Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of hydraulic property correlation on predicted dense nonaqueous phase liquid source zone architecture, mass recovery and contaminant flux

Organic liquid saturation distributions resulting from a simulated tetrachloroethene (PCE) spill were generated with alternative models of spatially varying aquifer properties for a statistically homogeneous, nonuniform sand aquifer. The distributions were analyzed to quantify DNAPL source zone characteristics and then incorporated as initial conditions for simulated PCE recovery using surfactant‐enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR). The predicted evolution of the spatial distribution of DNAPL saturations or source zone “architectures” and associated remediation efficiencies are strongly influenced by the spatial correlation of aquifer parameters and multiphase flow constitutive relationships. Model predictions suggest that removal of 60 to 99% of entrapped PCE can reduce dissolved contaminant concentration and mass flux under natural gradient conditions by approximately two orders of magnitude. Aqueous phase contaminant flux, however, does not vary consistently as a function of the percentage of DNAPL removed, and notable differences in flux evolution were observed for models incorporating correlated versus uncorrelated capillary entry pressure and permeability fields. Simulation results demonstrate that the application of alternative models of aquifer parameter spatial variability can influence predicted DNAPL infiltration, entrapment, and recovery, even for relatively homogeneous aquifers of the type investigated here. Results also demonstrate potential benefits, in the form of reduced mass flux, accruing from partial mass removal that may not be readily predicted from analyses relying on simplified conceptual models for DNAPL source zone architecture or aquifer flow fields.
Chronic ankle instability: evolution of the model.

CONTEXT The Hertel model of chronic ankle instability (CAI) is commonly used in research but may not be sufficiently comprehensive. Mechanical instability and functional instability are considered part of a continuum, and recurrent sprain occurs when both conditions are present. A modification of the Hertel model is proposed whereby these 3 components can exist independently or in combination. OBJECTIVE To examine the fit of data from people with CAI to 2 CAI models and to explore whether the different subgroups display impairments when compared with a control group. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Community-dwelling adults and adolescent dancers were recruited: 137 ankles with ankle sprain for objective 1 and 81 with CAI and 43 controls for objective 2. INTERVENTION(S) Two balance tasks and time to recover from an inversion perturbation were assessed to determine if the subgroups demonstrated impairments when compared with a control group (objective 2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) For objective 1 (fit to the 2 models), outcomes were Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool score, anterior drawer test results, and number of sprains. For objective 2, outcomes were 2 balance tasks (number of foot lifts in 30 seconds, ability to balance on the ball of the foot) and time to recover from an inversion perturbation. The Cohen d was calculated to compare each subgroup with the control group. RESULTS A total of 56.5% of ankles (n = 61) fit the Hertel model, whereas all ankles (n = 108) fit the proposed model. In the proposed model, 42.6% of ankles were classified as perceived instability, 30.5% as recurrent sprain and perceived instability, and 26.9% as among the remaining groups. All CAI subgroups performed more poorly on the balance and inversion-perturbation tasks than the control group. Subgroups with perceived instability had greater impairment in single-leg stance, whereas participants with recurrent sprain performed more poorly than the other subgroups when balancing on the ball of the foot. Only individuals with hypomobility appeared unimpaired when recovering from an inversion perturbation. CONCLUSIONS The new model of CAI is supported by the available data. Perceived instability alone and in combination characterized the majority of participants. Several impairments distinguished the sprain groups from the control group.
The Relationship between Trading Volume and Stock Returns Index of Amman Stocks Exchange Analytical Study ( 2000-2014)

Introduction ordan know trading in shares since the beginning of the thirties of the twentieth century, where trading was done through the market irregularly by some brokerage firms, until issued Law No. (31) of 1976, under which was established Amman financial market as a market regulator and as a supervisor and an executive at the one (Khatib, 2006). Both the trading volume and stock prices basic rule by which describe the state of the financial market, and investors are keep it out to trace these two variables constantly and alarmingly somewhat due to the adoption of their investment decisions on them, along with the use of these two variables in assessing the performance of the financial market through the volume of information available (Karpio, et-al, 2012). Where the Sun Illustrates (2003) to understand the relationship between trading volume and stock returns in the futures markets and speculative markets is essential for traders in these markets, because the fluctuation in prices affect the volume of trading in futures contracts, as well as the rate of return to take distribution is normal. This study has received the relationship between trading volume and stock returns attention of many researchers, economists, and there are many studies that have been made in different markets in order to test the relationship between trading volume and stock returns, but these studies have been mostly applied in the development financial markets, while it did not have markets emerging among which Arabic enough research into the relationship (Al-Zubaidi and others, 2008). Therefore, this study was to look at the nature of the correlation between trading volume and stock prices in the Amman Stock Exchange.
The Maximum Edge-Disjoint Paths Problem in Bidirected Trees

