Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Demography of an At-Risk African Elephant Population

Knowledge of population processes across various ecological and management settings offers important insights for species conservation and life history. In regard to its ecological role, charisma and threats from human impacts, African elephants are of high conservation concern and, as a result, are the focus of numerous studies across various contexts. Here, demographic data from an individually based study of 934 African elephants in Samburu, Kenya were summarized, providing detailed inspection of the population processes experienced by the population over a fourteen year period (including the repercussions of recent increases in illegal killing). These data were compared with those from populations inhabiting a spectrum of xeric to mesic ecosystems with variable human impacts. In relation to variability in climate and human impacts (causing up to 50% of recorded deaths among adults), annual mortality in Samburu fluctuated between 1 and 14% and, unrelatedly, natality between 2 and 14% driving annual population increases and decreases. Survivorship in Samburu was significantly lower than other populations with age-specific data even during periods of low illegal killing by humans, resulting in relatively low life expectancy of males (18.9 years) and females (21.8 years). Fecundity (primiparous age and inter-calf interval) were similar to those reported in other human impacted or recovering populations, and significantly greater than that of comparable stable populations. This suggests reproductive effort of African savanna elephants increases in relation to increased mortality (and resulting ecological ramifications) as predicted by life history theory. Further comparison across populations indicated that elongated inter-calf intervals and older ages of reproductive onset were related to age structure and density, and likely influenced by ecological conditions. This study provides detailed empirical data on elephant population dynamics strongly influenced by human impacts (laying the foundation for modeling approaches), supporting predictions of evolutionary theory regarding demographic responses to ecological processes.
Incomplete Acquisition in the Nominal Domain of Korean by Heritage Language Speakers

In this study, I examined heritage language speakers’ acquisition of the nominal domain of Korean to see how these speakers’ age of onset of exposure to English, their frequency of exposure to Korean, and their usage of Korean could help account for their performance. Fifteen adult simultaneous bilinguals and eighteen adult sequential bilinguals participated in the study. Their responses were compared to that of eight Korean-dominant bilinguals comprised of a subset of the mothers of the participants (and other similar speakers), who formed the control group, to represent the baseline (i.e., the input that heritage language speakers actually receive). The participants completed language history questionnaires, which were used to create composite usage and exposure scores for Korean. General measures of the speakers’ ability in Korean were compiled based on self-rated ability scores and an analysis of their accuracy and productivity on two of the tasks in this study. In order to examine the heritage language speakers’ grammars with respect to the nominal domain of Korean, the participants completed three tasks: 1) a preference task designed to test their sensitivity to various combinations of Case drop and their preferences for structures with or without plural marking and comitative Case markers; 2) an elicited imitation task designed to test their ability to recognize and produce Case markers; and 3) an elicited narration task designed to elicit production of Case markers, the plural marker,
Affective context-induced modulation of the error-related negativity

The error-related negativity putatively reflects the activity of performance-monitoring processes influenced by motivational factors, and is overactive in certain anxiety states, suggesting that affective factors affect its generation. We examined the effects of emotionally arousing and neutral task-irrelevant backgrounds on the error-related negativity to determine whether an affective context ‘mismatch’ alters error-related neural processing. Event-related potentials were acquired while healthy participants performed a modified Eriksen flanker task wherein flanker stimuli were superimposed on neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant pictures. The error-related negativity varied as a function of picture valence, peaking both earlier and larger in the context of pleasant backgrounds than neutral or unpleasant backgrounds. Findings support the hypothesis that affective factors influence the error-related negativity, potentially reflecting an affective mismatch associated with performance monitoring.
Selective information sampling: Cognitive coherence in evaluation of a novel item

This study investigates the amount and valence of information selected during single item evaluation. One hundred and thirty-five participants evaluated a cell phone by reading hypothetical customers reports. Some participants were first asked to provide a preliminary rating based on a picture of the phone and some technical specifications. The participants who were given the customer reports only after they made a preliminary rating exhibited valence bias in their selection of customers reports. In contrast, the participants that did not make an initial rating sought subsequent information in a more balanced, albeit still selective, manner. The preliminary raters used the least amount of information in their final decision, resulting in faster decision times. The study appears to support the notion that selective exposure is utilized in order to develop cognitive coherence.
Political ecology: where is the politics?

