Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dust emission parameterization scheme over the MENA region: Sensitivity analysis to soil moisture and soil texture

The mineral dust emissions from arid/semiarid soils were simulated over the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region using the dust parameterization scheme proposed by Alfaro and Gomes (2001), to quantify the effect of the soil moisture and clay fraction in the emissions. For this purpose, an extensive data set of Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity soil moisture, European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasting wind speed at 10 m height, Food Agricultural Organization soil texture maps, MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and erodibility of the soil surface were collected for the a period of 3 years, from 2010 to 2013. Though the considered data sets have different temporal and spatial resolution, efforts have been made to make them consistent in time and space. At first, the simulated sandblasting flux over the region were validated qualitatively using MODIS Deep Blue aerosol optical depth and EUMETSAT MSG (Meteosat Seciond Generation) dust product from SEVIRI (Meteosat Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) and quantitatively based on the available ground‐based measurements of near‐surface particulate mass concentrations (PM10) collected over four stations in the MENA region. Sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the effect of soil moisture and clay fraction on the emissions flux. The results showed that soil moisture and soil texture have significant roles in the dust emissions over the MENA region, particularly over the Arabian Peninsula. An inversely proportional dependency is observed between the soil moisture and the sandblasting flux, where a steep reduction in flux is observed at low friction velocity and a gradual reduction is observed at high friction velocity. Conversely, a directly proportional dependency is observed between the soil clay fraction and the sandblasting flux where a steep increase in flux is observed at low friction velocity and a gradual increase is observed at high friction velocity. The magnitude of the percentage reduction/increase in the sandblasting flux decreases with the increase of the friction velocity for both soil moisture and soil clay fraction. Furthermore, these variables are interdependent leading to a gradual decrease in the percentage increase in the sandblasting flux for higher soil moisture values.
JOAStereo: Joint Learning Structured Light and Reconstruction for Generalizable Active Stereo

Active stereo is widely used in 3-D sensing for its advantages in cost and spatial resolution. Active stereo systems project hand-crafted patterns onto object surfaces to capture depth, which isolates structured light pattern design from scene information and reconstruction algorithms. Current active stereo introduces deep optics to reshape traditional design paradigms, which has achieved promising results. However, the performance in practice is limited due to the diffractive optical element (DOE) fabrication constraints and poor generalization. To address these problems, we propose a novel active stereo method called JOAStereo to jointly optimize the structured light pattern and the reconstruction network in an end-to-end manner. To this end, we design a digital speckle pattern (DSP) generation scheme and construct a differentiable active stereo model based on a projector according to geometric optics, which can be fabricated conveniently. In addition, to improve the generalization performance, we propose a feature decomposition mechanism based on a robust information bottleneck (RIB), which enables the network to extract domain-invariant representations (DIRs) without target domain-related annotations. Our method realizes the systematic matching between the optimized optical system and the reconstruction algorithm, which makes deep optics more practical. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method can achieve state-of-the-art performance.
Challenges and Experiences in Designing Interpretable KPI-diagnostics for Cloud Applications

Automated root cause analysis of performance problems in modern cloud computing infrastructures is of a high technology value in the self-driving context. Those systems are evolved into large scale and complex solutions which are core for running most of today’s business applications. Hence, cloud management providers realize their mission through a “total” monitoring of data center flows thus enabling a full visibility into the cloud. Appropriate machine learning methods and software products rely on such observation data for real-time identification and remediation of potential sources of performance degradations in cloud operations to minimize their impacts. We describe the existing technology challenges and our experiences while working on designing problem root cause analysis mechanisms which are automatic, application agnostic, and, at the same time, interpretable for human operators to gain their trust. The paper focuses on diagnosis of cloud ecosystems through their Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Those indicators are utilized to build automatically labeled data sets and train explainable AI models for identifying conditions and processes “responsible” for misbehaviors. Our experiments on a large time series data set from a cloud application demonstrate that those approaches are effective in obtaining models that explain unacceptable KPI behaviors and localize sources of issues.
Rectification for Computed Tomography Scans of Printed Circuit Boards Using Vias as Landmarks

In this paper, we present a novel approach to rectify and correct distortions in computed tomography (CT) scans of printed circuit boards (PCBs). Our method combines eigendecomposition, via detection, and a RANSAC-optimized rigid mapping to achieve accurate rectification. By leveraging vias as reliable landmarks, we mitigate distortions arising from non-ideal scanning conditions. Quantitative and empirical analyses on a corpus of 9 CT scans demonstrate improvements to in-plane design visibility, whereby design area improves by an average of 12.33% during initial rectification, and another 6.22% after using vias to produce a fine tuned rigid alignment, leading to a total visibility improvement of 18.55%. Our integrated approach reduces labor-intensive tasks, enhances efficiency, and improves accuracy in PCB analysis using CT imagery. The methodology has broader implications for reverse engineering and design optimization. Future work should expand the sample size and incorporate direct ground truth measurements for further validation. Our proposed approach offers a practical solution to rectify and correct distortions in PCB CT scans, improving the efficiency and reliability of analysis processes.
Seeing cells without a lens: Compact 3D digital lensless holographic microscopy for wide-field imaging

