Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tsunamis Observed on the Coasts of Greece from Antiquity to Present Time

In comparison with the great number of disastrous earthquakes which have occurred from antiquity to the present time in Greece, large tsunamis are very rare on the coasts of Greece. A really great tsunami may have started in the Aegean Sea after the tremendous explosion of Santorin volcano, which occurred 3370 ± 100 years ago (13). After the deposit of a layer of pumice 20-30 m thick and the emptying of the volcanic focus, the roof of the cavern thus formed collapsed. The centrai part, consisting of an area of 83 sq km, of the former island Stronghyb tlius became a gigantic caldera 300-400 m deep. Tliere is no evidence indicating whether the cobapse took place graduaby or ab at once. In the second case a huge tsunami should have started greater by far than that generated by the explosion of Krakatoa, on August 27, 1883. At that time depths of 200-300 m were formed by the sinking (24) of 2/3 of the former island of an area of 33 1/2 sq km. Thus the cavity formed by the explosion of Santorin is about 4 times greater than that of the Krakatoa.
Error estimates for minimum variance analysis

Analytical estimates of errors, associated with random statistical noise in magnetic field and other data to which the minimum/maximum variance analysis technique is commonly applied, are derived from first principles. A systematic expansion procedure is used in which the expansion parameter is proportional to the noise amplitude and inversely proportional to the square root of the number of vector data samples, K. The two special cases where the signal-to-noise ratio is large and small are considered for arbitrary noise distributions. The ideal case of small errors and isotropic Gaussian noise allows determination of uncertainty cones of elliptic cross section for all three eigenvectors, x1, x2, x3, and uncertainty intervals for all three eigenvalues, λ1, λ2, λ3, of the variance matrix, all in terms of the eigenvalues themselves and the number of data points. Denoting the angular standard deviation (in radians) of vector xi toward or away from vector xj by Δϕij these results are Δϕij = ±[λ3(λi + λj − λ3)/(K − 1)(λi − λj)2]1/2 and Δλi = ±[2λ3(2λi − λ3)/(K − 1)]1/2 where λ3 is the smallest eigenvalue. The predictions from these formulas compare favorably with results from simple bootstrap numerical error analysis. Applications to maximum variance analysis of electric field data and to the study of anisotropic plasma pressure tensors are discussed as special cases.
Absolute Phase Measurement Based on Combining Binary Color-Code and Phase-Shift Light Projection

In this paper, a novel composite RGB fringe pattern projection and processing method is presented to obtain the absolute phase information of objects having surface discontinuities and/or spatially isolated surfaces. Multiple sinusoidal fringe patterns and binary fringe patterns are coded into the red, green and blue channels of composite RGB fringe pattern images. The generated composite images are projected onto object surfaces by a DLP(Digital Light Processing) projector and the deformed fringe patterns captured by a 3‐chip color CCD camera from a different viewpoint. The sinusoidal and binary fringe patterns are extracted from the acquired composite fringe pattern images. A multiple‐step phase shift algorithm calculates the wrapped phase information from the obtained sinusoidal fringe patterns, so the phase has a high resolution and dynamic range. While the binary fringe patterns determine the absolute fringe order of the wrapped phase map. Therefore, the composite RGB fringe pattern projection techni.
Cluster-Randomized Test-Negative Design Trials: A Novel and Efficient Method to Assess the Efficacy of Community-Level Dengue Interventions

Cluster-randomized controlled trials are the gold standard for assessing efficacy of community-level interventions, such as vector-control strategies against dengue. We describe a novel cluster-randomized trial methodology with a test-negative design (CR-TND), which offers advantages over traditional approaches. This method uses outcome-based sampling of patients presenting with a syndrome consistent with the disease of interest, who are subsequently classified as test-positive cases or test-negative controls on the basis of diagnostic testing. We used simulations of a cluster trial to demonstrate validity of efficacy estimates under the test-negative approach. We demonstrated that, provided study arms are balanced for both test-negative and test-positive illness at baseline and that other test-negative design assumptions are met, the efficacy estimates closely match true efficacy. Analytical considerations for an odds ratio-based effect estimate arising from clustered data and potential approaches to analysis are also discussed briefly. We concluded that application of the test-negative design to certain cluster-randomized trials could increase their efficiency and ease of implementation.
The Bridge Project

The Problem: We need better perception systems, both to support applications and to support research on intelligence. We believe that each subsystem of a better perception system will rely on contextual information from other perception subsystems and on knowledge of the evolving situation in the external world. Accordingly, we are building a system, the Bridge System in which simple machine vision and natural language subsystems work together, sharing information, asking each other questions, and ultimately, solving problems that machine vision and natural language systems, working alone, cannot.
Reply to Letter to the Editor on “Late Holocene Lake Sedimentology and Climate Change in Southern Alberta, Canada” by White

