Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved Mapping of Snow Water Equivalent over Quebec

This extended abstract describes initial results from a project to develop 10-km resolution gridded maps of SWE over Québec from historical surface observations of snow depth and SWE. The project has assembled an historical snow course database for Quebec and surrounding regions containing ~145,000 observations covering the period 1936-2006. The SWE observations are interpolated to a 10 km grid using the method of kriging with external drift (KED) following Tapsoba et al. (2005) with topography and estimated SWE as external drift variables. The estimated SWE field is generated using precipitation from the CANGRD product (Milewska et al., 2005) and 6-hourly air temperatures from the NCEP reanalysis. The results of an initial evaluation showed the KED method provided spatially realistic SWE fields over Quebec with a number of improvements over the optimal-interpolation approach used in Brown et al. (2003). While the distribution of the available surface observations is quite variable in space and time there are sufficient observations to generate SWE maps for most of Quebec from about the mid-1960s for the 1 and 15 of the month from December to June.
KiDS+GAMA: The weak lensing calibrated stellar-to-halo mass relation of central and satellite galaxies

We simultaneously present constraints on the stellar-to-halo mass relation for central and satellite galaxies through a weak lensing analysis of spectroscopically classified galaxies. Using overlapping data from the fourth data release of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), and the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey (GAMA), we find that satellite galaxies are hosted by halo masses that are 0.53 ± 0.39 dex (68% confidence, 3σ detection) smaller than those of central galaxies of the same stellar mass (for a stellar mass of log(M⋆/M⊙) = 10.6). This is consistent with galaxy formation models, whereby infalling satellite galaxies are preferentially stripped of their dark matter. We find consistent results with similar uncertainties when comparing constraints from a standard azimuthally averaged galaxy-galaxy lensing analysis and a two-dimensional likelihood analysis of the full shear field. As the latter approach is somewhat biased due to the lens incompleteness and as it does not provide any improvement to the precision when applied to actual data, we conclude that stacked tangential shear measurements are best-suited for studies of the galaxy-halo connection.
Exploring Processing of Nested Dependencies in Neural-Network Language Models and Humans

Recursive processing in sentence comprehension is considered a hallmark of human linguistic abilities. However, its underlying neural mechanisms remain largely unknown. We studied whether a recurrent neural network with Long Short-Term Memory units can mimic a central aspect of human sentence processing, namely the handling of long-distance agreement dependencies. Although the network was solely trained to predict the next word in a large corpus, analysis showed the emergence of a small set of specialized units that successfully handled local and long-distance syntactic agreement for grammatical number. However, simulations showed that this mechanism does not support full recursion and fails with some long-range embedded dependencies. We tested the model's predictions in a behavioral experiment where humans detected violations in number agreement in sentences with systematic variations in the singular/plural status of multiple nouns, with or without embedding. Human and model error patterns were remarkably similar, showing that the model echoes various effects observed in human data. However, a key difference was that, with embedded long-range dependencies, humans remained above chance level, while the model's systematic errors brought it below chance. Overall, our study shows that exploring the ways in which modern artificial neural networks process sentences leads to precise and testable hypotheses about human linguistic performance.
From the Tree to the Forest: The Influence of a Sparse Canopy on Stand Scale Snow Water Equivalent

The canopy of an individual tree has a negative effect on the accumulation of snow around tree boles, resulting in a decrease in snow depth inward from the edge of the canopy to the tree trunk. This influence of trees on snow distribution affects the total volume of water stored in the snowpack, especially for a sparse forest stand. However, snow measurements, in particular depth, are typically made between trees, and this neglects the decreased accumulation around trees. As well, little is known about changes in snowpack density under the canopy compared to between trees. Sparse individual trees have their own microclimate (energy balance, wind profiles, etc.) that could produce directional variations in snowpack properties. To establish how the decreased snow depth and possibly change in snowpack density under the canopy can affect estimates of stand scale SWE, depth and density measurements were taken in the four cardinal directions around three Picea engelmanii and two Abies lasiocarpa during the winters of 2005 and 2007 near Cameron Pass, northern Colorado. These near tree measurements were assessed against existing snow depth models and superimposed on a 50-m transect of depth measurements taken at 0.5-m intervals. Three scenarios of a sparse forest were considered: one tree with a 1-m canopy radius, one tree with a 2-m canopy radius, and three trees each with a 2-m canopy radius. Directionality was observed in the snow depth increasing away from each tree. An increasing trend in snowpack density was observed outward from each tree. The estimated average transect snow water equivalent decreased by 12.8% with the addition of three trees with 2-m canopy radii.
An underlying clock in the extreme flip-flop state transitions of the black hole transient Swift J1658.2-4242

