Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parasites and supernormal manipulation

Social parasites may exploit their hosts by mimicking other organisms that the hosts normally benefit from investing in or responding to in some other way. Some parasites exaggerate key characters of the organisms they mimic, possibly in order to increase the response from the hosts. The huge gape and extreme begging intensity of the parasitic common cuckoo chick (Cuculus canorus) may be an example. In this paper, the evolutionary stability of manipulating hosts through exaggerated signals is analysed using game theory. Our model indicates that a parasite's signal intensity must be below a certain threshold in order to ensure acceptance and that this threshold depends directly on the rate of parasitism. The only evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) combination is when hosts accept all signallers and parasites signal at their optimal signal intensity, which must be below the threshold. Supernormal manipulation by parasites is only evolutionarily stable under sufficiently low rates of parasitism. If the conditions for the ESS combination are not satisfied, rejector hosts can invade using signal intensity as a cue for identifying parasites. These qualitative predictions are discussed with respect to empirical evidence from parasitic mimicry systems that have been suggested to involve supernormal signalling, including evicting avian brood parasites and insect–mimicking Ophrys orchids.
The Internet as a Virtual Ecology: Coevolutionary Arms Races Between Human and Artificial Populations

In this paper, we propose that learning complex behaviors can be achieved in a coevolutionary environment where one population consists of the human users of an interactive adaptive software tool and the “opposing” population is artificial, generated by a coevolutionary learning engine. We take advantage of the Internet, a connected community where people and software coexist. A new kind of adaptive agent can exploit its interactions with thousands of users—inside a virtual “niche”—to learn in a coevolutionary human-robot arms race. Our model is Tron, a simple dynamic game where introspective self-play quickly leads to collusive stagnation. We describe an application where thousands of small programs are sent to play with people through the Java interpreter running in their web browsers. The feedback provided by these agents is collected in our server and used to augment an ever improving fitness landscape for local robot-robot games. Speciation and fitness sharing provide diversity to challenge humans with a variety of different strategies. In this way, we obtain an evolving environment where human as well as artificial adaptation are simultaneously taking place.
An Empirical Evaluation of Mutation Testing for Improving the Test Quality of Safety-Critical Software

Testing provides a primary means for assuring software in safety-critical systems. To demonstrate, particularly to a certification authority, that sufficient testing has been performed, it is necessary to achieve the test coverage levels recommended or mandated by safety standards and industry guidelines. Mutation testing provides an alternative or complementary method of measuring test sufficiency, but has not been widely adopted in the safety-critical industry. In this study, we provide an empirical evaluation of the application of mutation testing to airborne software systems which have already satisfied the coverage requirements for certification. Specifically, we apply mutation testing to safety-critical software developed using high-integrity subsets of C and Ada, identify the most effective mutant types, and analyze the root causes of failures in test cases. Our findings show how mutation testing could be effective where traditional structural coverage analysis and manual peer review have failed. They also show that several testing issues have origins beyond the test activity, and this suggests improvements to the requirements definition and coding process. Our study also examines the relationship between program characteristics and mutation survival and considers how program size can provide a means for targeting test areas most likely to have dormant faults. Industry feedback is also provided, particularly on how mutation testing can be integrated into a typical verification life cycle of airborne software.
Evidence of Parallel Pathways: Gender Similarity in the Impact of Social Support on Adolescent Depression and Delinquency

Despite an apparent connection, depression and delinquency have rarely been examined simultaneously. Instead, research has examined each topic separately and emphasized gender differences – rather than similarities – in outcomes. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this paper examines possible parallel pathways between social support (from parents, peers and schools) and depression in females and delinquency in males. Results show that support from these sources operates in a similar direction for both boys and girls, regardless of outcome. However, some significant differences in the magnitude of these associations exist. The paper concludes with a discussion of the merits of framing research as an examination of similarity, rather than difference.
Emotions and Emotion Regulation Among Novice Military Parachutists

Soldiers (N = 95) reported emotions and emotion regulation strategies experienced in their first parachute jump and other challenging situations. Results indicated an emotional profile characterized by feeling anxious, energetic, and happy before parachuting and playing sport. However, this pattern was not similar to the emotional responses experienced at work or in life in general. Participants reported greater use of strategies to increase unpleasant emotions an hour before parachuting than in other situations. Findings suggest that developing training protocols to increase the flexibility and versatility of emotion regulation skills might enhance the preparation of novice soldiers for military duties.
MHC Class III products: an electron microscopic study of the C3 convertases of human complement

