Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Geographical isolation and genetic differentiation: the case of Orestias ascotanensis (Teleostei: Cyprinodontidae), an Andean killifish inhabiting a highland salt pan

Orestias ascotanensis is a killifish endemic to the Ascotan salt pan in the Chilean Altiplano, where it inhabits 12 springs with different degrees of isolation. This species is a suitable model for studying the effect of serial geographical isolations on the differentiation process among populations. The present study examines the genetic variation and structure of the species using mitochondrial DNA control region sequences and eight microsatellite loci, analyzing populations across its distribution range. The evaluation of genetic variation revealed high levels of diversity within the species. The genetic structure analysis showed the existence of four differentiated groups: two groups were formed by the springs located in the northern and southern extremes of the salt pan and two groups were found in the centre of the salt pan. The latter two groups were formed by several springs, most likely as a consequence of the South American summer monsoon that could connect them and allow gene flow. The patterns of genetic differentiation appear to be determined based on the physical isolation of the populations. This isolation may be the result of a combination of factors, including geographical distance, a historical decrease in water levels and altitude differences in the springs of the salt pan. Therefore, this system is a rare example in which hydrological factors can explain genetic differentiation on a very small scale.
Predicting Relationships between Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematics Teaching Anxiety, Self-Efficacy Beliefs towards Mathematics and Mathematics Teaching.

The purpose of the research is to investigate the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs toward mathematics, mathematics anxiety and self-efficacy beliefs toward mathematics teaching, mathematics teaching anxiety variables and testing the relationships between these variables with structural equation model. The sample of the research, which was conducted in accordance with relational survey model, consists of 380 university students, who studied at the department of Elementary Mathematics Education at two state universities. In order to collect data for the present research, “Self-efficacy Beliefs towards Mathematics Scale”, “Self-efficacy Beliefs toward Mathematics Teaching Scale”, “Mathematics Anxiety Scale” and “Mathematics Teaching Anxiety Scale” were utilized. Researchers developed a model in accordance with the related literature, and tested the direct and indirect relations between self-efficacy belief toward mathematics, mathematics anxiety and self-efficacy belief for mathematics teaching, mathematics teaching anxiety variables. Data were analysed with structural equation model on AMOS 19.0 program. The model shows that the most important independent variable affecting mathematics teaching anxiety is mathematics anxiety; the most important independent variable affecting self-efficacy belief toward mathematics teaching is mathematics anxiety; the most important variable affecting mathematics anxiety is self-efficacy belief toward mathematics; and the most important variable affecting mathematics teaching anxiety is self-efficacy belief toward mathematics teaching.
Stipa tenacissima Does not Affect the Foliar δ13C and δ15N of Introduced Shrub Seedlings in a Mediterranean Semi-arid Steppe

Recent studies have shown that the tussock grass Stipa tenacissima L. facilitates the establishment of late-successional shrubs, in what constitutes the first documented case of facilitation of woody plants by grasses. With the aim of increasing our knowledge of this interaction, in the present study we investigated the effects of S. tenacissima on the foliar δ13C, δ15N, nitrogen concentration, and carbon : nitrogen ratio of introduced seedlings of Pistacia lentiscus L. , Quercus coccifera L. , and Medicago arborea L. in a semi-arid Mediterranean steppe. Six months after planting, the values of δ13C ranged between −26.9‰ and −29.6‰, whereas those of δ15N ranged between −1.9‰ and 2.7‰. The foliar C : N ratio ranged between 10.7 and 53.5, and the nitrogen concentration ranged between 1.0% and 4.4%. We found no significant effect of the microsite provided by S. tenacissima on these variables in any of the species evaluated. The values of δ13C were negatively correlated with predawn water potentials in M. arborea and were positively correlated with relative growth rate in Q. coccifera. The values of δ15N were positively correlated with the biomass allocation to roots in the latter species. The present results suggest that the modification of environmental conditions in the are surrounding S. tenacissima was not strong enough to modify the foliar isotopic and nitrogen concentration of shrubs during the early stages after planting. (Managing editor: Ya-Qin Han)
Investigation of Pre-service Teachers' Levels of Readiness to Technology Integration in Education

This study aims to expose the training and experience that pre-service teachers acquire in the course of their study at schools of education in regard to the use of information and communication technology (ICT). The study adopts the survey model and its sampling is comprised of 832 pre-service teachers who attend four different faculty of education in Turkey. The data were collected by means of a scale developed by Tondeur, van Braak, Siddiq and Scherer (2016) on the basis of SQD (Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence) model. It was basically found that pre-service teachers do not receive adequate training and support in regard to the use of ICT in education during the courses of their study at faculty of educations. This situation varies statistically according to gender and the faculty of education variables. In the process of technology integration in teacher education, it is important in terms of effectiveness and efficiency that resources other than human and human power are handled in a more realistic way. So, it is considered that the findings of the present study may help in the processes of planning and implementing the technology integration in teacher education.
VITAMIN D; AN EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE

