Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local \beta-Crusts for Simple Curves Reconstruction

In this paper, we consider the problem of curve reconstruction from a finite planar set of points. To solve this problem, we propose to use a family of neighborhood graphs included in the Gabriel graph. The neighborhood that we use is the beta-neighborhood, initially defined in the context of circle-based beta-skeletons, but applied to edges of the Voronoi diagram. This family of graphs includes the local crust. This formulation enables us to design effective algorithms to reconstruct curves, by using as a prior knowledge that the curves to be reconstructed are without intersections. We show, through several examples, that the proposed algorithms improve the results obtained with the local crust, when the set of points is of low density.
A Microwear Study of a Late Pleistocene Qadan Assemblage from Southern Egypt

AbstractSite 8905 is a multi-component, Qadan site in Egyptian Nubia. Two microenvironmental settings, the edge of the floodplain embayment and the interdunal ponds, were used as seasonal fishing and hunting camps. All of the excavated retouched flakes from the site were examined for traces of microwear. Bone/antler-working, wood/plant-processing, hide-processing, meat-cutting, and an undetermined scraping activity were identified. Different tool types do not necessarily correspond to different functions, and the burins previously reported should be reinterpreted as cores.
Temporal and spatial variability of aerosol optical depth in the Sahel region in relation to vegetation remote sensing

Abstract A network of Sun photometers was established in the Sahel region of Senegal, Mali and Niger in order to monitor the aerosol characteristics needed for atmospheric correction of remotely sensed data. The aerosol optical thickness τa computed from the spectral Sun photometer measurements exhibited very high day-to-day variability ranging from approximately 01 to greater than 20 at 875 nm for both the wet and dry seasons. A gradient of decreasing τa from north-to-south latitudes in the Sahel for the wet season, July-September, was observed, which may be caused jointly by increased washout owing to the gradient of increasing precipitation to the south and the location of source regions for dust in the north. The Angstrom wavelength exponent a was found to vary with the magnitude of the aerosol optical thickness, with values as high as 0-75 for very low Ta, and values of 0-25 to 0-0 for high τa conditions. Analysis of τa data from this observation network suggests that there is a high spatial variabil.
Unlocking Esophageal Carcinomas Secrets: An integrated Omics Approach Unveils DNA Methylation as a pivotal Early Detection Biomarker with Clinical Implications.

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) ranks among the top six most prevalent malignancies worldwide with a recent surge in incidence. An innovative integrated omics technique is presented for discerning the two primary types of esophageal carcinoma (EC) AND Squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Utilizing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data via Bioconductor, the research integrated DNA methylation and RNA expression analyses for esophageal cancer (ESCA). Key findings revealed DNA methylation's pivotal role in ESCA progression and its potential as an early detection biomarker. Significant disparities in methylation patterns offered insights into the disease's pathogenesis. A comparison with the TCGA Pan-Cancer dataset using Bioconductor tools enriched the understanding of ESCA genomics. Specifically, 131,220 hypomethylated probes were detected in tumors compared to 6,248 in healthy tissues. Additionally, 42,060 probegene pairs linked methylation variations to expression alterations, with 768 hypomethylated motifs identified. Thirteen of these motifs emerged as potential diagnostic markers. Transcription factor analyses spotlighted crucial regulators, including NFL3, ATF4, JUN, and CEBPG, revealing intricate regulatory networks in ESCA. Survival statistics further correlated clinical factors with patient longevity. This research recommends an innovative approach to identifying oesophageal abnormalities through DNA methylation and gene expression mechanisms. Research suggests DNA methylation may serve as an early detection biomarker, aiding in identifying esophagus cancer prior to more advanced stages.
Hyperspectral target detection using heavy-tailed distributions

One promising approach to target detection in hyperspectral imagery exploits a statistical mixture model to represent scene content at a pixel level. The process then goes on to look for pixels which are rare, when judged against the model, and marks them as anomalies. It is assumed that military targets will themselves be rare and therefore likely to be detected amongst these anomalies. For the typical assumption of multivariate Gaussianity for the mixture components, the presence of the anomalous pixels within the training data will have a deleterious effect on the quality of the model. In particular, the derivation process itself is adversely affected by the attempt to accommodate the anomalies within the mixture components. This will bias the statistics of at least some of the components away from their true values and towards the anomalies. In many cases this will result in a reduction in the detection performance and an increased false alarm rate. This paper considers the use of heavy-tailed statistical distributions within the mixture model. Such distributions are better able to account for anomalies in the training data within the tails of their distributions, and the balance of the pixels within their central masses. This means that an improved model of the majority of the pixels in the scene may be produced, ultimately leading to a better anomaly detection result. The anomaly detection techniques are examined using both synthetic data and hyperspectral imagery with injected anomalous pixels. A range of results is presented for the baseline Gaussian mixture model and for models accommodating heavy-tailed distributions, for different parameterizations of the algorithms. These include scene understanding results, anomalous pixel maps at given significance levels and Receiver Operating Characteristic curves.
Stellungnahme von BVA, DOG und RG zur intravitrealen Therapie des visusmindernden Makulaödems bei retinalem Venenverschluss

