Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modified Entropy Models for the Intracluster Medium

We present a set of cluster models that link the present-day properties of clusters to the processes that govern galaxy formation. These models treat the entropy distribution of the intracluster medium as its most fundamental property. Because convection strives to establish an entropy gradient that rises with radius, the observable properties of a relaxed cluster depend entirely on its dark matter potential and the entropy distribution of its uncondensed gas. Guided by simulations, we compute the intracluster entropy distribution that arises in the absence of radiative cooling and supernova heating by assuming that the gas density distribution would be identical to that of the dark matter. The lowest entropy gas would then fall below a critical entropy threshold at which the cooling time equals a Hubble time. Radiative cooling and whatever feedback is associated with it must modify the entropy of that low-entropy gas, changing the overall entropy distribution function and thereby altering the observable properties of the cluster. Using some phenomenological prescriptions for entropy modification based on the existence of this cooling threshold, we construct a remarkably realistic set of cluster models. The surface brightness profiles, mass-temperature relation, and luminosity-temperature relation of observed clusters all naturally emerge from these models. By introducing a single adjustable parameter related to the amount of intracluster gas that can cool within a Hubble time, we can also reproduce the observed temperature gradients of clusters and the deviations of cooling flow clusters from the standard luminosity-temperature relation.
UNDIFFERENTIATED GESTURES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR SPEECH DISORDERS IN CHILDREN

Research using electropalatography (EPG) has shown that a distinctive articulatory characteristic of lingual consonants in the speech of school age children with articulation/phonological disorders (APD) is a high amount of tongue-palate contact. Consonants produced in this way have been referred to as involving undifferentiated lingual gestures (UGs). UGs are characterised by contact that lacks clear differentiation between the tongue apex, tongue body and lateral margins of the tongue. EPG data from 17 children with APD are summarised and examples given. Standard transcriptions do not reliably detect UGs, which are transcribed as speech errors (e.g. phonological substitutions, phonetic distortions) in some instances, but as correct productions in others. UGs are interpreted as reflecting a speech motor constraint involving either delayed or deviant control of functionally independent regions of the tongue. The implications of the phenomenon are discussed in terms of the assessment and diagnosis of speech disorders in children. 1. ARTICULATION/PHONOLOGICAL DISORDERS 1.
Effect of supplementing essential oils on the in vitro methane production and digestibility of wheat straw

The study was taken up to assess the effect of the pure essential oils (EOs) viz. cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, carvone and limonene supplemented individually at 1 to 5% levels of the substrate DM (wheat straw) on the in vitro methane production and fiber degradation in a 4 × 7 factorial design. Supplementation of cinnamaldehyde and carvon, irrespective of their level had significantly (P < 0.01) higher net gas production (NGP), digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDFD) and true organic matter (TOMD), metabolizable energy (ME) availability and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production from the substrate. The methane production was lowest (P < 0.01) in carvacrol followed by limonene and highest (P < 0.01) in carvone supplemented groups. Irrespective of the type of EO, the NGP and ME availability at 1% level of supplementation was comparable with control, while values of all other parameters were significantly (P < 0.01) lower than control and positive control. The NGP, NDFD and TOMD, ME availability, methane production and total and individual VFAs production was depressed significantly (P < 0.01) beyond 1% level of supplementation of EO. It was concluded that carvacrol or limonene supplementation beyond 1% level reduced the methane production but the digestibility of nutrients, volatile fatty acid production and ME availability from the substrate were also depressed significantly.
DISCLOSURE IN BANKING : WHAT MATTERS MOST ?

A number of policy proposals such as Pillar 3 of Basel II aim to develop a set of disclosure requirements that improves market participants’ ability to assess a bank’s value. Since disclosure might entail considerable costs, it is important to assess which disclosure items are most useful for financial markets and for the banks themselves before deciding on what information the recommended set of disclosure requirements should contain. This paper addresses this issue using a unique dataset on close to 600 banks in 31 countries over the period 1993-2000. The dataset includes detailed information on whether a bank discloses a number of dimensions of its risk exposure, covering 17 categories related to interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and market risk. We pursue three approaches. First, we investigate the relationship between the volatility of a bank’s stock price and the amount of information the bank discloses to the market and examine whether high disclosure may be related to lower stock volatility. Second, we analyse the relationship between Tobin’s Q and disclosure and ask whether banks that disclose more information might have higher market valuations than banks that disclose less. While these two questions relate to the potential benefits of disclosure from the point of view of the banks, our third approach relates to whether disclosure is useful from the point of view of the market. In particular, we investigate whether disclosure increases the relationship between accounting information and the market’s valuation of banks. For each of these three approaches we examine summary measures of disclosure as well as particular aspects of bank disclosure. Our findings generally confirm the hypotheses that disclosure decreases stock volatility, increases market values and increases the usefulness of company accounts in predicting valuations. 1 Both authors are at the Bank of England. Correspondence address: Ursel Baumann, FIRD HO-3, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH, United Kingdom, Tel: +44 2076015006, ursel.baumann@bankofengland.co.uk or Erlend Nier, FIRD HO-3, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 207 6013239, erlend.nier@bankofengland.co.uk. All errors or omissions are those of the authors. The views expressed in this paper are strictly those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Bank of England. Doc. 54106v4 25/09/03 2
Simulation of hurricane response to suppression of warm rain by sub-micron aerosols

