Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular stratigraphy of cores off northwest Africa: Sea surface temperature history over the last 80 Ka

The molecular stratigraphy of Biogeochemical Oceanic Flux Study core 31K (19°N, 20°10′W) and Ocean Drilling Program Hole 658C (20°45′N, 18°35′W;) has been studied for C37 alkenone abundances over the past 80 ka at high resolution (∼circa 200–500 years). The derived Uk37′ sea surface temperature record for both cores shows a range of temperatures from about 18°C during the last glacial to 21.5°C during the early Holocene. Both records also reveal changes in sea surface temperature as much as 2°-4°C over a few hundred years, which correlate well with similar abrupt climatic changes observed in cores from elsewhere in the NE Atlantic, associated with “Heinrich events. ” Our results indicate that meltwater produced by these ice-rafting events was transmitted southward by the Canary Current, where it had considerable impact on sea surface temperatures in the subtropical eastern Atlantic.
Thermal stability study of gallium nitride based magnetic field sensor

We investigated the thermal stability and performance of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Hall-effect sensors under industry-relevant atmospheric conditions. The thermal stability and performance of Hall sensors are evaluated by monitoring Hall sensitivity, two-dimensional electron gas density, and Ohmic contact resistance during aging at 200 °C for up to 2800 h under atmospheric conditions. This was accomplished by characterizing AlGaN/AlN/GaN micro-Hall sensors, with and without contacts, and before and after being placed under different thermal aging times. Observed electrical performance was correlated with the micro-structural evolution of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Hall sensor heterostructures. Results indicate that the AlGaN/AlN/GaN Hall sensor provides stable performance for as long as 2800 h aging at 200 °C without any significant degradation of (i) Hall sensitivity, (ii) two-dimensional electron gas, and (iii) Ohmic contacts. However, there was a small change in sheet density and mobility, which is due to a decrease in polarization, resulting from local inhomogeneous strain relief at the barrier layer. During the early stage of thermal aging, a decrease in contact resistance was also observed and attributed to (i) out-diffusion of “Ga” at the vicinity of the contact interface, and (ii) a reduction in oxygen concentration and formation of Al–Ti intermediate alloy at the GaN/Ti interface, resulting in a reduced barrier and enhanced electron transport at the contacts. However, despite these small changes, results indicate that the AlGaN/AlN/GaN Hall sensor provides stable performance for as long as 2800 h thermal aging at 200 °C.
Surface distribution of drops applied on the ground with sprayer

Diversos sao os fatores que influenciam na porcentagem de cobertura do alvo: pulverizadores, pontas de pulverizacao, adjuvantes, condicoes meteorologicas, topografia do terreno, etc. Neste sentido, a uniformidade de distribuicao das gotas e uma meta da tecnologia de aplicacao. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a distribuicao da cobertura de gotas sobre o solo a partir de um pulverizador de barras. Para isso, foram distribuidos 396 papeis hidrossensiveis, espacados de um metro cada, em uma area plana de 12 x 33 m. Sobre tais papeis aplicou-se agua por meio de um pulverizador hidraulico com 12 metros de barra. Apos a aplicacao, os papeis hidrossensiveis foram digitalizados em um scanner e as imagens obtidas foram analisadas no tocante a porcentagem de cobertura por meio do software Conta Gotas®. Os dados foram integrados e dispostos em grafico, gerando imagem com cinco faixas de cobertura (0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80 e 80-100%). Foi verificada uma grande variacao nas porcentagens de cobertura ao longo da area pulverizada. A maior parte da area (87,09%) teve cobertura variando entre 40% e 80%. Assim, os resultados demonstraram que, mesmo sob condicoes operacionais adequadas, as aplicacoes com pulverizadores de barras podem nao apresentar uniformidade.
A peer-to-peer based passive web crawling system

Though the commercial success of search engines and large scale web page crawlers, the problems of page refresh, new URL discovering, large file downloading, distributed multimedia content feature extracting and indexing etc. are still open. The independent working behavior of each crawler makes it very hard to seek solutions for all these problems under the classical web crawler architecture. To address these problems, this paper proposes an innovative client/server based web crawling system. This system consists of a crawler server and a crawler client which work in the search engine and website end respectively. The crawler server registers itself to the client and joins into a temporary peer-to-peer network to cooperate and share downloaded data with other crawler servers. Different from the classical crawlers, the data downloading procedure is initialized by a client. So for the crawler server, this is a “passive” web crawling system. The main benefits of this system include the capability of timely management web changes for a crawler, the saving of website bandwidth resources, the capability of downloading large files or multimedia content features, and the capability of protection intellectual properties while indexing and searching the content. Our experiments taken on a simulation system show its efficiency and practicability for the real Internet environments.
Threshold-Based BRISQUE-Assisted Deep Learning for Enhancing Crack Detection in Concrete Structures

