Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probabilistic Boundary-Guided Point Cloud Primitive Segmentation Network

Three-dimensional point cloud primitive segmentation aims to segment an original entire point cloud into a set of geometric primitives with different types, which is widely used in the manufacturing industry. The primitive segmentation task is challenging faced with complex shapes and ambiguous boundaries. We observe that the boundary properties of point clouds have not been fully investigated and exploited in previous works, and the primitive segmentation performance is not satisfactory near boundaries, especially gradually-changed boundaries. In this article, we propose a novel probabilistic boundary-guided primitive segmentation (PBPS) network to improve the primitive segmentation ability by emphasizing the boundary cues. First, the point cloud boundary is represented by Gaussian distribution instead of binary representation, which can describe boundaries more informatively and also provides an indication of the ambiguous relationship between point cloud boundaries and inner regions. Second, a probabilistic boundary-guided feature fusion (PBFF) module as well as an instance clustering and type voting strategy are proposed, which process the boundary points and nonboundary points conditioning on different boundary probabilities, to reduce the impact of boundary ambiguity on primitive segmentation. Third, a primitive instance contrastive loss is designed which can relatively loosen the constraints on the distances from boundary points to the centroid in the embedding space. The effectiveness of PBPS was verified by a series of experiments on two computer-aided design (CAD)-based datasets and two real-scene datasets.
On the variability and use of the hydraulic conductivity alpha parameter in stochastic treatments of

The quasi-linear parameterization for unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K(Ψ) = Ks exp (αΨ), where K is hydraulic conductivity, Ψ is soil water matric potential, Ks is saturated hydraulic conductivity, and α is a porous material parameter, has been used in both stochastic and deterministic models of unsaturated water flow in porous materials. In the stochastic approach, Ks is assumed lognormally distributed, but α and the volumetric soil water capacity C = dθ/dΨ, with θ volumetric soil water content, are assumed normally distributed. We point out here that α and Ks are related to the same internal pore geometry of the soil. This interrelationship ensures that if Ks is lognormal, then α, and possibly C, will also be lognormal. Additionally, we present preliminary field results which indicate that α is better described by a lognormal than a normal distribution. The quasi-linear parameterization can be expected to be correct only in some integral sense. Predictions of increases in the variability of hydraulic conductivity with decreasing Ψ may therefore be prejudiced by the use of the exponential form for K(Ψ). Tests of the sensitivity of stochastic model predictions to both the parameterizations adopted for K(Ψ) and the assumed distribution functions of parameters seem warranted. Reliable experimental evidence on field variability of K(Ψ) and Ψ(θ) at substantial negative values of Ψ are also needed.
Dialect levelling and geographical diffusion in British English

This chapter is an attempt to bring out general tendencies in the regional dialect levelling which, it is often claimed, is leading to the loss of localised features in urban and rural varieties of English in Britain, to be replaced with features found over a wider region. In particular, I consider two possible mechanisms behind these changes. The first is
Crustal structure of the Himalayan orogen at ∼90° east longitude from Project INDEPTH deep reflection profiles

International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya (INDEPTH) deep seismic reflection profiles show that the Indian lithosphere is underthrusting the central Himalaya along a gently north dipping decollement that is traceable northward beneath the Tethyan belt to ∼28.6°N and to a depth of about 45 km. The decollement carries in its hanging wall a near‐crustal‐thickness slice of internally deformed Indian continental basement and cover represented in outcrop by the Greater Himalayan belt and structurally overlying Tethyan belt. Geometric relationships suggest that the decollement probably ramps downward beneath the northern Tethyan belt to near the base of the crust and that the hanging wall crustal slice was detached from Indian mantle lithosphere that presently underlies southern Tibet to the north. The North Himalayan anticlinorium (Kangmar dome) appears to be a large duplex ramp anticline in the hanging wall of the decollement. The South Tibetan Detachment appears to have been imaged in two areas. In the Wagye La area it appears to follow the Tethyan belt/Greater Himalayan belt contact northward in the subsurface and to have been folded over the Kangmar dome. In the Zherger La area it appears to have been active relatively recently as a ∼30° north dipping normal fault that cuts deeply into the Greater Himalayan belt allochthon. Palinspastic reconstruction indicates a minimum of about 326 km of shortening of the Indian basement across the Himalaya since the initiation of the Main Central Thrust. Hence Indian continental lithosphere, largely stripped of its overlying crust, can extend northward beneath the Tibetan plateau to at least 32°N, where earthquake seismological observations show that the properties of the upper mantle change markedly [e.g., McNamara et al., 1995]. Taken together, the seismic reflection and earthquake seismological observations lend support for the view that the Indian mantle lid mechanically underplates roughly the southern half of the Tibetan plateau. The INDEPTH reflection data do not show that Indian crust attached to this lithosphere extends north of southernmost Tibet (Kangmar dome), nor do they negate this possibility. Similarly, the reflection data do not yield direct evidence for or against lower‐crustal subduction beneath the Himalaya.
Westward younging disposition of Philippine ophiolites and its implication for arc evolution

