Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Refined algebraic quantisation with the triangular subgroup of SL(2,R)

We investigate refined algebraic quantisation with group averaging in a constrained Hamiltonian system whose gauge group is the connected component of the lower triangular subgroup of SL(2,R). The unreduced phase space is T^*R^{p+q} with p>0 and q>0, and the system has a distinguished classical o(p,q) observable algebra. Group averaging with the geometric average of the right and left invariant measures, invariant under the group inverse, yields a Hilbert space that carries a maximally degenerate principal unitary series representation of O(p,q). The representation is nontrivial iff (p,q) is not (1,1), which is also the condition for the classical reduced phase space to be a symplectic manifold up to a singular subset of measure zero. We present a detailed comparison to an algebraic quantisation that imposes the constraints in the sense H_a Psi = 0 and postulates self-adjointness of the o(p,q) observables. Under certain technical assumptions that parallel those of the group averaging theory, this algebraic quantisation gives no quantum theory when (p,q) = (1,2) or (2,1), or when p>1, q>1 and p+q is odd.
Age-Related Cochlear Synaptopathy: An Early-Onset Contributor to Auditory Functional Decline

Aging listeners experience greater difficulty understanding speech in adverse listening conditions and exhibit degraded temporal resolution, even when audiometric thresholds are normal. When threshold evidence for peripheral involvement is lacking, central and cognitive factors are often cited as underlying performance declines. However, previous work has uncovered widespread loss of cochlear afferent synapses and progressive cochlear nerve degeneration in noise-exposed ears with recovered thresholds and no hair cell loss (Kujawa and Liberman 2009). Here, we characterize age-related cochlear synaptic and neural degeneration in CBA/CaJ mice never exposed to high-level noise. Cochlear hair cell and neuronal function was assessed via distortion product otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responses, respectively. Immunostained cochlear whole mounts and plastic-embedded sections were studied by confocal and conventional light microscopy to quantify hair cells, cochlear neurons, and synaptic structures, i.e., presynaptic ribbons and postsynaptic glutamate receptors. Cochlear synaptic loss progresses from youth (4 weeks) to old age (144 weeks) and is seen throughout the cochlea long before age-related changes in thresholds or hair cell counts. Cochlear nerve loss parallels the synaptic loss, after a delay of several months. Key functional clues to the synaptopathy are available in the neural response; these can be accessed noninvasively, enhancing the possibilities for translation to human clinical characterization.
Impact of Online Consumer Reviews on Sales: The Moderating Role of Product and Consumer Characteristics

This article examines how product and consumer characteristics moderate the influence of online consumer reviews on product sales using data from the video game industry. The findings indicate that online reviews are more influential for less popular games and games whose players have greater Internet experience. The article shows differential impact of consumer reviews across products in the same product category and suggests that firms’ online marketing strategies should be contingent on product and consumer characteristics. The authors discuss the implications of these results in light of the increased share of niche products in recent years.
Understanding Pro-Environmental Behavior in the US: Insights from Grid-Group Cultural Theory and Cognitive Sociology

For almost fifty years researchers have endeavored to identify the factors that influence individuals’ performance of environmentally significant behavior, with inconsistent results. This quest has become even more urgent as newly released scientific reports provide mounting evidence of global climate change and other types of anthropogenic environmental degradation. In order to change individuals’ behavior on a large scale, it is necessary to change their habits of thinking. Using insights from Grid-group cultural theory and cognitive sociology, this mixed-methods study examined the factors that influence pro-environmental behavior among a nationally representative US sample (n = 395). Qualitative results indicate that individuals develop culturally-specific environmental socio-cognitive schemas which they use to assign meaning to the environment and guide their environmentally significant behavior. Quantitative results indicate cultural orientation, pro-environmental orientation, environment identity, and environmental influence predict pro-environmental behavior. Applying these combined theoretical perspectives to the social problem of environmental degradation could facilitate the development of targeted strategies for bringing about impactful behavioral change.
The Phillips Curve : Forward-Looking Behavior and the Inflation Premium

We use the inflation premium—the difference between nominal and real interest rates—as a proxy for expected inflation in the context of the New Keynesian Phillips Curve. Using data from inflation-indexed and nominal bonds we estimate a forward-looking Phillips curve for the United Kingdom over the period 1985-2004. The proposed model describes UK inflation dynamics considerably better than does the standard hybrid New Keynesian Phillips Curve under the assumption of rational expectations. In contrast with the findings in the rest of the literature we find that there still exists a tradeoff between inflation and the stance of the real economy, regardless of the empirical measure used. This relationship also persists in the period since the UK adopted inflation targeting as a framework for monetary policy. JEL Classification: E31, E43
Assessing the Predictors of Lived Poverty in Kenya: A Secondary Analysis of the Afrobarometer Survey 2016