Optical microscopy is an essential tool for biomedical discoveries and cell diagnosis at micro- to nano-scales. However, conventional microscopes rely on lenses to record 2-D images of samples, which limits in-depth inspection of large volumes of cells. This research project implements a novel 3-D lensless microscopic imaging system that achieves a wide field of view, high resolution, and an extremely compact, cost-effective design: the Digital Lensless Holographic Microscope (DLHM). A lensless holographic microscope is built with only a light source, a sample, and an imaging chip (with other non-essential supporting structures). The entire setup costs $500 to $600. A series of MATLAB-based algorithms were designed to reconstruct phase information of samples simultaneously from the recorded hologram with built-in high-resolution and phase unwrapping functions. This produces 3-D images of cell samples. The 3-D cell reconstruction of biological samples maintained a comparable resolution with conventional optical microscopes while covering a field of view of 36.2 mm2, which is 20-30 times larger. While most microscopes are extremely time-consuming and require professional expertise, the lensless holographic microscope is portable, low-cost, high-stability, and extremely simple. This makes it accessible for point-of-care testing (POCT) to a broader coverage, including developing regions with limited medical facilities.
Satellite time series analysis for land use/cover change detection

Currently, Brazilian land use data comes from the national agricultural census and land cover data comes from global data sets with sparse temporal coverage. This no longer meets the needs of the earth system modeling community. Long-term satellite image datasets with high temporal frequency yield a sequence of data points in a time series that can be used to detect and monitor land use and land cover changes. The vegetation phenological cycles are reflected in the satellite time series, allowing the classification of land cover types in time segments. This research aims at developing an automatic methodology to yield information about land use and land cover trajectories. To construct land use/cover trajectories maps, Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) is used to extract information from the MODIS 2-band Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI2) time series. Validation tests were made in the areas of Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The preliminary results for the proposed methods are promising when compared with the official TerraClass land use maps in the Amazon Biome, finding 78.2% and 85.0% global accuracy for 2008 and 2010, respectively. Exploratory DTW results show significant potential to detect land use and cover changes.
Age-related upregulation of perineuronal nets on inferior collicular cells that project to the cochlear nucleus

Introduction Disruptions to the balance of excitation and inhibition in the inferior colliculus (IC) occur during aging and underlie various aspects of hearing loss. Specifically, the age-related alteration to GABAergic neurotransmission in the IC likely contributes to the poorer temporal precision characteristic of presbycusis. Perineuronal nets (PNs), a specialized form of the extracellular matrix, maintain excitatory/inhibitory synaptic environments and reduce structural plasticity. We sought to determine whether PNs increasingly surround cell populations in the aged IC that comprise excitatory descending projections to the cochlear nucleus. Method We combined Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA) staining for PNs with retrograde tract-tracing in three age groups of Fischer Brown Norway (FBN) rats. Results The data demonstrate that the percentage of IC-CN cells with a PN doubles from ~10% at young age to ~20% at old age. This was true in both lemniscal and non-lemniscal IC. Discussion Furthermore, the increase of PNs occurred on IC cells that make both ipsilateral and contralateral descending projections to the CN. These results indicate that reduced structural plasticity in the elderly IC-CN pathway, affecting excitatory/inhibitory balance and, potentially, may lead to reduced temporal precision associated with presbycusis.
The distribution, genetic diversity and uses of Ganoderma mushrooms in Oshana and Ohangwena regions of Northern Namibia