A bidirected tree is the directed graph obtained from an undirected tree by replacing each undirected edge by two directed edges with opposite directions. Given a set of directed paths in a bidirected tree, the goal of the maximum edge-disjoint paths problem is to select a maximum-cardinality subset of the paths such that the selected paths are edge-disjoint. This problem can be solved optimally in polynomial time for bidirected trees of constant degree but is APX-hard for bidirected trees of arbitrary degree. For every fixed $\varepsilon >0$, a polynomial-time $(5/3+\varepsilon)$-approximation algorithm is presented.
Sovereign Wealth Funds: Investment Objectives and Asset Allocation Strategies

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have steadily increased their importance in the global financial system in the last decade and especially during the financial crisis period. They currently have almost $6 trillion assets under management, which is more than the assets of Private Equity and Hedge Funds together. Although the objectives and investment strategies of SWFs are quite diverse, I propose to sort them into three main groups, depending on their sponsor countries' endowment with resources and investment objectives. The first group of SWFs depends on funds generated from the extraction of natural resources and intends to support the economy's transformation to a viable structure for future industry. The second group invests strategically to ensure the availability of resources or technology. The main investment objective of these funds may be partly perceived as political in nature. The third group includes funds whose primary objective is to optimize asset allocation decisions in order to generate high wealth and income for future generations. I present case studies and empirical analyses that reflect SWF investment activities and try to elaborate on the special role of each SWF group. Special emphasis is given to the recent financial crisis, where SWFs also acted as bailout investors by injecting substantial capital into global financial institutions, filling a financing gap that other institutional investors could not close.
Linking Recreation Demand and Willingness to Pay with the Inclusive Value: Valuation of Saginaw Bay Coastal Marsh

In this paper we propose an alternative model for linking revealed preference and stated preference models of recreation when a single travel cost measure is difficult to obtain. We show that this model can be used to test convergent validity and offers an alternative scope test that does not rely on split-sample contingent valuation scenarios. Our results are mixed. In three of four models the inclusive value is negatively related to the willingness to donate but unrelated to the willingness to pay. This result suggests that recreation nonusers hold nonuse values while recreation users do not hold nonuse values.
Learning Distributed Representations of Phrases

Recent work in Natural Language Processing has focused on learning distributed representations of words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and even whole documents. In such representations, text is represented using multi-dimensional vectors and similarity between pieces of text can be measured using similarity between such vectors. In this project I focus my attention on learning representations of phrases - sequences of two or more words that can function as a single unit in a sentence.
L Log L Criterion for a Class of Superdiffusions

In Lyons, Pemantle and Peres (1995), a martingale change of measure method was developed in order to give an alternative proof of the Kesten–Stigum L log L theorem for single-type branching processes. Later, this method was extended to prove the L log L theorem for multiple- and general multiple-type branching processes in Biggins and Kyprianou (2004), Kurtz et al. (1997), and Lyons (1997). In this paper we extend this method to a class of superdiffusions and establish a Kesten–Stigum L log L type theorem for superdiffusions. One of our main tools is a spine decomposition of superdiffusions, which is a modification of the one in Englander and Kyprianou (2004).
Row for Your Life: A Century of Mortality Follow-Up of French Olympic Rowers

Background/Aim Strenuous endurance training required to participate in the highest sports level has been associated with deleterious effects on elite athletes' health and cardiac abnormalities. We aimed to describe overall mortality and main causes of deaths of male French rowers participating in at least one Olympic Game (OG) from 1912 to 2012 in comparison with the French general population. Methods Identity information and vital status of French Olympic rowers were validated by National sources from 1912 to 2013 (study's endpoint) among 203 rowers; 52 out of 255 (20.3%) were excluded because their vital statuses could not be confirmed. Main causes of deaths were obtained from the National registry from 1968 up to 2012. Overall and disease-specific mortalities were calculated through standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) with its 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The overall mortality was calculated for the whole rowers' cohort (PT) and for two periods apart: (P1) including rowers from 1912 to 1936 OG, a cohort in which all rowers have deceased and (P2) considering rowers from 1948 to 2012 OG. Results Among the 203 rowers analysed, 46 died before the study's endpoint, mainly from neoplasms (33%), cardiovascular diseases (21%) and external causes (18%). PT demonstrates a significant 42% lower overall mortality (SMR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.43–0.78, p<0.001), P1 a 37% reduction (SMR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.43–0.89, p = 0.009) and P2 a 60% reduction (SMR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.23–0.65, p<0.001) compared with their compatriots. Mortality due to cardiovascular diseases is significantly reduced (SMR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.16–0.84, p = 0.01) among rowers. Conclusions French Olympic rowers benefit of lower overall mortality compared with the French general population. Among rowers' main causes of death, cardiovascular diseases are reduced in relation to their compatriots. Analytical studies with larger samples are needed to understand the reasons for such reductions.
Neural network detection of management fraud using published financial data