Aims. Flip-flops are top-hat-like X-ray flux variations, which have been observed in some transient accreting black hole binary systems, and feature simultaneous changes in the spectral hardness and the power density spectrum (PDS). They occur at a crucial time in the evolution of these systems, when the accretion disc emission starts to dominate over coronal emission. Flip-flops remain a poorly understood phenomenon, so we aim to thoroughly investigate them in a system featuring several such transitions. Methods. Within the multitude of observations of Swift J1658.2-4242 during its outburst in early 2018, we detected 15 flip-flops, enabling a detailed analysis of their individual properties and the differences between them. We present observations by XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, Astrosat, Swift, Insight-HXMT, INTEGRAL, and ATCA. We analysed their light curves, searched for periodicities, computed their PDSs, and fitted their X-ray spectra, to investigate the source behaviour during flip-flop transitions and how the interval featuring flip-flops differs from the rest of the outburst. Results. The flip-flops of Swift J1658.2-4242 are of an extreme variety, exhibiting flux differences of up to 77% within ∼100 s, which is much larger than what has been seen previously. We observed radical changes in the PDS simultaneous with the sharp flux variations, featuring transitions between the quasi-periodic oscillation types C and A, which have never been observed before. Changes in the PDS are delayed, but more rapid than changes in the light curve. Flip-flops occur in two intervals within the outburst, separated by about two weeks in which these phenomena were not seen. Transitions between the two flip-flop states occurred at random integer multiples of a fundamental period of 2.761 ks in the first interval and 2.61 ks in the second. Spectral analysis reveals the high and low flux flip-flop states to be very similar, but distinct from intervals lacking flip-flops. A change of the inner temperature of the accretion disc is responsible for most of the flux difference in the flip-flops. We also highlight the importance of correcting for the influence of the dust scattering halo on the X-ray spectra.
Speck of chaos

It has been shown that a local perturbation applied to a single site of the one-dimensional XXZ model is enough to bring this interacting integrable spin-1/2 system to the chaotic regime. Here, we show that this is not unique to this model, but happens also to the Ising model in a transverse field and to the spin-1 Lai-Sutherland chain. The larger the system is, the smaller the amplitude of the local perturbation for the onset of chaos. We use these models to show the advantages of the correlation hole as a dynamical indicator of chaos that does not require unfolding the spectrum or separating it by symmetries. We compare it with an indicator of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, the Gaussian distribution of off-diagonal elements of local observables.
Cut cotorsion pairs

Abstract We present the concept of cotorsion pairs cut along subcategories of an abelian category. This provides a generalization of complete cotorsion pairs, and represents a general framework to find approximations restricted to certain subcategories. We also exhibit some connections between cut cotorsion pairs and Auslander–Buchweitz approximation theory, by considering relative analogs for Frobenius pairs and Auslander–Buchweitz contexts. Several applications are given in the settings of relative Gorenstein homological algebra, chain complexes, and quasi-coherent sheaves, as well as to characterize some important results on the Finitistic Dimension Conjecture, the existence of right adjoints of quotient functors by Serre subcategories, and the description of cotorsion pairs in triangulated categories as co-t-structures.
Confinement-induced demixing and crystallization

We simulate a strongly size-disperse hard-sphere fluid confined between two parallel, hard walls. We find that confinement induces crystallization into n-layered hexagonal lattices and a novel honeycomb-shaped structure, facilitated by fractionation. The onset of freezing prevents the formation of a stable glass phase and occurs at much smaller packing fraction than in bulk. Varying the wall separation triggers solid-to-solid transitions and a systematic change of the size-distribution of crystalline particles, which we rationalize using a semi-quantitative theory. We show that the crystallization can be exploited in a wedge geometry to demix particles of different sizes.
Dipoles and streams in two-dimensional turbulence

Abstract Following the suggestion from the Monte–Carlo experiments in Jiménez (J. Turbul., 2020, doi:10.1080/14685248.2020.1742918) that dipoles are as important to the dynamics of decaying two-dimensional turbulence as individual vortex cores, it is found that the kinetic energy of this flow is carried by elongated streams formed by the concatenation of dipoles. Vortices separate into a family of small fast-moving cores, and another family of larger slowly moving ones, which can be described as ‘frozen’ into a slowly evolving ‘crystal. ’ The kinematics of both families are very different, and only the former is self-similar. The latter is responsible for most of the kinetic energy of the flow, and its vortices form the dipoles and the streams. Mechanisms are discussed for the growth of this slow component.
A Better Alternative to Error Feedback for Communication-Efficient Distributed Learning

