Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medfly Gut Microbiota and Enhancement of the Sterile Insect Technique: Similarities and Differences of Klebsiella oxytoca and Enterobacter sp. AA26 Probiotics during the Larval and Adult Stages of the VIENNA 8D53+ Genetic Sexing Strain

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is a major agricultural pest worldwide. The development of genetic sexing strains (GSSs) for this species that allows male-only sterile insects releases has boosted the effectiveness of the environmental friendly pest control method known as the sterile insect technique. The last generation of these strains, the VIENNA 7 and VIENNA 8, are currently used in all mass rearing facilities worldwide and are considered as models for such pest control applications. The sterile insect technique depends on the rearing of sufficient numbers of adequate “biological quality” laboratory flies to be released in the field. Currently, there is an increasing amount of studies focusing on the characterization of the symbiotic communities and development of probiotic diets. In our study, two bacterial isolates, an Enterobacter sp. (strain AA26) and a Klebsiella oxytoca strain, were used as probiotics in larval and adult diet. These strains have been shown to be beneficial, affecting several aspects related to the rearing efficiency and biological quality of the medfly VIENNA 8D53+ GSS. Our results demonstrate the effect of K. oxytoca on the developmental duration of the immature stages and, to some extent, on flight ability. On the other hand, our study does not support the presence of any beneficial effect of (a) K. oxytoca on pupal and adult recovery and adults’ survival under stress conditions when provided as a larval diet supplement and (b) K. oxytoca and Enterobacter sp. AA26 on mating competitiveness when provided as adult diet supplements. Possible explanations for inconsistencies with previous studies and the need for universalizing protocols are discussed. Our findings, combined with previous studies can support the sterile insect technique, through the improvement of different aspects of mass rearing and biological properties of laboratory reared insect pests.
The effectiveness of a single intervention of computer‐aided argument mapping in a marketing and a financial accounting subject

An argument map visually represents the structure of an argument, outlining its informal logical connections and informing judgments as to its worthiness. Argument mapping can be augmented with dedicated software that aids the mapping process. Empirical evidence suggests that semester‐length subjects using argument mapping along with dedicated software can produce remarkable increases in students’ critical thinking abilities. Introducing such specialised subjects, however, is often practically and politically difficult. This study ascertains student perceptions of the use of argument mapping in two large, regular, semester‐length classes in a Business and Economics Faculty at the University of Melbourne. Unlike the semester‐length expert‐led trials in prior research, in our study only one expert‐led session was conducted at the beginning of the semester and followed by class practice. Survey results conducted at the end of the semester, show that, with reservations, even this minimalist, ‘one‐shot inoculation’ of argument mapping is effective in terms of students’ perceptions of improvements in their critical thinking skills.
A Computer Network Model of Human Transactive Memory

Several of the design factors that must be considered in linking computers together into networks are also relevant to the ways in which individual human memory systems are linked into group memory systems. These factors include directory updating (learning who knows what in the group), information allocation (assigning memory items to group members), and retrieval coordination (planning how to find items in a way that takes advantage of who knows what). When these processes operate effectively in a group, the group's transactive memory is likely to be effective.
Patterns of Gun Acquisition, Carrying, and Use Among Juvenile and Adult Arrestees: Evidence from a High‐Crime City

Researchers continue to examine the macrolevel trends of gun crime but little consensus exists regarding the microlevel determinants of gun behaviors. Moreover, little is known if patterns of gun behavior vary between adults and juveniles. This research examines patterns of gun possession, carrying, and use across adult and juvenile arrestees. This research moves beyond descriptive studies of aggregate gun patterns and explores the demographic and perceptual correlates that may inhibit or facilitate gun behaviors. Current results illustrate the prevalence of gun‐involved behaviors among adults and juveniles, though juveniles were more likely to carry and fire a gun. Results also suggest that gun behaviors among juveniles are largely driven by gang membership, while ready access to guns, fear of the street, and the risks of arrest influence adult behaviors. Present findings have implications for gun policy, particularly as it relates the role of deterrence‐based programming and demand‐side initiatives.
Transparency, Interrupted

Though far from new, the rhetoric of transparency is on the ascent in public and political life. It is cited as the answer to a vast array of social, political, financial and corporate problems. With the backing of a ‘movement’, transparency has assumed the position of an unassailable ‘good’. This article asks whether the value ascribed to transparency limits political thinking, particularly for the radical and socialist Left. What forms of politics, ethics, of being-in-common, might it be possible to think if we pay attention to secrecy rather than transparency?
Race lines and spaces of political action among migrant youth