We have reported a transmission electron microscopic study of the two C3 convertases of human complement and their precursors. The corresponding proteins and complexes of the classical and alternative pathway appear very similar. Cofactors C3b and C4b are nearly indistinguishable and display a characteristic but highly irregular substructure. C2 and Factor B are globular with diameters of 85 +/- 8 A and 80 +/- 8 A and both consist of three discrete globular domains each approximately 40 A in diameter. Bb and C2a each contain two domains connected by a short linker segment. Both domains of Bb and one domain of C2a are 42 A in diameter (28 kd), while the second domain of C2 is 47 A in diameter (39 kd). Attachment of the enzymatic subunits to cofactors occurs through one domain only.
Higher Therapeutic Plasma Oxypurinol Concentrations Might Be Required for Gouty Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Background:Lower dosages of allopurinol are recommended to avoid toxicity in gout patients with impaired renal function. This often has resulted in inadequate control of hyperuricemia. The optimum therapeutic range of plasma oxypurinol concentrations in gout patients with chronic kidney disease has never been investigated. This study was performed to examine the relationships between plasma oxypurinol concentrations and the changes in serum urate level and renal function after taking a standard dose of allopurinol, 300 mg daily, in gout patients with renal insufficiency. Patients and Methods:The study was conducted in 27 gout patients with renal insufficiency in a rheumatology clinic at the Rajvithi Hospital, Bangkok. Both new and current patients, after they discontinued allopurinol completely for 4 weeks, were treated with allopurinol 300 mg daily for 6 weeks. Blood samples were collected immediately before and 5 hours after the studied dose had been taken. Serum urate levels and renal function were recorded before and after the 6 weeks of allopurinol treatments. Results:Most patients receiving allopurinol 300 mg/d had their plasma oxypurinol concentrations higher than the proposed therapeutic range for patients with normal renal function. There were significant relationships between changes in serum urate level with both trough and fifth-hour oxypurinol concentrations (R2 = 0.42, P = 0.002 and R2 = 0.27, P = 0.007, respectively). Higher plasma oxypurinol concentrations resulted in a higher percentage of patients who could meet the therapeutic treatment goal. No serious side effect and no significantly change in creatinine clearance were observed indicating that high levels of oxypurinol did not appear to relate to higher prevalence of adverse reaction. Conclusions:Higher percentages of patients could meet the treatment goal when their plasma oxypurinol concentrations were higher than the proposed therapeutic range for patients with normal renal function.
METHODS IN METRIC FIXED-POINT THEORY

This is a brief survey of the use of transfinite induction in metric fixed-point theory. Among the results discussed in some detail is the author’s 1989 result on directionally nonexpansive mappings (which is somewhat sharpened), a result of Kulesza and Lim giving conditions when countable compactness implies compactness, a recent inwardness result for contractions due to Lim, and a recent extension of Caristi’s theorem due to Saliga and the author. In each instance, transfinite methods seem necessary.
A Descriptive Analysis of Mathematics Curricular Materials from a Pedagogical Perspective

In this article, we present six pedagogical criteria, five of which were gleaned from research related to effective teaching practices, followed by a narrative description of the extent to which the early 1990s editions of three basal mathematics programs applied these criteria in designing instructional sequences. Specifically, the purpose of the descriptive study was to compare lessons that taught adding and subtracting fractions in the fifth-grade books of each of the three basals. The present analysis of traditional basals revealed areas of serious concern: big ideas were rarely identified, introduced, or integrated; content was introduced too rapidly; teaching demonstrations were often not explicit or straightforward; manipulative activities were open-ended and ineffective; and review was inadequate. Finally, we propose recommendations for using the six curriculum design criteria to evaluate and modify mathematics curricular materials.
Developing Social Group Work Skills for Contemporary Agency Practice

ABSTRACT Students with rich group work education encounter barriers to implementing skills they learn in graduate school when they return to their agencies. This paper describes an innovative curriculum for a required course for advanced group work students that addressed this problem. Exploring problem situations and student actions, the class examined solutions that identified group work skills for agency practice.
Measurement of microdosimetric spectra with a wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counter for a 290 MeV/u 12C beam

The frequency distribution of the lineal energy, y, of a 290 MeV/u carbon beam was measured to obtain the dose-weighted mean of y and compare it with the linear energy transfer (LET). In the experiment, a wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) in a cylindrical volume with a simulated diameter of 0.72 µm was used. The measured frequency distribution of y as well as its dose-mean value agrees within 10% uncertainty with the corresponding data from microdosimetric calculations using the PHITS code. The ratio of the measured dose-mean lineal energy to the LET of the 290 MeV/u carbon beam is 0.73, which is much smaller than the corresponding data obtained by a wall TEPC. This result demonstrates that a wall-less TEPC is necessary to precisely measure the dose-mean of y for energetic heavy ion beams.
Natural bounds on herbivorous coral reef fishes

