Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal nutrition affects reproductive output and sex allocation in a lizard with environmental sex determination

Life-history traits such as offspring size, number and sex ratio are affected by maternal feeding rates in many kinds of animals, but the consequences of variation in maternal diet quality (rather than quantity) are poorly understood. We manipulated dietary quality of reproducing female lizards (Amphibolurus muricatus; Agamidae), a species with temperature-dependent sex determination, to examine strategies of reproductive allocation. Females maintained on a poor-quality diet produced fewer clutches but massively (twofold) larger eggs with lower concentrations of yolk testosterone than did conspecific females given a high-quality diet. Although all eggs were incubated at the same temperature, and yolk steroid hormone levels were not correlated with offspring sex, the nutrient-deprived females produced highly male-biased sex ratios among their offspring. These responses to maternal nutrition generate a link between sex and offspring size, in a direction likely to enhance maternal fitness if large body size enhances reproductive success more in sons than in daughters (as seems plausible, given the mating system of this species). Overall, our results show that sex determination in these animals is more complex, and responsive to a wider range of environmental cues, than that suggested by the classification of ‘environmental sex determination’.
Balanced Viscosity (BV) solutions to infinite-dimensional rate-independent systems

Balanced Viscosity solutions to rate-independent systems arise as limits of regularized rate-independent flows by adding a superlinear vanishing-viscosity dissipation. We address the main issue of proving the existence of such limits for infinite-dimensional systems and of characterizing them by a couple of variational properties that combine a local stability condition and a balanced energy-dissipation identity. A careful description of the jump behavior of the solutions, of their differentiability properties, and of their equivalent representation by time rescaling is also presented. Our techniques rely on a suitable chain-rule inequality for functions of bounded variation in Banach spaces, on refined lower semicontinuity-compactness arguments, and on new BV-estimates that are of independent interest.
The social and discursive construction of itinerant farm workers' children as literacy learners.

Using a case study approach, this study examined the social and discursive construction of itinerant farm workers’ children as literacy learners within a North Queensland primary school. By focusing on six case study families who enrolled at the school during two winter harvesting seasons, the study analysed the narratives of teachers and of families in order to yield insights into the fields of educational itinerancy and literacy. Defining literacy as a social practice, the study was framed within cultural-critical understandings of literacy, and critical discourse and poststructuralist theories. By using these to theorise the social world and literacy learning within it, the research examined the social and discursive constructions of the itinerant farm workers’ children within the sociocultural contexts of the school and its local community. Drawing on Fairclough’s (1989, 2001c) text- interaction-context model, the study used critical discourse analysis to conduct textual and social analyses of interview transcripts and selected documents. The study found that teachers’ narratives about itinerant farm workers’ children were predominantly negative, constructing itinerant children, their families and their lifestyles in deficit and stereotypical terms. The taken- for-granted assumption that an itinerant lifestyle impacted negatively on children’s literacy learning meant that teachers had low academic expectations of the children. In addition, the children’s families were frequently viewed as culpable for the difficulties that their children experienced. Many of the teachers’ narratives reflected community stories about farm workers and wider societal stories about families of low socio-economic status. Although there were some positive stories in circulation within both the school and community contexts, these were very much in the minority. The families’ narratives provided "another take" on the events and practices that were so often read as negative by those more permanently located in the school and community. In providing insights into what it meant to be itinerant, the families highlighted their attempts to balance education with lifestyle and to fit into the town where they were residing temporarily. These stories demonstrated that the families’ practices were often very different from the commonsense assumptions of teachers and community members. The study concludes that a reconceptualisation of the literacy learning needs of itinerant farm workers’ children should look beyond the school and take account of the social and cultural contexts of the children and their families. Such an approach should help to shift the focus away from deficits and stories of blame, towards an exploration of the literacy strengths that itinerant children bring to school. By disrupting deficit views, teachers should be better placed to focus on responsive and flexible pedagogies for enabling children to achieve demonstrable and sustainable learning outcomes in school literacy learning.
Factors Influencing Undergraduate Women's Educational Aspirations