Vitamin D (25-dihydroxy Vitamin D [25(OH)D]) is both a nutrient and hormone which provides a wide variety of health benefits to human health; hence, makes it unique. Vitamin D deficiency prevails all over Indian subcontinent including both urban and rural population with a prevalence rate 70-100% in general Indian population [1]. Vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets, osteomalacia, and osteoporosis. Vitamin D also plays an important role in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and infectious disease such as tuberculosis.
Faculty perceptions of teaching information literacy to first-year students: A phenomenographic study

This study examines faculty perceptions of teaching information literacy and explores the influence of these perceptions on pedagogy. The study adopted an inductive phenomenographic approach, using 24 semi-structured interviews with faculty teaching first-year courses at an American public research university. The results of the study reveal four qualitative ways in which faculty experience teaching information use to first year students that vary within three themes of expanding awareness. The resulting outcome space revealed that faculty had two distinct conceptions of teaching information literacy: (1) Teaching to produce experienced consumers of information, and (2) Teaching to cultivate intelligent participants in discourse communities. When information experiences are intentional, and involve using and teaching information use while learning the discipline content, this becomes “informed learning”, which is a pedagogical construct developed by Christine Bruce (Bruce and Hughes, 2010) that involves experiencing information in new ways while learning disciplinary information behaviors and content. This study gives new insight into the nature of this “informed learning” in first-year college courses and reveals that faculty create cultures of inquiry in their classes and, in so doing, treat information literacy as central to their disciplines. In addition to providing a more substantial understanding of faculty perceptions of teaching information use, the study indicates that the new ACRL Framework for Information Literacy and the changes to SCONUL Framework reflect an approach to teaching information literacy that will be welcomed in the college classroom.
Complementing the evaluation toolkit of mortality forecasts with measures of lifespan disparity

Evaluating the predictive ability of mortality forecasts is important and yet, at the same time, difficult. Average lifespan and death rates are basic life table functions that are typically used to analyze how much forecasts deviate from their realized values. While these parameters are useful to specify how precisely mortality has been forecasted at a certain point in time, they cannot be used to indicate whether the underlying mortality developments are plausible, too. We therefore propose to look in addition at lifespan disparity to examine whether the forecasted variability of the age at death is a plausible continuation of past trends. Validating mortality forecasts for Italy, Japan, and Denmark demonstrate that their predictive performance can be evaluated more comprehensively when analyzing average lifespan and its disparity, i.e. jointly analyzing mean and dispersion of mortality. Approaches accounting for dynamic age-shifts in survival improvements outperform others that enforce invariant patterns. 1 University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany 2 Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany 1
Brand-Level Effects of Stockkeeping Unit Reductions

When retailers make product assortment changes by eliminating certain stockkeeping units (SKUs), how does this affect sales of individual brands? This is the main question the authors address in this article. Using data from an online retailer that implemented a permanent systemwide SKU reduction (SR) program, the authors investigate how the program affected various components of purchase behavior for individual brands. They find substantial variations in the SR effects across brands, categories, and consumers. They explore possible drivers for these differences and find that higher-market-share, higher-priced, and more frequently promoted brands tend to gain share and that reduction in the number of sizes, reduction in the number of SKUs, and change in SKU share in the category are important in affecting change in a brand's purchase share after the SR. They also find that SRs lead to an increase in category purchase incidence and quantity for highly state-dependent consumers and frequent buyers but a decrease in category purchase and quantity for mildly state-dependent consumers and infrequent buyers. In addition, SRs tend to cause more changes in brand choice probabilities among consumers of lower state dependence and higher price and promotion sensitivity. These findings are of importance both to retailers wanting to make product assortment changes and to manufacturers affected by them.
ON THE CROSS-FIELD DIFFUSION OF GALACTIC COSMIC RAYS INTO AN ICME

We develop a numerical modelof the cross-ﬁelddiﬀusion of galactic cosmicraysinto an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME), on the assumption thatthe local part of the ICME is an expanding straight cylinder. It is found thatthe spatial distribution of cosmic ray density in the cylinder rapidly reachesa stationary state due to the balance between inward diﬀusion and adiabaticcooling in the expanding cylinder. By ﬁtting the model to the Halloween ICMEevent observed with the network of muon detectors in October 2003, we evalu-ate the magnitude of the cross-ﬁeld diﬀusion coeﬃcient to be 1
07 01 15 2 v 1 2 2 Ja n 20 07 Comment on Afshar ’ s expriments

