Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved spectral convergence rates for graph Laplacians on epsilon-graphs and k-NN graphs

In this paper we improve the spectral convergence rates for graph-based approximations of Laplace-Beltrami operators constructed from random data. We utilize regularity of the continuum eigenfunctions and strong pointwise consistency results to prove that spectral convergence rates are the same as the pointwise consistency rates for graph Laplacians. In particular, for an optimal choice of the graph connectivity $\varepsilon$, our results show that the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the graph Laplacian converge to those of the Laplace-Beltrami operator at a rate of $O(n^{-1/(m+4)})$, up to log factors, where $m$ is the manifold dimension and $n$ is the number of vertices in the graph. Our approach is general and allows us to analyze a large variety of graph constructions that include $\varepsilon$-graphs and $k$-NN graphs.
Issues in Fossilization and Stabilization*1)

Lee, Eun-Hee. 2009. Issues in Fossilization and Stabilization. Linguistic Research, 26(2), 149-168. The main purpose of this paper is to review issues and findings related to different definitions and characteristics of fossilization and stabilization. In 1972, Selinker defined fossilization as a state of language learners’ permanent learning-cessation regardless of (1) the amount of exposure to a target language, (2) high motivation to learn or to correct errors, and (3) many chances of practicing a target language. Quite a few researchers have tried to explain this endstate with various theories but none of previous empirical research proved the existence of fossilization yet. Therefore, concepts of stabilization are examined and grammatical subsystems that are prone to long-term stabilization are suggested. The main goal of examining the endstate of interlanguage here is to provide language teachers and researchers with theoretical backgrounds about stabilization and fossilization, so they can better prepare their lessons by knowing the problematic areas in order to prevent learners' persistent errors. (Seoul Women's University)
Closed reduction and plaster cast immobilization Vs. external fixation in comminuted intra-articular fractures of distal radius

Background: Comminuted intra-articular fractures of distal radius often result in a painful, stiff, dysfunctional wrist. They may be treated by external fixators or by closed reduction and plaster. Methods: Fifty-five patients of comminuted, intra-articular fractures of distal radius were treated randomly either by closed reduction and plaster immobilisation or by external fixation. The radiological results, functional results and complications in both the groups were analyzed. Results: The outcome of external fixation was significantly better as compared to cast immobilization (p Conclusion: We conclude from this study that external fixator is a better modality of treatment as compared to plaster cast immobilization for intra-articular distal radial fractures. It is also reliable in maintaining the reduction of unstable fractures however it is inadequate in attaining anatomical reduction in many cases when used exclusively. Complications of external fixation, although less frequent than cast immobilization, are potentially serious in nature.
In vivo Evaluation of Genetic and Systemic Toxicity of Aqueous Extracts of Phyllanthus amarus in Mice and Rats

Phyllanthus amarus is a broad spectrum medicinal plant which has received world-wide recognition. However, there are concerns on the efficacy and safety of this plants’ extract when used as medicinal herb. This study was therefore designed to investigate the genotoxicity of aqueous extract of P. amarus using the mouse micronucleus and sperm morphology assays. The potential effects of the extract on histology of the liver, kidney and testis, and blood parameters of rats were also investigated. Five concentrations: 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 mg/kg body weight of the extract were utilized and the test animals were orally exposed for ten consecutive days. Distilled water and cyclophosphamide were utilized as negative and positive controls respectively. Compared with the negative control, the extract induced increasing frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes and sperm abnormalities at tested concentrations; and this was significant (p<0.05) at some of the tested doses. There was significant (p<0.05) increase in total white blood cell and lymphocyte counts; and significant pathological changes in the liver, kidney and testis of exposed rats. Tannins, resins, cardiac glycolyside and phenols were analysed in the extract. These findings suggest that aqueous extract of P. amarus contained constituents capable of causing systemic and DNA damage in the mouse and rat.
Semi-Lagrangian lattice Boltzmann method for compressible flows.