To political ecologists today, it might seem odd – ridiculous perhaps – to ask whether political ecology is sufficiently political. It has been the better part of two decades since Michael Watts complained that the dominant expressions of political ecology of the 1980s displayed ‘a remarkable lack of politics . There is almost no sense of contest, struggle, and conflict and how the rough and tumble of everyday life’ shapes human relations with the environment (Watts, 1990: 128–29). Since then, there has been a veritable explosion of scholarship (far too numerous to cite) in political ecology that has taken up the challenge to deal in a more sophisticated way with the role of politics in shaping humanenvironment relations. In comparing political ecology to other intellectual traditions that attempt to explain environmental problems (such as ecoscarcity and environmental modernization), Robbins (2004) notes that the defining characteristic of the field today is ‘the difference between a political and an apolitical ecology’. So central has politics become in the field that serious critiques have been made that political ecology has become ‘politics without ecology’ (Vayda and Walters, 1999). Yet, it is possible to question whether, by its own definitions of the word ‘politics’, political ecology fully lives up to its promise to take politics seriously. In their article ‘Locating the political in political ecology’, Paulson et al. (2003: 209, emphasis added), define politics as ‘the practices and processes through which power, in its multiple forms, is wielded and negotiated’. The authors observe that one of the key challenges of political ecology is ‘to develop ways to apply the methods and findings [from political ecology research] in addressing social-environmental concerns’ (p. 208). Indeed, this concern to make politics not only a research subject but a practice has long been an explicit and central goal of political ecology. Peet and Watts (1996: xi), for example, state that political ecology ‘is driven naturally in our case by a normative and political commitment to the liberatory potential of environmental concerns’. Similarly, Robbins (2004: 13) observes that political ecology is explicitly and unapologetically normative, seeking ‘to plant the seeds for reclaiming and asserting alternative ways of managing [resources] . The goal . is preserving Progress reports
miR-574-5p negatively regulates Qki6/7 to impact β-catenin/Wnt signalling and the development of colorectal cancer

Objective Deficiency or reduced expression of signal transduction and activation of RNA family protein Quaking (Qki) is associated with developmental defects in neural and vascular tissues and the development of debilitating human diseases including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the mechanisms underlying the aberrant downregulation or deficiency of Qki were uncertain. Design Expression of miR-574-5p, Qki5/6/7/7b splicing variants, β-catenin and p27Kip1 was determined in mouse and human CRC cells and tissues to investigate the post-transcriptional regulation of Qki isoforms by miR-574-5p and its impact on β-catenin/p27Kip1 signalling, cell cycle progression, proliferation, migration, invasion and tumour growth. Results In the CRC tissues of C57BL/6-Apcmin/+ mice, miR-574-5p was found to be significantly upregulated and negatively correlated with the expression of Qki but positively correlated with the expression of β-catenin. In mouse and human CRC cells, miR-574-5p was shown to regulate Qki isoforms (Qki6/7 in particular) post-transcriptionally and caused altered expression in β-catenin and p27Kip1 , increased proliferation, migration and invasion and decreased differentiation and cell cycle exit. Furthermore, in clinical CRC tissues, miR-574-5p was shown to be greatly upregulated and inversely correlated with the expression of Qkis. Finally, inhibition of miR-574-5p was shown to suppress the growth of tumours in the nude mice. Conclusions Together, these novel findings suggest that miR-574-5p is a potent ribo-regulator for Qkis and that aberrant miR-574-5p upregulation can be oncogenic.
'Cheap Tuesdays' and Estimating Movie Demand: An Empirical Analysis of the Australian Cinema Industry

This paper estimates the demand for cinema attendance using a large sample of daily box office revenues from cinemas in the Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia, during the year 2007. Many movie markets are characterised by extensive uniform pricing practices, hampering the ability to estimate price elasticities of demand. In our sample, most cinemas offer cheap Tuesday ticket prices. We exploit this feature to identify price elasticities, using a random coefficients discrete choice model of demand. We control for explanatory variables relating to the film, theatre, day, and geographic/demographic characteristics of the local population.
Human vagal baroreflex sensitivity fluctuates widely and rhythmically at very low frequencies

Arterial pressure fluctuates rhythmically in healthy supine resting humans, who, from all outward appearances, are in a ‘steady‐state’. Others have asked, If baroreflex mechanisms are functioning normally, how can arterial pressure be so variable? We reanalysed data from nine healthy young adult men and women and tested the hypotheses that during brief periods of observation, human baroreflex sensitivity fluctuates widely and rhythmically. We estimated vagal baroreflex sensitivity with systolic pressure and R–R interval cross‐spectra measured over 15 s segments, moved by 2 s steps through 20‐min periods of frequency‐ and tidal volume‐controlled breathing. We studied each subject at the same time on three separate days, with fixed protocols that included two physiological states, supine and passive 40 deg upright tilt, before and after β‐adrenergic, cholinergic, and angiotensin converting enzyme blockade. Minimum, mean and maximum (±s.d.) supine control baroreflex sensitivities averaged 5 ± 3, 18 ± 6, and 55 ± 22 ms mmHg−1. In most subjects, moderate ongoing fluctuations of baroreflex sensitivity were punctuated by brief major peaks, yielding frequency distributions that were skewed positively. Fast Fourier transforms indicated that baroreflex sensitivity fluctuations (expressed as percentages of total power) concentrated more in very low, 0.003–0.04 Hz, than ultra low, 0.0–0.003 Hz, frequencies (77 ± 7 versus 11 ± 8%, P≤ 0.001, rank sum test). Autoregressive centre frequencies averaged 0.012 ± 0.003 Hz. The periodicity of very low frequency baroreflex sensitivity fluctuations was not influenced significantly by upright tilt, or by variations of autonomic drive or angiotensin activity. Our analysis indicates that during ostensibly ‘steady‐state’ conditions, human vagal baroreflex sensitivity fluctuates in a major way, at very low frequencies.
Near-Infrared Ge Photodiodes for Si Photonics: Operation Frequency and an Approach for the Future

