Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pseudospherulitic fibrous calcite in paleo-groundwater, unconformity-related diagenetic carbonates (Paleocene of the Ager Basin and Miocene of the Madrid Basin, Spain)

ABSTRACT Massive, decimeter-thick intervals formed by mosaics of subspherical calcite crystals displaying an intracrystalline fibrous microfabric have been found in Paleocene and Miocene strata in Spain. The fibrous microfabric is marked by inclusion-defined fibers that radiate from the central parts of the crystals, which can be termed pseudospherulites and not spherulites, because they are single crystals and not polycrystalline aggregates. The horizons of pseudospherulitic calcite appear in meter-scale, laterally persistent levels of crystalline limestones that exhibit complex pseudospar fabrics, they are interbedded with peritidal and/or lacustrine deposits, they grade downward into bedded dolomicrites, and they can be linked to unconformities several meters higher in the section, above intervening unaltered limestones. The pseudospar zones are interpreted as early-diagenetic, paleo-groundwater alteration products after dolomicrites. The pseudospherulites are composed of low-Mg calcite with low contents of Fe and Mn, and they have a stable-isotope composition indicative of precipitation from meteoric water. They form xenotopic mosaics in which goethite, palygorskite, and sepiolite may be present as inclusions and in the intercrystalline matrix. Cathodoluminescence microscopy reveals peripheral growth of the pseudospherulites, which results from several phases of precipitation and even of dissolution. The first phase of crystal growth may show rhombic habits and may contain corroded dolomite inclusions, interpreted as an indication of growth at the expense of dolomicrite by a dissolution/precipitation process. The second phase of crystal growth is fibrous sensu stricto, exhibits lobate growth laminae, and shows indications of displacive growth. The pseudospherulitic fabric is not relict and the pseudospherulites do not represent speleothems, recrystallized Microcodium, or neomorphosed spherulitic carbonate. Instead, they are interpreted as split crystals that grew within dolomicritic host sediments, in part by dissolution-precipitation and in part by displacement. The hypothesis of a dolomicritic host is supported by the geological and diagenetic setting, by the presence of corroded dolomite inclusions within the pseudospherulites, and by the relationship between their growth and the authigenesis of sepiolite, palygorskite, and goethite. The pseudospherulites grew in the shallow subsurface, at or near the water table, from predominantly oxidizing meteoric water, and under periodically fluctuating geochemical conditions (saturation, redox) caused by fluctuations of the water table during periods of subaerial exposure. The presence of fossil bacteria within the pseudospherulites, the anastomosing pattern of the inclusion-defined fibers, and the lobate growth forms of the fibrous calcite suggest some bacterial influence in the genesis of the pseudospherulitic fabric.
From Stationary to Mobile: Unleashing the Full Potential of Terrestrial LiDAR through Sensor Integration

Abstract This paper discusses a comprehensive methodology for transforming a static LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) system into a mobile mapping system. The initial step involves integrating various sensors, such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), and odometry sensors, into the system’s architecture to accurately estimate the position and orientation of the LiDAR sensor at any given time. Specialized algorithms compensate for the vehicle’s motion, and procedural requirements must be followed to ensure safe operation. Hardware integration is critical, requiring proper calibration and validation. Data processing workflows, including algorithms and software tools, play a crucial role in mobile LiDAR mapping systems. The quality and accuracy of the data depend on various factors, and practical considerations such as cost and time are also important. The proposed methodology provides a clear and effective way to transform a terrestrial LiDAR sensor into a mobile mapping system, increasing its flexibility and usability for various applications. However, the detailed analysis, system validation, and data processing details fall outside this paper’s scope and will be discussed in future publications.
Contribution to the knowledge of distribution and diversity of lacertid lizards in Serbia

In this study, we present updated distributional data for all Serbian lacertids, having taken into account the available previously published information, and the so far unpublished authors’ field records and evidence from other sources. According to our current knowledge, eight lacertid species inhabit Serbia. Analysis of lacertid diversity within the country showed that biogeographic regions with highest species diversity are Metohija (eight species) and Kosovo (seven species). Regions in Serbia are mutually similar concerning lacertid faunas (average Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index is 0.82). Comparative analysis of lacertid faunas among all Balkan countries showed that Serbian lacertid fauna is the most similar to those of Albania and the FYR of Macedonia, and then to faunas of Romania and Bulgaria. Zoogeographic analysis showed that Serbian lacertids belong to three distinct chorotypes, with the East-Mediterranean being the richest (four species). Generally, diversity of lacertids in Serbia is most strongly determined by topographic diversity, habitat heterogeneity, and climatic peculiarities, with the inflow of the sub-Mediterranean climate along several river valleys in the south being especially important. This paper is intended to serve as a basis for further research, since data on distribution of lacertid species in Serbia are far from complete, with large distributional gaps of recorded species and with unconfirmed presence of two species.
Phase sensitive cueing for 3D objects in overhead images