Automated visual inspection has made significant advancements in the detection of cracks on the surfaces of concrete structures. However, low-quality images significantly affect the classification performance of convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the suitability of image datasets used in deep learning models, like Visual Geometry Group 16 (VGG16), for accurate crack detection. This study explores the sensitivity of the BRISQUE method to different types of image degradations, such as Gaussian noise and Gaussian blur. By evaluating the performance of the VGG16 model on these degraded datasets with varying levels of noise and blur, a correlation is established between image degradation and BRISQUE scores. The results demonstrate that images with lower BRISQUE scores achieve higher accuracy, F1 score, and Matthew’s correlation coefficient (MCC) in crack classification. The study proposes the implementation of a BRISQUE score threshold (BT) to optimise training and testing times, leading to reduced computational costs. These findings have significant implications for enhancing accuracy and reliability in automated visual inspection systems for crack detection and structural health monitoring (SHM).
Fireworks air pollution in Slovenia

Over the ‘Christmas–New Year’ period 12/2010–01/2011, PM10 air pollution measurements on most of the automatic measuring stations in Slovenia reached extreme values of up to 300 μg/m 3 . Analysis shows a very close correlation with the timings of the fireworks displays in the areas. This paper shows the other side of this cultural enjoyment – the effect on PM10 air pollution. As the correlation with extreme values is so drastic all over Slovenia, the question arises if these events do need some further regulation to prevent harmful health effects. Can the locations for fireworks displays be selected according to the knowledge about air pollution mechanisms in the area? Some practical examples and analyses of the situations are given for the Zasavje region in Slovenia, where two automatic stations measured extreme peaks of PM10 pollution during the period under examination.
Components of Digital Humanities in Indian LIS Curricula

Digital Humanities (DH) is an interdisciplinary academic discipline that employs computational techniques to address humanities and social science problems. It merges various domains such as history, philosophy, literature, and modern languages, offering unique approaches to traditional inquiries. DH has gained considerable popularity among students, academicians, and Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals, creating new employment opportunities in libraries, museums, archives, cultural heritage organisations, data science, and other sectors. In India, DH is still in its early stages, with diverse manifestations in university-level teaching and learning practices. This study examines the DH components integrated into the LIS course curriculum by analysing syllabi and course descriptions from central universities. Additionally, we briefly review DH research projects and programs in India and abroad. To enhance the design and implementation of DH programs and degrees alongside LIS curricula, a course module for DH within LIS schools is proposed. This research extends insights into DH pedagogical practices within librarianship education, offering a comprehensive perspective on contextual frameworks, academic discussions, development trends in DH, and the LIS field in India.
Applying flow resistance equations to overland flows

Resistance to flow determines routing velocities and must be adequately represented both within stream channels and over hillslopes when making predictions of streamflow and soil erosion. The limiting assumptions inherent in flow resistance equations can be relaxed if the spatial and temporal scale over which they are applied is restricted. This requires a substantial methodological advance in the study of overland flows over natural surfaces. It is suggested that terrestrial laser scanning will allow a greater understanding of overland flow hydraulics and present opportunities to investigate resistance to flow over complex morphologies. The Darcy-Weisbach, Chézy and Manning equations are the most widely used empirical equations for the calculation of flow velocity in runoff and erosion models. These equations rest on analyses originally developed for one-dimensional pipe flows and assume conditions which are not met by overland flows. The following assumptions are brought into question: flow can be described as uniform; flow is parallel to the surface; flow is of a constant width and the boundary to the flow is longitudinally uniform; grain roughness is homogeneous over the wetted perimeter and can be considered as random; form roughness and other sources of flow resistance can be ignored; resistance is independent of flow depth; and resistance can be modelled as a function of the Reynolds number. A greater appreciation of the processes contributing to resistance to overland flows must be developed. This paper also presents a brief history of the development of flow resistance equations.
Using shallow neural networks with functional connectivity from EEG signals for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia

Introduction Dementia is a neurological disorder associated with aging that can cause a loss of cognitive functions, impacting daily life. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 50–70% of cases, while frontotemporal dementia (FTD) affects social skills and personality. Electroencephalography (EEG) provides an effective tool to study the effects of AD on the brain. Methods In this study, we propose to use shallow neural networks applied to two sets of features: spectral-temporal and functional connectivity using four methods. We compare three supervised machine learning techniques to the CNN models to classify EEG signals of AD / FTD and control cases. We also evaluate different measures of functional connectivity from common EEG frequency bands considering multiple thresholds. Results and discussion Results showed that the shallow CNN-based models achieved the highest accuracy of 94.54% with AEC in test dataset when considering all connections, outperforming conventional methods and providing potentially an additional early dementia diagnosis tool.
Driving forces of informal employment: An empirical study based on Polish enterprise data

