Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-scale vegetation maps derived from the combined L-band GRFM and C-band CAMP wide area radar mosaics of Central Africa

Abstract A new dataset has been compiled by combining the wide area Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mosaics over Central Africa generated in the context of the NASDA Global Rain Forest Mapping (GRFM) and the ESA/EC Central Africa Mosaic Projects (CAMP). The CAMP mosaic consists of more than 700 SAR scenes acquired over the Central Africa region (6° S-8° N and 5° E-26° E) by the ESA ERS satellites; the acquisitions were performed in 1994 (July, August) and in 1996 (January, February) in two different seasonal conditions. The GRFM Africa mosaic consists of some 3900 JERS-1 images acquired over the region (10° S-10° N, 14° W and 42° E) at two dates (January-March 1996 and October-November 1996). In this paper the methods used for combining the two wide area radar mosaics are at first presented. The GRFM Africa mosaic was processed using a block adjustment algorithm with the inclusion of external observations derived from high precision maps along the coastline, which assures an absolute geolocation residual mean squared error of 240 m with respect to ground control points. On the other hand, the CAMP mosaic was compiled taking into account only the internal relative geometric accuracy. Therefore the GRFM dataset was taken as the reference system and the C-band ERS layer composed by rectifying each ERS frame, after down-sampling at 100 m pixel spacing, to the reference mosaic. The rectification procedure uses a set of tie-points measured automatically between each ERS frame and the homologous subset in the JERS mosaic. Due to the different characteristics of the two sensors (microwave centre frequency, viewing geometry, polarization) and the different acquisition dates, each mosaic presents a different window over the same ecosystem. This fact suggests that a new dimension in terms of thematic information content can be added by the fusion of the two datasets. In support of this statement, the complementary characteristics of the two sensors are first discussed with respect to observations related to the vegetation cover in the Congo River floodplain. The potential of the combined dataset for vegetation mapping at the regional scale is further demonstrated by a classification pursuit of the main vegetation types in the central part of the Congo Basin. The main land-cover classes are: lowland rain forest, permanently flooded forest, periodically flooded forest, swamp grassland, and savannah. The classification map is validated using a compilation of national vegetation maps derived from other high resolution remote sensing data or by ground surveys. This first thematic result already confirms that the combined contributions from the L-band and the C-band sensors improve the information extraction capability. Indeed, the radar-derived vegetation map contains better spatial detail than any existing map, especially with respect to the extent of flooded formations.
1 X-ray pulse compression using strained crystals

The use of strained crystals to time-compress chirped x-ray FEL pulses is proposed. The chirped beam diffracts from a crystal in which the strain varies with depth. Low-Z crystals are favored to reduce absorption over the required path lengths and small Bragg angles are favored to increase the diffraction efficiency of the strained crystal. The best compression ratios found for a 230 fs, 0.5% chirped beam at a wavelength of 1.54 Å are achieved with graphite and diamond crystals. The calculations indicate for graphite that the pulse may be compressed in time by a factor of up to 10 with an efficiency such that this produces 6.8 times as many photons as a comparable time-slicing method.
NIR-Green-Blue High-Resolution Digital Images for Assessment of Winter Cover Crop Biomass

Many small unmanned aerial systems use true-color digital cameras for remote sensing. For some cameras, only the red channel is sensitive to near-infrared (NIR) light. Given a camera with this spectral capability, we modified it to obtain NIR-green-blue images. One advantage of this low-cost system is that images can be inspected directly from the camera. This camera was flown in a Piper Cub aircraft for estimating biomass of wheat and barley planted as winter cover crops. There was much greater variation in biomass within experimental strips than among strips, so correlations were not high. This research demonstrates the need to develop better calibration methods so inexpensive camera sensors can be used in precision agriculture.
The stretched exponential function as an alternative model for aftershock decay rate

The stretched exponential (Williams-Watts) relaxation function is N*(t)=N*(0)exp[−(t/t0)q], 0<q≤1. As applied to aftershocks, N* (0) is the number of aftershocks that have not yet occurred at time t, starting with a finite number of potential events, N* (0). This function describes slow relaxation in a number of distinct physical systems. Whether it is the appropriate function for aftershocks, as an alternative to the modified Omori power law function, depends on the long-time behavior of the mean interevent time. The behavior of this function has been tested on synthetic sequences in comparison with the Omori relation to determine the feasibility of determining which is the better model of aftershock rate decay. The differences are practically indistinguishable for very slowly decaying sequences but are measurable for normally and rapidly decaying sequences if excellent data are available. Maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters in the stretched exponential function were determined for 29 sequences and the fit of the model to the data was compared with the modified Omori fit by the Akaike Information Criterion. If the time of the rnainshock is taken as the start time for the sequence, the Omori fit is almost always better. If a later start time is used, 15 min to 2.5 hours for the cases tested, the stretched exponential fit is better in about half the cases. The selected start time is the time at which the rate of occurrence begins to decrease, after an initial apparent increase probably due to missed events during the very active interval. As expected, the relaxation time t0 is inversely related to the Omori p value and may prove to be more easily interpretable in terms of the physics of the aftershock-generating process.
Free-wave measurement of permeability and permittivity of ferrites at millimetre-wave frequencies