Basidiomycetous fungi, including Ganoderma lucidum, have a variety of uses such as providing nutrition and as medical remedies. The mushroom G. lucidum has been used for a long time to cure liver problems, heart condition, asthma, cancer high blood pressure and arthritis. Recently, it has been associated with boosting immune systems in HIV infected persons. It is for these reasons that the mushroom has attracted a lot of attention leading to proposals of cultivating to increase supply to the Southern African market. This study was initiated with the objectives of determining the uses of Ganoderma by local communities; establish the distribution and genetic diversity of Ganoderma species. A survey was conducted in the 10% households of Ohangwena and Oshana regions of northern Namibia. All the sites where Ganoderma were encountered were geo-referenced and a sample was collected for DNA extraction. A questionnaire for face-to-face interviews was designed and applied to the two regions; data was analysed using SPSS software. G. Lucidum isolates that were found were geo-referenced to produce a distribution map. The host plants where the Ganoderma species were found were recorded. Ganoderma DNA was used for phylogenetic and genetic diversity analyses using CLUSTAL W2 program and used for phylogenetic and genetic diversity analyses using the MEGA4 programme. A total of 142 isolates of Ganoderma species comprising G. lucidum, Ganoderma tsugae, Ganoderma neojaponicum and Ganoderma applanatum were collected. The information survey revealed that Ganoderma species have a variety of traditional uses, including veterinary applications. Genetic diversity of 1% was observed among the collected Ganoderma species from the two regions and this might be explained by the diversity of the host trees recorded. Ganoderma species were found to be more distributed in Ohangwena region than in Oshana.
Understanding greenhouse gas (GHG) column concentrations in Munich using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model

Abstract. To address ambitious goals of carbon neutrality set at national and city scales, a number of atmospheric networks have been deployed to monitor greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in and around cities. To convert these measurements into estimates of emissions from cities, atmospheric models are used to simulate the transport of various trace gases and help interpret these measurements. We set up a modelling framework using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model applied at a high spatial resolution (up to 400 m) to simulate the atmospheric transport of GHGs and attempt a preliminary interpretation of the observations provided by the Munich Urban Carbon Column Network (MUCCnet). Building on previous analyses using similar measurements performed within a campaign for the city of Berlin and its surroundings (Zhao et al., 2019), our modelling framework has been improved regarding the initialization of tagged tracers, model settings, and input data. To assess the model performance, we validate the modelled output against two local weather stations and two radiosonde observations, as well as observed column GHG concentrations. The measurements were provided by the measurement campaign that was carried out from 1 to 30 August 2018. The modelled wind matches well with the measurements from the weather stations, with wind speeds slightly overestimated. In general, the model is able to reproduce the measured slant column concentrations of CH4 and their variability, while for CO2, a difference in the slant column CO2 of around 3.7 ppm is found in the model. This can be attributed to the initial and lateral boundary conditions used for the background tracer. Additional mismatches in the diurnal cycle could be explained by an underestimation of nocturnal respiration in the modelled CO2 biogenic fluxes. The differential column method (DCM) has been applied to cancel out the influence from the background concentrations. We optimize its application by selecting suitable days on which the assumption of the DCM holds true: a relatively uniform air mass travels over the city, passing from an upwind site to a downwind site. In particular, the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model is used here and driven by our WRF-modelled meteorological fields to obtain footprints (i.e. the potential areas of influence for signals observed at measurement stations), further used for interpreting measurement results. Combining these footprints with local knowledge of emission sources, we find evidence of CH4 sources near Munich that are missing or underestimated in the emission inventory used. This demonstrates the potential of this data–model framework to constrain local sources and improve emission inventories.
Le rôle des tabous dans la conservation des ressources côtières à Madagascar

Les tabous sont légion à Madagascar, et dans les zones de l’océan Indien occidental dont les habitants parlent la langue malgache (Lambek 1992 ; Ruud 1960). Ils font partie intégrante de la vie des Malgaches, servent à identifi er le statut et la position au sein de la société, et permettent souvent de défi nir les groupes sociaux (Lambek 1992 ; Walsh 2002). Ainsi, le nom de nombreux groupes sociaux commence par la particule négative tsy qui fait allusion à des tabous particuliers à ces groupes (Lambek 1992). Les habitants de Tsimihety, par exemple, sont “ceux qui ne se coupent pas les cheveux” (Lambek 1992).
Influences of Sod Culture on the Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Soil in Hilly Pyrus pyrifolia Orchard of Eastern Hunan

A sod culture experiment was carried out in hilly pear(Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) orchard in Liuyang city of Hunan province to investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of soil between the areas of soils treated with sod culture management and tillage management(CK) in order to provide theoretical basis for sod culture in hilly pear orchard.The results showed that sod culture could increase water storage of 0～35 cm deep soils and soil moisture in pear orchard during the dry season.It not only increased the temperature of 30 cm deep soil in spring,but also decreased the temperature of soil by 2℃ in summer.In addition,sod culture decreased soil bulk density and increased soil porosity.In sod culture area,soil organic matter,total N,total P and total K of the 0～20 cm deep soil had increased.It also increased the content of available P and available K in pear orchard,but the content of available N has decreased by 4.34%.
Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, a simplified view of a complex mechanism