This work thoroughly investigates a semi-Lagrangian lattice Boltzmann (SLLBM) solver for compressible flows. In contrast to other LBM for compressible flows, the vertices are organized in cells, and interpolation polynomials up to fourth order are used to attain the off-vertex distribution function values. Differing from the recently introduced Particles on Demand (PoD) method [Dorschner, Bösch, and Karlin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 130602 (2018)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.121. 130602], the method operates in a static, nonmoving reference frame. Yet the SLLBM in the present formulation grants supersonic flows and exhibits a high degree of Galilean invariance. The SLLBM solver allows for an independent time step size due to the integration along characteristics and for the use of unusual velocity sets, like the D2Q25, which is constructed by the roots of the fifth-order Hermite polynomial. The properties of the present model are shown in diverse example simulations of a two-dimensional Taylor-Green vortex, a Sod shock tube, a two-dimensional Riemann problem, and a shock-vortex interaction. It is shown that the cell-based interpolation and the use of Gauss-Lobatto-Chebyshev support points allow for spatially high-order solutions and minimize the mass loss caused by the interpolation. Transformed grids in the shock-vortex interaction show the general applicability to nonuniform grids.
Sustainability Assessment of Community-Based Water Supply Projects in Sudan using Sustainability Index and Multivariate Analysis

In the current paper, sustainability assessment framework was designed using a set of multidimensional indicators to assess and monitor eight community-based water supply management in four different states in Sudan. The assessment framework consisted of site visits, a systematic secondary information collection, and analysis approach and documents reviews. A sustainability index was developed based on the projects stakeholder’s discussions and the dataset were further analyzed using multivariate analysis techniques. The study revealed that 89% of the implemented water projects had low sustainable performance although they are considered as young projects (1-4 years age projects). According to Principal component analysis (PCA), 39% of the low sustainability performance of the projects was mostly related to the poor organizational and financial capacity of the communities and poor post-implementation governmental and/or external agencies involvement and support in terms of monitoring, capacity building facilities, and financial support. There is a strong need to develop post implementation strategies and models and mechanisms to backup community-based water projects technically as well as financially to assure the sustainability and verify the project implementation goals.
Enhancing the Retention of Lectured-Information for Higher Education Students through Note-Taking Skills

Note-taking is an important skill to be taught to the learners so that it can be used as a tool for them to perceive and retrieve the lectured information; especially during Theory courses dealing with intense information. Keeping this in mind I tailored my study which could examine whether Note-Taking, Note-making and Note-reviewing can improve the retention skills of my learners and whether these retention skills can be later used by them to recall the retained – information. I tried to measure these retention skills by using customized retention tests to observe the resulted pattern. The research question that guided my study was ― How efficiently the Notes-Taking, Notes-Making and Notes-Reviewing can improve the short term retention of lecture-information for the learners in Higher Education at lower level of academic program (Interior design) with respect to free recall, accuracy and comprehension type of questions? This qualitative research uses Primary data collected from 22 students. Harmonious to some of the studies in the past, this study reaffirmed the importance and vital impact of Notes taking and reviewing on the short term retention of received information. In addition a pattern was revealed that Notes making enhances comprehension skills and notes reviewing enhances accuracy skills.
An orthogonality relation for GL(4,R)

Orthogonality is a fundamental theme in representation theory and Fourier analysis. An orthogonality relation for characters of finite abelian groups (now recognized as an orthogonality relation on $\mathrm{GL}(1)$) was used by Dirichlet to prove infinitely many primes in arithmetic progressions. Orthogonality relations for $\mathrm{GL}(2)$ and $\mathrm{GL}(3)$ have been worked on by many researchers with a broad range of applications to number theory. We present here, for the first time, very explicit orthogonality relations for the real group $\mathrm{GL}(4,\mathbb{R})$ with a power savings error term. The proof requires novel techniques in the computation of the geometric side of the Kuznetsov trace formula.
MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR MODERN HUMAN INFLUENCES IN LATE CENTRAL EUROPEAN NEANDERTALS