From measurements of transmission through thin sheets and reflection from them, at oblique incidence, both the real and imaginary components of permittivity and permeability of a material can be determined. Except for the generator, antenna and detector system, the apparatus is suitable for any frequency from 15 to 100 GHz. The accuracy of measurement of the real components is believed to be about ±5% and of the sum of the two loss angles about ±0.05 rad, but at the present stage of development values for the two losses separately are more difficult to find.
Basal topography and ice flow in the Bailey/Slessor region of East Antarctica

An airborne radio-echo sounding campaign carried out in the upper reaches of Bailey Ice Stream and Slessor Glacier, in Coats Land, East Antarctica, has revealed that tributaries of enhanced flow lie within well-defined basal troughs and are separated from each other by bed highs. These new data indicate significant differences in ice thickness compared with those estimated in the Bedmap database. A numerical modeling study has revealed that driving stresses are high enough to account for flow by ice deformation alone in intertributary areas. Most flow in the enhanced flow tributaries of Slessor Glacier may also be explained by ice deformation alone. However, although ice deformation is also significant in the Bailey Ice Stream tributary, a large amount of basal motion is also required to fully explain flow velocities here. It is proposed that the trough in which Bailey tributary lies is sufficiently deep that marine sediments may have accumulated here in preglacial times. Along with water produced by geothermal heating, frictional heating, and through a reduction in the pressure melting point, basal motion may therefore be facilitated by the presence of a deformable, saturated till layer at the bed.
A 21 year record of Arctic sea-ice extents and their regional, seasonal and monthly variability and trends

Abstract Satellite passive-microwave data have been used to calculate sea-ice extents over the period 1979–99 for the north polar sea-ice cover as a whole and for each of nine regions. Over this 21 year time period, the trend in yearly-average ice extents for the ice cover as a whole is –32 900±6100 km2 a–1 (–2.7 ±0.5% per decade), indicating a statistically significant reduction in sea-ice coverage. Regionally, the reductions are greatest in the Arctic Ocean, the Kara and Barents Seas and the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan; and seasonally, the reductions are greatest in summer, for which season the 1979–99 trend in ice extents is –41600±12 900 km2 a–1 (–4.9±1.5% per decade). On a monthly basis, the reductions are greatest in July and September for the north polar ice cover as a whole, in September for the Arctic Ocean, in June and July for the Kara and Barents Seas, and in April for the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan. Of the nine regions, only the Bering Sea and the Gulf of St Lawrence show positive ice-extent trends on a yearly-average basis. However, the increases in these two regions are not statistically significant. For the north polar region as a whole, and for the Arctic Ocean, the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, and Hudson Bay, the negative trends in the yearly averages are statistically significant at a 99% confidence level.
Relationships between strong internal waves in the coastal zone and their radar and radiometric signatures

Strong internal waves (IW) in the form of soliton groups were observed off the Oregon coast with in situ and remote sensors, including shore-based X band and Ka band Doppler radars and an airborne microwave radiometer operating at 37 GHz. Here we analyze the relationships between oceanic isotherm vertical displacements, internal currents, and radar backscatter cross sections, along with Doppler velocity signals at horizontal (HH) and vertical (VV) polarizations, and 37-GHz brightness temperatures measured at intermediate incidence angles from an airship. Analysis of these observations shows that (1) the horizontal spatial structure of the IW field depends on whether it is forced by a strong (spring) tide or weak (neap) tide; (2) while both HH and VV are strongly modulated by IWs, the modulation depth of HH always exceeds that of VV, and they both increase with the IW amplitude; (3) 37-GHz brightness temperature modulations were in phase with radar signal modulations; and (4) the phase of radar signal modulation with respect to the IW is such that the minimum radar signal intensity and lowest microwave brightness temperature lie close to the maximum of the IW thermocline depression or, equivalently, the horizontal current excursion near the surface. This last observation conflicts with the expectation that the highest backscattered signal would be found near the region of greatest surface strain rate (the surface current gradient). Existing theoretical models are briefly reviewed for interactions between the IW field and the intensity of short gravity-capillary waves that might be responsible for this behavior.
Patterns of sediment accumulation in the tidal marshes of Maine