Education is one key to economic prosperity and a predictor of overall life satisfaction. The further one progresses through the educational pipeline, the more likely it is that she may prosper. However, in a society bolstered by patriarchal systems, economic and educational inequalities exist among the genders. Educational aspirations are influenced by students‟ socialization experiences. Faculty teach students about their discipline. Families influence educational pursuits. Peers serve as reinforcements or challenges to academic progress. All three groups are socialization agents to students pursuing higher education. Research indicates that various socialization agents influence whether students pursue an undergraduate degree. However, there is little literature specifically focused on women and less on the relationship between women‟s undergraduate socialization experiences and their decision to enroll in graduate studies. The purpose of this study was to determine whether certain collegiate experiences (with family, faculty and peers) predict undergraduate women‟s expectation to enroll in graduate study and to determine if the experiences influence expectation to enroll by race. The sample included women who completed the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) Fourth edition. The study employed logistic regression to explore the relationship between undergraduate women‟s educational aspirations and family, faculty and peer influences. In addition, I examined whether the associations between family, faculty and peers differed by race/ethnicity. The results of the logistic regression revealed that academic ability (GPA) and peer experiences influenced advanced degree aspirations. In addition, race/ethnicity does matter, i.e., being of African-American or Latina decent is associated with a higher level of advanced degree aspiration. Also, as frequency of interactions between faculty and African-American women
Trophic upgrading of picocyanobacterial carbon by ciliates for nutrition of Daphnia magna

Unicellular picocyanobacteria, such as species of the genus Synechococcus, are un- suitable for supporting growth and reproduction of Daphnia spp. In Synechococcus spp. , long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and sterols are absent, which leads to a low carbon transfer efficiency at the picocyanobacteria-Daphnia spp. interface. Herein, we address the question as to whether ciliates can serve as a trophic link between picocyanobacterial production and Daphnia spp. production, thereby upgrading the nutritional value of a picocyanobacterial food source by produc- ing essential lipids such as PUFAs or sterols. In simplified experimental food chains consisting of 1 of 2 different Synechococcus strains, the ciliates Colpidium campylum or Cyclidium sp. , and D. magna, we provided evidence that predation on ciliates by Daphnia spp. allows access to picocyanobacterial production. Since daphnids are primarily sterol-limited when grown on the picocyanobacteria Synechococcus spp. , the observed trophic upgrading of Synechococcus food-quality by intermediary ciliates is most probably due to the addition of sterols or sterol-like compounds that (at least partly) release Daphnia spp. from sterol limitation. The absence of sterols in the ciliates used in the present study suggests that tetrahymanol and/or hopanoids provide functional equivalents of sterols not only in ciliates but also in Daphnia spp. , thereby leading to enhanced growth of the cladocerans.
Parents as Collaborators

Parental involvement and parent–school–community partnerships receive wide acclaim for making a positive difference in the educational and transition outcomes for youth with and without disabilities (Epstein, 2005; Family Strengthening Policy Center, 2004; Harvard Family Research Project, 2007; Lindstrom, Doren, Metheny, Johnson, & Zane, 2007; Wood, Rogers, & Yancey, 2006). Although the impact of parental involvement in education remains undisputed, secondary education traditionally emphasizes the emerging adult independence of adolescents as developmentally appropriate. Consequently, the role of parents in secondary education often receives diminished attention. For example, participation in student individualized education program (IEP) meetings, attendance at optional parent–teacher conferences, back-to-school night meetings, or other traditional family involvement indices frequently decrease during high school (Harvard Family Research Project, 2007). At the same time, the majority of families, with and without children with disabilities, take for granted that there will be a lifetime relationship among family members. Some families presume this care-giving responsibility relationship extends to all members of the family. Adopting a family-collaboration perspective, the transition field must recognize that families continue to influence and support their children with disabilities well into adulthood, and that seeking adult independence for young adults with disabilities while establishing interdependence with families is not a contradictory strategy. In fact, partnerships between parents and service providers during the transition period represent a critical strategy toward achieving student transition goals. Partnerships between families and transition service providers serve two primary purposes: (a) to improve transition services and outcomes for youth with disabilities, and (b) to develop within each family the knowledge and skills that will be needed for families to continue in an appropriate support role for their adult son or daughter with a disability.
Whole-body electromyostimulation as a means to impact muscle mass and abdominal body fat in lean, sedentary, older female adults: subanalysis of the TEST-III trial