White (this issue) suggests that Campbell (1998), and thus by implication subsequent papers using the same record (Campbell et al., 1998; 2000), misinterpreted the Pine Lake (Alberta) grain size record. Campbell interpreted the grain size record as a function of water through-flow rates, whereby wetter climate produced higher flow rates, resulting in a higher rate of input of coarse material and removal of fines from the water column, and thus the deposition of coarser sediment; this record would therefore be mostly a record of spring flood conditions. This interpretation of the grain size record results in an interpreted paleoclimate that is consistent with the historic record for the last century (including the 1930s Dust Bowl period and other historic droughts), and with regional and global trends for the late Holocene. White proposes that, instead, the grain size could be a function of incision of the inflowing streams during warm-dry periods, resulting in erosion and redeposition (in the lake) of previous channel fill sediments. As intriguing as this hypothesis is, we must reject it, as it would suggest an interpretation of regional paleoclimate which is in profound disagreement not only with almost all the regional proxy records (e.g., Vance et al., 1992; Campbell and Campbell, 1997) but also with proxies across the northern hemisphere. To take a recent example, Esper et al. (2002) have gathered long tree-ring series from around the northern hemisphere. These records clearly show a classical Medieval Warm Period ca. 900–1100 A.D., followed by a cool period (including the Little Ice Age) with some fluctuations, yielding to a warming in the past century. Assuming warm in this region means dry (as it does in the historic record), this is substantially the same as Campbell’s original interpretation of the Pine Lake record. White cites Laird et al.’s (1996) study of the paleosalinity of Moon Lake, N.D. This now-classic record, which has been widely cited and indeed republished in conjunction with other records, shows what is most likely climate-induced decadal fluctuations in salinity in response to changes in climate, superimposed on a longer-term shift in baseline salinity, which, it has recently been suggested, was not climate-mediated at all (Fritz et al., 2000). White appears to be relying on this longerterm shift in baseline when he contrasts the period prior to 1000 yr B.P. to the more recent period. However, there is a great deal of more recent regional literature, using a variety of proxy types, which does not agree with White’s suggested
High-order, finite-difference modeling of multipole logging in formations with anisotropic attenuation and elasticity

A realistic description of the formation seen by an acoustic logging tool includes intrinsic attenuation, anisotropy, and spatial variations of the formation properties. These features are included in finite-difference (FD) modeling of acoustic full waveform multipole logging. Intrinsic attenuation is included using a phenomenological model that allows for many physical causes of attenuation, including viscous fluid flow losses, to be modeled. Furthermore, the attenuation, the corresponding velocity dispersion, and the elasticity can have any type of axisymmetric anisotropy. To increase computational speed and numerical precision, high-order FD operators that fully exploit vector processing architecture are used. The problem of using these operators near the symmetry axis in cylindrical coordinates is solved using symmetry arguments. Excellent results are obtained when comparing the calculations with the discrete wavenumber method. When correctly implemented, the FD model has the same numerical precision as the discrete wavenumber method but allows more general formations to be analyzed. Incorrect staggering of the high-order FD scheme gives artifacts equivalent to the inclusion of a thin layer between the fluid and the formation.
Using MODIS Land Surface Temperature and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index products for monitoring drought in the southern Great Plains, USA

A near-real time drought monitoring approach is developed using Terra–Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) products. The approach is called Vegetation Temperature Condition Index (VTCI), which integrates land surface reflectance and thermal properties. VTCI is defined as the ratio of LST differences among pixels with a specific NDVI value in a sufficiently large study area; the numerator is the difference between maximum LST of the pixels and LST of one pixel; and the denominator is the difference between maximum and minimum LSTs of the pixels. VTCI is lower for drought and higher for wet conditions. The ground-measured precipitation data from a study area covering parts of the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the southern Great Plains, USA, are used to validate the drought monitoring approach. Linear correlation analysis between VTCI, and total monthly precipitation and departure from normal monthly precipitation shows that VTCI is not only closely related to recent rainfall events but also related to past rainfall amounts, and indicates that VTCI might be a better and a near-real time drought monitoring approach.
A cross section of the convergent Pacific margin of Nicaragua