In [2] a two-slit experiment supposedly showing the violation of the priciple of complementarity is realized. Authors suggest that a which-way information is obtained from the position of incident photon/light while at the same time the existence of interference is testified. In several articles this experiment is being criticised. These critiques are based usually on explanations dwelling deep inside the basics of quantum mechanics. Here we present numerical results showing that there is no need to go so deep to show that the principle of complementarity hold also in this case. In [3] a simple analytic analysis is shown to support our arguments and numerical simulation. The claim of Afshar, that the law of conservation of linear momentum compels us to accept that a photon in a particular spot on the photosensitive surface must have originated from the corresponding pinhole, is indeed correct. While having only one slit open the momentum of the photon forces it to end in a state from which an information about pinhole can be obtained. However having both slits open transverse momentum of photon (as a quantum-mechanical object) is zero and at the end must stay zero. The final state of the photon is thus symmetric and holds no evidence about the slits. In other words the two-peaked distribution is an interference pattern and the photon behaves as a wave and exhibits no particle properties until it hits the plate. As a result a which-way information can never be obtained in this way.
Infrared Space Observatory Photometric Search of Main-Sequence Stars for Vega-Type Systems

We obtained 3.6-20 μm photometry of 38 bright [IRAS Fν(12 μm) > 0.7 Jy] main-sequence stars with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Observations were conducted with the ISOPHOT instrument, in the single-pointing photometry mode, through filters at 3.6, 11.5, and 20.0 μm. We searched for excess (Vega-type) emission from dust at temperatures ≳100 K, located at ~1-60 AU from the stars. We thus sampled dust at warm, terrestrial material temperatures and at cool (~100 K) temperatures of possible Kuiper Belt-type regions in these systems. We detected 20 μm excesses from ~14% of our sources, but we did not detect 11.5 μm excesses from any of them. We present single-temperature blackbody models of the location and density of dust emission around 10 stars, two of them (29 Cyg and Gl 816) with excesses newly reported here. We make a thorough comparison of ISO and IRAS data on our target stars and propose a new calibration procedure for ISOPHOT staring measurements at 3.6, 11.5, and 20 μm.
N14C: a plant-soil nitrogen and carbon cycling model to simulate terrestrial ecosystem responses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Ecological Modelling. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Ecological Modelling, 247. 11-26. 10.1016/j.ecolmodel. 2012.08. 002
Osteology and Relationships of Byronosaurus jaffei (Theropoda: Troodontidae)

Abstract The troodontid Byronosaurus jaffei is known from two specimens from adjacent localities in the Nemegt basin, Ömnögov Aimag, Mongolia. These specimens are composed of well-preserved cranial material and fragmentary postcrania. All of these elements are described here. Byronosaurus jaffei is included in a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Coelurosauria to ascertain its relationships. Several interesting characters of Byronosaurus jaffei have implications both for theropod relationships and for understanding patterns of variation within coelurosaurian theropods. These include the position of a foramen that marks the exit of the supra-alveolar canal (which we suggest is homologous with the subnarial foramen), the flattened internarial bar, the unusual interfenestral bar, and the unserrated teeth. Additionally, the well-preserved braincase allows detailed comparison with other troodontid taxa.
A Mass Gathering Experience at the 2009 Pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, During the 2009 Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic

Background: Saudi Arabia hosted 2.5 million pilgrims in 2009 amidst H 1 N 1 pandemic. The Armed Forces Hospital in Mina caters for pilgrims during Hajj, annually. In the hospital, rigorous infection control precautions were taken to mitigate the transmission of the pandemic among the care seekers and the hospital's health workers. Objective: To study the distribution of confirmed H 1 N 1 infection among suspected H 1 N 1 patients admitted to the hospital. Methods: Patients who met disease severity criteria were admitted to the H 1 N 1 isolation ward, nasopharyngeal and throat swabs for H 1 N 1 virus assay, using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique taken. Results: Out of 39 admissions, females significantly predominated (74.4% vs. 25.6%, X 2 (1) 9.26, p 0.002). Eleven (29.7%, n=37) patients tested H 1 N 1 -polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive. No health worker reported suspected H 1 N 1 symptoms during the mission. Patients significantly differed in the rate of positive- and negative H 1 N 1 -PCR-test (29.7%, 70.3%, X 2 (1) 6.81, p 0.014). Test positivity did not differ by nationality (Saudi vs. non-Saudi). Conclusion: Dealing with a pandemic in a mass gathering situation is a unique experience. This work provides that although the burden of H 1 N 1 infection may well be enhanced by Hajj mass gathering, applying systematized infection control measures in a well-defined hospital setting could help mitigate the transmission of H 1 N 1 within the facility environment. (Sherif R. Omar and Raouf M. Afifi. A Mass Gathering Experience at the 2009 Pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, During the 2009 Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic. J Am Sci 2013;9(4):563-571). (ISSN: 1545- 1003). http://www.jofamericanscience. org . 60
A study of English word category prediction based on neutral networks