The long-standing debate on the role of Neandertals in the emergence of modern humans in Eurasia has been partially resolved by the genetic indications of relatively small, but not insignificant, Neandertal contributions to modern Eurasian populations. The relatively small contributions of Neandertals to modern humans likely stems from demographic factors limiting Neandertal population sizes. One of the issues not addressed by the genetic data was the impact of early modern human immigrant populations on the late Neandertals inhabiting Eurasia between ~35,000 and 45,000 years ago. East Central Europe, the area of focus for most of Karel Valoch's work, provides evidence of late Neandertals from the sites of Vindija (Croatia) and Šipka and Kůlna (Czech Republic). Analysis of the fragmentary Vindija specimens demonstrates an anatomical pattern reflecting reduction in facial size and prognathism. This pattern is consistent in all individuals but is projected onto a total morphological pattern that remains Neandertal. The Kůlna 1 maxilla and Šipka mandible also demonstrate aspects of this mosaic. These specimens provide anatomical evidence that reflects some impact of early modern biology during, or perhaps even slightly before, the early phases of modern human migration into Europe. This evidence further supports the interpretation that population dynamics between Neandertals and early modern people were complex and likely variable in differing parts of the ranges in which these populations overlapped.
On Wellposedness and Convergence of UPML method for analyzing wave scattering in layered media

This paper proposes a novel method to establish the wellposedness and convergence theory of the uniaxial-perfectly-matched-layer (UPML) method in solving a two-dimensional acoustic scattering problem due to a compactly supported source, where the medium consists of two layers separated by the horizontal axis. When perfectly matched layer (PML) is used to truncate the vertical variable only, the medium structure becomes a closed waveguide. The Green function due to a primary source point in this waveguide can be constructed explicitly based on variable separations and Fourier transformations. In the horizontal direction, by properly placing periodical PMLs and locating periodic source points imaged by the primary source point, the exciting waveguide Green functions by those imaging points can be assembled to construct the Green function due to the primary source point for the two-layer medium truncated by a UPML. Incorporated with Green's identities, this UPML Green function directly leads to the wellposedness of the acoustic scattering problem in a UPML truncation with no constraints about wavenumbers or UPML absorbing strength. Consequently, we firstly prove that such a UPML truncating problem is unconditionally resonance free. Moreover, we show, under quite general conditions, that this UPML Green function converges to the exact layered Green function exponentially fast as absorbing strength of the UPML increases, which in turn gives rise to the exponential convergence of the solution of the UPML problem towards the original solution.
PALEOGENE HALIMEDA ALGAL BIOSTRATIGRAPHY FROM MIDDLE ATLAS AND CENTRAL HIGH ATLAS (MOROCCO), PALEOECOLOGY, PALEOGEOGRAPHY AND SOME TAXONOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Halimeda-bearing deposits of the Middle Atlas Mountains and of the southern rim of the central High Atlas, bordering the Neogene Quarzazate Basin, east of Asseghmon (Morocco), were studied with regard to their lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy and carbonate microfacies (Herbig, 1991; Trappe, 1992, Kuss and Herbig, 1993 and Dragastan and Herbig, 2007). The deposits were subdivided into lithostratigraphic groups and formations, according to the Hedberg stratigraphic Code. The focus was especially centered on the biostratigraphy of marine strata with a rich Halimeda microflora of Paleogene successions, first in the central High Atlas (Dragastan and Herbig, 2007) and now extended in the Middle Atlas. The aim of this study was to compare and to verify the stratigraphical value and range of Halimeda species and their associations. The defined eight Halimeda Assemblage Zones and one dasycladalean Assemblage Zone with two Subzones from the central High Atlas were very useful to correlate and to differentiate the Paleogene deposits of Bekrit-Timahdit Formation on stages and substages for middle-late Thanetian and Ypresian. Only the Lutetian Bartonian? interval still remains not so clear in Middle Atlas region. In spite of different rates of diversity between the central High Atlas with 20 Halimeda species and only 14 Halimeda species in the Middle Atlas, the green siphonous species of the genus Halimeda showed their biostratigraphic potential to be used in the same way as dasycladaleans were used as marker or index species. They proved for the first time the value of Assemblage Zones for the Paleogene deposits of the Moroccan Atlas.
Adaptive Feature Sampling for Recommendation with Missing Content Feature Values