One year’s measurements of surficial sedimentation rates (1986–1987) for 26 Maine marsh sites were made over marker horizons of brick dust. Observed sediment accumulation rates, from 0 to 13 mm yr−1, were compared with marsh morphology, local relative sea-level rise rate, mean tidal range, and ice rafting activity. Marshes with four different morphologies (back-barrier, fluvial, bluff-toe, and transitional) showed distinctly different sediment accumulation rates. In general, back-barrier marshes had the highest accumulation rates and blufftoe marshes had the lowest rates, with intermediate values for transitional and fluvial marshes. No causal relationship between modern marsh sediment accumulation rate and relative sea-level rise rate (from tide gauge records) was observed. Marsh accretionary balance (sediment accumulation rate minus relative sea-level rise rate) did not correlate with mean tidal range for this meso- to macro-tidal area. Estimates of ice-rafted debris on marsh sites ranged from 0% to >100% of measured surficial sedimentation rates, indicating that ice transport of sediment may make a significant contribution to surficial sedimentation on Maine salt marshes.
Metabolism and Genomics: Adventures Derived From Complete Genome Sequencing

The genomic era has provided us with hundreds of complete microbial genome sequences (current estimates as of July 12, 2005, are 266 microbial genomes completed and an additional 730 in progress; see http://www.GenomesOnline.org ) (Mongodin et al. 2005a). Collectively, the sequencing of individual genomes and whole communities has enabled the realization of a level of genetic diversity and complexity that was previously unappreciated (Venter et al. 2004; Mongodin et al. 2005b). This is particularly evident when the results of these endeavors are related to the study of physiological processes and metabolic capabilities of both the individual species and community members from a range of environments. Often, species are found to harbor the genetic material for metabolic pathways that had not been identified or tested in the laboratory setting, and it has become increasingly evident that we are some distance away from understanding the tremendous biological, physiological and metabolic diversity and potential that clearly exists in the microbial world. The chemical process of sequencing allows for the determination of the primary structure of a region of DNA (the main information carrier in a cell). The result of this process is a determination of the exact order of the four-nucleotide building blocks (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymidine abbreviated A, C, G, T, respectively) that make up the DNA region in question. Completing the entire genome sequence of an organism thus provides a comprehensive representation of the entire sequence of the organism under study and its genome structure including the presence of chromosomes and in the case of prokaryotes, the presence of plasmids. Upon completing the sequence of a microbial genome, a thorough analysis of the genetic data should follow (detailed in Fig. 1⇓). This process typically begins with the identification of all open reading frames (ORFs). A variety of ORF finding …
Review of the scientific rationale, development and validation of the International Olympic Committee Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport Clinical Assessment Tool: V.2 (IOC REDs CAT2)—by a subgroup of the IOC consensus on REDs

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) has various different risk factors, numerous signs and symptoms and is heavily influenced by one’s environment. Accordingly, there is no singular validated diagnostic test. This 2023 International Olympic Committee’s REDs Clinical Assessment Tool—V.2 (IOC REDs CAT2) implements a three-step process of: (1) initial screening; (2) severity/risk stratification based on any identified REDs signs/symptoms (primary and secondary indicators) and (3) a physician-led final diagnosis and treatment plan developed with the athlete, coach and their entire health and performance team. The CAT2 also introduces a more clinically nuanced four-level traffic-light (green, yellow, orange and red) severity/risk stratification with associated sport participation guidelines. Various REDs primary and secondary indicators have been identified and ‘weighted’ in terms of scientific support, clinical severity/risk and methodological validity and usability, allowing for objective scoring of athletes based on the presence or absence of each indicator. Early draft versions of the CAT2 were developed with associated athlete-testing, feedback and refinement, followed by REDs expert validation via voting statements (ie, online questionnaire to assess agreement on each indicator). Physician and practitioner validity and usability assessments were also implemented. The aim of the IOC REDs CAT2 is to assist qualified clinical professionals in the early and accurate diagnosis of REDs, with an appropriate clinical severity and risk assessment, in order to protect athlete health and prevent prolonged and irreversible outcomes of REDs.
Opiate anticipation, opiate induced anatomical changes in hypocretin (Hcrt, orexin) neurons and opiate induced microglial activation are blocked by the dual Hcrt receptor antagonist suvorexant, while opiate analgesia is maintained

We previously found that heroin addiction in humans is accompanied by an increase in the number of detected Hcrt neurons and a decrease in their soma size. We now show that the increased number of Hcrt cells visible after morphine treatment is likely the result of increased Hcrt production in neurons having sub-detection levels of the peptides. We find that morphine increases Hcrt projections to the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the level of tyrosine hydroxylase enzyme (TH) and the number of TH positive cells in VTA, with no changes in the adjacent substantia nigra. We find that the dual Hcrt receptor antagonist suvorexant prevents morphine-induced changes in the number and size of Hcrt neurons, microglial activation and morphine anticipatory behavior, but does not diminish morphine analgesia. These findings suggest that combined administration of opiates and suvorexant may be a less addictive way of administering opiates for pain relief in humans.
Lithospheric Control on the Initiation of the Yellowstone Hotspot: Chronic Reactivation of Lithospheric Scars

