Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Niche Specialization Influences Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity in the Threespine Stickleback

Phenotypic plasticity may be favored in generalist populations if it increases niche width, even in temporally constant environments. Phenotypic plasticity can increase the frequency of extreme phenotypes in a population and thus allow it to make use of a wide resource spectrum. Here we test the prediction that generalist populations should be more plastic than specialists. In a common-garden experiment, we show that solitary, generalist populations of threespine sticklebacks inhabiting small coastal lakes of British Columbia have a higher degree of morphological plasticity than the more specialized sympatric limnetic and benthic species. The ancestral marine stickleback showed low levels of plasticity similar to those of sympatric sticklebacks, implying that the greater plasticity of the generalist population has evolved recently. Measurements of wild populations show that those with mean trait values intermediate between the benthic and limnetic values indeed have higher morphological variation. Our data indicate that plasticity can evolve rapidly after colonization of a new environment in response to changing niche use.
Male Rape Myths: Understanding and Explaining Social Attitudes Surrounding Male Rape

This paper provides a critical review of the literature surrounding male rape, aimed at exploring how male rape myths shape society’s responses and attitudes to male victims of rape and integrates the literature from a theory driven perspective. In doing so, this theoretical paper reveals information relating to the barriers to recognition of male rape. These barriers are male rape myths that prevent male rape victims from coming forward and seeking the support that they merit. There has been a lack of research on male rape myths, although some research has documented such myths to be present in practice. These myths could be harmful because they may influence societies’ opinions of male rape victims, so this could affect the treatment and responses toward such victims. To understand and explain such myths so some attempt can be made at eradicating them, this paper will explore common male rape myths that seem to be prevalent in Western society. This paper will examine male rape myths in the areas of media, incarcerated settings, and the wider community, focusing on England and Wales, UK. This is important to do to recognise which myths are harmful and are facilitating the under-reporting of male rape. This paper will help raise awareness of male rape myths and not only attempt to tackle them, but also encourage male rape victims to come forward to report and seek the help that they merit. It will also address the gaps in the literature and areas ripe for research, so further empirical research can be conducted on male rape, highlighting ideas for future research and providing guidance in areas most needed in research on male rape.
Iron overload in thalassaemia intermedia: reassessment of iron chelation strategies

Thalassaemia intermedia (TI) is a syndrome marked by its diverse underlying genetic basis although its pathophysiology remains unclear, particularly regarding the nature of iron loading and toxicity. It is, however, evident that there are key differences from the extensively studied thalassaemia major (TM) population and caution is required when assessing iron load based on serum ferritin values, as this approach is known to underestimate the true extent of iron loading in patients with TI. Although effective iron chelation therapy has been available for many years, studies in TI‐specific populations are rare and evidence suggests that management of iron levels may be less rigorous than in patients with TM and other chronic anaemias. Better understanding of the need to assess and treat iron overload in both transfused and non‐transfused TI patients is clearly required.
Substance P accelerates wound healing in type 2 diabetic mice through endothelial progenitor cell mobilization and Yes-associated protein activation

Wound healing is delayed in diabetes due to a number of factors, including impaired angiogenesis and poor dermal healing. The present study demonstrated that subcutaneous administration of substance P (SP) accelerates wound healing in db/db type 2 diabetic mice (db/db mice). SP injection (10 nM/kg, subcutaneously) enhanced angiogenesis, induced the mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and increased the number of EPC-colony forming units (EPC-CFUs) in the bone marrow of db/db mice. Immunohistochemistry was performed to check the effects of SP on the cellular proliferation and the subcellular localization of Yes-associated protein (YAP) in the wound dermis. SP also upregulated cellular proliferation in the injured dermis of db/db mice. Compared with the control group, an increased number of cells in the wound dermis of SP-treated mice exhibited nuclear localization of YAP, which induces cellular proliferation. The results of the current study indicate that subcutaneous administration of SP may be a promising therapeutic strategy to treat diabetic wounds exhibiting impaired angiogenesis and dysfunctional dermal wound healing.
Heparin nanomodification improves biocompatibility and biomechanical stability of decellularized vascular scaffolds

Biocompatibility and biomechanical stability are two of the main obstacles limiting the effectiveness of vascular scaffolds. To improve the biomechanical stability and biocompatibility of these scaffolds, we created a heparin-nanomodified acellular bovine jugular vein scaffold by alternating linkage of heparin and dihydroxy-iron via self-assembly. Features of the scaffold were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Heparin was firmly linked to and formed nanoscale coatings around the fibers of the scaffold, and the amount of heparin linked was about 808 ± 86 μg/cm2 (101 ± 11 USP/cm2) per assembly cycle. The scaffolds showed significantly strengthened biomechanical stability with sustained release of heparin for several weeks in vitro. Importantly, the modified scaffolds showed significantly reduced platelet adhesion, stimulated proliferation of endothelial cells in vitro, and reduced calcification in a subcutaneous implantation rat model in vivo. Heparin nanomodification improves the biocompatibility and biomechanical stability of vascular scaffolds.
Effect of Mode of Interest Assessment on Clients’ Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy

To compare the effects of three different modes of interest assessment on career decision-making self-efficacy, 81 career-undecided college students participated in one of the following four conditions: an assessment intervention using the Strong Interest Inventory, an intervention using one of two methods of applying the Self-Directed Search, or a no-treatment control group. Change in career decisionmaking self-efficacy from pre-to posttest was assessed. Career decision-making self-efficacy increased significantly for all three treatment groups, and in each case, pre-post differences for the treatment groups exceeded the pre-post difference for the no-treatment control group. Differences in outcomes among the three treatment groups were not observed.
Perceived Risk and the Non-Institutionalized Tourist Role: The Case of Israeli Student Ex-Backpackers

While backpacking is often associated with a propensity for risk-taking, the literature lacks quantitative analyses of backpackers' perceived risk. The current study attempts to fill this gap by exploring risk perceptions of 579 Israeli students who were backpackers. The study findings indicate that perceived risk of the backpackers' experience is a multidimensional phenomenon, which includes factors of risk similar to those mentioned in both the consumer behavior literature and in studies on perceived risk in tourism. This finding supports the thesis that backpacking is becoming more institutionalized and less distinct from conventional mass tourism. In addition, the study reveals that perceptions of risk involved in the backpacking experience vary across the individual's characteristics, such as gender, past backpacking experience, and preference for fellow travelers. This is congruent with the contemporary notion of backpacking as a heterogeneous tourist experience.
Against all odds: The role of ‘community cultural wealth’ in overcoming challenges as a black African woman

Academic challenges for students from ‘previously disadvantaged backgrounds’ do not necessarily begin in the university but start during the school years, as was the case for the author. This paper is in three parts. Firstly, I present a brief narration of challenges faced before I went to university, which influenced my undergraduate progress. Secondly, I describe key challenges experienced as an undergraduate in particular courses and in a postgraduate education course. Thirdly, I focus on challenges encountered during my first work experience as a Black African PhD student and tutor on an education campus. In particular, I focus on key challenging incidents and how I approached and engaged with them to enable a successful journey through the university as a student and young academic staff member. In the form of first person narration, the qualitative research method of ‘testimony’ is used to reflect critically on my academic and professional journeys as a Black African woman in the post-apartheid era. Testimony was chosen because it provides an epistemic lens to support an analytical inquiry into experiences and intellectual understanding of self and community. Keywords: community cultural wealth; challenges; Black African woman; education; odds; overcome
Recidivist criminal behaviour and executive functions: a comparative study

This study sought to analyse the relation between executive functions and criminal recidivism. We assessed a set of cognitive abilities associated with executive functioning in a group of recidivist offenders (n = 19), primary offenders (n = 25) and non-offenders (n = 30). Our results, tested with nonparametric statistics and Monte Carlo method, revealed that there were no executive differences between both groups of offenders but, when compared with non-offenders, the recidivists showed a worse performance in Trail Making Test part B, and the primary offenders presented a significant lower score on Porteus Maze Test Age score. This study suggests that there can be a different pattern of executive functioning deficits associated with the offenders’ criminal record: recidivism may be more related to mental flexibility impairments and primary offenders’ antisocial behaviour may be aggravated by planning deficits.
The structure of ambivalence toward women – Legitimization of gender discrimination and prospects for change

One way in which sexism is distinct from other types of prejudice is its ambivalent nature. Women are both reviled and revered, depending on whether they fulfill or violate expectations concerning their gender roles. Basing on Ambivalent Sexism Theory (AST; Glick & Fiske, 1995, 1996, 2001), the following thesis explores dimensions that are not subsumed under AST that I consider critical to the perception of women. Specifically, based on data coming from qualitative and quantitative studies conducted in Poland and in the United States, I distinguish two additional springboards for sexism: 1. the belief that the fundamental role of a woman is that of the mother (together with the assumption that women’s goals should be subsumed under others’ goals and needs), and 2. the responsibility for aesthetics that is placed upon women. Subsequently, discriminant and predictive validity of the new dimensions is tested showing that these basic tenets form a richer structure of prejudice not encompassed by the existing sub-dimensions of AST. Theoretical implications of the findings and the universality of new dimensions are discussed.
Effects of dissolved organic carbon on the toxicity of copper to the developing embryos of the pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