Abstract The different ophiolite complexes in the Philippine island arc system define a progressive younging direction westward. This resulted from the clockwise rotation of the Philippine island arc system during its north‐westward translation in the Eocene resulting in its western boundary colliding with the Sundaland–Eurasian margin. As a consequence of this interaction, ophiolite complexes and mélanges accreted into the Philippine island arc system along its western side. A new ophiolite zonation with four belts is proposed that takes into consideration the observed spatial and temporal relationships of the exposed oceanic lithosphere slices. With progressive younging from east to west, Belt 1 corresponds to Late Cretaceous complete ophiolite complexes with associated metamorphic soles along the eastern Philippines, whereas Belt 2 includes Early to Late Cretaceous dismembered ultramafic‐mafic complexes with mélanges exposed mainly west of eastern Philippines. Belt 3 is defined by Cretaceous through Eocene to Oligocene ophiolite complexes emplaced along the collision zone between the Philippine Mobile Belt and the Sundaland–Eurasian margin. Belt 4 corresponds to the ophiolite complexes emplaced along continental margins as exposed in the Palawan and Zamboanga–Sulu areas. This proposed zonation hints that the whole Philippine Mobile Belt, except for the strike‐slip fault bounded Eocene Zambales ophiolite complex in Luzon, is underlain by Cretaceous proto‐Philippine Sea Plate fragments. This is contrary to the previous models that consider only the eastern margin of the Philippines to contain proto‐Philippine Sea Plate materials.
Study on Spatial Characteristics of Sea Ice Reserves in Liaodong Bay of China

The sea ice reserves in Liaodong Bay at periods of winter 1999/2000 was estimated using remote sensing. The ice thickness was estimated based on the exponent relationship between ice thickness and its reflectivity. The ice area was obtained by NOAA/AVHRR data at channel 1. To understand the distribution of sea ice reserves, Liaodong Bay was divided into 11 regions and each region was further subdivided into 5 plots in terms of the topographic trend and the distance from coast. The sea ice at the reserves was statistically counted for each plot over different periods. The maximum ice reserve in a normal ice year during the period of grand ice in a natural environment is 30×108 m3, with the center of maximum ice thickness moving from the center of the sea to the eastern coast with the passing of a specific ice period. More ice reserves are distributed on the eastern coast of Liaodong Bay located in the regions between Ying-Kou and Xiong-Yue, and the western coastal regions around Xing-Cheng, which make up 30%-50% of the total ice reserves within Liaodong Bay. These regions are in the best positions to be set up as exploited bases. With respect to the increasing distance from the coast, the sea ice reserves decreased in the eastern coast, increasing slightly to the western coast.
Evidence for the origin of layered deposits in Candor Chasma, Mars, from mineral composition and hydrologic modeling

[1] New results from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and Context Imager cameras on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provide insights into the origin of interior layered deposits in Valles Marineris from analysis of a thick, well-exposed section in western Candor Chasma. Most of the deposit is dominated spectrally by nanophase ferric oxide like that found in the globally distributed eolian dust, with the addition of a prevalent component of monohydrated sulfates. A rippled mantle containing both pyroxene and monohydrated sulfate emanates from discrete layers, which are interpreted as interbedded basaltic sand. Ferric minerals are observed in most of the sulfate-rich layers, and locally a coarse-grained grayer component has been concentrated from the layers by sorting. Polyhydrated sulfates are concentrated in discrete layers high in the section, implying chasma-scale changes in brine chemistry during formation of the layered deposits. Hydrological models were constructed in order to assess whether evaporite deposition from groundwater discharge could have trapped eolian sediments to form the observed deposits. The predicted thickness and extent of the evaporite-trapped sediment is consistent with the distribution of interior layered deposits in Candor Chasma as well as in other chasmata of Valles Marineris. In this scenario, eolian dust and sand were trapped and lithified by evaporites formed by evaporation of groundwater discharge that was highly localized within the chasmata. Sulfates precipitated in the resulting saline conditions, and diagenetic alteration formed crystalline ferric minerals including hematite. This model links the layered deposits in Valles Marineris and those in Meridiani Planum to a common regional process.
Hydrological and isotopic characterization of river water, groundwater, and groundwater recharge in the Heihe River basin, northwestern China

