Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Raven ’ s Standard and Advanced Progressive Matrices among Adults in South Africa

Due to the multicultural nature of the South African population and the fact that the country boasts 11 offi cial languages, Raven’s Standard (SPM) and Advanced (APM) Progressive Matrices are often used in organisational contexts as measures of cognitive ability. The emergence of the Employment Equity Act (55 of 1998) created a hesitance in the commercial sector with regard to the use of psychological assessments, as the Act clearly stipulates that psychometric assessments may not be used unless they have proven reliability and validity, are not biased against any employee, and can be fairly applied to any employee or group. The non-verbal nature of the SPM and APM lends them to the assumption of fairness, as language ability is excluded from the measurement of cognitive ability. However, questions have arisen as to whether these assessments measure the same construct in different groups, and whether the test is biased against individuals classed as previously disadvantaged through the apartheid system. The present study was undertaken in order to investigate whether Raven’s Standard and Advanced Progressive Matrices function similarly for Black and White working adults in the South African context. Item response theory, as conceptualised by the Rasch model (Rasch, 1960) was used to investigate whether or not the tests measure cognitive ability in the two groups in a similar way, and whether or not there is any evidence for bias in either the SPM or APM.
Vertical Precipitation Estimation Using Microwave Links in conjunction with Weather Radar

Precipitation measurements taken at a specific height, e.g., by weather radar, may not represent the precipitation amount that actually reaches the ground because of a Virga phenomenon, which particularly happens when the air below the cloud base is dry, and continues until humidity increases. In this paper we suggest a method of combining data from several weather radar beams and from a near ground Commercial Microwave Links (CMLs) in order to create a vertical profile of the rain-rate measurements. We propose an estimation method and demonstrate it on realdata measurements in the dead-sea area, and verify the validity of the estimation near ground by comparing the results with Rain Gauges' (RGs) actual measurements. The suggested method provides the best correlation results, with a correlation of up to 0.9615, when correlated with real measurements of RGs.
Physiological potential of peanut seeds submitted to drying and storage

This study was performed to evaluate the immediate and latent effects of drying air temperature on the physiological potential of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.). The fruits were harvested at the physiological maturity stage, with 36 ± 2% water content (w.b.), and dried at temperatures of 40, 50, 60 and 70 oC, until 7 ± 1% (w.b.). Thereafter, the fruits were stored in an environment with non-controlled temperature and relative humidity for 150 days, and the water content, germination and vigor of seeds were immediately determined, as well as at every 30 days thereafter, through the first count, and the tetrazolium test, accelerated aging test, cold test with soil and electrical conductivity. According to the results, it was found that the physiological potential of peanut seeds is inversely related to the drying temperature and the storage time, due to the fact that the germination and vigor are reduced as both factors increase. The air temperature of 40 °C may be recommended for the drying of peanut seeds, and even associated with the storage time of 150 days under uncontrolled conditions.
Comparison of maternal nutrition literacy , dietary diversity , and food security among households with and without double burden of malnutrition in Surabaya , Indonesia

Introduction: Double burden of malnutrition in the form of stunted child and overweight/obese mother has been increasing in countries experiencing nutrition transition. This study aimed to compare maternal nutrition, literacy, dietary diversity, and food security of households categorised by nutritional status of mother-child pairs. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 685 children under 5 years of age from 14 community health centres (posyandu) in a poor urban area of Surabaya, Indonesia. The Lemeshow formula was used to compute sample size. The children and their mothers were categorised into motherchild pairs based on maternal body mass index (BMI) and height-for-age z-score for the child: non-overweight mother-non-stunted child (NM), non-overweight mother and stunted child (SC), overweight/obese mother and non-stunted child (OWT), stunted child and overweight/obese mother (SCOWT). Nutrition literacy was determined using questionnaires, dietary diversity was estimated using household dietary diversity scores, and food security was determined using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Results: The prevalence of households with SCOWT double burden of malnutrition was 21.2%, OWT 37.7%, SC 15.3% and 25.8% were normal (NM). There were significant differences in maternal nutrition literacy, dietary diversity and household food security status. Households with NM pairs were shown to be most food secure followed by OWT, SC and lastly, the SCOWT pairs. Conclusion: Households with double burden of malnutrition have relatively lower nutrition literacy, dietary diversity, and food security. This study indicates the importance of developing nutritional strategies to enable low-income households to make healthy food choices.
Temporal alterations in monoamine metabolism during early development induce emotional behavior disturbances in adult C 57 BL / 6 J mice