Background The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of 12 months of whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) exercise on appendicular muscle mass and abdominal fat mass in subjects specifically at risk for sarcopenia and abdominal obesity, but unable or unwilling to exercise conventionally. Methods Forty-six lean, nonsportive (<60 minutes of exercise per week), elderly women (aged 75 ± 4 years) with abdominal obesity according to International Diabetes Federation criteria were randomly assigned to either a WB-EMS group (n=23) which performed 18 minutes of intermittent, bipolar WB-EMS (85 Hz) three sessions in 14 days or an “active” control group (n=23). Whole-body and regional body composition was assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry to determine appendicular muscle mass, upper leg muscle mass, abdominal fat mass, and upper leg fat mass. Maximum strength of the leg extensors was determined isometrically by force plates. Results After 12 months, significant intergroup differences were detected for the primary end-points of appendicular muscle mass (0.5% ± 2.0% for the WB-EMS group versus −0.8% ± 2.0% for the control group, P=0.025) and abdominal fat mass (−1.2% ± 5.9% for the WB-EMS group versus 2.4% ± 5.8% for the control group, P=0.038). Further, upper leg lean muscle mass changed favorably in the WB-EMS group (0.5% ± 2.5% versus −0.9% ± 1.9%, in the control group, P=0.033), while effects for upper leg fat mass were borderline nonsignificant (−0.8% ± 3.5% for the WB-EMS group versus 1.0% ± 2.6% for the control group, P=0.050). With respect to functional parameters, the effects for leg extensor strength were again significant, with more favorable changes in the WB-EMS group (9.1% ± 11.2% versus 1.0% ± 8.1% in the control group, P=0.010). Conclusion In summary, WB-EMS showed positive effects on the parameters of sarcopenia and regional fat accumulation. Further, considering the good acceptance of this technology by this nonsportive elderly cohort at risk for sarcopenia and abdominal obesity, WB-EMS may be a less off-putting alternative to impact appendicular muscle mass and abdominal fat mass, at least for subjects unwilling or unable to exercise conventionally.
THE EVOLUTION OF TRADE‐OFFS: EFFECTS OF INBREEDING ON FECUNDITY RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CRICKET GRYLLUS FIRMUS

The evolution of traits is modulated by their interrelationships with each other, particularly when those relationships result in a fitness trade‐off. In this paper we explore the consequences of genetic architecture on functional relationships between traits. Specifically, we address the consequences of inbreeding on these relationships. We show that the linear regression between two traits will not be affected if there is no dominance genetic variance in either trait, whereas the intercept but not the slope of the regression will change if there is dominance genetic variance in one trait only. We test the latter hypothesis using fecundity relationships in the cricket Gryllus firmus. Data from pedigree analysis and an inbreeding experiment show that there is significant dominance genetic variance in fecundity, but not head width (an index of body size) or dorsal longitudinal muscle (DLM) mass. Fecundity increases with head width, but decreases with DLM mass. As predicted, the intercepts of the regressions of fecundity on these two morphological traits decrease with inbreeding, but there is little or no change in slope. Gryllus firmus is wing dimorphic, with the macropterous (LW) morph having a lower fecundity than the micropterous (SW) morph. We hypothesize that the difference in fecundity arises primarily because of a competition for resources in the LW females between DLM maintenance (i.e., mass) and egg production. As a consequence, we predict that the fecundity within each morph should decline linearly with the inbreeding coefficient at the same rate in both morphs. The result of this will be a change in the relative fitness of the two morphs, that of the SW morph increasing with inbreeding. This prediction is supported. These results indicate that trade‐offs will evolve and such changes will affect evolutionary trajectories by altering the pattern of relationships among fitness components.
Effects of an e-postcard intervention to reduce alcohol consumption in Australian university students who are heavy episodic drinkers

viii Acknowledgements . xi List of Tables . xiii List of Figures . xv Papers Published from this Thesis . xvi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Alcohol problems in the general population . 18 1.2 Alcohol problems among young people (15-30 year s) . 19 1.3 Defining “binge drinking” . 21 1.3. 1 Rationale for using different standards for m en and women . 23 1.3. 2 Rates of heavy episodic drinking . 24 1.3. 3 Influence of gender on drinking patterns . 25 1.3. 4 Alcohol consumption among university students . 26 1.3. 5 Negative consequences of heavy episodic drink ing . 29 1.3. 6 Alcohol expectancies and students perception of positive and negative consequences of drinking . 31 1.3. 7 Perceived norm . 33 1.3. 8 Section summary . 36 1.4 Interventions used to address HED among univers ity students . 36 1.4. 1 Educational/awareness programs . 37 1.4. 2 Reducing alcohol use by changing normative be li fs. 38
Discriminative Corpus Weight Estimation for Machine Translation

Current statistical machine translation (SMT) systems are trained on sentence-aligned and word-aligned parallel text collected from various sources. Translation model parameters are estimated from the word alignments, and the quality of the translations on a given test set depends on the parameter estimates. There are at least two factors affecting the parameter estimation: domain match and training data quality. This paper describes a novel approach for automatically detecting and down-weighing certain parts of the training corpus by assigning a weight to each sentence in the training bitext so as to optimize a discriminative objective function on a designated tuning set. This way, the proposed method can limit the negative effects of low quality training data, and can adapt the translation model to the domain of interest. It is shown that such discriminative corpus weights can provide significant improvements in Arabic-English translation on various conditions, using a state-of-the-art SMT system.
Mentoring at-risk high school students: Evaluation of a school-based program.