The Yellowstone hotspot is generally interpreted to have resulted from a mantle plume that initiated beneath the Idaho—Oregon—Nevada region at ~18 Ma. We explore an alternative model in which the initiation of Yellowstone magmatism is a result of lithospheric-scale processes—transtensional reactivation of the western Idaho shear zone—rather than a mantle plume. This model is based on both spatial and temporal correlations with deformation in the U. S. West. The first-order observation is that hotspot-related magmatism occurs as a linear N-S feature, which exploits the mantle portion of the inactive western Idaho shear zone and a deep crustal feature along the future Northern Nevada rift. The location for initiation of the McDermitt caldera, the interpreted initiation site of the Yellowstone hotspot, is spatially coincident with the southernmost known extent of the western Idaho shear zone in the lithospheric mantle. In contrast, the feeder zones of the voluminous magmatism of the Columbia River basalts intruded farther north, facilitated by the better-developed fabrics of the northern segment of the western Idaho shear zone. The timing of initial Yellowstone magmatism and Columbia River basalts is coincident with the coupling of western California and the North American plate to the Pacific plate. The kinematics of this coupling suggest oblique divergence and transtensional deformation. Previous numerical modeling of vertical fabrics in the lithospheric mantle show preferential reactivation by transtensional deformation. Thus, the mantle lithosphere—rather than deeper portions of the mantle—appears to exert a fundamental control on the initiation of the Yellowstone hotspot.
TreeProfiler: A command-line tool for computing and visualizing phylogenetic profiles against large trees

Phylogenetic profiling is a common bioinformatics approach used to study the distribution of traits across species or, more broadly, along the topology of a phylogenetic tree. Originally proposed as a technique for establishing functional relationships between various genes through their correlated presence/absence patterns, phylogenetic profiling is currently considered a powerful exploration tool for investigating the evolutionary distribution of nearly any trait across both gene or species phylogenies. However, computing and visualizing phylogenetic profiles based on large trees is a laborious task. First, traits need to be mapped against tree nodes, which usually requires the implementation of ad hoc scripts or substantial manual work. Second, tree mapping is often limited to leaf nodes, neglecting the usefulness of profiling traits against internal tree nodes. Lastly, graphical exploration of large phylogenetic tree-based profiles is challenging, as plotting usually requires complex manual adjustments and most visualization tools cannot scale to the size and complexity of current datasets. To address these limitations, we have developed TreeProfiler, a command line tool designed to facilitate both the automated annotation of large trees using a wide range of data sources, and the visual exploration of these annotations as phylogenetic profiles. TreeProfiler enables seamless annotation of massive trees and data tables, including built-in support for functional data, taxonomic information, multiple sequence alignments and protein domain architectures. Importantly, TreeProfiler expands its annotation capabilities beyond tree leaves, enabling the annotation of internal nodes with summarized or consensus information under each branch. Additionally, TreeProfiler offers a predefined set of graphical layouts that are based on the ETE Toolkit v4.0 library. TreeProfiler offers unique capabilities that extend and facilitate the use of phylogenetic profiling techniques for a broad landscape of scenarios and for a wide community of researchers interested in evolutionary analysis. To demonstrate its value, we showcase TreeProfiler by automatically profiling multiple data sources across a large bacterial phylogeny including 45,555 species, and by exploring functional and taxonomic annotations over a large gene family tree. TreeProfiler is available at https://github.com/compgenomicslab/TreeProfiler.
Do not let the beginning trap you! On inhibition, associative creative chains, and Hopfield neural networks

Creative thinking stems from the cognitive process that fosters new ideas and problem-solving solutions. Creative cognition in emerging artificial intelligence systems and neural models may reduce complexity in understanding creative cognition. Hopfield Neural Networks (HNN) is a simple neural model known for its biological plausibility to store and retrieve neuron patterns. The primary objective is to demonstrate that ideas, symbolized as patterns of ones and zeros representing clusters of neurons that synchronize their firing, can be stored within HNN and establish connections through correlation. The network can converge towards these ideas by manually adjusting specific state parameters, effectively controlling the overall network activity. When the second closest stored pattern deviated significantly from the input pattern, the network’s ability to converge decreased, enabling it to connect the input and patterns. Thus, we suggest employing HNN for the first time to create a model that emulates creative thinking processes, including making meaningful links between seemingly unrelated ideas. We implemented certain modifications to the original HNN, including introducing pattern weight control, which provides a robust representation for content addressable memory and illustrates conceptual links in stored data, a step towards the larger framework of creativity. We have made progress in identifying two mechanisms that could assist in managing the dynamics of the network and the formation of associative links. These mechanisms are related to the activation threshold of the neurons and the inhibitory stimulus on the stored patterns.