Objective: The article aims to indicate the determinants of informal employment in registered enterprises using company-level evidence from Poland. Research Design & Methods: The survey conducted among Polish small and medium-sized (SME) enterprises in 2018 was used to find the driving forces of informal employment in Poland. The adequate sample comprised 952 representative surveys derived from the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI). The quantitative analysis was based on the logistic regression. Findings: The findings indicate that among the main drivers of informal employment, one can distinguish the level of tax morality of owners or company managers and the administrative difficulties related to setting up a business. The role of non-economic factors in creating informal activities was confirmed. Moreover, informal employment was more prevalent in smaller companies operating in the construction industry. Implications & Recommendations: Our analysis may be helpful for both research in entrepreneurship and tax evasion and the shadow economy stream. It indicates the heterogeneity among Polish enterprises related to the involvement in informal activities, particularly informal labour. Our study sheds light onto the less known dimen-sion of ‘grey activities’ existing in the registered companies, which is less frequently analysed in the literature. Contribution & Value Added: This evidence will help us understand the primary motives for using the informal workforce and enhance further research on the nature and extent of informal employment and the shadow economy in general.
Source–receiver two‐way wave extrapolation for prestack exploding‐reflector modelling and migration

Most modern seismic imaging methods separate input data into parts (shot gathers). We develop a formulation that is able to incorporate all available data at once while numerically propagating the recorded multidimensional wavefield forward or backward in time. This approach has the potential for generating accurate images free of artiefacts associated with conventional approaches. We derive novel high‐order partial differential equations in the source–receiver time domain. The fourth‐order nature of the extrapolation in time leads to four solutions, two of which correspond to the incoming and outgoing P‐waves and reduce to the zero‐offset exploding‐reflector solutions when the source coincides with the receiver. A challenge for implementing two‐way time extrapolation is an essential singularity for horizontally travelling waves. This singularity can be avoided by limiting the range of wavenumbers treated in a spectral‐based extrapolation. Using spectral methods based on the low‐rank approximation of the propagation symbol, we extrapolate only the desired solutions in an accurate and efficient manner with reduced dispersion artiefacts. Applications to synthetic data demonstrate the accuracy of the new prestack modelling and migration approach.
A Neuroergonomic Approach Fostered by Wearable EEG for the Multimodal Assessment of Drivers Trainees

When assessing trainees’ progresses during a driving training program, instructors can only rely on the evaluation of a trainee’s explicit behavior and their performance, without having any insight about the training effects at a cognitive level. However, being able to drive does not imply knowing how to drive safely in a complex scenario such as the road traffic. Indeed, the latter point involves mental aspects, such as the ability to manage and allocate one’s mental effort appropriately, which are difficult to assess objectively. In this scenario, this study investigates the validity of deploying an electroencephalographic neurometric of mental effort, obtained through a wearable electroencephalographic device, to improve the assessment of the trainee. The study engaged 22 young people, without or with limited driving experience. They were asked to drive along five different but similar urban routes, while their brain activity was recorded through electroencephalography. Moreover, driving performance, subjective and reaction times measures were collected for a multimodal analysis. In terms of subjective and performance measures, no driving improvement could be detected either through the driver’s subjective measures or through their driving performance. On the other side, through the electroencephalographic neurometric of mental effort, it was possible to catch their improvement in terms of mental performance, with a decrease in experienced mental demand after three repetitions of the driving training tasks. These results were confirmed by the analysis of reaction times, that significantly improved from the third repetition as well. Therefore, being able to measure when a task is less mentally demanding, and so more automatic, allows to deduce the degree of users training, becoming capable of handling additional tasks and reacting to unexpected events.
Convective instabilities in a viscoelastic-fluid-saturated porous medium with throughflow