Poverty remains pervasive in Kenya despite efforts to reduce it. This may be attributed to poor understanding of its predictors. Using Afrobarometer Round 7 data and employing multivariate logistic regression, the study found that age, religion and political affiliation were risk factors associated with poverty while education was a protective factor. The study recommends that investing more in all levels of education is key to reducing poverty in Kenya. Further, social protection policies and programmes for the elderly, as well as initiatives to enhance savings for those in the informal economy, are important for poverty reduction.
On the Fundamental Plane of the Galactic globular cluster system

Context. The globular clusters of our Galaxy have been found to lie close to a plane in the logRe ,l ogσ, SBe space, on the continuation of the Fundamental Plane that is known to characterize the global properties of early-type galaxies. There is no apparent reason why such physically different self-gravitating systems should follow the same scaling law. Aims. We reexamine the issue by focusing on a sample of 48 globular clusters selected with homogeneity criteria for the photometric data available from the literature. Methods. We perform a model-independent analysis of surface brightness profiles and distance moduli, estimating error bars and studying selection effects with robust non-parametric statistical tests. Results. We determine the values of the coefficients that define the Fundamental Plane and their error bars and show that the scatter from the Fundamental Plane relation is likely to be intrinsic, i.e. not due to measurement errors only. Curiously, we find that in the standard Fundamental Plane coordinates the set of points for our sample occupies a rather slim, axisymmetric, cylindrical region of parameter space, which suggests that the relevant scaling relation might be around a line, rather than a plane, confirming results noted earlier. This is likely to be the origin of the difficulties in the fit by a plane, often mentioned in previous investigations. In addition, such a Fundamental Line relation would imply a pure photometric scaling law relating luminosity to the effective radius which might be tested on wider samples and on extra-galactic globular cluster systems. As to the residuals from the Fundamental Plane relation, we find a correlation of the deviations from the plane with the central slope of the surface brightness profile. No other statistically significant correlations are identified. Finally, given the constraint imposed by the virial theorem, we study the distribution of the values of the quantity KV /(M/L) (virial coefficient divided by the relevant mass-to-light ratio); the distribution of the logarithms, reconstructed through kernel density estimation methods, shows evidence for bimodality, which suggests that the galactic globular cluster system may be composed of at least two dynamically different populations. Yet, these populations do not appear to reflect the standard dichotomy between disk and halo clusters.
Investigation of Overrun-Processed Porous Hyaluronic Acid Carriers in Corneal Endothelial Tissue Engineering

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a linear polysaccharide naturally found in the eye and therefore is one of the most promising biomaterials for corneal endothelial regenerative medicine. This study reports, for the first time, the development of overrun-processed porous HA hydrogels for corneal endothelial cell (CEC) sheet transplantation and tissue engineering applications. The hydrogel carriers were characterized to examine their structures and functions. Evaluations of carbodiimide cross-linked air-dried and freeze-dried HA samples were conducted simultaneously for comparison. The results indicated that during the fabrication of freeze-dried HA discs, a technique of introducing gas bubbles in the aqueous biopolymer solutions can be used to enlarge pore structure and prevent dense surface skin formation. Among all the groups studied, the overrun-processed porous HA carriers show the greatest biological stability, the highest freezable water content and glucose permeability, and the minimized adverse effects on ionic pump function of rabbit CECs. After transfer and attachment of bioengineered CEC sheets to the overrun-processed HA hydrogel carriers, the therapeutic efficacy of cell/biopolymer constructs was tested using a rabbit model with corneal endothelial dysfunction. Clinical observations including slit-lamp biomicroscopy, specular microscopy, and corneal thickness measurements showed that the construct implants can regenerate corneal endothelium and restore corneal transparency at 4 weeks postoperatively. Our findings suggest that cell sheet transplantation using overrun-processed porous HA hydrogels offers a new way to reconstruct the posterior corneal surface and improve endothelial tissue function.
How Gratitude Connects Humans to the Best in Themselves and in Others