This paper uses Artificial Neural Networks to develop a model for detecting management fraud. Although similar to the more widely investigated area of bankruptcy prediction, research has been minimal. To increase the body of knowledge on this subject, we offer an in-depth examination of important publicly available predictors of fraudulent financial statements. We test the value of these suggested variables for detection of fraudulent financial statements within a matched pairs sample. We use a self organizing Artificial Neural Network (ANN) AutoNet in conjunction with standard statistical tools to investigate the usefulness of these publicly available predictors. Our study results in a model with a high probability of detecting fraudulent financial statements on one sample. The study reinforces the validity and efficiency of AutoNet as a research tool and provides additional empirical evidence regarding the merits of suggested red flags for fraudulent financial statements.
Prediction of Currency Crises: Case of Turkey

This paper explores the issue of constructing an economic predictive model of financial vulnerability through an alternative econometric methodology that addresses drawbacks in existing approaches. The methodology entails estimating a Markov regime switching model of exchange rate movements, with time-varying transition probabilities. Experiments with monthly and weekly models indicate that real exchange rate, foreign exchange reserves and domestic credit/deposit ratio are the most important determinants of financial vulnerability. These variables should be observed very closely by researchers and policy makers in order to determine if the country is heading for financially difficult times.
Clinical and positron emission tomography of Parkinson's disease caused by LRRK2

We have recently identified mutations in a gene leucine‐rich repeat kinase–2 (LRRK2), which cause autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease. Here, we describe two families with autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease caused by a LRRK2 G2019S mutation. We present here a clinical description of patients, including 6‐18F‐fluoro‐L‐dopa positron emission tomography and discuss the potential implications of this mutation, which alters a conserved residue in a domain required for kinase activation. Ann Neurol 2005;57:453–456
Elf1p, a Member of the ABC Class of ATPases, Functions as a mRNA Export Factor in Schizosacchromyces pombe *

Rae1p and Mex67p/Tap are conserved mRNA export factors. We have used synthetic lethal genetic screens inSchizosaccharomyces pombe to identify mutations in genes that are functionally linked to rae1 and mex67in mRNA export. From these screens, we have isolated mutations in a putative S. pombe homologue of theCandida albicans elf1 gene. The elf1 ofS. pombe is not an essential gene. When elf1mutations are combined with rae1-167 mutation, growth and mRNA export is inhibited in the double mutants. This inhibition can be suppressed by the multicopy expression of mex67suggesting that Mex67p can substitute for the loss of Elf1p function. Elf1p is a non-membrane member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) class of ATPase and the GFP-Elf1p fusion localizes to the cytoplasm. Elf1p, expressed and purified from Escherichia coli, binds and hydrolyzes ATP. A mutant Elf1p that carries a glycine to aspartic acid (G731D) mutation within the Walker A domain of the second ATP site retains the ATP binding but loses its ATPase activity in vitro. This mutant protein no longer functions in mRNA export. Taken together, our results show that Elf1p functions as a mRNA export factor along with Rae1p and Mex67p in S. pombe.
Global Stability and Local Bifurcations in a Two-Fluid Model for Tokamak Plasma

We study a two-fluid description for high and low temperature components of the electron velocity distribution in an idealized tokamak plasma evolving on a cylindrical domain, taking into account nonlinear drift effects only. We refine previous results on the laminar steady state stability and include viscosity. Taking the temperature difference as the primary parameter, we show that linear instabilities and bifurcations occur within a finite interval and for small enough viscosity only, while the steady state is globally stable for parameters sufficiently far outside the interval. We find that primary instabilities always stem from the lowest spatial harmonics for aspect ratios of poloidal versus radial extent below some value larger than 2. Moreover, we show that any codimension-one bifurcation of the laminar state is supercritical, yielding spatio-temporal oscillations in the form of traveling waves, and hence locally stable for such bifurcations destabilizing the laminar state. In the degenerate case,.
Integrating information and communications technology (ICT) into pre-service science teacher education : the challenges of change in a Turkish faculty of education