Institute 1 Berufsverband der Augenärzte Deutschlands e.V. , Düsseldorf, Deutschland 2 Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft, München, Deutschland 3 Retinologische Gesellschaft e.V. , Freiburg, Deutschland Bibliografie DOI https://doi.org/10.1055/a-0731-8952 Online-publiziert 14.9. 2018 | Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd 2018; 235: 1165–1177 © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York | ISSN 0023-2165
HOW DO WE KEEP CONSERVATION ALIVE WHEN KIDS HAVE LESS AND LESS CONTACT WITH NATURE

An unsettling trend is gaining momentum - many Americans may be losing their interest in the `natural world'. According to research undertaken by Patricia Zaradic, an Environmental Leadership Program fellow in Bryn Mawr, and Oliver Pergams of the University of Illinois at Chicago, "nature just isn't as entertaining as it used to be. " Studies of Americans' recreational habits show a nearly 25 percent per capita decline in camping, fishing, hunting and visits to state and national parks since the mid-1980s (Gambino 2008). Like "climate change," some suggest that the downward trend in outdoor recreation by Americans is a manifestation of fiction rather than fact. But the trend is unmistakable: A smaller percentage of people in the United States and elsewhere are participating in outdoor recreation (Smith 2008). Pergams and Zaradic show a trend in human behavior that ultimately may be far more foreboding for the environment than declining tropical forest cover or increasing greenhouse gas emissions - widespread declines in nature-based recreation (Kareiva 2008). The question that has yet to be answered is to what degree this trend will have in influencing our society's future and in how we will value - or devalue - our natural environment. Will future generations that grow up and live in a world estranged from the natural environment want to protect it? America's 200-year conservation tradition may be at risk. Two dominant factors influenced the environmental philosophies of notable historic American conservationists. One was their direct and repeated interaction with the natural world beginning at a very early age; the other was an environment-focused family tradition. These same factors influenced the environmental ethos of today's conservationists, land managers and environmental educators. It is impossible to determine if these factors will be of equal significance one hundred years from now. However, we can predict with reasonable certainty based on the recent historic record, motivators identified by current environmentalists, and the results of independent surveys of adolescent subjects reported in this study that, at least for now and for the foreseeable future, if implemented in combination with others variables, these will favorably influence the conservation ethic of our youngest citizens.
The not so Global Village of Netville

We examine the experience of the residents of Netville, a suburban neighborhood with access to some of the most advanced new communication technologies available, and how this technology affected the amount of contact and support exchanged with members of their distant social networks. Focusing exclusively on friends and relatives external to the neighborhood of Netville, “community” is treated as relations that provide a sense of belonging rather than as a group of people living near each other. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is treat ed as one of several means of communication used in the maintenance of social networks. Contrary to expectations that the Internet encourages a “global village,” those ties that previously were “just out of reach” geographically, experience the greatest increase in contact and support as a result of access to CMC.
The adverse effects of gestational diabetes mellitus on maternal and neonatal kidneys

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a complication of pregnancy defined as any level of early or first detection of glucose intolerance in pregnancy. It is a prevalent metabolic disorder associated with several maternal and neonatal complications. On the other hand, chronic kidney disease is a leading cause of premature morbidity and mortality worldwide, and diabetic nephropathy accounts for approximately half of all cases of end-stage renal disease. Due to these two conditions’ high prevalence and significance, any possible association would be a public health concern requiring further investigation. To this end, the current study aimed to review the adverse effects of GDM on maternal and neonatal kidneys.
The 1979 Cadoux earthquake and intraplate stress in Western Australia

The 1979 Cadoux earthquake (magnitude Ms ∼ 6.0), which caused over $4 million damage in 1979, occurred in the Southwest Seismic Zone (SWSZ) of Western Australia and produced a shallow dipping thrust fault with an average strike close to north‐south. The fault length was approximately 15 km and the maximum displacement close to 1 m. The seismic moment is estimated to be 1.8 ±0.1 X 1018 Nm and the earthquake was, like the 1968 Meckering earthquake, caused by east‐west compressive stress in the crust. Aftershocks of the Cadoux earthquake are still continuing (1986) at the northern and southern ends of the area affected by the main earthquake; strain‐release data from the aftershocks indicate that significant strain energy is yet to be released in the region. Overcoring measurements in the SWSZ indicated high stress (up to 30 MPa) at shallow depths (∼ 10 m). Near the epicentre of the Cadoux earthquake overcoring measurements revealed stress levels ranging from about 4 MPa, less than 1 km from the fault trace,.
Study on the Scenario-based Application of ChatGPT and Its Risk Avoidance Strategies from the Perspective of Information Literacy