Operation frequency is discussed for near-infrared photodiodes (PDs) using Ge layers on Si, which are indispensable for the photonic-electronic convergence on an Si chip. Based on the formula derived from the continuity equation, Ge pin PDs on Si are found to operate with the 3-dB cut-off frequency as high as 80 GHz, which is limited by the slow diffusion current from the n and p layers. In order to increase the frequency, a new structure is examined, which is composed of a p-Ge/i-Si/n-Si heterojunction. In this structure, electrons generated in the p layer of Ge are collected by the i layer of wider gap Si, being similar to uni-traveling-carrier PDs of InGaAs/InP in III-V systems. Reflecting the larger saturation velocity of carriers for i-Si in comparison with i-Ge, higher operation frequencies as large as 100 GHz are expected by optimizing the layer thicknesses.
Heterozygous parkin point mutations are as common in control subjects as in Parkinson's patients

Homozygous or compound heterozygous parkin mutations cause juvenile parkinsonism. Heterozygous parkin mutations are also found in patients with typical Parkinson's disease (PD), but it is unclear whether a single “mutation” in a patient is related to disease or is coincidental, because the mutation frequency in control subjects is unknown. We present a comprehensive sequence analysis of parkin in control subjects.
Language and Culture as Protective Factors for At-Risk Communities

A comprehensive review and analysis of the literature related to the role of Indigenous language and culture in maintaining and improving the health as well as reducing the risk factors for health problems of Indigenous people. Although much literature exists on various topics related to culture, language and health, the specific focus of this paper was studying the effects of the use of language and culture on the health of Indigenous people. Once all relevant literature was gathered, six linked themes emerged as protective factors against health issues; land and health, traditional medicine, spirituality, traditional foods, traditional activities and language. Findings included evidence that the use of Indigenous languages and cultures do have positive effects on the health and wellness of Indigenous people. However, the majority of the existing literature focuses on culture and its effects on health. Therefore, more studies are needed specifically on the potential health benefits of Indigenous language use. Other recommendations for ways forward include more targeted research on urban Indigenous populations, and making links between the loss of traditional land, contaminants in the food chain and the health of Indigenous people in Canada.
Pheno-Copter: A Low-Altitude, Autonomous Remote-Sensing Robotic Helicopter for High-Throughput Field-Based Phenotyping

Plant breeding trials are extensive (100s to 1000s of plots) and are difficult and expensive to monitor by conventional means, especially where measurements are time-sensitive. For example, in a land-based measure of canopy temperature (hand-held infrared thermometer at two to 10 plots per minute), the atmospheric conditions may change greatly during the time of measurement. Such sensors measure small spot samples (2 to 50 cm 2 ), whereas image-based methods allow the sampling of entire plots (2 to 30 m 2 ). Capturing images from an aircraft which is flown precisely at low altitude (10 to 40 m) to obtain high ground resolution data for every plot allows the rapid measurement of large numbers of plots. This
The relationship between personality traits, pain perception and attitude toward orthodontic treatment.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between personality traits and a person's attitude toward orthodontic treatment and perception of pain during orthodontic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample consisted of two groups: group 1 consisted of 200 untreated subjects (100 males, 100 females; average age, 21.50 +/- 3.35 years), and group 2 consisted of 200 treated subjects (100 males, 100 females; average age, 20.92 +/- 2.48 years). The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire that included assessment of patients' personality profiles, pain expectation for untreated subjects, pain experience for treated subjects, and attitudes toward orthodontic treatment. RESULTS Gender, treatment status, and personality traits did not affect subjects' average attitude toward orthodontic treatment, whereas gender was the only variable that affected subjects' average pain perception (P < .01). The average attitude score in subjects who experienced pain during orthodontic treatment was 5.06 +/- 1.43, compared to 4.32 +/- 1.35 for subjects who did not experience pain (P < .001). The average pain perception scores in treated subjects with previous knowledge of orthodontic treatment was 5.29 +/- 1.94, compared to 6.07 +/- 1.95 in subjects who did not have previous knowledge of orthodontic treatment (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS Personality traits did not affect attitude toward orthodontic treatment and pain perception/experience during orthodontic treatment. A more positive attitude was found in patients who experienced less pain during orthodontic treatment.
Effectiveness of Aquatic Exercise and Balneotherapy: A Summary of Systematic Reviews Based on Randomized Controlled Trials of Water Immersion Therapies