We used hydrochemistry and environmental isotope data (δ18O, δD, tritium, and 14C) to investigate the characteristics of river water, groundwater, and groundwater recharge in China's Heihe River basin. The river water and groundwater could be characterized as Ca2+Mg2+HCO3−SO42− and Na+Mg2+SO42−Cl− types, respectively. Hydrogeochemical modelling using PHREEQC software revealed that the main hydrogeochemical processes are dissolution (except for gypsum and anhydrite) along groundwater flow paths from the upper to middle Heihe reaches. Towards the lower reaches, dolomite and calcite tend to precipitate. The isotopic data for most of the river water and groundwater lie on the global meteoric water line (GMWL) or between the GMWL and the meteoric water line in northwestern China, indicating weak evaporation. No direct relationship existed between recharge and discharge of groundwater in the middle and lower reaches based on the isotope ratios, d‐excess, and 14C values. On the basis of tritium in precipitation and by adopting an exponential piston‐flow model, we evaluated the mean residence time of shallow groundwater with high tritium activities, which was around 50 years (a). Furthermore, based on the several popular models, it is calculated that the deep groundwaters in piedmont alluvial fan zone of the middle reaches and in southern part of the lower reaches are modern water, whereas the deep groundwaters in the edge of the middle reaches and around Juyan Lake in the lower reaches of Heihe river basin are old water. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Overview of the South American biomass burning analysis (SAMBBA) field experiment

Biomass burning represents one of the largest sources of particulate matter to the atmosphere, which results in a significant perturbation to the Earth’s radiative balance coupled with serious negative impacts on public health. Globally, biomass burning aerosols are thought to exert a small warming effect of 0.03 Wm−2, however the uncertainty is 4 times greater than the central estimate. On regional scales, the impact is substantially greater, particularly in areas such as the Amazon Basin where large, intense and frequent burning occurs on an annual basis for several months (usually from August-October). Furthermore, a growing number of people live within the Amazon region, which means that they are subject to the deleterious effects on their health from exposure to substantial volumes of polluted air. Initial results from the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) field experiment, which took place during September and October 2012 over Brazil, are presented here. A suite of instrumentation wa.
Comprehensive Analysis of METTLs (METTL1/13/18/21A/23/25/2A/2B/5/6/9) and Associated mRNA Risk Signature in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Currently, 80%–90% of liver cancers are hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). HCC patients develop insidiously and have an inferior prognosis. The methyltransferase-like (METTL) family principal members are strongly associated with epigenetic and tumor progression. The present study mainly analyzed the value of METTLs (METTL1/13/18/21A/23/25/2A/2B/5/6/9) and associated mRNA risk signature for HCC. METTLs expression is upregulated in HCC and is a poor prognostic factor in HCC. METTLs were upregulated in patients older than 60 and associated with grade. Except for METTL25, the remaining 10 genes were associated with the HCC stage, invasion depth (T). In addition, METTLs showed an overall alteration rate of 50%. Except for METTL13/2A/25/9, the expression of the other seven genes was significantly associated with overall survival, disease-specific survival, and progression-free survival. Multivariate studies have shown that METTL21A/6 can be an independent prognostic marker in HCC. A total of 664 mRNAs were selected based on Pearson correlation coefficient (R > 0.5), unsupervised consensus clustering, weighted coexpression network analysis, and univariate Cox analysis. These mRNAs were significantly associated with METTLs and were poor prognostic factors in HCC patients. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) was used to construct the best METTLs associated with mRNA risk signature. The mRNA risk signature was significantly associated with age, stage, and t grade. The mRNA high-risk group had higher TP53 and RB1 mutations. This study constructed a nomogram with the mRNA risk profile and clinicopathological features, which could better predict the OS of individuals with HCC. We also analyzed associations between METTLs and mRNA risk signatures in epithelial-mesenchymal transition, immune checkpoints, immune cell infiltration, tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, cancer stem cells, tumor pathways, and drug sensitivity. In addition, this study constructed a protein interaction network network including METTLs and mRNA risk signature genes related to tumor microenvironment remodeling based on single-cell sequencing. In conclusion, this study provides a theoretical basis for the mechanism, biomarker screening, and treatment of HCC.
Residual Neural Network Driven Human Activity Recognition by Exploiting FMCW Radar