: With the continuous development and popularization of artificial intelligence technology, ChatGPT has become a highly regarded large language model since its launch. In the ChatGPT boom, information literacy is crucial to how to correctly understand and use ChatGPT. This article first introduces the language generation logic and defects of ChatGPT, and designs a scenario application example of ChatGPT in combination with the three scenarios of information literacy: life, study, and work. Through screening and analyzing the responses of ChatGPT output, it discusses the potential risks in its application process, and finally puts forward the main strategies to avoid and resolve the risks of ChatGPT from the perspective of information literacy, in order to help users better cope with the opportunities and challenges under the impact of AI technology.
METAL ION MEDIATED PROTECTION OF PHOTOSYSTEM II CATALYSED ELECTRON TRANSPORT AND THYLAKOID POLYPEPTIDES OF DETACHED MAIZE LEAVES DURING DARK INCUBATION

: In this study an attempt has been made to analyze the protective role of selected two metal ions Ca 2+/ Al 3+ in electron transport activities of maize thylakoid membranes. To achieve these leaf segments of 7 days were incubated for 2h-96h in distilled water Ca 2+ solution or Al 3+ solution. The photosynthetic electron transport activities of PS II were clearly indicated that there is a valency dependent restoration in primary reactions of photosynthesis. The SDS PAGE analysis of thylakoid membranes clearly demonstrated that 33 kDa protein of water oxidation complex of PS II is susceptible for aging and metal ion incubation protested the degradation of the above polypeptide to restore the PS II activity.
Estimation of the cloud effective particle radius using MTSAT-1R data

The algorithm used to retrieve the cloud effective particle radius from the 3.7 μm band was adapted to the corresponding channel of the Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI) flown on board the Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) geostationary platform. Snapshot comparisons with spatially well-resolved retrievals from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instruments flown on the Terra polar platforms show qualitative agreement with MTSAT retrievals. The results of analysing daytime variation from eastern Asia to the northwest Pacific Ocean show that, not only is the effective particle radius smaller in continental clouds than in maritime clouds, but the daytime amplitude of the effective particle radius is also greater in continental clouds than in maritime clouds, where the effective particle radius value is approximately constant.
Terdiurnal migrating‐tide signature in ionospheric total electron content

We report the latitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle variations of terdiurnal migrating tide (i.e., terdiurnal westward wave number 3, TW3) signature in ionospheric total electron content (TEC). Our investigations are based on the JPL global ionospheric maps (GIMs) during 1999-2011. The absolute amplitude of TW3 exhibits maximum values in the magnetic equatorial region, which reaches about 8 TECu under high solar activity and 1.5 TECu under low solar activity. The relative amplitude of zonal mean TEC in equatorial region, however, shows persistent patterns from 1999 to 2011 with little solar activity dependence. The relative amplitude of TW3 has a peak of similar to 10% in the magnetic equatorial region and a second one of similar to 7% at magnetic middle latitudes (30 degrees-50 degrees). At high latitudes in local winter seasons, the maximum relative amplitude occurs, which varies between 8 and 15% with slightly larger amplitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The global structure of TW3 signature in TEC should shed some light on the coupling between the ionosphere-thermosphere and the lower atmosphere.
A systematic review and scientific critique of methodology in modern urban heat island literature

In the modern era of urban climatology, much emphasis has been placed on observing and documenting heat island magnitudes in cities around the world. Urban climate literature consequently boasts a remarkable accumulation of observational heat island studies. Through time, however, methodologists have raised concerns about the authenticity of these studies, especially regarding the measurement, definition and reporting of heat island magnitudes. This paper substantiates these concerns through a systematic review and scientific critique of heat island literature from the period 1950–2007. The review uses nine criteria of experimental design and communication to critically assess methodological quality in a sample of 190 heat island studies. Results of this assessment are discouraging: the mean quality score of the sample is just 50 percent, and nearly half of all urban heat island magnitudes reported in the sample are judged to be scientifically indefensible. Two areas of universal weakness in the literature sample are controlled measurement and openness of method: one‐half of the sample studies fail to sufficiently control the confounding effects of weather, relief or time on reported ‘urban’ heat island magnitudes, and three‐quarters fail to communicate basic metadata regarding instrumentation and field site characteristics. A large proportion of observational heat island literature is therefore compromised by poor scientific practice. This paper concludes with recommendations for improving method and communication in heat island studies through better scrutiny of findings and more rigorous reporting of primary research. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society
A 300- to 550-year history of slip on the Imperial fault near the U.S.-Mexico border: Missing slip at the Imperial fault bottleneck