Most recommendation algorithms mainly make use of user history interactions in the model, while these methods often suffer from the cold-start problem (user/item has no history information). On the other sides, content features help on cold-start scenarios for modeling new users or items. So it is essential to utilize content features to enhance different recommendation models. To take full advantage of content features, feature interactions such as cross features are used by some models and outperform than using raw features. However, in real-world systems, many content features are incomplete, e.g., we may know the occupation and gender of a user, but the values of other features (location, interests, etc.) are missing. This missing-feature-value (MFV) problem is harmful to the model performance, especially for models that rely heavily on rich feature interactions. Unfortunately, this problem has not been well studied previously. In this work, we propose a new adaptive "Feature Sampling'' strategy to help train different models to fit distinct scenarios, no matter for cold-start or missing feature value cases. With the help of this strategy, more feature interactions can be utilized. A novel model named CC-CC is proposed. The model takes both raw features and the feature interactions into consideration. It has a linear part to memorize useful variant information from the user or item contents and contexts (Content & Context Module), and a deep attentive neural module that models both content and collaborate information to enhance the generalization ability (Content & Collaborate Module). Both parts have feature interactions. The model is evaluated on two public datasets. Comparative results show that the proposed CC-CC model outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms on both warm and cold scenarios significantly (up to 6.3%). To the best of our knowledge, this model is the first clear and powerful model that proposed to handle the missing feature values problem in deep neural network frameworks for recommender systems.
Loanword Syllable Adaptation in Persian: An Optimality-Theoretic
 Account

The present paper examines the process of loanword syllable adaptation in tetrasyllabic words in Persian, within an Optimalitytheoretic framework. In Persian, consonant clusters are avoided in onset position. As a result, the loanwords borrowed from other languages which have complex onsets, when introduced into Persian, are adapted to fit the syllable structure of the target language. When placed word-initially, the onset cluster is generally resolved by the insertion of an epenthetic vowel. However, this vowel epenthesis occurs in a split pattern, as it does in many other languages. In this study, following Gouskova’s (2001) proposal, we argue that this split pattern in loanword syllabic adaptation can best be explained to be an effect of the Syllable Contact Law (SCL). That is, when the two segments in the onset cluster have a rising sonority sequence, the cluster is broken up by the process of anaptyxis; while in sequences of falling sonority, the cluster is resolved through the process of prothesis. It is argued that, this pattern uniformly holds true at least as far as the dictionary-derived data in the present study are concerned. For the exceptional cases of /SN/ and /SL/ clusters— not attested in our data set, but still present and frequently referred to in the literature—we propose the addition of two positional faithfulness constraints of the DEP-V/X_Y family (Fleischhacker 2001) to our set of universal constraints to account for all the possible cases of loanword syllabic adaptation in Persian.
Characterization of two parameter matrix-valued BMO by commutator with the Hilbert transform

In this paper we prove that the space of two parameter, matrix-valued BMO functions can be characterized by considering iterated commutators with the Hilbert transform. Specifically, we prove that ‖B‖BMO . ‖[[MB ,H1],H2]‖L2(R2;Cd)→L2(R2;Cd) . ‖B‖BMO . The upper estimate relies on Petermichl’s representation of the Hilbert transform as an average of dyadic shifts, and the boundedness of certain paraproduct operators, while the lower bound follows Ferguson and Lacey’s proof for the scalar case.
Adapting Multilingual Neural Machine Translation to Unseen Languages