Abstract. The feasibility of hurricane modification was investigated for hurricane Katrina using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF). The possible impact of seeding of clouds with submicron cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) on hurricane structure and intensity as measured by nearly halving of the area covered by hurricane force winds was simulated by "turning–off" warm rain formation in the clouds at Katrina's periphery (where wind speeds were less than 22 m s−1). This simplification of the simulation of aerosol effects is aimed at evaluating the largest possible response. This resulted in the weakening of the hurricane surface winds compared to the "non-seeded" simulated storm during the first 24 h within the entire tropical cyclone (TC) area compared to a control simulation without warm rain suppression. Later, the seeding-induced evaporative cooling at the TC periphery led to a shrinking of the eye and hence to some increase in the wind within the small central area of the TC. Yet, the overall strength of the hurricane, as defined by the area covered by hurricane force winds, decreased in response to the suppressed warm rain at the periphery, as measured by a 25% reduction in the radius of hurricane force winds. In a simulation with warm rain suppression throughout the hurricane, the radius of the hurricane force winds was reduced by more than 42%, and although the diameter of the eye shrunk even further the maximum winds weakened. This shows that the main mechanism by which suppressing warm rain weakens the TC is the low level evaporative cooling of the un-precipitated cloud drops and the added cooling due to melting of precipitation that falls from above.
On-line adaptation and Bayesian detection of environmental changes based on a macroscopic time evolution system

Acoustic characteristics are often changed over time as a result of various factors including changes of speakers, speaking styles, and noise sources. Incremental adaptation techniques for speech recognition are aimed at adjusting acoustic models quickly and stably to such time-variant acoustic characteristics. Recently we proposed a novel incremental adaptation framework based on a macroscopic time evolution system, which models the time-variant characteristics by successively updating posterior distributions of acoustic model parameters. This paper proposes fast incremental adaptation based on a macroscopic time evolution system that realizes an utterance-by-utterance update by approximating the posterior distributions. This adaptation was used to perform on-line adaptation of Japanese broadcast news for very large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (700k vocabulary size) in real time. The word accuracy was improved from 73.9% to 85.1%. In addition, by incorporating a Bayesian model selection approach, we realized the simultaneous on-line adaptation and detection of environmental changes.
Financial Development, Environmental Quality and Economic Growth

In this study, the relationships between financial development, environmental quality and economic growth are studied based on data from 102 countries over the period 1980–2010 using the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation. The econometric results show the following three basic conclusions: First, both financial development and environmental quality have a significant impact on economic growth and should be included in the production function of the economic growth model as important variables. Second, there is a significant and robust “inverted U-shaped” relationship between financial development and economic growth; with the improvement of the level of financial development, economic growth would first increase and then decrease, which is consistent with the results of previous studies. Third, there is also a significant and robust “inverted U-shaped” relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions, indicating that there exists a “critical point” at which achieving economic growth comes at the expense of environmental quality, and after passing the critical point, the deterioration of environmental quality will lead to a significant slowdown in economic growth. In addition, the econometric analysis in this paper also shows that there was a mutually promoting and strengthening relationship between financial development and environmental quality. Specifically, the degree of financial development can further strengthen the promoting effect of environmental quality on economic growth; meanwhile, an improvement in environmental quality can also strengthen the promoting effect of financial development on economic growth. Financial development and environmental quality could influence economic growth through strengthening the marginal product effects of capital and labor, which further indicates the that both financial and environmental factors play an important role in modern economic development.
Adaptive Weapon-to-Target Assignment Model Based on the Real-Time Prediction of Hit Probability