The effects of humic acid (HA) on copper speciation and its subsequent toxicity to the sensitive early life stages of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) are presented. Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry with a hanging mercury drop electrode was used to measure the copper species as labile copper (LCu; free ion and inorganic copper complexes) and total copper (TCu) with respect to increasing HA concentration. The TCu and LCu 50% effect concentrations (EC50s) in the absence of HA were 20.77 μg/L (95% confidence interval [CI], 24.02–19.97 μg/L) and 8.05 μg/L (95% CI, 9.6‐5.92 μg/L) respectively. A corrected dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration (HA only) of 1.02 mg/L was required to significantly increase the TCu EC50 to approximately 41.09 μg/L (95% CI, 44.27–37.52 μg/L; p < 0.05), almost doubling that recorded when DOC (as HA) was absent from the test media. In contrast, the LCu EC50 was unaffected by changes in DOC concentration and was stable throughout the corrected DOC concentration range. The absence of change in the LCu EC50, despite increased HA concentration, suggests that the LCu fraction, not TCu, was responsible for the observed toxicity to the oyster embryo. This corresponds with the current understanding of copper toxicity and supports the free‐ion activity model for copper toxicity.
A confidence measure based moving object extraction system built for compressed domain

As the proliferation of compressed video sequences in MPEG formats continues, the ability to perform video analysis directly in the compressed domain becomes increasingly attractive. The availability of motion vectors and pixel values in coded forms can indirectly provide motion and intensity information for object analysis, avoiding the need to re-perform motion estimation. Albeit that the embedded motion field is contaminated with matching modeling errors and measurement errors, we will illustrate several motion field filtering and correction techniques to combat with noisy motion fields. We strive to reconstruct smooth true motion fields with a minimal amount of decoding, reducing computational resource and time requirement. In this paper, we describe the whole moving object extraction system with the general framework and component designs and show their effectiveness with two test sequences.
Facilitating and disrupting speech perception in word deafness

Background: Word deafness is a rare condition where pathologically degraded speech perception results in impaired repetition and comprehension but otherwise intact linguistic skills. Although impaired linguistic systems in aphasia resulting from damage to the neural language system (here termed central impairments) have consistently been shown to be amenable to external influences such as linguistic or contextual information (e.g., cueing effects in naming), it is not known whether similar influences can be shown for aphasia arising from damage to a perceptual system (here termed peripheral impairments). Aims: This study aimed to investigate the extent to which pathologically degraded speech perception could be facilitated or disrupted by providing visual as well as auditory information. Methods & Procedures: In three word repetition tasks, the participant with word deafness (AB) repeated words under different conditions: words were repeated in the context of a pictorial or written target, a distractor (semantic, unrelated, rhyme, or phonological neighbour) or a blank page (nothing). Accuracy and error types were analysed. Outcomes & Results: AB was impaired at repetition in the blank condition, confirming her degraded speech perception. Repetition was significantly facilitated when accompanied by a picture or written example of the word and significantly impaired by the presence of a written rhyme. Errors in the blank condition were primarily formal, whereas errors in the rhyme condition were primarily miscues (saying the distractor word rather than the target). Conclusions: Cross-modal input can both facilitate and further disrupt repetition in word deafness. The cognitive mechanisms behind these findings are discussed. Both top-down influence from the lexical layer on perceptual processes and intra-lexical competition within the lexical layer may play a role.
Forensic mental health clinician's experiences with and assessment of alliance regarding the patient's readiness to be released from mechanical restraint

One of the main reasons for prolonged duration of mechanical restraint is patient behaviour in relation to the clinician-patient alliance. This article reports on the forensic mental health clinicians experiences of the clinician-patient alliance during mechanical restraint, and their assessment of parameters of alliance regarding the patient's readiness to be released from restraint. We used a qualitative, descriptive approach and conducted focus group interviews with nurses, nurse assistants and social and healthcare assistants. The results show that a pre-established personal clinician-patient alliance formed the basis for entering into, and weighing the quality of, the alliance during mechanical restraint. In consideration of the patient's psychiatric condition, the clinicians observed and assessed two quality parameters for the alliance: 'the patient's insight into or understanding of present situation' (e.g. the reasons for mechanical restraint and the behaviour required of the patient to discontinue restraint) and 'the patient's ability to have good and stable contact and cooperation with and across clinicians. These assessments were included, as a total picture of the quality of the alliance with the patient', in the overall team assessment of the patient's readiness to be released from mechanical restraint. The results contribute to inform the development of a short-term risk assessment instrument, with the aim of reducing the duration of mechanical restraint.
Comprehensive approach to sliding subspace design in linear time invariant systems