Recently proposed Anti-Racism Strategy established within a framework of the Australian Government's multicultural policy, People of Australia, identifies ‘youth engagement’ as one of the key areas that needs to be promoted and supported. Young people have been invited to join youth councils and youth forums and work with national, state and local policy-makers. Some have taken up this challenge and became public faces and active members of anti-racism campaigns. Others, however, either remained silent about the discrimination they face, or organised their own grassroots youth-based and youth-led initiatives. This paper discusses individual and collective responses to racism among young people in Australia, focusing on Melbourne, and examines possibilities in which racism, as a common experience among migrant youth, can be utilised to form alternative spaces for political action, challenging not only interpersonal, but also systemic forms of racism. By drawing attention towards institutional and systemic forms of racism, and the historical perpetuation of racist practices, these youth initiatives rely on legal measures, and argue that racism should be discussed in the context of the broader Australian society, not only in relation to minority groups.
Hierarchical flexural strength of enamel: transition from brittle to damage-tolerant behaviour

Hard, biological materials are generally hierarchically structured from the nano- to the macro-scale in a somewhat self-similar manner consisting of mineral units surrounded by a soft protein shell. Considerable efforts are underway to mimic such materials because of their structurally optimized mechanical functionality of being hard and stiff as well as damage-tolerant. However, it is unclear how different hierarchical levels interact to achieve this performance. In this study, we consider dental enamel as a representative, biological hierarchical structure and determine its flexural strength and elastic modulus at three levels of hierarchy using focused ion beam (FIB) prepared cantilevers of micrometre size. The results are compared and analysed using a theoretical model proposed by Jäger and Fratzl and developed by Gao and co-workers. Both properties decrease with increasing hierarchical dimension along with a switch in mechanical behaviour from linear-elastic to elastic-inelastic. We found Gao's model matched the results very well.
Role-Related Conflicts, Strains and Stresses of Older-Adult College Students

Abstract The negative effects of role conflict, role strain and stress among non-traditional-aged college students are widely assumed but little studied. This paper examines how role conflict and role strain in older-adult students affect stress and, in turn, how strain, conflict and stress affect academically important outcomes such as depression, perceived value of college, grades, subsequent course load and retention. Data come from 355 students age 25 or older at a large, comprehensive, open-admissions, urban university. Regression analyses, controlling for demographics and self-efficacy, show that while older-adult students report wide-ranging role strain and conflict, only a few of these strains and conflicts promote stress. In particular, financial strains, work conflicts and university-caused strains are the main stressors. While stress does not affect any of the academic outcomes, role conflicts and role strains do have an effect. In addition, universities and colleges can do little to improve th.
Association of Hospital and Physician Characteristics and Care Processes With Racial Disparities in Procedural Outcomes Among Contemporary Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery

Background— Previous studies have reported that black patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery had worse outcomes than white patients, even after accounting for patient factors. The degree to which clinician, hospital, and care factors account for these outcome differences remains unclear. Methods and Results— We evaluated procedural outcomes in 11 697 blacks and 136 362 whites undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass surgery at 663 Society of Thoracic Surgery Database participating sites (January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011) adjusted for patients’ clinical and socioeconomic features, hospital and surgeon effects, and care processes (internal mammary artery graft and perioperative medications use). Relative to whites, blacks undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were younger, yet had higher comorbidities and more adverse presenting features. Blacks were also more likely to be treated at hospitals with higher risk-adjusted mortality. The use of internal mammary artery was marginally lower in blacks than in whites (93.3% versus 92.2%, P<0.0001). Unadjusted mortality and major morbidity rates were higher in blacks than in whites (1.8% versus 2.5%, P<0.0001) and (13.6% versus 19.4%, P<0.0001), respectively. These racial differences in outcomes narrowed but still persisted after adjusting for surgeon, hospital, and care processes in addition to patient and socioeconomic factors (odds ratio, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–1.36 and odds ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.19–1.34, respectively). Conclusions— The risks of procedural mortality and morbidity after coronary artery bypass surgery were higher among black patients than among white patients. These differences were in part accounted for by patient comorbidities, socioeconomic status, and surgeon, hospital, and care factors, as well, as suggested by the reduction in the strength of the race-outcomes association. However, black race remained an independent predictor of outcomes even after accounting for these differences.
A defect of platelet aggregation associated with an abnormal distribution of glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complexes within the platelet: the cause of a lifelong bleeding disorder.