Weapon-to-target assignment (WTA), which minimizes the damage to our forces by launching interceptor missiles (weapons) against ballistic missiles of the enemy (targets), is a critical decision-making problem of ballistic missile defense missions. The primary objective is to launch an interceptor with a high hit probability for each target. The existing research on WTA assumes that the hit probability is known before an engagement regardless of whether the probability varies during the engagement. However, the hit probability in actual engagement situations is a time-dependent variable that changes in accordance with the flight states of the target and interceptor that are unknown in advance. Therefore, a rolling horizon-based decision approach is necessary. In this research, we propose an adaptive WTA (AWTA) model that makes WTA decisions at each radar scanning time based on the hit probability predicted using radar information about the engagement situation–for each target, an interceptor with a hit probability higher than a threshold is launched, thereby maximizing the total hit result. A machine learning model is suggested to learn the probabilistic relationship between the flight states and hit results, and this model is embedded in the solution procedure of the AWTA model. The performance of the AWTA model is evaluated via a simulation-based experiment, and the results confirm that the proposed AWTA model is appropriate for real-time engagement situations.
Anisotropic Mesh Refinement: The Conditioning of Galerkin Boundary Element Matrices and Simple Preconditioners

In this paper we obtain upper and lower bounds on the spectrum of the stiffness matrix arising from a finite element Galerkin approximation (using nodal basis functions) of a bounded, symmetric bilinear form which is elliptic on a Sobolev space of real index m \in [-1,1]. The key point is that the finite element mesh is required to be neither quasi-uniform nor shape-regular, so that our theory allows anisotropic meshes often used in practice. (However, we assume that the polynomial degree of the elements is fixed.) Our bounds indicate the ill-conditioning which can arise from anisotropic mesh refinement. In addition we obtain spectral bounds for the diagonally scaled stiffness matrix, which indicate the improvement provided by this simple preconditioning. For the special case of boundary integral operators on a two-dimensional screen in R3, numerical experiments show that our bounds are sharp. We find that diagonal scaling essentially removes the ill-conditioning due to mesh degeneracy, leading to the same asymptotic growth in the condition number as arises for a quasi-uniform mesh refinement. Our results thus generalize earlier work by Bank and Scott [SIAM J. Numer. Anal. , 26 (1989), pp. 1383-1394] and Ainsworth, McLean, and Tran [SIAM J. Numer. Anal. , 36 (1999), pp. 1901-1932] for the shape-regular case.
Survivors of childhood cancer and comparison peers: the influence of peer factors on later externalizing behavior in emerging adulthood.

OBJECTIVE To examine group differences and predictors of externalizing behavior and substance use during the transition to emerging adulthood (i.e., ages 18-25) among survivors of childhood cancer and comparison peers. METHODS Peer acceptance and social behavior were assessed in classrooms of 55 children (ages 8-15) during cancer treatment. Children with cancer, comparison peers (n = 60), and parents completed measures of externalizing behavior and/or substance use during an initial home visit and soon after participants turned 18. RESULTS At follow-up, survivors and peers exhibited similar externalizing behaviors and substance use, except peers were more likely to use marijuana. Substance use was associated with earlier peer acceptance and social behavior. Survivors who were older at diagnosis were at greater risk for later externalizing behavior and substance use. CONCLUSIONS Mean externalizing behaviors and substance use generally fell within normative ranges for both survivors and peers. Some survivors may benefit from interventions to reduce risk behavior.
Description of the Earth system model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM version 1.2

Abstract. The main characteristics of the new version 1.2 of the three-dimensional Earth system model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM are briefly described. LOVECLIM 1.2 includes representations of the atmosphere, the ocean and sea ice, the land surface (including vegetation), the ice sheets, the icebergs and the carbon cycle. The atmospheric component is ECBilt2, a T21, 3-level quasi-geostrophic model. The ocean component is CLIO3, which consists of an ocean general circulation model coupled to a comprehensive thermodynamic-dynamic sea-ice model. Its horizontal resolution is of 3° by 3°, and there are 20 levels in the ocean. ECBilt-CLIO is coupled to VECODE, a vegetation model that simulates the dynamics of two main terrestrial plant functional types, trees and grasses, as well as desert. VECODE also simulates the evolution of the carbon cycle over land while the ocean carbon cycle is represented by LOCH, a comprehensive model that takes into account both the solubility and biological pumps. The ice sheet component AGISM is made up of a three-dimensional thermomechanical model of the ice sheet flow, a visco-elastic bedrock model and a model of the mass balance at the ice-atmosphere and ice-ocean interfaces. For both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, calculations are made on a 10 km by 10 km resolution grid with 31 sigma levels. LOVECLIM1.2 reproduces well the major characteristics of the observed climate both for present-day conditions and for key past periods such as the last millennium, the mid-Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum. However, despite some improvements compared to earlier versions, some biases are still present in the model. The most serious ones are mainly located at low latitudes with an overestimation of the temperature there, a too symmetric distribution of precipitation between the two hemispheres, and an overestimation of precipitation and vegetation cover in the subtropics. In addition, the atmospheric circulation is too weak. The model also tends to underestimate the surface temperature changes (mainly at low latitudes) and to overestimate the ocean heat uptake observed over the last decades.
University lecturers’ construction of the ‘ideal’ undergraduate student