Multilingual Neural Machine Translation (MNMT) for low- resource languages (LRL) can be enhanced by the presence of related high-resource languages (HRL), but the relatedness of HRL usually relies on predefined linguistic assumptions about language similarity. Recently, adapting MNMT to a LRL has shown to greatly improve performance. In this work, we explore the problem of adapting an MNMT model to an unseen LRL using data selection and model adapta- tion. In order to improve NMT for LRL, we employ perplexity to select HRL data that are most similar to the LRL on the basis of language distance. We extensively explore data selection in popular multilingual NMT settings, namely in (zero-shot) translation, and in adaptation from a multilingual pre-trained model, for both directions (LRL↔en). We further show that dynamic adaptation of the model’s vocabulary results in a more favourable segmentation for the LRL in comparison with direct adaptation. Experiments show re- ductions in training time and significant performance gains over LRL baselines, even with zero LRL data (+13.0 BLEU), up to +17.0 BLEU for pre-trained multilingual model dynamic adaptation with related data selection. Our method outperforms current approaches, such as massively multilingual models and data augmentation, on four LRL.
Uncertainty Quantification in Planetary Thermal History Models: Implications for Hypotheses Discrimination and Habitability Modeling

Multiple hypotheses/models have been put forward regarding Earth’s cooling history. Searching for life beyond Earth has brought these models into a new light as they connect to an energy source that life can tap. Discriminating between different cooling models and adapting them to aid in the assessment of planetary habitability has been hampered by a lack of uncertainty quantification. Here, we provide an uncertainty quantification that accounts for a range of interconnected model uncertainties. This involved calculating over a million individual model evolutions to determine uncertainty metrics. Accounting for uncertainties means that model results must be evaluated in a probabilistic sense, even though the underlying models are deterministic. The uncertainty analysis was used to quantify the degree to which different models can satisfy observational constraints on the Earth’s cooling. For the Earth’s cooling history, uncertainty leads to ambiguity—multiple models, based on different hypotheses, can match observations. This has implications for using such models to forecast conditions for exoplanets that share Earth characteristics but are older than the Earth, i.e., ambiguity has implications for modeling the long-term life potential of terrestrial planets. Even for the most earthlike planet we know of, the Earth itself, model uncertainty and ambiguity leads to large forecast spreads. Given that Earth has the best data constraints, we should expect larger spreads for models of terrestrial planets, in general. The uncertainty analysis provided here can be expanded by coupling planetary cooling models to climate models and propagating uncertainty between them to assess habitability from a probabilistic view.
QUALITY OF LIFE OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS WHO ARE ON ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY IN SWAZILAND

The study was conducted to assess the quality of life (QOL) of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) who are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Swaziland. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used. Twenty-four PLWHA on ART were purposefully selected to participate. Methods of data gathering consisted of: (1) in-depth individual semi-structured interviews; and (2) observations in the form of field notes. Data were analysed using Teschâ€™s descriptive method of data analysis. The study revealed that PLWHA in Swaziland are faced with many challenges concerning ART that negatively influence their QOL. The findings are discussed within six (6) QOL domains, namely: (1) the physiological domain is categorised as the inability to meet nutritional needs, non-adherence to ART, experience of disfiguring side effects of ARVs, and inconsistent condom use; (2) the psychological domain is categorised as stigma and discrimination, depression, difficult acceptance and coping with ART, and lowered self-esteem; (3) the spiritual domain identified as negative influence of some religions on ART; (4) the socioeconomic domain defined as lack of financial support; (5) the cognitive domain associated with poor support systems, poor understanding of ARVs, negative thoughts about ART as categories; and lastly (6) the environmental domain that deals with contextual issues, for example, the health care system, culture, and rights of PLWHA. These challenges negatively influence adherence to ART as all the participants did not achieve the 95% adherence rate required to maximise the benefits of ART, and PLWHA appeared to be powerless to deal with them. Non-adherence to ART negatively influences the QOL.