A young Italian man (A.P.) has a lifelong history of bleeding from gums and mucocutaneous tissue. Electron microscopy showed a wide diversity of platelet size including giant forms. In citrated platelet-rich plasma (PRP), platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and other agonists was much reduced. Both secretion and clot retraction were normal. The aggregation of washed platelets with ADP was improved but remained subnormal, as was aggregation with collagen and thrombin. Fibrinogen-binding was analyzed by flow cytometry using platelets in whole blood or PRP and was markedly decreased. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis of Triton X-100 extracts of (A.P.) platelets showed that GP IIb-IIIa levels were 40% to 50% of normal. Glycoprotein (GP) IIb and GP IIIa were of usual migration in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but their labeling was much reduced during lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination. Binding to (A.P.) platelets of four different 125I-labeled monoclonal antibodies to GP IIb-IIIa complexes was reduced to 12% to 20% of normal levels. However, when the patient's platelets were stimulated with alpha-thrombin, monoclonal antibody binding showed the same increase (approximately 20,000 sites) as normal platelets. Both flow cytometry and immunocytochemical studies showed that the distribution of residual surface GP IIb-IIIa within the total (A.P.) platelet population was heterogeneous and not related to platelet size. Staining of ultrathin sections confirmed the presence of an internal pool of GP IIb-IIIa. Monoclonal antibodies to other membrane glycoproteins bound normally to (A.P.) platelets. The patient has a selective deficiency of the surface pool of GP IIb-IIIa complexes that is manifested clinically by a mild Glanzmann's thrombasthenia-like syndrome.
Perceptual evaluation of tone mapping operators with real-world scenes

A number of successful tone mapping operators for contrast compression have been proposed due to the need to visualize high dynamic range (HDR) images on low dynamic range devices. They were inspired by fields as diverse as image processing, photographic practice, and modeling of the human visual systems (HVS). The variety of approaches calls for a systematic perceptual evaluation of their performance. We conduct a psychophysical experiment based on a direct comparison between the appearance of real-world scenes and HDR images of these scenes displayed on a low dynamic range monitor. In our experiment, HDR images are tone mapped by seven existing tone mapping operators. The primary interest of this psychophysical experiment is to assess the differences in how tone mapped images are perceived by human observers and to find out which attributes of image appearance account for these differences when tone mapped images are compared directly with their corresponding real-world scenes rather than with each other. The human subjects rate image naturalness, overall contrast, overall brightness, and detail reproduction in dark and bright image regions with respect to the corresponding real-world scene. The results indicate substantial differences in perception of images produced by individual tone mapping operators. We observe a clear distinction between global and local operators in favor of the latter, and we classify the tone mapping operators according to naturalness and appearance attributes.
Honey for Nutrition and Health: A Review

Due to the variation of botanical origin honey differs in appearance, sensory perception and composition. The main nutritional and health relevant components are carbohydrates, mainly fructose and glucose but also about 25 different oligosaccharides. Although honey is a high carbohydrate food, its glycemic index varies within a wide range from 32 to 85, depending on the botanical source. It contains small amounts of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, vitamins, aroma compounds and polyphenols. The review covers the composition, the nutritional contribution of its components, its physiological and nutritional effects. It shows that honey has a variety of positive nutritional and health effects, if consumed at higher doses of 50 to 80 g per intake.
Get-Out-The-Vote Phone Calls

This article reports the results of a field experiment testing the effectiveness of different quality get-out-the-vote (GOTV) nonpartisan phone calls. During the week preceding the November 2004 election, we randomly assigned registered voters in North Carolina and Missouri to one of three live phone calls with varying length and content. The scripts are (1) standard GOTV, (2) interactive GOTV, and (3) interactive GOTV with a request for mobilizing neighbors. We find that people assigned to the interactive GOTV treatment are more likely to turn out, whereas the effect of the “get your neighbors to vote” script is relatively as weak as that of the standard script. The findings suggest that interactive calls generally tend to increase voter turnout, but for a phone call to be effective, the message needs to be focused. The borderline statistical significance of the script that encourages neighbors' participation invites replication of this experiment.
Rethinking Stratification from a Feminist Perspective: Gender, Race, and Class in Mainstream Textbooks