Gratitude provides many advantages throughout development. This study provides a comprehensive review of research on gratitude, with a focus on understanding how it is adaptive in human development. Mounting evidence shows that gratitude is advantageous because it helps reduce antisocial behavior and pathology, protects from stress, promotes physical and mental health, improves social functioning and interpersonal relationships, and supports resilience across the lifespan. We argue that gratitude is foundational for human development and that its advantages motivate self-improvement in people and enable them to work more effectively in social environments to achieve important goals. The review closes with a focus on current issues in assessment, methods, and interventions, as research in these areas will help advance empirical understanding of gratitude’s role in human development and help inform better interventions. Overall, gratitude helps individuals find meaning and coherence in life so that they can improve themselves and elevate others.
Multivariate DINEOF Reconstruction for Creating Long-Term Cloud-Free Chlorophyll-a Data Records From SeaWiFS and MODIS: A Case Study in Bohai and Yellow Seas, China

A long-term reliable satellite chlorophyll-a (chl-a) data record is essential in understanding the state of ocean biology and quantifying its changes. Creating a long-term data record requires a combination/merger of multiple satellite products into one data record, since the lifetime of any single ocean color sensor is finite. However, because of differences in sensor design, calibration, and retrieval models, apparent cross-mission biases are usually observed between different sensor products. To attain a coherent multisensor chl-a data record, the observed cross-mission biases should be accurately addressed in the data combination/merging schemes. In this study, a multivariable data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions (M-DINEOF) approach was used to create long-term chl-a records by applying the sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer products. Under the assumption that the single-sensor chl-a product is free from spurious temporal artifacts and can be reference time series representing the actual variability of chl-a, the discrepancies of trends derived from different chl-a series were quantitatively evaluated based on statistical t-test and Taylor diagram analyses. Compared with direct concatenation and linear regression methods, the M-DINEOF method more effectively reproduced the main trend patterns observed in reference data series during their overlapped periods. The results highlight the importance of a cross-mission bias correction when combining multisensor satellite data records and suggest that the M-DINEOF reconstruction provides a simple and effective path forward for creating reliable multisensor ocean color records suitable for long-term trend analysis.
Predicting Purchase Behaviour

The Juster Scale is a purchase probability scale used to predict the actual purchase rate in a population from a sample of consumers from that population. Several overseas studies have demonstrated the predictive ability of the Juster Scale, particularly for cars. This paper reports the findings of two New Zealand studies involving the Juster Scale. The first confirms the superior predictive ability of the Juster Scale compared to buying intentions scales, and both studies confirm the practicality of using the Juster Scale for predicting purchases of a range of items including durables, services and fastmoving consumer goods. The ability of the Juster Scale to accurately predict car purchases was corroborated, but the accuracy of predictions for other items was variable.
Multi-information fuzzy controller design of coal feeder with banker

Against a coal feeder control system of a coal mine with performance of nonlinearity and large interference, and the information loss of conventional two-dimensional fuzzy control method to complex systems and large calculation of multi-dimensional fuzzy control method, this article propose a fuzzy control method based on information weighted fusion. The application shows that the method is easy to realize and has strong stability and anti-interference ability.
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF TEACHERS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF REPRESENTATIONS OF TEACHERS IN A BRITISH AND A CZECH BROADSHEET

The study compares representations of teachers in the Czech broadsheet Mladá fronta and the British broadsheet The Daily Telegraph, aiming to reveal their possible impact on the level of public respect towards teachers. The methodology employed is critical discourse analysis, combining an investigation of semantic macrostructures and recurrent transitivity patterns. It is revealed that both newspapers call attention to problems regarding the teaching profession, advocating social change and higher job prestige. The social significance of a teacher is enhanced in both newspapers by allocating a teacher not only the role of a transmitter of knowledge but also a moral guide concerned with social issues. The main difference between the two broadsheets is that The Daily Telegraph foregrounds teachers’ wrongdoings, while Mladá fronta highlights teachers’ accomplishments. This seems to be mainly due to the inclusion of a section with regional content in the Czech broadsheet.
On Lower and Upper Bounds for Smooth and Strongly Convex Optimization Problems

We develop a novel framework to study smooth and strongly convex optimization algorithms, both deterministic and stochastic. Focusing on quadratic functions we are able to examine optimization algorithms as a recursive application of linear operators. This, in turn, reveals a powerful connection between a class of optimization algorithms and the analytic theory of polynomials whereby new lower and upper bounds are derived. Whereas existing lower bounds for this setting are only valid when the dimensionality scales with the number of iterations, our lower bound holds in the natural regime where the dimensionality is fixed. Lastly, expressing it as an optimal solution for the corresponding optimization problem over polynomials, as formulated by our framework, we present a novel systematic derivation of Nesterov's well-known Accelerated Gradient Descent method. This rather natural interpretation of AGD contrasts with earlier ones which lacked a simple, yet solid, motivation.
Number 44 Entrepreneurial Entry in Developing Economies : Modeling Interactions between the Formal and the Informal Sector