Humans are an increasingly dominant driver of Earth's biological communities, but differentiating human impacts from natural drivers of ecosystem state is crucial. Herbivorous fish play a key role in maintaining coral dominance on coral reefs, and are widely affected by human activities, principally fishing. We assess the relative importance of human and biophysical (habitat and oceanographic) drivers on the biomass of five herbivorous functional groups among 33 islands in the central and western Pacific Ocean. Human impacts were clear for some, but not all, herbivore groups. Biomass of browsers, large excavators, and of all herbivores combined declined rapidly with increasing human population density, whereas grazers, scrapers, and detritivores displayed no relationship. Sea-surface temperature had significant but opposing effects on the biomass of detritivores (positive) and browsers (negative). Similarly, the biomass of scrapers, grazers, and detritivores correlated with habitat structural complexity; however, relationships were group specific. Finally, the biomass of browsers and large excavators was related to island geomorphology, both peaking on low-lying islands and atolls. The substantial variability in herbivore populations explained by natural biophysical drivers highlights the need for locally appropriate management targets on coral reefs.
External Activities and Team Effectiveness

With the emergence of new organizational forms such as team-based organizations, external activities have become a critical function for organizational teams. This article offers a theoretical framework that indicates when external activities enhance team effectiveness and explains how team-design features influence external activities. Drawing on structural contingency theory, this article proposes that the relationship between external activities and team effectiveness is moderated by a set of structural contingency factors, including environmental characteristics, external interdependence, temporal fluctuations in external demands, and task complexity. The framework also identifies a set of team characteristics, including team composition, group development, and leadership, that influences the level of external activities. The present model contributes to the group literature by identifying moderators and antecedents of external activities with respect to their effects on team effectiveness. It also suggests further issues and challenges that should guide future studies of external activities of organizational teams.
RACE, AGE, AND JUVENILE JUSTICE DECISION MAKING

ABSTRACT Recent theoretical perspectives explore the joint effects of race and age on decision-making in criminal and juvenile justice proceedings. Underlying these approaches is a focus on the use of racial stereotyping and decision-makers’ perceptions of minorities as threatening, especially young African Americans. While there is some empirical inquiry into the combination effects of race and age on decision-making in the criminal justice system, little is done with the juvenile justice system. This is a critical omission since unlike criminal proceedings, age by itself is traditionally treated as a legally justified factor that can be considered by decision-makers to arrive at decisions for juvenile outcomes. Using an interpretation of the symbolic threat thesis, we attempt to address this void in the literature by examining the validity of three hypotheses that involve the individual and joint effects of race and age on juvenile justice outcomes. The results provide partial support for the consideration of both race and age to expand our understanding of the contextual nature of social control in general and decision-making in particular.
Prostitution in Five Countries: Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

We initiated this research in order to address some of the issues that have arisen in discussions about the nature of prostitution. In particular: is prostitution just a job or is it a violation of human rights? From the authors' perspective, prostitution is an act of violence against women; it is an act which is intrinsically traumatizing to the person being prostituted. We interviewed 475 people (including women, men and the transgendered) currently and recently prostituted in five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, Zambia). In response to questionnaires which inquired about current and lifetime history of physical and sexual violence, what was needed in order to leave prostitution and current symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) we found that violence marked the lives of these prostituted people. Across countries, 73 percent reported physical assault in prostitution, 62 percent reported having been raped since entering prostitution, 67 percent met criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. On average, 92 percent stated that they wanted to leave prostitution. We investigated effects of race, and whether the person was prostituted on the street or in a brothel. Despite limitations of sample selection, these findings suggest that the harm of prostitution is not culture-bound. Prostitution is discussed as violence and human rights violation.
Sublingual varices in relation to smoking, cardiovascular diseases, denture wearing, and consuming vitamin rich foods