Linear stability theory is used to investigate convective instability in a horizontal porous layer saturated with viscoelastic fluid of Oldroyd-B type in the presence of vertical throughflow. The flow in the porous medium is modelled using a modified Forchheimer–extended Darcy equation for viscoelastic fluids which takes into account the non-Darcy effects of inertia. The Galerkin method is used to obtain the eigenvalues under different hydrodynamic and temperature boundary conditions. The analysis reveals that there is competition between the processes of viscous relaxation and thermal diffusion that causes the first convective instability to be oscillatory rather than stationary. It is established that the oscillatory convection occurs only if Λ, the ratio of retardation time to relaxation time, is less than unity and the elasticity parameter Γ exceeds a threshold value which increases with throughflow strength. The effect of throughflow is to suppress the oscillatory convection independent of its direction when the velocity boundary conditions at the bounding surfaces of the porous layer are of the same type. In contrast to this, throughflow in one particular direction augments oscillatory convection if the velocity boundary conditions are not of the same type. It is observed that a decrease in the value of Γ and an increase in the value of Λ is found to delay the onset of convection, while the critical wavenumber decreases with both increasing Γ and Λ.
The effect of lyophilized dried cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) intake on anthropometric and biochemical parameters in women with insulin resistance: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the effect on the anthropometric and biochemical parameters for women with insulin resistance when lyophilized dried cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L., CM) was added to medical nutrition therapy (MNT). The study was conducted with 84 women aged 18–45, who had been diagnosed with insulin resistance. Participants were randomized into four groups: MNT + 20 g lyophilized dried CM group (DCm, n = 22), MNT group (D, n = 21), only 20 g lyophilized dried CM group (Cm, n = 21), and the control group (C, n = 20). All participants were followed for 12 weeks. While pre‐ and post‐intervention biochemical parameters were recorded from patient files, anthropometric measurements and food consumption records were taken every 15 days. Pre‐intervention groups were homogeneously distributed. Post‐intervention, among the groups, all anthropometric measurements were similar between the DCm and D, while the percentage of decrease in insulin resistance‐related parameters was approximately two times greater in DCm than in D (p < .05). When the Cm and C were compared, it was found that all post‐intervention anthropometric measurements were similar, but the percentage of decrease in fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA‐IR (Homeostasis Model Assessment‐Insulin Resistance) values were greater in C (p < .05). In this study, it was concluded that CM consumption resulted with a decrease in insulin resistance‐related biochemical parameters independent of body weight change. Nevertheless, MNT has positive effects on women with insulin resistance, and adding lyophilized dried CM to MNT improves insulin resistance‐related parameters and may be beneficial for preventing the development of diabetes.
Depositional and post-depositional geochemistry, and its correlation with the geotechnical properties of marine clays in Ariake Bay, Japan

The mineralogy, geochemistry and geotechnical properties of clay samples in Ariake Bay, Japan are presented. The mineralogy and geochemistry are discussed in terms of depositional and post-depositional processes, and the correlations of the clay mineralogy and geochemistry with the geotechnical properties were examined by multiple regression analysis. The most predominant clay mineral in the deposits was found to be smectite. The vertical distribution of trace elements in the deposits was indicative of the periodical changes in the parent materials involved in the depositional processes. The chloride concentration in the pore water varied, according to a change in the sea level, from brackish to marine, and then brackish towards the surface. The higher iron oxide contents near the surface and in the deepest zones were the results of pyrite oxidation in the deposits due to weathering under subaerial conditions. Smectite content was the most predominant governing factor for the consistency limits and activi.
Comparing Dose Calculation Algorithms for Heterogeneous Media: Analytical Anisotropic Algorithm Versus Acuros XB (Dm/Dw) With Continuous CT Value Variation

Background: To compare the doses calculated by the analytical anisotropic algorithm (AAA) and two dose reporting modes of Acuros XB (AXB(Dm) and AXB(Dw)) with varied CT values on the Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA). Materials and methods: Virtual phantoms with a central layer of heterogeneous material (thickness = 2 or 5 cm) were created with Eclipse. Using single or opposed fields, the field sizes were 5 x 5 cm2 or 10 x 10 cm2. The photon energies were 6 or 10 MV, and the source-to-target distance was 100 cm. The relative doses at the center of the heterogeneous material layer were evaluated with varied CT values, from -1000 to 3000 HU. Values were normalized with the dose at 0 HU (100%) for comparative analysis. Results: The results obtained from continuous data for a single field, 6 MV, 5 x 5 cm2, and the heterogeneous material 5 cm, where the differences between algorithms were most pronounced, were as follows. In the low-density region (-1000 HU and -800 HU), the dose differences for AXB with reference to AAA were, respectively, -54.5% and +4.6% (AXB(Dm)) and -47.0% and +3.5% (AXB(Dw)), and in the high-density regions (1000 HU and 3000 HU) were -5.7% and -8.8% (AXB(Dm)) and +7.4% and +3.5% (AXB(Dw)), respectively. Consequently, dose differences at arbitrary CT values could be obtained. Conclusion: Dose differences between these algorithms were clarified for heterogeneous materials. The risk of dose reduction or escalation in clinical use was clearly visible between CT values from -1000 to 3000 HU.