Mentoring has long been accepted as a within the system that are found to be positive factor in business (Roche, 1979), most desirable, and (d) protect mentees in higher education (Obler, Francis, & from unjust verbal attack when necessary Wishengrad, 1977), and with gifted stu(Alleman et al., 1984). A constellation of dents (Torrance, 1984). The mentor is an "mentoring behaviors" seems to be the adult role-model (Kaufman, Harrel, key factor in effective mentoring. "Men Milam, Woolverton, & Miller, 1986) who taring relationships can be established or is a mixture of parent and peer to the enriched by learning or encouraging mentor mentee (Levinson, 1978). The mentor like behavior rather than by selecting cer serves as teacher, advisor, and sponsor tain types of people [as mentors]" (Al (Levinson, 1978) who encourages, praises, leman et al., 1984, p. 332). and prods (Torrance, 1983), bolstering In his 22-year longitudinal study, Tor the mentee's sense of competence and ranee (1983) found that students who had self-concept (Alleman, Cochran, mentors completed more years of educa Doverspike, & Newman, 1984; Kaufman et al., 1986). Alleman et al. (1984) found that the dif ference between mentors and nonmentors
Deep Neural Networks for Acoustic Modeling in Speech Recognition

Most current speech recognition systems use hidden Markov models ( HMMs) to deal with the temporal variability of speech and Gaussian mixture models to determine how well each state of each HMM fits a frame or a short window of frames of coefficients that represents the acoustic input. An alternati ve way to evaluate the fit is to use a feedforward neural network that takes several frames of coefficients a s input and produces posterior probabilities over HMM states as output. Deep neural networks with many hidden layers, that are trained using new methods have been shown to outperform Gaussian mixture models on a variety of speech rec ognition benchmarks, sometimes by a large margin. This paper provides an overview of this progress and repres nts the shared views of four research groups who have had recent successes in using deep neural networks for a coustic modeling in speech recognition.
Encoding Binary Neural Codes in Networks of Threshold-Linear Neurons

Networks of neurons in the brain encode preferred patterns of neural activity via their synaptic connections. Despite receiving considerable attention, the precise relationship between network connectivity and encoded patterns is still poorly understood. Here we consider this problem for networks of threshold-linear neurons whose computational function is to learn and store a set of binary patterns (e.g., a neural code) as “permitted sets” of the network. We introduce a simple encoding rule that selectively turns “on” synapses between neurons that coappear in one or more patterns. The rule uses synapses that are binary, in the sense of having only two states (“on” or “off”), but also heterogeneous, with weights drawn from an underlying synaptic strength matrix S. Our main results precisely describe the stored patterns that result from the encoding rule, including unintended “spurious” states, and give an explicit characterization of the dependence on S. In particular, we find that binary patterns are successfully stored in these networks when the excitatory connections between neurons are geometrically balanced—i.e., they satisfy a set of geometric constraints. Furthermore, we find that certain types of neural codes are natural in the context of these networks, meaning that the full code can be accurately learned from a highly undersampled set of patterns. Interestingly, many commonly observed neural codes in cortical and hippocampal areas are natural in this sense. As an application, we construct networks that encode hippocampal place field codes nearly exactly, following presentation of only a small fraction of patterns. To obtain our results, we prove new theorems using classical ideas from convex and distance geometry, such as Cayley-Menger determinants, revealing a novel connection between these areas of mathematics and coding properties of neural networks.
Formant analysis and synthesis using hidden Markov models

This paper describes a unifying framework for both formant tracking and speech synthesis using Hidden Markov Models (HMM). The feature vector in the HMM is composed by the first three formant frequencies, their bandwidths and their delta with time. Speech is synthesized by generating the most likely sequence of feature vectors from a HMM, trained with a set of sentences from a given speaker. Higher formant tracking accuracy can be achieved by finding the most likely formant track given a distribution of the formants of every sound. This data-driven formant synthesizer bridges the gaps between rulebased formant synthesizers and concatenative synthesizers by synthesizing speech that is both smooth and resembles the speaker in the training data.