A 3D solid model-aided object cueing method that matches phase angles of directional derivative vectors at image pixels to phase angles of vectors normal to projected model edges is described. It is intended for finding specific types of objects at arbitrary position and orientation in overhead images, independent of spatial resolution, obliqueness, acquisition conditions, and type of imaging sensor. It is shown that the phase similarity measure can be efficiently evaluated over all combinations of model position and orientation using the FFT. The highest degree of similarity over all model orientations is captured in a match surface of similarity values vs. model position. Unambiguous peaks in this surface are sorted in descending order of similarity value, and the small image thumbnails that contain them are presented to human analysts for inspection in sorted order.
Laboratory Studies of the Effects of the Capillary Fringe on Streamflow Generation

This paper describes laboratory experiments that were conducted to investigate the groundwatersurface water interactions during the process of streamflow generation. In particular, the experiments were designed to examine the role of the capillary fringe in the runoff processes and its influence on the groundwater response to precipitation. The experimental results clearly show that if the zone of tension saturation extends to, or near, ground surface, the application of a small amount of water can cause an immediate rise in the water table, and the magnitude of the rise is much greater than would be expected on the basis of normal specific yield values for sandy materials. Because of the sloping surface of the laboratory model the rising water table caused the rapid generation of hydraulic gradients directed towards the toe of the slope (the stream) resulting in the immediate generation of groundwater discharge to the stream. Two experiments using chloride as a tracer and having rainfall rates of 4.3 and 1.9 cm h−1 showed that the discharge of preevent water to the stream preceded event water and that at early times, preevent water was the predominant component of streamflow. In addition, the results of the two tracer experiments show that the significance of preevent water increases with decreasing rainfall rate and that for the 1.9 cm h−1 rainfall rate preevent water was the main component of the stream hydrograph. The proportions of preevent and event water in the streamflow after steady conditions were reached were determined largely by the extent of the seepage face. This in turn would be determined by the hydraulic conductivity of the medium, the surface slope, and the rainfall intensity.
Optical performance of commercial liquid lens assemblies in microgravity

Abstract. Focus-tunable liquid lenses are used in various applications due to their compact size, light weight, low power consumption, and cost effectiveness. They have the potential for use in space applications, such as focus compensation, optical communications, and imaging systems. However, liquid lenses have not yet been evaluated for use in the space environment. This work focuses on characterizing operational differences of commercially available liquid lenses from Corning Varioptic and Optotune between Earth gravity, microgravity, and hypergravity environments. Results show a linear drift in the tip/tilt of 0.80 and 4.20 mrad going from 1 to 0 g for the Corning Varioptic A-39N0 lens and Optotune EL-16-40-TC-VIS lens, respectively, with lower optical aberrations in microgravity. Additionally, a significant but small increase in focal power going from 1 to 0 g by 0.02 D is observed for the Optotune lens. No significant change in focal power is observed for the Corning Varioptic lens tested in this experiment. Additionally, potential multi-beam interference is observed in defocus patterns of the Corning Varioptic lens tested during the experiment.
A Review on Machine Learning Methods for Workload Prediction in Cloud Computing

Workload prediction is one of the critical parts of resource provisioning in cloud computing and its evolved branches such as serverless and edge computing. Effective resource provisioning stands as a crucial element within the realm of edge-cloud computing. Accurate prediction of cloud workloads is essential for the effective allocation of resources. Workload prediction plays a crucial role in enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, optimizing cloud performance, maintaining a high level of quality of service, and minimizing energy consumption. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) algorithms employed in workload prediction in cloud computing and other similar platforms such as edge computing. We compared the selected papers in terms of utilized methods and techniques, predicted factors, accuracy metrics, and the dataset. Additionally, to facilitate usability and comparison, articles sharing similar advantages and disadvantages are organized into a table. Finally, the paper concludes by addressing current challenges and future research directions.
Malaria and land use: a spatial and temporal risk analysis in Southern Sri Lanka

