminated (FML) has attracted the attention of the aerospace and defense industries. The most common category of these laminates is glass laminate aluminum reinforced epoxy (GLARE), which contains aluminum for metal and epoxy layers reinforced with glass fibers. The study investigates the impact resistance of GLARE sheets. However, various mechanisms of damage were investigated, including plastic deformation of the metal layer, cracking of the matrix and failure of the fibers, delamination, and delamination between the laminate layers, and delamination of the metal layer from the laminate layer. Impact with different energies, percussion with different masses, different sheet thicknesses, and arrangement of different layers were analyzed using the Finite Element Method in ABAQUS. The results indicated that: increasing the impact energy increases the plastic strain on the metal sheet and causes damage and breakage of the fibers. It was also observed that the mechanism of damage would be different depending on the amount of energy and geometric properties of the sheet and the impactor. Finally, the results illustrate that GLARE3 displayed better impact resistance than GLARE5.
Abrupt changes in regional temperature in the conterminous United States, 1895-1989

In this study, the Lepage test, a nonparametnc 2-sample test, was used to statistically analyze annual and seasonal temperatures for the 344 climate divisions in the conterminous United States for the years 1895 through 1989 The objectives of the study were to (1) identify statistically significant changes in annual and seasonal temperatures, (2) determine durlng which seasons the most dramatic changes in temperature occurred, (3) de t e rm~ne the spatial distribution of significant changes in temperature and (4) determine whether significant regional temperature changes represented gradual or abrupt changes The analysis ind~cated that abrupt and significant changes in annual and seasonal temperatures occurred near 1930 and 1958, and that these changes occurred over large parts of the conterminous United States Othei significant and abrupt changes in seasonal temperatures occurred dunng the summer near 1917 and 1943, and during the autumn near 1948 and 1964 Temperatures durIng the summer season exhibited the most frequent and widespread signlf~cant changes The results of this study suggest that s~gnificant changes in reg~onal temperature occur abruptly as opposed to giadual uniform changes In a d d ~ t ~ o n , the changes In temperature were spat~al ly evtensive and appeal to be associated with changes in atmospheric c ~ r c u l a t ~ o n
Vertical Displacement Rate Field of Taiwan From Geodetic Levelling Data 2000-2008

Abstract We have developed the most precise vertical displacement rate field of Taiwan Island to date from four sets of precise geodetic levelling data between 2000 and 2008. More than 4000 km of levelling lines between solidly constructed benchmarks were repeatedly surveyed by 1st-order levelling. Strict specifications for field work procedures and comprehensive corrections for systemic errors were applied to the levelling data. Furthermore, in order to account for the vertical deformations caused by four major earthquakes during the data span, coseismic offset corrections were computed and applied. The adjusted orthometric heights and vertical displacement rates of the benchmarks were obtained by least-squares estimation (LSE). The estimated standard deviations of the vertical rates are in the range of ± 0.41 mm/yr and ± 2.47 mm/yr, with a mean value of ± 1.64 mm/yr. These highly accurate results reveal that the most significant subsidence rate is observed in SW Taiwan at -109.4 mm/yr. Land uplift is widely observed in the Central Range and the Coastal Range, with the largest uplift rate of +29.4 mm/yr in SE Taiwan, at the convergence boundary of the Philippine Sea and the Eurasian plates.
Fluids from the Oceanic Crust Support Microbial Activities within the Deep Biosphere

The importance of crustal fluid chemical composition in driving the marine deep subseafloor biosphere was examined in northeast Pacific ridge-flank sediments. At IODP Site U1301, sulfate from crustal fluids diffuses into overlying sediments, forming a transition zone where sulfate meets in situ-produced methane. Enhanced cell counts and metabolic activity suggest that sulfate stimulates microbial respiration, specifically anaerobic methane oxidation coupled to sulfate reduction. Cell counts and activity are also elevated in basement-near layers. Owing to the worldwide expansion of the crustal aquifer, we postulate that crustal fluids may fuel the marine deep subseafloor biosphere on a global scale.