Subsurface investigation of the Imperial fault zone approximately 50-60 m south of the U.S.-Mexico International Border in Mexicali Valley reveals that only the 1940 Imperial Valley earthquake (M L 7.1) has produced significant surface slip in the past 300 years. The 1940 earthquake produced about 5 m of slip in this vicinity, as indicated by an offset tree line. We excavated a buried channel adjacent to these trees and determined that it is also offset 5 m. These data indicate that at least the upper meter of sediments has only been displaced by the 1940 event. One other slip event of undetermined magnitude is recorded within the lacustrine highstand deposits of the last lake about 300 years ago. There is no evidence of earlier faulting events in sediments that possibly may correlate to the penultimate lake approximately 550 years B.P. Below an unconformity, ∼4000-year-old deltaic deposits are intensely faulted by previous slip along the Imperial fault. These data suggest that the slip rate on the Imperial fault for the past 300-550 years is only about 15-20 mm/yr, substantially less than that expected from geodetic measurements and regional structural models. This in turn suggests that either slip is accommodated by other faults in the border region or that strain release on the Imperial fault is characterized by episodic (clustered) behavior.
Modeling the effects of gas phase CO2 intrusion on the biogeochemistry of variably saturated soils

The transport of gas phase carbon dioxide through unsaturated soils has the potential to significantly alter the soil biogeochemistry. Leakage of CO2 from deep reservoirs, either naturally occurring or anthropogenically emplaced, may displace oxygen in the soil gas and hence radically alter the redox conditions of a soil. Furthermore, the formation of carbonic acid in the aqueous phase will alter the pH of the soil system. A two‐dimensional numerical model has been developed to explore the effects of gaseous CO2 leakage on the biogeochemistry of a variably saturated porous media. The model describes the sequential degradation of organic carbon by microorganisms using a series of terminal electron acceptors. Gas phase CO2 intrusion results in changes in redox conditions and pH of the soil water, both of which lead to alteration of the biogeochemistry of the soil. Alteration of the biogeochemical profile of a representative field site is explored with the numerical model.
Research Paper PREVALENCE OF HUMAN INTESTINAL HELMINTH PARASITES AMONG PRYMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN IPOGUN, IFEDORE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NIGERIA

Study was carried out to determine the prevalence of human intestinal helminth parasite among school children in Ipogun, Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State. Standard parasitological procedures were used to examine the 350 stool samples collected. Overall prevalence of intestinal helminth parasites was 64.00% and the respective prevalence of parasites encountered were Ascaris lumbricoides (25.14%), Hookworm species (19.43%), Trichuris trichiura (16.00%) and Taenia spp (3.43%). Infection with Ascaris was 25.14%, followed by Hookworm species (19.43%), Trichuris trichiura (16.00%) and Taenia species (3.43%). All the different age cohorts were infected and the prevalence of Ascaris was 45.46% in pupils aged 5-8 years and 25.00% in pupils of 13 years old and above while in pupils of the same age groups prevalence of Trichuris ranged from 42.86% to 25.00%. Hookworm prevalence was 47.01% in pupils aged 9-12 years, Teania species was 66.67% among children in the age group 9-12 years old. Males were more infected (72.60%) than females 53.75%. Parental occupation, types of toilet and source of water were respectively found to influence the prevalence of the intestinal helminth parasitic infection among the pupils. The health implication of the findings was emphasized.
Finger gesture recognition with smart skin technology and deep learning

Finger gesture recognition (FGR) was extensively studied in recent years for a wide range of human-machine interface applications. Surface electromyography (sEMG), in particular, is an attractive, enabling technique in the realm of FGR, and both low and high-density sEMG were previously studied. Despite the clear potential, cumbersome electrode wiring and electronic instrumentation render contemporary sEMG-based finger gestures recognition to be performed under unnatural conditions. Recent developments in smart skin technology provide an opportunity to collect sEMG data in more natural conditions. Here we report on a novel approach based on soft 16 electrode array, a miniature and wireless data acquisition unit and neural network analysis, in order to achieve gesture recognition under natural conditions. FGR accuracy values, as high as 93.1%, were achieved for 8 gestures when the training and test data were from the same session. For the first time, high accuracy values are also reported for training and test data from different sessions for three different hand positions. These results demonstrate an important step towards sEMG based gesture recognition in non-laboratory settings, such as in gaming or Metaverse.