In recent years, radar-based human activity recognition has attracted the interest of a large number of researchers. Many researchers have proposed various effective processing algorithms. However, a good data processing algorithm not only has high recognition accuracy but also should be closer to the real application environment, such as having better detection robustness and detection sensitivity. This paper proposes a residual-bi-LSTM-attention hybrid multi-network, which has high recognition accuracy and the advantages of strong robustness and detection sensitivity. First, we collected data on five different activities of 13 volunteers in a laboratory setting. Then, after processing the collected data through the proposed algorithm, the micro-Doppler characteristics of each action are obtained. Finally, these desired features are fed into the proposed network for classification and recognition. Experimental results confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed algorithm.
DORF: A Dynamic Object Removal Framework for Robust Static LiDAR Mapping in Urban Environments

3D point cloud maps are widely used in robotic tasks like localization and planning. However, dynamic objects, such as cars and pedestrians, can introduce ghost artifacts during the map generation process, leading to reduced map quality and hindering normal robot navigation. Online dynamic object removal methods are restricted to utilize only local scope information and have limited performance. To address this challenge, we propose DORF (Dynamic Object Removal Framework), a novel coarse-to-fine offline framework that exploits global 4D spatial-temporal LiDAR information to achieve clean static point cloud map generation, which reaches the state-of-the-art performance among existing offline methods. DORF first conservatively preserves the definite static points leveraging the Receding Horizon Sampling (RHS) mechanism proposed by us. Then DORF gradually recovers more ambiguous static points, guided by the inherent characteristic of dynamic objects in urban environments which necessitates their interaction with the ground. We validate the effectiveness and robustness of DORF across various types of highly dynamic datasets.
Extensional tectonics at The Geysers Geothermal Area, California

Comparisons between the yearly volume of steam withdrawn from The Geysers, California, geothermal reservoir and the number of earthquakes indicate that most of the seismicity is induced. To establish the inducing mechanism, an estimate of the stress field orientation was calculated from inversion of 210 fault plane solutions. Below 1 km depth The Geysers is undergoing uniaxial extension with the least principal stress σ3 oriented near horizontal at approximately 105° azimuth. The consistency between the local and regional stress fields indicates that the regional tectonic stress is much larger than the stresses induced locally through geothermal activities. The stress data are equivocal as to whether earthquakes are induced due to conversion of aseismic to seismic slip or by increased shear stresses arising from reservoir contraction. The observed tendency for downward growth of seismicity may arise from a preferential fracture orientation that is near vertical in conjunction with a stress state where the gradient of σ1 exceeds that of σ3. Evidence of extension at The Geysers and in the surrounding Clear Lake region indicates a direct relationship to the presence of the Quaternary Clear Lake Volcanics.
Mitigating the effects of climate change on human health with vaccines and vaccinations

Climate change represents an unprecedented threat to humanity and will be the ultimate challenge of the 21st century. As a public health consequence, the World Health Organization estimates an additional 250,000 deaths annually by 2030, with resource-poor countries being predominantly affected. Although climate change’s direct and indirect consequences on human health are manifold and far from fully explored, a growing body of evidence demonstrates its potential to exacerbate the frequency and spread of transmissible infectious diseases. Effective, high-impact mitigation measures are critical in combating this global crisis. While vaccines and vaccination are among the most cost-effective public health interventions, they have yet to be established as a major strategy in climate change-related health effect mitigation. In this narrative review, we synthesize the available evidence on the effect of climate change on vaccine-preventable diseases. This review examines the direct effect of climate change on water-related diseases such as cholera and other enteropathogens, helminthic infections and leptospirosis. It also explores the effects of rising temperatures on vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and malaria, as well as the impact of temperature and humidity on airborne diseases like influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infection. Recent advances in global vaccine development facilitate the use of vaccines and vaccination as a mitigation strategy in the agenda against climate change consequences. A focused evaluation of vaccine research and development, funding, and distribution related to climate change is required.
Self‐regulation of deep‐ocean internal wave continuum: Observations on related near‐inertial shear and high‐frequency vertical motions

[1] It is shown using detailed yearlong acoustic current observations between 850 and 1350 m that large-scale and small-scale waves in the ocean interior are coupled in a self-regulating fashion. Vertical current shear, a key to vertical mixing, is dominated near the local inertial frequency. Its value follows details of maximum buoyancy frequency ‘Nmax’ in thin layers of different density. Its frequency however, is determined by the minimum Nmin in the near-homogeneous layers between the Nmax-layers. These weakly stratified layers are maintained by overturning of density surfaces due to high-frequency internal waves guided by the shear-layers. Rare vertical current observations show a spectral continuum between [Nmin, Nmax] of low-mode interfacial waves rather than wave-groups propagating through smooth large-scale stratification.