Monoamine oxidases (MAO-A and MAO-B) are key enzymes involved in the degradation of brain serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine (DA). MAO system impairments, especially MAO-A, can lead to cognitive and emotional abnormalities in animals and humans. As MAO inhibitors (MAOIs) inhibit the degradation of 5-HT and NE in the brain, they have long been used for the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and other mental disorders. Although previous studies reported that exposure to antidepressants and other psychoactive drugs during development can affect behavior in adulthood, the effect of MAOIs remains unknown. In the present study, the behavioral effects of temporal disturbances in the MAO-A system during early development were investigated using a laboratory animal model. Tranylcypromine (TRP: 10 mg/kg) or saline were administered orally to pre-weaned male C57BL/6J mouse pups on postnatal day 14. The mice were assessed from 11 weeks of age using a battery of behavioral tests. Mice treated with TRP exhibited altered behaviors in the auditory startle response and hole-board test paradigms, though they did not exhibit any observable social deficiencies or aggressive behaviors. These results suggest that even a single administration of TRP can affect the emotional behaviors of mice in adulthood.
Writing in first and second language. Empirical studies on text quality and writing processes.

This thesis is about writing proficiency among students of secondary education. Due to globalization, the ability to express oneself in a language other than the first language (L1) is increasingly becoming a condition for educational success. In The Netherlands, this ‘other’ or second language (L2) is usually English. Although secondary school students are already quite able to express themselves in English, their L2 essays are often of lower quality than L1 essays, in terms of language use, but also in terms of organization. The research reported in this thesis was aimed at explaining this quality difference by comparing L1 and L2 relations between essay quality and writing processes. Analyses of writing processes involved cognitive activities such as reading the assignment, process planning, content planning, evaluating and revising. Results show that, in general, cognitive activities are relevant to essay quality at different stages of task execution during L1 and L2 writing. This means that writers need to distribute their attention differently across task execution during L1 and L2 writing. However, additional analyses show that if students’ general language proficiency levels are included in the analyses, this L1/L2 contrast disappears. For students with high general L2 proficiency, the demands of L2 writing in terms of how often cognitive activities are applied during certain stages of task execution are similar to the demands of L1 writing.
Small-Scale Spatial Variations in Aeolian Sediment Transport on a Fine-Sand Beach

INTRODUCTION Understanding the spatial variability of sand movement by aeolian transport is important for identifying sources of uncertainty in relating transport rates and wind characteristics monitored in the field to predictive equations. Sediment transport rarely occurs in optimum conditions in beach environments due to a variety of spatial and temporal factors. Spatial variability of transport rates is influenced by local variations in wind speed, direction and turbulence, surface moisture, topography, textural properties of sediment, and small-scale roughness elements (e.g., litter and bedforms) ( and , 1998; , 1999). Potential transport rates commonly depart from actual rates ( ., 1998), particularly when the transport is across complex backshore and intertidal sub-environments. Estimating the rate of aeolian sediment transport is often based on the quantity of sediment that is trapped at fixed locations, using a single trap to represent transport conditions over distances of meters. The focus of this paper is to examine local variability in transport rates at multiple sampling locations within a sub-environment over a 4-m interval. Most studies of spatial variations in aeolian transport focus on cross-shore transport from the beach to the dune or the dune to the beach ( ., 1990; and , 1993; ., 1996; , , 2003). Spatial variability is normally addressed in terms of large-scale differences (Davidson-Arnott and Law, 1990; Goldsmith ., 1990), but Gares . (1996) evaluated small scale (0 to 5 m) variations along the beach (shore-parallel trapping line) during an offshore wind. This study is complementary to Gares . (1996) in that it evaluates smallscale differences but across the beach (shore-perpendicular trapping line) during alongshore winds. Winds blowing at an oblique angle to the shoreline can increase the fetch and supply of sediment available for transport ( , , 1995; and 2003) but cut across several distinctive shore-parallel subenvironments, each of which has different topography and moisture levels ( and , 1993). The implication is that the rate of sand transported within one of the shoreparallel sub-environments (wetted foreshore, foreshore, dry intertidal storm foreshore, wind-reworked backshore) will vary depending on cross-shore location. Winds blowing parallel to the shoreline should result in less spatial variability in transport where upwind sediment source characteristics are similar and fetch distances are great enough to allow for a saturated transport condition to occur. Roughness elements that affect small-scale differences in transport (Figure 1) vary in the cross-shore zones depending on frequency of surface reworking by waves and winds. The upper beach just seaward of the dune is reworked by storm waves that can deposit large amounts of vegetative debris at the uppermost JACKSON NORDSTROM HESP SHERMAN
Forecasting fish consumption and demand analysis : a literature review