La Malaria en Sri Lanka es inestabe y epidemica, con amplias diferencias espaciales y temporales en la transmision. La enfermedad es de gran significado de salud publica, y por lo tanto, la identificacion de los factores de riesgo subyacentes es importante para dar en el blanco los recursos limitados para el control mas efectivo de la enfermedad. El comportamiento de busqueda de salud en Sri Lanka esta primariamente basado en facilidades gubernamentales, con brechas de incidencias de malaria registradas en una forma sistematica. Recientemente, el International Water Management Institute lanzo un proyecto de mapeo de riesgo de la malaria en Sri Lanka para investigar si esta herramienta podria ser utilizada pra un pronostio epidemico. Presentamos los primeros resultados del estudio para la region de Uda Walawe en el sur este de Sri Lanka
La genómica en la investigación científica y en la gestión de la vida silvestre en México The use of Genomics in scientific research and management of wildlife in Mexico

Mexico has a unique biodiversity that places it within the list of megadiverse countries; it has three of the 34 ecoregions of the world and sites that are considered wilderness areas worldwide. The use of Genomics as a tool for research in Mexico began in the late 1930s with work aimed at the genetic improvement of commercial crops and to understand the ecological foundations of the genetic variation in Drosohpila pseudooscura, however, it wasn’t until the decades of 1980-1990s that these tools were used for the study of natural populations of flora and fauna with purposes of conservation and management. Nonetheless, the potential that genomic tools have to improve the strategies and policies of management to ensure food production and conservation of wildlife in Mexico, these have not been widely applied. In this paper the areas of knowledge in wildlife where genomics have been applied in the study of natural populations of flora and fauna in Mexico were reviewed, and the practical applications of genomics for management and conservation of species of biological and commercial concern were discussed.
La calidad percibida como determinante de tipologías de clientes y su relación con la satisfacción: Aplicación a los servicios hoteleros

The quality management and customer satisfaction is a business strategy with great ability to generate profits and a strategic factor of supreme importance for companies in general and hospitality companies in particu- lar. A factor-cluster approach was employed to identify tourist segment profiles based on their perceptions for quality at- tributes. A principal components analysis of service quality revealed factors and four distinct visitor segments were identified using a clustering method. The results of this investigation suggest that not all attributes considered by customers when evaluating experience with a hotel have the same ability to influence the satisfaction. There are dif- ferent types of users characterized by more or less sensitivity to the attributes of product quality. In addition a co- rrespondence analysis revealed the existence of a direct relationship between these criteria indicative of the quality standards and those used by individuals to judge their degree of satisfaction can be established
Packet Filtering and Sampling for Efficient Slow Denial of Service Detection in Resource Scarce IoT Networks

There has recently been considerable interest in automatic detection strategies for recognising application layer security threats such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Slow Denial of-Service (Slow DoS) attacks in Internet of Things (IoT) networks. Most existing approaches however, fail to take cognisance of the substantial resource constraints imposed upon IoT environments, which limits the applicability and deployment of many Slow DoS detection mechanisms. This paper addresses this significant security threat for resource scarce IoT nodes and networks in proposing an accurate and computationally efficient approach to packet-based intrusion detection of HTTP Slow DoS activity. The paper both critically analyses and measures the impact of applying network attribute filtering and packet sampling to reduce the computational overheads on the resource constrained IoT Slow DoS detection node. The unique solution proposed uses a dataset synthesised from a live IoT environment comprising both legitimate and malicious network events in the form of legitimate HTTP traffic and Slow DoS attacks. Experimental results corroborate that combining filtering at the Border Router of only in-bound packets containing no TCP payload with a systematic packet sampling scheme at a sampling ratio of up to 1:64, the processing overheads on the detection node are significantly reduced. The novel contribution presented is a resource efficient solution, garnered by employing systematic sampling to seamlessly and accurately support selective attribute-based intrusion detection of HTTP Slow DoS attacks in IoT networks.
Overall survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with concomitant systemic therapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy or systemic therapy alone

Introduction First-line systemic therapy (ST) options for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) include tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immunotherapy (IO). Evolving data suggest prolonged overall survival (OS) when ST is combined with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), although evidence is significantly limited in HCC populations. We hypothesized that advanced HCC patients in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) would have improved OS when receiving ST+SBRT vs ST alone. Methods Stage III/IV HCC patients diagnosed from 2010-2020 and treated with first-line ST±SBRT were identified from the NCDB. The primary endpoint was OS from date of diagnosis stratified by the receipt of SBRT (ST+SBRT vs ST alone). Survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methodology and compared via log-rank. Multivariate analysis (MVA) was performed by Cox regression. Results Of 10,505 eligible patients with stage III disease, 115 (1.1%) received ST+SBRT and 10,390 (98.9%) received ST alone. Of 9,617 eligible patients with stage IV disease, 127 (1.3%) received ST+SBRT and 9,490 (98.7%) received ST alone. Median follow-up time was 6.8 months. Baseline characteristics were similar between cohorts. Patients with stage III disease receiving ST+SBRT had improved median OS (12.62 months vs 8.38 months) and higher rates of survival at 1-year (53.0% vs 38.7%) and 2-years (27.0% vs 20.7%) compared to those receiving ST alone (log-rank P=0.0054). Similarly, patients with stage IV disease receiving ST+SBRT had improved median OS (11.79 months vs 5.72 months) and higher rates of survival at 1-year (49.6% vs 26.2%) and 2-years (23.6% vs 12.0%) (log-rank P<0.0001). On MVA, receipt of SBRT predicted improved OS (HR=0.748, 95%CI 0.588-0.951; P=0.0178) and receipt of IO trended towards improved OS (HR=0.859, 95%CI 0.735-1.003; P=0.0538). Conclusion In advanced HCC, patients receiving ST+SBRT had improved OS compared to those receiving ST alone. Prospective clinical trials are warranted to better identify HCC populations which may benefit from combined modality therapy.
Phytoconstituents, proximate and nutrient investigations of Saba florida (Benth.) from Ibaji forest