Prestack depth migration of multichannel seismic reflection lines across the Pacific margin of Nicaragua has yielded an accurate depth image to about a 9‐km depth from the deep ocean basin to the coast. The margin contains the Sandino forearc basin, probably underlain by oceanic igneous basement and fronted by a small prism accreted at the seaward end of the continental basement. Seismic stratigraphy and drill hole information indicate that sediment has been accumulating since Late Cretaceous. The margin configuration formed between late Cretaceous and Paleocene time and has endured since that time. Uplift of the outer high and slope was probably coeval with subsidence of a deep basin beneath the shelf. From middle‐late Eocene time to Oligocene time, the outer high was a barrier to sediment transport. A similar Late Cretaceous to Oligocene tectonic history has been described for the Guatemalan and Costa Rican segments of the Pacific margin. We speculate that the structure of the Pacific forearc basin formed by subduction initiation at the edge of the Caribbean igneous province. Since late Oligocene time, margin‐wide subsidence occurs in the Nicaraguan margin, perhaps related to subduction erosion of the upper plate. Coeval steep reverse and normal faulting along local structures in the forearc basin might occur by transpression along margin‐parallel strike‐slip faults. These faults have been active since the early development of the basin, but the greatest rate of vertical displacement along them was in early ‐ middle Miocene time, probably related to a plate kinematic reorganization involving the collision of Central and South America.
Developing sustainability indicators for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves, South Africa

Natural capital is the sustainable flow of ecosystem services and goods that is yielded by natural ecosystems. Sustainable development initiatives attempt to mitigate the rapid rate at which natural capital is currently being lost. Biosphere reserves, designated through UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme, are examples of such initiatives. The main goal of biosphere reserves is to achieve sustainable development on a landscape-scale. Monitoring and evaluation are processes that can assist biosphere reserves to ensure they are effective in achieving their goals. We review peer-reviewed and grey literature, detailing monitoring and evaluation activities in biosphere reserves. Web of Science and Scopus were used to search the peer-reviewed literature, and Google the grey literature. The main findings of the peer-reviewed literature analysis were: 1) many authors from the developed world are conducting research in the developing world; 2) about half of the indicators that were developed were ecological indicators; 3) most studies are monitoring only ecological systems; 4) about 50% of studies conducted short-term monitoring; and 5) just over half produced results that were potentially implementable, but a low proportion showed evidence that results were implemented. In contrast, studies from the grey literature: 1) mostly presented social, ecological and economic research; 2) generally presented evaluations; 3) reported results that were to be implemented, but presented no evidence of implementation; and 4) over half of the indicators developed measured social aspects. Many of the indicators developed were not user-friendly or measurable. These findings suggest a need for biosphere reserves to improve their local capacity for developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation procedures. Integrating existing research within biosphere reserves under a sustainability indicator framework, coupled with some form of social learning institution, may be an effective way to achieve these goals.
Comparative analysis of soil erosion sensitivity using various quantizations within GIS environment: an application on Sperchios river basin in Central Greece

ABSTRACT Soil erosion is a prominent cause of land degradation and desertification in Mediterranean countries. The detrimental effects of soil erosion are exemplified in climate (in particular climate change), topography, human activities and natural disasters. Modelling of erosion and deposition in complex terrains within a geographic information system (GIS) requires reliable estimation of topographic factors, as well as the formulation of erosion models adequate for digital representation of spatially distributed parameters. In the current paper, two different approaches for the estimation of erosion in the Sperchios river basin are described and evaluated using GIS – the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and the Gavrilovič method. Implementing the ArcGIS 10.2. 1 programme, the necessary input data for these approaches were estimated using four different quantizations that were created using topographic maps, courtesy of the Greek Geographical Army Service. The results indicated that even though a high-resolution quantization is always preferred for more reliable results, when there is a lack of available data, coarser quantizations can also be used to extract similar estimations.
Arctic clouds in multiyear satellite data sets

Cloud amounts from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) D‐series data set and the TOVS Polar Pathfinder data set are compared to surface observations of cloud amount from the North Polar (NP) drifting station data set for the central Arctic. The results show that cloud observations in the ISCCP data set differ significantly from surface observations and the annual cycle of cloudiness in the Arctic is reversed from what is observed from the surface. In contrast, cloud amounts provided by the TOVS Polar Pathfinder data set represent the annual cycle of cloudiness well. Path‐P cloud retrievals also correspond well with surface observations (NP) at timescales greater than 4 days.
investigation of associations of ARMS2 , CD14 , and TLR4 gene polymorphisms with wet age-related macular degeneration in a greek population