Economic stratification and social class occupy a central position in sociological discourse as the core organizing features of modern societies. Yet such economically centered models of stratification often disregard factors like physical violence and the intra-household distribution of resources that shape power and autonomy for all group. Using a sample of textbooks from 1983 through 1988, we examine "mainstream" sociology, that is, the sociology that teachers, students, and textbook publishers have treated as nonproblematic. We show how stratification analysis is applied to class, race, and gender in profoundly unequal ways. Rather than integrating macro, meso, and micro levels of social structure as interactive and mutually determinative in their discussions of race, class, and gender, introductory sociology textbooks segregate stratification processes. They discuss class at the societal (or macro) level of analysis, gender at the individual (or micro) level, and race at a group (or meso) level. We analyze the quantitative and qualitative elements of the coverage of class, race, and gender in indexes, texts, pictures, and captions, and suggest that attention to feminist theories of gender would produce a more integrated, multilevel, and interactive view of stratification.
An open‐label, randomized, flexible‐dose, crossover study to assess the comparative efficacy and safety of sildenafil citrate and apomorphine hydrochloride in men with erectile dysfunction

Two papers in this section deal with well‐known pharmacological agents used to treat male erectile dysfunction. In the first of these, authors from the UK compared the efficacy and safety of sildenafil and apomorphine in such patients. This open‐label crossover trial suggested that sildenafil was better than apomorphine, where the primary endpoint was the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function.
The Blockage of Survivin and Securin Expression Increases the Cytochalasin B-Induced Cell Death and Growth Inhibition in Human Cancer Cells

Survivin and securin proteins are overexpressed in most cancer cells that have been shown to regulate mitotic progression. In this study, we investigated the roles of survivin and securin on cytochalasin B, a cytokinesis blocker mediating the cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition in human cancer cells. The human lung carcinoma cell lines A549 and H1299 highly expressed survivin proteins in mitosis and concentrated on the midbodies during cytokinesis. Cytochalasin B significantly decreased cell survival, inhibited cell growth, increased the levels of G2/M fractions, and induced binuclei formation in lung carcinoma cells; however, the survivin proteins were concentration-dependently increased by 1 to 5 μg/ml cytochalasin B for 24 h. It is noteworthy that the expression of securin proteins was decreased in cytochalasin B-treated lung carcinoma cells. Transfection of 20 to 40 nM survivin siRNA for 48 h significantly induced the formation of multiple nuclei and apoptosis but decreased the levels of survivin and securin proteins in A549 cells. Cotreatment with survivin small interfering RNA (siRNA) and cytochalasin B increased the cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition. In addition, the securin-null colorectal carcinoma cells were more susceptible to the cytotoxicity after cytochalasin B and survivin siRNA treatments than the securin–wild-type cells. As a whole, our results indicate that the inhibition of survivin and securin protein expression may increase the cell death and growth inhibition after cytochalasin B treatment in human cancer cells.
Voices on Emiratization: the impact of Emirati culture on the workforce participation of national women in the UAE private banking sector

This paper presents research conducted into the impact of Emirati culture on the workforce participation of national women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) private banking sector. Beginning by exploring the concept of culture, the paper proceeds to frame such a concept as it pertains to diversity and gender in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. The UAE is then briefly examined from the perspective of gender, class, state and development, with regard to the workforce participation of indigenous females in the UAE private sector, and in particular the impact of Emirati culture upon such participation. The current status of Emiratization is reviewed, following which the UAE banking sector, and Emirati female labour force participation within this sector, are explored. The research rationale and study methodology is discussed, before an analysis of the data collected and the research conclusions and recommendations are then presented.
Are second-generation Filipinos ‘becoming’ Asian American or Latino? Historical colonialism, culture and panethnicity

Abstract This article examines how second-generation Filipinos understand their panethnic identity, given their historical connection with both Asians and Latinos, two of the largest panethnic groups in the USA. While previous studies show panethnicity to be a function of shared political interests or class status, I argue that the cultural residuals of historical colonialism in the Philippines, by both Spain and the USA, shape how Filipinos negotiate panethnic boundaries with Asians and Latinos, albeit in different ways. Filipinos cite the cultural remnants of US colonialism as a reason to racially demarcate themselves from Asians, and they allude to the legacies of Spanish colonialism to blur boundaries with Latinos. While the colonial history of Filipinos is unique, these findings have implications for better understanding racialization in an increasingly multiethnic society – namely, how historical legacies in sending societies interact with new racial contexts to influence panethnic identity development.