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is both a quality control mechanism and a gene regulation pathway. It has been studied for more than 30 years, with an accumulation of many mechanistic details that have often led to debate and hence to different models of NMD activation, particularly in higher eukaryotes. Two models seem to be opposed, since the first requires intervention of the exon junction complex (EJC) to recruit NMD factors downstream of the premature termination codon (PTC), whereas the second involves an EJC-independent mechanism in which NMD factors concentrate in the 3’UTR to initiate NMD in the presence of a PTC. In this review we describe both models, giving recent molecular details and providing experimental arguments supporting one or the other model. In the end it is certainly possible to imagine that these two mechanisms co-exist, rather than viewing them as mutually exclusive.
Regeneration Niche of Whitebark Pine in the Canadian Rocky Mountains: The Basis to Restoring an Endangered Species

ABSTRACT Knowledge of regeneration processes of the endangered whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) is critical for developing approaches for recovery and restoration of the species. We investigated biophysical associates of whitebark pine seedling occurrence and density in different mesohabitats (defined by community type and elevation) within the northern Rocky Mountains of Alberta. We developed candidate linear models to examine factors influencing occurrence and abundance. Occurrence was positively related to bare mineral soil and species richness in forest mesohabitats, while in both open and alpine-treeline environments it was positively related to prostrate shrub cover. Negative associates included tree cover, rocky substrates, and seedling cover of other conifers. Model validation showed a strong correlation between observed and predicted occurrence (correlations of 0.60, 0.56, and 0.56 for forest, open, and alpine-treeline mesohabitats, respectively). Climate models best predicted seedling density; abundance was highest on south-facing slopes in all mesohabitats. Correlations between observed and predicted density were 0.83, 0.92, and 0.72 for forest, open, and alpine-treeline mesohabitats, respectively. Our study identifies biophysical parameters to consider when planting blister rust—resistant seedlings and suggests that open mesohabitats along south-facing slopes may be best for regeneration of whitebark pine, particularly near the northern limits of its range.
Design and Implementation of a Fault Inspection System for the Festo Modular Production System (MPS)

The rapid development of automation systems and the increased demand for efficient fault detection in manufacturing processes have led to the need for advanced fault detection systems. In this study, we present a novel fault detection system for the Festo MPS 500 system that provides an easier approach of communication. The system implements a camera and Python algorithms for accurate and reliable detection of misaligned parts. An image processing pipeline is developed that includes ROI selection, rectangle detection, fixed point selection, distance calculation, and digital signal communication with PLCs. The system achieved a high level of accuracy in detecting misaligned parts, while establishing a seamless data exchange between PLCs using Python's Snap7 library. Moreover, the system utilizes a human-machine interface to display errors and monitor the production process. The results indicate that the proposed fault detection system offers a reliable and efficient solution to improve communication between PLCs and enhance manufacturing performance, by introducing the usage of a high level programming language.
Ground-motion parameters of the southwestern Indiana earthquake of 18 June 2002 and the disparity between the observed and predicted values

The M 4.5 southwestern Indiana earthquake of 18 June 2002 triggered 46 blast monitors in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. The resulting flee-field particle velocity records, along with similar data from previous earthquakes in the study area, provide a clear standard for judging the reliability of current maps for predicting ground motions greater than 2 Hz in southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois. Peak horizontal accelerations and velocities, and 5% damped pseudo-accelerations for the earthquake, generally exceeded ground motions predicted for the top of the bedrock by factors of 2 or more, even after soil amplifications were taken into consideration. It is suggested, but not proven, that the low shear-wave velocity and weathered bedrock in the area are also amplifying the higher-frequency ground motions that have been repeatedly recorded by the blast monitors in the study area. It is also shown that there is a good correlation between the peak ground motions and 5% pseudo-accelerations recorded for the event, and the Modified Mercalli intensities interpreted for the event by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Associations Between Bottled Water Consumption and Diarrhea Among Adults in Indonesia

This study aimed to analyze drinking water types and their relationship with diarrheal disease in adults. Cross-sectional study design was selected for this study and data were retrieved from 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) in 34 provinces in Indonesia. The sample of this study included household members with a total of 495,239 respondents. Data were analyzed using multinomial regression statistical methods to observe the relationship between drinking water types and other risk factors of diarrhea. The results of the analysis showed that the case of diarrhea in adults was at 6.3%. Respondents who consumed bottled water had a 1.2 times risk of not experiencing diarrhea compared to those who consume unimproved drinking water after controlled with defecation behaviour (OR= 1.20; 95% CI: 1.20 to 1.21; P< 0.005). Respondents who consumed refill drinking water had the same likelihood of not having diarrhea as those who consumed unimproved drinking water (OR= 0.99; 95% CI: 0.98 to 0.99; P< 0.05). Consumption of bottled drinking water is safer than refill drinking water in relation to the prevalence of diarrhea. Therefore, it is important to treat drinking water properly prior to consuming refill drinking water.