Quantitative determination of chemical and nutritional composition of the leaf, fruit pulp, pericarp and seed of Saba florida (Apocynaceae), an underexploited medicinal and food plant in Nigeria, was carried out using standard methods. The plant parts contain levels of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids and other phytochemical. Proximate analysis (total protein, fats, carbohydrate, ash, and moisture contents) were carried out following methods of Association of official Analytical chemists. The order of increasing concentration of the proximate composition is protein —> moisture—>ash—>crude fibre—>fats —>carbohydrate in all plant parts. Elemental nutrients Ca, K, Na, Mg, Pb, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cd were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry. Results revealed higher concentration of macronutrients in all plant parts except K. In conclusion S. florida has high nutritional and medicinal value.
Mapping and Monitoring Louisiana's Mangroves in the Aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Abstract Information regarding the present condition, historical status, and dynamics of mangrove forests is needed to study the impacts of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and other stressors affecting mangrove ecosystems. Such information is unavailable for Louisiana at sufficient spatial and thematic detail. We prepared mangrove forest distribution maps of Louisiana (prior to the oil spill) at 1 m and 30 m spatial resolution using aerial photographs and Landsat satellite data, respectively. Image classification was performed using a decision-tree classification approach. We also prepared land-cover change pairs for 1983, 1984, and every 2 y from 1984 to 2010 depicting “ecosystem shifts” (e.g., expansion, retraction, and disappearance). This new spatiotemporal information could be used to assess short-term and long-term impacts of the oil spill on mangroves. Finally, we propose an operational methodology based on remote sensing (Landsat, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer [ASTER], hyperspectral, light detection and ranging [LIDAR], aerial photographs, and field inventory data) to monitor the existing and emerging mangrove areas and their disturbance and regrowth patterns. Several parameters such as spatial distribution, ecosystem shifts, species composition, and tree height/biomass could be measured to assess the impact of the oil spill and mangrove recovery and restoration. Future research priorities will be to quantify the impacts and recovery of mangroves considering multiple stressors and perturbations, including oil spill, winter freeze, sea-level rise, land subsidence, and land-use/land-cover change for the entire Gulf Coast.
Associations of bone mineral density with sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and testosterone in middle-aged Saudi men: a cross-sectional study

Objective The present cross-sectional study examined the association between circulating levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and testosterone with bone mineral density (BMD) in middle-aged Arab men. Methods Clinical data of 103 middle-aged Saudi men (mean age 60.7±7.2) were extracted from the Osteoporosis Registry of the Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants were categorized according to the presence of osteopenia (T-score -1.0 to -2.5) (N=47) and controls (N=56). Data collected included demographics and anthropometrics as well as levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) which were measured using commercially available assays. Free androgen index (FAI) was calculated. Results Those with osteopenia had significantly lower levels of FAI (p<0.05), and higher levels of SHBG (p<0.004) and FSH (p<0.005). In the osteopenia group, SHBG was positively correlated with age (r=0.33, p<0.05), while it was inversely correlated with BMD spine (r = -0.39, p<0.05) and T-score femur (r= -0.35, p<0.05) in the same group. Furthermore, testosterone was inversely correlated with BMI in the osteopenia group (r= -0.33, p<0.05) while FAI was positively correlated with T-score femur (r = 0.36, p<0.05) as well as in all participants (r= 0.24, p<0.05). Among controls, FAI had an inverse correlation with FSH (r= -0.28, p<0.05) and over-all (r= -0.22, p<0.05). Conclusion In summary, the associations elicited suggest that circulating levels of SHBG and FAI may be against age-related bone loss in middle-aged men.