This paper reports on a number of issues and approaches in demand analysis. The review highlights different ways of treating supply and illustrates that direct (ordinary) demand systems and inverse demand systems are both applied in the analysis of fish demand. Various aspects of aggregation are discussed, both across products and across households, and with regard to income distribution and geographic location. Examples of studies incorporating socio-demographic factors are quoted and the author discusses the issue of incorporating habit formation through dynamic models as well as the phenomenon of structural change. The author presents income/expenditure elasticities for fish obtained from a number of studies undertaken in Bangladesh and Indonesia. Finally, some issues regarding forecasting fish consumption and demand are discussed.
The impact of altered forest microclimate on the development rate of mosquito vectors

Anthropogenic land-use changes such as deforestation have been associated with increased risk of mosquito-borne diseases. Ecosystem disturbances alter microclimate within the forest including temperature, a key determinant of mosquito development rate, adult body size and most significantly vector capacity. We compared the development rate of mosquito eggs under field microclimatic conditions across an environmental land-use gradient including primary forest (OG), twice-logged forest (LF) and oil palm plantations (OP). We measured adult body size and proportion surviving to adults as simple proxies of adult vectorial capacity. Mean maximum soil temperature and diurnal temperature range (DTR) increased across the land-use gradient from OG to OP. Greater DTRs recorded in OP increased the development time of mosquito vectors. Adult mosquito wing length at emergence significantly increased as development time increased. There was no significant difference between mean wing length and land-use areas, however significant differences were recorded between sampling sites within land-use areas. Microclimatic changes in temperature significantly impact the juvenile stages of mosquito development and therefore indirectly impacting the transmission of disease. Keyword Index: Mosquito-borne diseases, development rate, vectorial capacity, microclimate, Diurnal temperature range (DTR).
Polyploidy is a profound but pervasive evolutionary force in angiosperms

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum A. Gray) is a potential source of natural rubber, but attempts to domesticate and cultivate this perennial crop for large-scale production in the southwestern United States have been intermittent over the past century. Genetic improvement through modern plant breeding is needed to increase its yield potential and suitability for commercialization. Natural variation for ploidy level is extensive among individuals in wild guayule populations, but less is known about the extent of ploidy level variation in guayule breeding germplasm. Because ploidy variation is among the factors that slow the rate of genetic gain in guayule breeding programs, determining the ploidy level of publicly available guayule accessions would help to accelerate the development of stable, high yielding cultivars. To that end, we adapted fl ow cytometry to examine the ploidy of 34 guayule accessions available from the National Plant Germplasm System. The data revealed a natural polyploid series ranging from diploid (2n = 2x = 36) to pentaploid (2n = 5x = 90), with 4x being the predominant ploidy. Interestingly, not all plants sampled from an accession had the same ploidy level (mixed ploidy). Notably, the integration of ploidy and pedigree data uncovered complex ploidy variation in guayule breeding programs. The frequency and range of ploidy variation observed in this germplasm will help to direct future breeding efforts as well as linkage analysis and genome-wide association studies. M.A. Gore, G. Coyle, T.A. Coff elt, and M.E. Salvucci, USDA-ARS, U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, 21881 North Cardon Ln. , Maricopa, AZ 85138. B. Friebe, Wheat Genetics Resource Center, Dep. of Plant Pathology, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506. Received 18 May 2010. *Corresponding author (Michael.Gore@ars.usda.gov). Abbreviations: NALPGRU, National Arid Land Plant Genetics Resources Unit; NPGS, National Plant Germplasm System; WPB, woody plant buff er. Published in Crop Sci. 51:210–216 (2011). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2010.05. 0283 Published online 15 Nov. 2010. © Crop Science Society of America | 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.
Non-corticosteroid-related risk factors for osteonecrosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus : a meta-analysis