Background The objective of this review was to summarize findings on aquatic exercise and balneotherapy and to assess the quality of systematic reviews based on randomized controlled trials. Methods Studies were eligible if they were systematic reviews based on randomized clinical trials (with or without a meta-analysis) that included at least 1 treatment group that received aquatic exercise or balneotherapy. We searched the following databases: Cochrane Database Systematic Review, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, JDream II, and Ichushi-Web for articles published from the year 1990 to August 17, 2008. Results We found evidence that aquatic exercise had small but statistically significant effects on pain relief and related outcome measures of locomotor diseases (eg, arthritis, rheumatoid diseases, and low back pain). However, long-term effectiveness was unclear. Because evidence was lacking due to the poor methodological quality of balneotherapy studies, we were unable to make any conclusions on the effects of intervention. There were frequent flaws regarding the description of excluded RCTs and the assessment of publication bias in several trials. Two of the present authors independently assessed the quality of articles using the AMSTAR checklist. Conclusions Aquatic exercise had a small but statistically significant short-term effect on locomotor diseases. However, the effectiveness of balneotherapy in curing disease or improving health remains unclear.
Do Soccer Referees Display Home Bias?

This paper examines bias in soccer referees actions, particularly through their decisions regarding extra time added. We review the literature on principle-agent interactions, in particular as it applies to sporting contests, and isolate some potential causal mechanisms and hypotheses. We then test the derived hypotheses and find that while there some are supported indicating a certain degree of bias, this bias appears to be less than in previous studies. We also show that this is not related to the stage of the season; is not a function of the strength of teams, and appears not to be significantly related to crowd composition or support. These findings are at a degree of variance with previous research, and we buttress them with qualitative approaches, interviewing major actors in soccer and considering the role of professional formation in the two leagues as potential factors.
Roles of brca2 (fancd1) in Oocyte Nuclear Architecture, Gametogenesis, Gonad Tumors, and Genome Stability in Zebrafish

Mild mutations in BRCA2 (FANCD1) cause Fanconi anemia (FA) when homozygous, while severe mutations cause common cancers including breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers when heterozygous. Here we report a zebrafish brca2 insertional mutant that shares phenotypes with human patients and identifies a novel brca2 function in oogenesis. Experiments showed that mutant embryos and mutant cells in culture experienced genome instability, as do cells in FA patients. In wild-type zebrafish, meiotic cells expressed brca2; and, unexpectedly, transcripts in oocytes localized asymmetrically to the animal pole. In juvenile brca2 mutants, oocytes failed to progress through meiosis, leading to female-to-male sex reversal. Adult mutants became sterile males due to the meiotic arrest of spermatocytes, which then died by apoptosis, followed by neoplastic proliferation of gonad somatic cells that was similar to neoplasia observed in ageing dead end (dnd)-knockdown males, which lack germ cells. The construction of animals doubly mutant for brca2 and the apoptotic gene tp53 (p53) rescued brca2-dependent sex reversal. Double mutants developed oocytes and became sterile females that produced only aberrant embryos and showed elevated risk for invasive ovarian tumors. Oocytes in double-mutant females showed normal localization of brca2 and pou5f1 transcripts to the animal pole and vasa transcripts to the vegetal pole, but had a polarized rather than symmetrical nucleus with the distribution of nucleoli and chromosomes to opposite nuclear poles; this result revealed a novel role for Brca2 in establishing or maintaining oocyte nuclear architecture. Mutating tp53 did not rescue the infertility phenotype in brca2 mutant males, suggesting that brca2 plays an essential role in zebrafish spermatogenesis. Overall, this work verified zebrafish as a model for the role of Brca2 in human disease and uncovered a novel function of Brca2 in vertebrate oocyte nuclear architecture.
Time-Resolved Molecular Frame Dynamics of Fixed-in-Space CS2 Molecules

Random orientation of molecules within a sample leads to blurred observations of chemical reactions studied from the laboratory perspective. Methods developed for the dynamic imaging of molecular structures and processes struggle with this, as measurements are optimally made in the molecular frame. We used laser alignment to transiently fix carbon disulfide molecules in space long enough to elucidate, in the molecular reference frame, details of ultrafast electronic-vibrational dynamics during a photochemical reaction. These three-dimensional photoelectron imaging results, combined with ongoing efforts in molecular alignment and orientation, presage a wide range of insights obtainable from time-resolved studies in the molecular frame.