Modern large-scale machine learning applications require stochastic optimization algorithms to be implemented on distributed compute systems. A key bottleneck of such systems is the communication overhead for exchanging information across the workers, such as stochastic gradients. Among the many techniques proposed to remedy this issue, one of the most successful is the framework of compressed communication with error feedback (EF). EF remains the only known technique that can deal with the error induced by contractive compressors which are not unbiased, such as Top-$K$. In this paper, we propose a new and theoretically and practically better alternative to EF for dealing with contractive compressors. In particular, we propose a construction which can transform any contractive compressor into an induced unbiased compressor. Following this transformation, existing methods able to work with unbiased compressors can be applied. We show that our approach leads to vast improvements over EF, including reduced memory requirements, better communication complexity guarantees and fewer assumptions. We further extend our results to federated learning with partial participation following an arbitrary distribution over the nodes, and demonstrate the benefits thereof. We perform several numerical experiments which validate our theoretical findings.
Sulaymon Kandimov THE IMPACT OF IFRS ADOPTION ON THE FINANCIAL RATIOS OF NORWEGIAN PUBLIC LISTED COMPANIES

The standards of accounting are critical in determining the quality of financial statements and the financial outcomes of a public listed company. Recently, many organisations have moved from the GAAP (Generally accepted accounting principles) accounting to the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) accounting. The IFRS are more robust, transparent and informative compared to the GAAP, which differ from one country to another. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to identify the implications of IFRS application on the metrics that denote the financial position of publicly listed entities in Norway, such as, the profitability, liquidity, solvency and market ratios. The specific objectives investigated how the IFRS impacts the profitability, liquidity solvency and the market ratios of the Norwegian companies. The previous studies identified by literature review noted that the IFRS was positively correlated with the financial ratios. This research applied the quantitative research design and examined 10 Norwegian companies. Data was collected from the annual reports and the financial statements of the publicly listed companies on NASDAQ. Correlation and regression tests were carried out to ascertain the impact that the application of the various IFRS standards had on financial ratios. The study established that IFRS positively affected profitability and led to better liquidity outcomes. It also led to the attainment of better solvency ratios and better market ratios. The main strength of this study was that it attained all the research objectives. However, its limit was that its sole focus was on Norwegian companies hence generalisability of the findings to other companies outside of Norway was challenging.
Identification of the anopheles mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) of southern Iran using analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons

Abstract Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of the epicuticle wax layer are so far used to differentiate the insects in species and subspecies levels. In this study, four species of malaria vectors (genus Anopheles) were collected from various localities in southern Iran. Twenty specimens of each species were randomly selected and one epicuticular extract was prepared of every five specimens. FID‐GC profiles of the extracts did not show any qualitative difference. Using significant difference of CHC mass at retention time (RT) 39.6, the two species of An. sacharovi and An. fluviatilis could be distinguished. Similarly, the two species of An. superpictus & An. sacharovi and An. dthali & An. sacharovi were differentiated by their CHC level at RT 28.5. An. sacharovi was distinguished by integratable peaks at RTs 29.7, 30.6, 30.7, 31 and 32.6 while the other three species just indicated trace peaks at the same RTs. Similarly, An. dthali could be known by an integratable peak at RT 26.2 while An. fluviatilis and An. superpictus indicated trace peaks at the same RT. Integratable peaks and traces at RTs 27.4 and 28.5 were respectively used to differentiate An. superpictus from An. fluviatilis. Lastly, CHC trace amount of An. superpictus at RT 39.6 is another indicator to distinguish it from An. fluviatilis with an integratable peak at the same RT. In harmony with other studies worldwide we hereby report that quantitative analysis of CHCs was successfully applied to differentiate the four Anopheles species of southern Iran.
Factors Influencing Sudanese University Students’ Oral Communication Skills

The study is about the factors influencing Sudanese university students’ oral communication skills. The main aim of the study is to find out the Sudanese university students' weaknesses and problematic areas that hinders their oral communication skills in English. The study applied the descriptive and analytical methods to achieve the desired goals. The sample of the study includes undergraduate students and university instructors from Bakht-er-Ruda University. The data gathering instruments namely, questionnaire and interview were used to collect the data of the study. However, the data were analyzed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) program. The findings of the study revealed that factors contributed in reducing students' oral communication skills were students’ personality factors, Limited access to language lab, syllabuses used provide very minimal exposure to the use of language. Based on the findings, the study recommends that more emphasis on psychological needs of students is needed to help them develop their oral communications kills. In addition to that, instructors should encourage students' to be engage in a competitive language atmosphere through language labs and language societies. Students should be exposed to a variety of language context. Mohamed Idris Elshami Mohamed, Muawia Osman Elhag Abdallah, Farah Ahmed Dawaina AdamFactors Influencing Sudanese University Students’ Oral Communication Skills. A Case Study of Bakht-erRuda University EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEARCH Vol. VIII, Issue 3 / June 202
The Effect of Intellectual Capital on Quality of Decision Making Process at Jordanian Commercial Banks

Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of intellectual capital on quality of decision-making process at Jordanian commercial banks. Design/methodology/approach: This study considered as a descriptive analytical, study as well as, cause/effect study. The data collected from 100 managers working at 12 commercial banks. After confirming normality, validity and reliability of the tool, the descriptive analysis used to describe the responses, then correlation between variables was carried out, and finally multiple regressions used to test the hypothesis. Findings: The result of the study shows that the respondents agree on medium to high implementation of intellectual capital sub-variables. Moreover, result shows that the respondents agree on medium to high implementation of quality of decision-making process. Result also shows the relationship between intellectual capital and quality of decision-making process is very strong. Finally, result shows that intellectual capital sub-variables affect the quality of decision-making process, where structural capital was having the highest effect, followed by customer capital and finally, human capital. Limitations/Recommendations: This study is directed towards commercial banks in Amman-Jordan. Generalizing the result of this study to other industries and/or countries is questionable. Therefore, further studies on other industries in Jordan and in other countries are required to be able to generalize the results of this study. Practical Implications: Managers should consider the three intellectual capital subvariables together during strategy development, as well as, during daily practices, because they are related to each other. Kay Words: Intellectual Capital, Quality of Decision-Making Process, Jordanian Commercial Banks.
Hidden photon dark matter in the light of XENON1T and stellar cooling

The low-energy electronic recoil spectrum in XENON1T provides an intriguing hint for potential new physics. At the same time, observations of horizontal branch stars favor the existence of a small amount of extra cooling compared to the one expected from the Standard Model particle content. In this note, we argue that a hidden photon with a mass of ∼ 2.5 keV and a kinetic mixing of ∼ 10−15 allows for a good fit to both of these excesses. In this scenario, the signal detected in XENON1T is due to the absorption of hidden photon dark matter particles, whereas the anomalous cooling of horizontal branch stars arises from resonant production of hidden photons in the stellar interior.
Expression of different filarial parasite adult stage antigens during course of DEC treatment in mouse model of Brugian filariasis

Filariasis is a tropical disease with high morbidity rate due to lack of permanent cure. Here, we investigated specific filarial parasite antigens useful in treatment strategies for filariasis in areas where the chances of constant stimulations are at high peak. This study highlighted alterations in antigen recognition in the people living in endemic countries and receiving the orthodox treatments with diethylcarbamazine. We found that reinfection with L3 stage in pre-DEC treated mouse sera recognises 62 kDa, 45 kDa and 32 kDa antigens, which was not present in control animal sera. Further investigation shows that 62 kDa antigen was present in microfilaria while 45 kDa and 31 kDa was part of adult stage. These findings demonstrated that reinfection during the course of DEC treatment unmask specific parasite antigen, which do not express during initial stage of infections. Our findings argued that mapping of these new antigens would be helpful in the development of treatment strategies through appropriate .
Entropy and Relative Entropy From Information-Theoretic Principles

We introduce an axiomatic approach to entropies and relative entropies that relies only on minimal information-theoretic axioms, namely monotonicity under mixing and data-processing as well as additivity for product distributions. We find that these axioms induce sufficient structure to establish continuity in the interior of the probability simplex and meaningful upper and lower bounds, e.g., we find that every relative entropy satisfying these axioms must lie between the Rényi divergences of order 0 and $\infty $ . We further show simple conditions for positive definiteness of such relative entropies and a characterisation in terms of a variant of relative trumping. Our main result is a one-to-one correspondence between entropies and relative entropies.
From Discrete to Continuous Convolution Layers

A basic operation in Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) is spatial resizing of feature maps. This is done either by strided convolution (donwscaling) or transposed convolution (upscaling). Such operations are limited to a fixed filter moving at predetermined integer steps (strides). Spatial sizes of consecutive layers are related by integer scale factors, predetermined at architectural design, and remain fixed throughout training and inference time. We propose a generalization of the common Conv-layer, from a discrete layer to a Continuous Convolution (CC) Layer. CC Layers naturally extend Conv-layers by representing the filter as a learned continuous function over sub-pixel coordinates. This allows learnable and principled resizing of feature maps, to any size, dynamically and consistently across scales. Once trained, the CC layer can be used to output any scale/size chosen at inference time. The scale can be non-integer and differ between the axes. CC gives rise to new freedoms for architectural design, such as dynamic layer shapes at inference time, or gradual architectures where the size changes by a small factor at each layer. This gives rise to many desired CNN properties, new architectural design capabilities, and useful applications. We further show that current Conv-layers suffer from inherent misalignments, which are ameliorated by CC layers.