Using a simple two-firm, two-period model, we analyze for a developing economy the process of ‘entrepreneurial entry,’ that is, entry by new firms into an industry that did not previously exist in that country, focusing on the choice between formal and informal status. Thus we explore issues such as how informality may enable an entrepreneur to test the profitability of an industry without incurring large sunk costs, and how strategic interaction may affect such entrepreneurial decisions. In this context we examine comparative statics, e.g. with respect to the minimum formal sector wage rate and the realized profitability of the industry. Under some parameter values there is churning in terms of both the number of firms and their status. Also, we show that financial constraints can interact with the option of informality to induce entry. JEL Classification: O17.
Spatio-Temporal Data Handling with Constraints

Most spatial information systems are limited to a fixed dimension (generally 2) which is not extensible. On the other hand, the emerging paradigm of constraint databases allows the representation of data of arbitrary dimension, together with abstract query languages. The complexity of evaluating queries though might be costly if the dimension of the objects is really arbitrary. In this paper, we present a data model, based on linear constraints, dedicated to the representation and manipulation of multidimensional data. In order to preserve a low complexity for query evaluation, we restrict the orthographic dimension of an object O, defined as the dimension of the components O1 ,. , On such that O=O1×. × On. This allows to process queries independently on each component, therefore achieving a satisfying trade-off between design simplicity, expressive power of the query language and efficiency of query evaluation. We illustrate these concepts in the context of spatio-temporal databases where space and time are the natural components. This data model has been implemented in the DEDALE system and a spatio-temporal application, with orthographic dimension 2, is currently running, thus showing the practical relevance of the approach.
RetCam image analysis of optic disc morphology in premature infants and its relation to ischaemic brain injury

Aims: To assess optic disc characteristics in premature infants with and without ischaemic brain injury and to evaluate the role of optic disc morphology in dating the injury. Methods: RetCam fundal images, cranial ultrasounds and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 109 premature infants were analysed. The study cohort was divided into subgroups depending on the presence or absence of periventricular leucomalacia (PVL) and intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH). The control group consisted of infants with normal neuroimaging at term and 2 years of age. Using the image analysis software of the RetCam, optic disc diameter (ODD), optic disc area (ODA), and optic cup area (OCA) were measured at 33–34 weeks gestational age. As serial cranial ultrasonography had been performed, it was possible to date the brain injury in those infants with periventricular white matter (PVWM) damage. Results: Although there was a trend towards reducing ODD, ODA, and OCA with increasing severity of IVH, only the IVH 4 group differed significantly from the controls for these parameters (p = 0.002, p = 0.02, and p = 0.04, respectively). 44.4% of infants with grade 4 IVH had small discs. Only one patient had a large cup in a normal sized disc; this patient had IVH 4. In patients with PVWM damage, the median time of insult was 27 weeks in those with small discs and 28 weeks in those with normal discs. This difference was not significant (p = 0.23). Conclusions: Premature infants with IVH 4 have an increased incidence of optic nerve hypoplasia. We found no association between disc morphology and timing of brain injury.
Study of the Effectiveness of Social Skills Training on Social and Emotional Competence among Students with Mathematics Learning Disorder

Introduction: the objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of life skills training on social and emotional competence of students with mathematics learning disorder. Materials and Methods: in this study, 40 students with mathematics learning disorder were randomly selected in two groups including experimental and control. Key math test and Felner social competence questionnaire were used for data gathering. Intervention group was trained by life skills in eight sessions within one month. At the same time, control group was not trained. The students of both groups filled Felner social competence questionnaire before and after training. Then, the data were analyzed by multi-variant variance analysis test. Findings: the results showed that life skills training significantly improved social and emotional competence among the students with mathematics learning disorder. Conclusion: life skills training improved social and emotional competence among the students with mathematics learning disorder and can be used as an appropriate approach for the improvement of children’s social and emotional competence in learning disorder schools.
HESSIAN FREE OPTIMIZATION METHODS FOR MACHINE LEARNING PROBLEMS

In this article, we describe the algorithm and study the performance of a Hessian free optimization technique applied to machine learning problems. We implement the commonly used black box model for optimization and solve a particular challenging recursive neural network learning problem, which exhibits a non-convex and non-di(cid:27)erentiable function output. In order to adapt the method to machine learning objective functions, we explore a few modi(cid:28)cations to the optimization routine such as damping, mini-batching, modifying termination criteria, etc. The convergence properties are compared against the quasi-Newton L-BFGS method.