Using traditional statistical approaches, it is difficult to develop an N-gram word prediction model for constructing an accurate word recognition system because of the increased demand for sample data and parameters to memorize probabilities. To solve this problem, NETgrams, which are neural networks for N-gram word category prediction in text are proposed. NETgrams can easily be expanded from bigram to N-gram networks without exponentially increasing the number of free parameters. Training results show that the NETgrams are comparable to the statistical model and compress information. Results of analyzing the hidden layer (microfeatures) show that the word categories are classified into some linguistically significant groups. It is confirmed that NETgrams perform effectively for unknown data, i.e NETgrams interpolate sparse training data naturally just like the deleted interpolation. A method for speeding up the back-propagation algorithm, which can automatically determine better parameters and achieve a shorter training time is proposed. <<ETX>>
FTIR analysis and the effects of alkyd/melamine resin ratio on the properties of the coatings

Alkyd/melamine resin mixtures are mainly used in industrial baking enamels. The effects of the alkyd/butylated melamine resin ratio (from 90/10 to 50/50) and curing temperature (from 110 to 180°C) on the crosslinking and properties of the coating are presented in this paper. The curing reactions through functional groups of resins were monitored by FT-IR spectroscopy. The hardness, elasticity, degree of adherence and gloss were also determined. Optimal coating properties could be achieved with an alkyd/melamine resin ratio of 80/20, a curing temperature of 150°C and a curing time of 20 min.
Identification of Gene Markers in Aflatoxin-Resistant Maize Germplasm for Marker-Assisted Breeding

Aflatoxins, the toxic and highly carcinogenic secondary metabolites of Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus are the most widely investigated of all mycotoxins due to their role in establishing the significance of mycotoxins in animal diseases, and to the regulation of their presence in food (Brown et al., 1998; Dorner et al., 1999). Aflatoxins pose serious health hazards to humans and domestic animals, because they frequently contaminate agricultural commodities (CAST, 1979; Diener et al., 1987). Presently, numerous countries have established or proposed regulations for controlling aflatoxins in food and feeds (Haumann, 1995); the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has limits of 20 ppb, total aflatoxins, on interstate commerce of food and feed, and 0.5 ppb of aflatoxin M1 on the sale of milk. However, many countries, especially in the developing world, experience contamination of domestic-grown commodities at alarmingly greater levels than does the U.S. Evidence of this was demonstrated in a study that revealed a strong association between exposure to aflatoxin and both stunting (a reflection of chronic malnutrition) and being underweight (a reflection of acute malnutrition) in West African children (Gong et al., 2002). Also, a 2004 outbreak of acute aflatoxicosis in Kenya, due to ingestion of contaminated maize, resulted in 125 deaths (Probst et al., 2007). Recognition of the need to control aflatoxin contamination of food and feed grains has elicited various approaches from researchers to eliminate this toxin from maize and other susceptible crops. The approach to enhance host resistance through conventional or molecular breeding gained renewed attention following the discovery of natural resistance to A. flavus infection and aflatoxin production in maize (Gardner et al., 1987; King & Scott, 1982; Widstrom et al., 1987; Scott & Zummo, 1988; Campbell & White, 1995; Brown et al., 1995, 1999). During the past two decades, maize genotypes with natural preharvest resistance to aflatoxin production have been identified through field screening (Scott & Zummo, 1988; Campbell & White, 1995; Warner et al., 1992). However, there is always a
Left-right ideological differences in system Justification following exposure to complementary versus noncomplementary stereotype exemplars

The capacity for victim-derogating stereotypes and attributions to justify social inequality and maintain the status quo is well known among social scientists and other observers. Research conducted from the perspective of system justification theory suggests that an alternative to derogation is to justify inequality through the use of complementary stereotypes that ascribe compensating benefits and burdens to disadvantaged and advantaged groups, respectively. In two experimental studies conducted in Poland we investigated the hypothesis that preferences for these two routes to system justification would depend upon one's political orientation. That is, we predicted that the system-justifying potential of complementary versus noncomplementary stereotype exemplars would be moderated by individual differences in left–right ideology, such that left-wingers would exhibit stronger support for the societal status quo following exposure to complementary (e.g., “poor but happy,” “rich but miserable”) representations, whereas right-wingers would exhibit stronger support for the status quo following exposure to noncomplementary (e.g., “poor and dishonest,” “rich and honest”) representations. Results were supportive of these predictions. Implications for theory and practice concerning stereotyping, ideology, and system justification are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.