ABSTRACT Research on the ‘ideal’ or ‘good’ student tends to be situated within compulsory schooling. Few recent studies have focused on lecturers’ conceptualisation and construction of the ‘ideal’ university student. Informed by 30 in-depth interviews with lecturers from two post-92 English universities within the social sciences, we explore how the notion of ‘ideal’ student is understood in contemporary higher education. We focus on lecturers’ expectations of undergraduate students, as well as their views of the ‘ideal’ student in different teaching and learning contexts. We identified specific personal and academic skillsets that are desirable of students, including preparation, engagement and commitment, as well as being critical, reflective and making progress. The ability to achieve high grades, interestingly, is rarely mentioned as important. Implications for policy and practice are discussed as we present a much-needed update on the current features of the ‘ideal’ university student, which can influence student experience, especially the lecturer-student relationship. Video abstract Watch the video on Vimeo
Using Incremental PLSI for Threshold-Resilient Online Event Analysis

The goal of online event analysis is to detect events and track their associated documents in real time from a continuous stream of documents generated by multiple information sources. Unlike traditional text categorization methods, event analysis approaches consider the temporal relations among documents. However, such methods suffer from the threshold-dependency problem, so they only perform well for a narrow range of thresholds. In addition, if the contents of a document stream change, the optimal threshold (that is, the threshold that yields the best performance) often changes as well. In this paper, we propose a threshold-resilient online algorithm, called the incremental probabilistic latent semantic indexing (IPLSI) algorithm, which alleviates the threshold-dependency problem and simultaneously maintains the continuity of the latent semantics to better capture the story line development of events. The IPLSI algorithm is theoretically sound and empirically efficient and effective for event analysis. The results of the performance evaluation performed on the topic detection and tracking (TDT)-4 corpus show that the algorithm reduces the cost of event analysis by as much as 15 percent ~ 20 percent and increases the acceptable threshold range by 200 percent to 300 percent over the baseline.
Second Wave Positive Psychology

Positive psychology (PP) is commonly associated with the theory and research of positive psychological qualities, positive states, and positive aspects of life. Yet, in reality, it includes some of the most difficult, painful, and challenging experiences that are commonly encountered during the course of a lifetime. This article offers an overview of PP and explores the emergence of second wave positive psychology (SWPP), a field concerned with the philosophical and conceptual complexities of the notion of “positive,” and considers the dialectical nature of flourishing through the dynamic interplay of both positive and negative experiences.
Problems associated with scuba diving are not evenly distributed across a menstrual cycle

Summary The problems encountered during scuba diving may be a contributing factor in an episode of decompression illness (DCI). Evidence exists that there may be a relationship between the position in the menstrual cycle and the occurrence of DCI. We examined, by prospective observation in female recreational scuba divers, any interaction between reported problems during diving (RPDD) and the position in the menstrual cycle. A total of 533 women, aged between 14 and 57 years, returned diaries for >6 months, with 61% returning diaries for 3 consecutive years. A total of 34,625 dives were reported within 11,461 menstrual cycles between 21 and 40 days in length, with 65% of women reporting at least one RPDD. Logistic regression showed a significant non-linear relationship between the position in the menstrual cycle and RPDD (p = 0.004). RPDD were not evenly distributed over the menstrual cycle; the rate per 1,000 dives varied from 39.2 at start of the cycle to 19.7 during week 3, and 31.9 in week 4. We concluded these field data suggest a possible correlation between the incidence of RPDD and the position in which they occurred in the menstrual cycle.
Primary Readers’ Perceptions of a Camp Guided Reading Intervention: A Qualitative Case Study of Motivation and Engagement

Abstract Reading motivation declines across elementary school. Although a substantive body of empirical work exists specific to the reading motivation of older children, researchers have paid less attention to younger readers. Given that children’s perceptions of school experiences shape motivation, and motivation impacts achievement, it is imperative that experts address this gap. This qualitative case study probed 3 primary-age boys’ perceptions of the benefits and costs associated with involvement in a school-sponsored camp guided reading intervention. I considered students’ perceptions alongside adult reports of behavioral engagement to infer how the intervention influenced each camper’s developing reading motivation. Despite sharing perceived benefits of involvement in the intervention, 2 boys indicated that the cost of boredom due to teacher-selected texts would heavily influence their future decisions to participate in similar activities. Findings suggest that educators and researchers should sincerely consider students’ perceived benefits and costs of program involvement when designing and modifying reading interventions.