Objectives: To identify potential risk factors such as smoking, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), denture wearing, and consuming vitamin rich foods, and its relation to the development of sublingual varices (SLV). Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on patients who attended the Department of Dentistry at The University of Jordan Hospital, Amman, Jordan between February and May 2013. Clinical examinations and inspections of 391 patients (203 males and 188 females), 13-74 years of age were conducted to determine the presence of SLV. Sublingual varices were classified into 2 categories: grade 0 (few or none visible), and grade one (moderate or severe). Frequency distributions of both SLV and risk factors were obtained. Multiple logistic regression analysis and Chi-square test were used to analyze the influence of individual risk factors on the incidence of SLV. Results: There were 88 subjects (22.5%) who had SLV. In the multivariate logistic regression model, SLV were significantly associated with age (odds ratio [OR]: 2.27, p=0.008) with highest occurrences in the eighth decade of life, gender (OR: 2.74, p=0.001), smoking (OR: 2.93, p=0.002), denture wearing (OR: 2.03, p=0.044), and CVD (OR: 4.01, p=0.00). Conclusion: The presence of SLV could be indicative of some potential risk factors including old age, female gender, and denture wearing, and may alert the dental clinician to recognize underlying systemic conditions, particularly CVD.
Assessing Media Influences on Middle School–Aged Children's Perceptions of Women in Science Using the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST)

Gender stereotypes in the mass media perpetuate traditional views of women that may influence children's perceptions of women in science, engineering, and technology. This study used a randomized posttest-only control group design to determine the efficacy of media literacy training on middle school–aged children's perceptions of scientists. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: discussion, discussion plus viewing of television and film clips that featured images of women, or a control. A total of 304 seventh-grade students were asked to complete the Draw-A-Scientist Test and to write down the source of information for their drawings. Across conditions, boys were more likely than girls to draw male scientists, and girls were more likely than boys to draw female scientists. Boys also were more likely to depict other stereotypes of scientists. Media sources were listed as the primary source of information for the drawings.
Coarticulatory variability and directionality in [s, ..]: an EPG study

Articulatory properties of the sibilants [ , ] and non-sibilant [ ] were studied for VCV syllables in Japanese, using the technique of electropalatography. We examined the relation between constriction width and location, and the nature of coarticulatory variability and directionality, specific to the two fricative categories. The results allow us to discuss the phonetic basis of the ‘precision’ in fricative articulations.
It is what you do as well as the way that you do it: the value and deployment of PCSOs in achieving public engagement

Resurgent efforts to reconnect the police with local communities and encourage more positive engagement with the public gained momentum over the last decade in England and Wales in the recent move from community to neighbourhood policing. Drawing on data from two ethnographic studies conducted in two English forces, one with a community police team and the other across two neighbourhood policing teams, this paper considers whether neighbourhood policing, specifically the introduction of police community support officers (PCSOs), has achieved more meaningful engagement where its predecessors have struggled, or whether the obstacles and pitfalls that have hindered previous models remain. It demonstrates that PCSOs are achieving more inclusive engagement in local communities, but their efforts are mitigated by their structured position in the organisation, aspirations to become police officers and the organisational environment in which they work. In light of such constraints, we argue that the capacity of PCSOs to break down barriers between the police and disaffected members of local communities and facilitate more representative public participation in policing would be greatly enhanced if they are driven by crime prevention and capacity building rather than crime control imperatives.
The search for person-career fit: do cognitive styles matter?

Given the lack of unequivocal findings on person-career fit, this investigation aims to gain insight into the role of cognitive styles in understanding students’ career preferences by two complementary studies. In study 1, we examined whether students (n = 84) with different cognitive styles differ in their entrepreneurial attitudes. Results showed a strong positive correlation between the creating style and the overall occupational status choice index, which implies a preference to become self-employed. No significant correlations were found between this index and the knowing and the planning style respectively. A more detailed look at the occupational status choice sub-indexes showed a positive correlation for the knowing style with the ‘economic opportunity’ index, for the planning style with ‘security’ and ‘participation in the whole process’, and for the creating style with ‘career’, ‘challenge’, ‘economic opportunity’, ‘autonomy’, ‘authority’, and ‘self-realisation’. No significant differences in overall occupational status choice were found in terms of gender, degree option, or family background in entrepreneurship. Study 2 focused on the link between students’ career anchors and their cognitive styles and personality profile (n = 275). We found for the knowing style a positive correlation with ‘pure challenge’, for the planning style a positive correlation with ‘lifestyle’ and ‘security/stability’ and a negative one with ‘autonomy/independence’, and for the creating style a positive correlation with ‘entrepreneurial creativity’ and ‘pure challenge’ and a negative one with ‘security/stability’. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that cognitive styles and personality traits could predict people’s career anchors to a certain extent. These findings are particularly relevant for career counselling services of higher education institutions and for selection and recruitment policies of organisations. Further cross-sectional as well as longitudinal research in diverse cultural settings is needed to cross-validate and strengthen the conclusions of this study.