Integrating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into Pre-Service Science Teacher Education: The Challenge of Change in a Turkish Faculty of Education Nedim ALEV, EdD Thesis, August 2003 Developments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and its applications in teaching and learning science are calling for teachers to integrate ICT into science curriculum and instruction. This requires a strategic ICT training for prospective teachers. The literature suggests that integrating ICT into Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is the only option to accomplish the intended change in developing prospective teachers. This thesis focuses on exploring the process of integrating ICT into pre-service secondary science teacher education programmes (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) and its emerging challenges in a Faculty of Education (FE) in Turkey. In this thesis, qualitative dominant case study design was adopted as a result of a pragmatic reasoning. The analysis of data revealed that integrating ICT into ITE science programmes is yet to be accomplished. The data revealed that the participants, both the lecturers and student teachers, have positive attitudes towards ICT and considerable knowledge and positive understanding of ICT and its potential in teaching and learning science. However, the Faculty fails to provide appropriate ICT-training courses for student teachers to develop their technical ICT skills. Having said this, there are crucial examples of horizontal integration; that is, the lecturers provide opportunities for the student teachers to use ICT in meaningful contexts. The data suggest that there is a relationship between the practitioners‘ stages of concern and stages of adoption, which can be described as follows: the personal level of concern moves from the self-concerns‘ to task and impact-concerns‘, the personal adoption level is also likely to move from entry to invention. Although the participants and the researcher identified some crucial factors that has prevented the lecturers and student teachers from using ICT in teaching and learning, among these the institutional ones such as lack of proper access to ICT resources, overcrowded-classrooms, lack of technical and pedagogical support are more influential on the integration process.
Lateral spacing of adhesion peptides influences human mesenchymal stem cell behaviour

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted great interest in recent years for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications due to their ease of isolation and multipotent differentiation capacity. In the past, MSC research has focussed on the effects of soluble cues, such as growth factors and cytokines; however, there is now increasing interest in understanding how parameters such as substrate modulus, specific extracellular matrix (ECM) components and the ways in which these are presented to the cell can influence MSC properties. Here we use surfaces of self-assembled maleimide-functionalized polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymers (PS-PEO-Ma) to investigate how the spatial arrangement of cell adhesion ligands affects MSC behaviour. By changing the ratio of PS-PEO-Ma in mixtures of block copolymer and polystyrene homopolymer, we can create surfaces with lateral spacing of the PEO-Ma domains ranging from 34 to 62 nm. Through subsequent binding of cysteine–GRGDS peptides to the maleimide-terminated end of the PEO chains in each of these domains, we are able to present tailored surfaces of controlled lateral spacing of RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid) peptides to MSCs. We demonstrate that adhesion of MSCs to the RGD-functionalized block-copolymer surfaces is through specific attachment to the presented RGD motif and that this is mediated by α5, αV, β1 and β3 integrins. We show that as the lateral spacing of the peptides is increased, the ability of the MSCs to spread is diminished and that the morphology changes from well-spread cells with normal fibroblastic morphology and defined stress-fibres, to less-spread cells with numerous cell protrusions and few stress fibres. In addition, the ability of MSCs to form mature focal adhesions is reduced on substrates with increased lateral spacing. Finally, we investigate differentiation and use qRT-PCR determination of gene expression levels and a quantitative alkaline phosphatase assay to show that MSC osteogenesis is reduced on surfaces with increased lateral spacing while adipogenic differentiation is increased. We show here, for the first time, that the lateral spacing of adhesion peptides affects human MSC (hMSC) properties and might therefore be a useful parameter with which to modify hMSC behaviour in future tissue engineering strategies.
NIMROD/O: A TOOL FOR AUTOMATIC DESIGN OPTIMISATION USING PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS

This paper describes a novel tool called Nimrod/O that allows a user to run an arbitrary computational model as the core of a non-linear optimization process. Nimrod/O allows a user to specify the domain and type of parameters to the model, and also a specification of which output variable is to be minimized or maximized. Accordingly, a user can formulate a question like: “what parameter settings will minimize the model output? ”. Nimrod/O currently employs a number of built-in optimization algorithms, namely BFGS, Simplex, Divide and Conquer and Simulated Annealing. Jobs can be executed on a variety of platforms, including distributed clusters and Computational Grid resources. The paper demonstrates the utility of the system with a number of case studies.
Chaotic hypothesis

Chaotic Hypothesis: assumes that quite generally a system exhibiting chaotic motions does so in a maximal form so that it can be supposed to be a transitive hyperbolic system. This is analogous to the assumption that a system exhibiting only non chaotic motions is an integrable system, i.e. it is as ordered as possible and it can be, quite generally, either supposed to consist of harmonic oscillators or to be trivially related to such systems. The assumption implies that all observables have well defined time averages independent on the initial data, with the exception of initial data forming a zero volume set. The assumption also implies the ergodic hypothesis when the systems are Hamiltonian and can be viewed as its extension to non Hamiltonian ones.