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a multifactorial degenerative ocular disease that leads to loss of central vision. Functional gene polymorphisms have already been associated with the disease (for example, ARMS2 A69S, rs10490924). Aim: The goal of our study was to verify the correlation of the aforementioned ARMS2 variation with the disease, to examine, for the first time, the role of the CD14 C260T variation (rs2569190), and to investigate the association of two TLR4 polymorphisms (Asp299Gly or rs4986790 and Thr399Ile or rs4986791) in a Greek population with the wet form of AMD. Patients and methods: Genomic DNAs were isolated from blood samples of 103 healthy controls and 120 Greek patients with wet AMD who were age- and sex-matched, and all of whom were clinically evaluated. For the genotyping of all selected polymorphisms, polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was performed. Results and conclusions: This study confirmed the association between the ARMS2 variation and AMD, detecting the T risk allele in a significantly higher frequency in the patient group, compared with the control subjects (45% vs 29.13%, P , 0.001, odds ratio [OR] 1.99, confidence interval 1.34–2.95). For the CD14 polymorphism, no statistically significant correlation was observed. As for the TLR4 polymorphisms, the percentage of heterozygotes increased from 2.9% to 11.7% in the patient population for Asp299Gly and from 1.9% to 10% for the Thr399Ile polymorphism (ORs 4.40 [ P = 0.01] and 5.61 [ P = 0.0088], respectively). Although our ARMS2 and CD14 results provided definite conclusions, the role of innate immunity TLR4 gene awaits further investigation in larger AMD populations with more clinical data collected on past microbial infections.
The Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 Public Health Measures on Healthcare for Children with Medical Complexity.

AIM To explore the unintended consequences of pandemic public health measures on healthcare service usage by children with medical complexity. BACKGROUND Medical complexity is characterized by the presence of complex, chronic conditions requiring specialized care, substantial health needs, functional dependence and/or limitations, and frequent healthcare usage. Children with medical complexity are among the highest users of pediatric healthcare services. METHODS A web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted in British Columbia, Canada, between August and September 2020. Inclusion criteria were: a) parent/guardian of at least one child (age 0 to 18 years, inclusive) with medical complexity, and b) residence in British Columbia. A convenience sample of 156 parents completed the survey. Data were analyzed using a series of descriptive analyses (frequencies, cross-tabulations) and inferential analyses (binary logistic regressions). RESULTS Respondents provided information for 188 children with medical complexity. Access to allied health therapies (physio, occupational, speech and language) and medical specialists drastically declined in the initial months of the pandemic, with a shift from in-person to virtual platforms for these aspects of care. Regression modeling indicated that age and family structure influenced decisions to use in-patient hospital services. CONCLUSIONS Public health measures implemented in the initial months of the pandemic decreased access to healthcare services for children with medical complexity. The long-term ramifications of these measures are unknown. Family structure was found to influence decisions to avoid accessing Emergency Department care. Given the volume of services used by these children, pediatric hospital leaders need to take their unique needs into consideration in disaster planning to ensure minimal disruptions in care.
Imaging of biogenic and anthropogenic ocean surface films by the multifrequency/multipolarization SIR‐C/X‐SAR

Results from the analyses of several spaceborne imaging radar-C/X-band synthetic aperture radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) images are presented, which were acquired during the two SIR-C/X-SAR missions in April and October 1994 by the L-, C-, and X-band multipolarization SAR aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. The images showing natural (biogenic) surface slicks as well as man-made (anthropogenic) mineral oil spills were analyzed with the aim to study whether or not active radar techniques can be applied to discriminating between these two kinds of surface films. Controlled slick experiments were carried out during both shuttle missions in the German Bight of the North Sea as well as in the northern part of the Sea of Japan and the Kuroshio Stream region, where surface films of different viscoelastic properties were deployed within the swath of the shuttle radars. The results show that the damping behavior of the same substance is strongly dependent on wind speed. At high wind speed (8–12 m/s) the ratio of the radar backscatter from a slick-free and a slick-covered water surface (damping ratio) is smaller than at low to moderate wind speeds (4–7 m/s). At 12 m/s, only slight differences in the damping behavior of different substances were measured by SIR-C/X-SAR. Furthermore, several SAR scenes from various parts of the world's oceans showing radar signatures of biogenic as well as anthropogenic surface films at low to moderate wind speeds are analyzed. The damping behavior of these different kinds of oceanic surface films varies particularly at Lband where the biogenic surface films exhibit larger damping characteristics. Results of polarimetric studies from multipolarization SAR images showing various surface films are presented. It can be delineated from these results that Bragg scattering as well as specular reflection contribute to the backscattered radar signal at low incidence angles (up to 30°). It is concluded that at low to moderate wind speeds, multifrequency radar techniques seem to be capable of discriminating between the different surface films, whereas at high wind conditions a discrimination seems to be difficult.