This paper considers design in state space of reduced and integral sliding mode having either desired spectrum or optimal behavior in LQR sense. Due to the operator representation of system equation a separate consideration of discrete time and continuous time is not needed. The obtained sliding subspace enables a fully decentralized design of reaching control. Four very simple algorithms are the paper's outcome. Examples of their implementation in MATLAB are given at the end.
Idiotypic analysis of potential and available repertoires in the arsonate system

We have shown that, by suitable idiotypic manipulation, BALB/c mice can express the major cross-reactive idiotype (CRI) of A/J mice in response to azophenylarsonate (Ars). In order to know if the CRIA idiotype is present in the potential repertoire of BALB/c before any intentional selection, we used polyclonal activation in vitro and limiting dilution analysis. The readout was done with two monoclonal anti-CRIA antibodies that recognize distinct idiotopes on a CRIA+ A/J germline-encoded monoclonal antibody. We studied the frequency of CRIA+ lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-reactive cells in the spleens of nonimmune and immune A/J mice and in the spleens of naive and manipulated (i.e., producing CRIA+ antibodies) BALB/c mice. A/J and BALB/c naive individuals presented very high frequencies of Ars-specific B cells while the frequency of CRIA+ B cells was only a minor subset (0.5%) of the total Ars-specific subset in the two strains. When A/J mice were immunized with Ars-keyhole limpet hemocyanin, a clear preferential expansion of the CRIA+ minor subset of A/J mice was observed (100x). No such enhancement was observed in BALB/c mice similarly treated. Manipulated BALB/c mice presented a higher frequency of CRIA+ anti-Ars B cells than naive or antigen-immunized BALB/c individuals.
Recovery of phenolic compounds from a grape marc extract with collidal gas aphrons

In previous studies we demonstrated that gallic acid (GA) in its anionic form (neutral pH conditions) can be recovered from aqueous solutions using colloidal gas aphrons (CGA) generated from the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium-bromide (CTAB). Preliminary experiments with grape marc extracts confirmed the potential application of this separation for the recovery of polyphenols from complex feedstocks. The aim of this study is to investigate the recovery of antioxidant phenolic compounds from a red grape marc extract by CGA flotation in order to: concentrate and separate polyphenols in the surfactant phase; selectively separate different classes of phenolic compounds; reduce the use of organic solvents and buffer salts. The effect of a number of operating parameters on the recovery, separation factor and antioxidant activity was measured: CTAB concentration, pH and concentration of polyphenols in the feed, and surfactant type (CTAB cationic and Tween20 non-ionic). High recovery of total phenols and total anthocyanins were obtained with CGA generated with CTAB 1mM. Recoveries were similar and slightly higher than those obtained with GA standard solutions. Recovery of polyphenols was high at both pH 4 and 2, but it was not possible to selectively separate anthocyanins from other polyphenols. Moreover, high recoveries were also obtained with non-ionic surfactant Tween 20. This showed that, contrary to what we observed with GA solutions, separation of polyphenols from the real extract was mainly due to hydrophobic rather than electrostatic interactions. Moreover antioxidant activity of the CGA extract was enhanced when in presence of Tween20.
A BRIEF INTERNET-BASED TREATMENT FOR PANIC DISORDER

This study investigated the effectiveness of an Internet-based intervention for people with panic disorder. Twenty-two participants met criteria for panic disorder and were randomly assigned to either the treatment or a self-monitoring control condition. The study took place over 3 weeks and consisted of one week of self-monitoring prior to the intervention group accessing the program for one week, followed by one week of post-intervention assessment. Participants were assessed on measures pertaining to panic, negative affect, body vigilance, anxiety sensitivity and self-efficacy in managing panic. The treatment condition was associated with significant reductions in all variables except anxiety sensitivity and depressive affect. This type of intervention for people with fearful panic attacks holds promise as an efficacious and economical method for treating spontaneous panic.
Celebrating 50 years of Reflective Practice: Versions of Creative Problem Solving

The original work of Alex Osborn making the creative process more explicit, and the following 50 years of research and development on creative problem solving, have made an important and wide-spread contribution to those interested in the deliberate development of creative talent. This article provided a summary of the many versions of creative problem solving and the key scholarly issues underpinning their development for one main group of collaborators. Future research and development needs were also identified.
A call for clarification and critical analysis of the work of faith-based development organizations (FBDO)

This article compares and contrasts three groups of faith–based development organizations (FBDOs). The first group consists of community–based FBDOs. The second are intermediaries acting as a bridge between larger donors and community organizations. Last, there are missionary organizations that work with local communities but see development primarily as religious conversion. This comparison allows clarification over what constitutes an FBDO and also highlights the variety of ways in which faith intersects with development in the work of different FBDOs. The use of two analytical frames assessing the faith of organizations along a continuum and then measuring the position of FBDOs within an aid chain, emphasizes the need to acknowledge the diversity of factors that both limit and contribute to the success of an FBDO.