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous disease, and differences in the clinical features may be risk factors for osteonecrosis (ON) in addition to treatment with glucocorticoids. Objective: To assess the major risk factors for ON in SLE, and provide evidence for decision-making on prevention. Methods: The Cochrane library, PubMed, Ovid, and Science Direct were searched for published case-control studies on the risk factors of ON in SLE. A meta-analysis of 23 case-control studies (1,071 cases and 23,065 controls) that met the inclusion criteria was conducted using Revman 5.3 software. After analysis of homogeneity, the pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of each risk factor were calculated. Results: The pooled OR and 95% CI of each risk factor of ON in the patients with SLE were as follows: arthritis 1.69 [1.32, 2.17], central nervous system (CNS) involvement 1.34 [1.06, 1.71], diabetes mellitus 1.59 [1.03, 2.46], hypertension 1.69 [1.42, 2.02], oral ulcer 1.48 [1.06, 2.08], renal involvement 1.53 [1.27, 1.83], vasculitis 2.45 [1.54, 3.89], smoking history 1.64 [1.01, 2.65], leucopenia 1.54 [1.11, 2.13], thrombocytopenia 1.63 [1.14, 2.32], cytotoxic drugs 1.79 [1.25, 2.57], cyclophosphamide 3.13 [1.58, 6.21] and anti-Sm antibodies 0.48 [0.27, 0.85]. Conclusion: In addition to glucocorticosteroids, other factors, including arthritis, CNS involvement, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, oral ulcer, renal involvement, vasculitis, smoking history, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, cytotoxic drugs and cyclophosphamide are major risk factors of ON in patients with SLE. Anti-Sm antibodies represent a protective factor against ON in patients with SLE, while antimalarial drugs are not.
The Effectiveness of a Corpus-based Instruction in Deepening EFL Learners ’ Knowledge of Periphrastic

This study investigated whether a corpus-based instruction could deepen EFL learners’ knowledge of periphrastic causatives: make, cause, and let. The participants were 47 Taiwanese undergraduates from two intact classes. One class as the experimental group received a three-month corpus-based instruction; the other as the control group had no instruction on English causatives. A pre-test was first administered to measure participants’ knowledge of periphrastic causatives. Following a data-driven model of illustration – interaction – induction, the researcher as instructor conducted the instruction and took notes on students’ performance. After the instruction, a post-test was given to both groups whereas a questionnaire on learning effects and students’ feelings for corpus-based activities was distributed to the experimental group. Three data sources were analyzed: preand post-tests, field notes, and questionnaires. The results indicated that the experimental group improved and outperformed the control group significantly in the post-test. The questionnaire results confirmed that the instruction was effective in increasing students’ knowledge of the three causatives. However, the field notes revealed learners’ difficulties in using certain causatives. To better distinguish these verbs’ usages, learners should attend to semantic distinctions more than syntactic structures. Instructors also need to provide clear guidance on data search and data interpretation.
COLOUR POLYMORPHISM STUDIES IN LARVAE OF LEGUME POD BORER , MARUCA VITRATA GEYER ( LEPIDOPTERA : CRAMBIDAE ) ON PULSES

India is the largest producer of pulses in the world with 25 per cent share in global productionbut, the average productivity is very low because of many abiotic and biotic stresses. Legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata Geyer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is an important biotic constraint to grain legumes and considerably reduce their production and productivity. It already reported to feed on 39 host plants in Asia (Atachi and Djihou, 1994). It is one of the major pests of legume crops such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ), pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. ), lablab (Lablab purpureus (L) Sweet. ), greengram (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek), blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) from the tropics to the temperate zone all over the world (Jackai, 1995; Shanower et al., 1999). Many environmental factors, biotic and abiotic interact to influence the insect growth, physiology and development. Generally, the insect colouration is an important evolutionary mechanism either to adapt the local environment in order to utilize the conditions and get self-protection from the natural enemies. Already in insects, numerous hypotheses have been proposed on the origin and maintenance of melanic phenotypes and one such well-known example is the industrial melanismin the peppered moth, Biston betularia (Majerus, 1998). Colour polymorphism and melanism were already proposed to be originating from complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors (Hazel, 2002; Solensky and Larkin, 2003), light (Faure, 1943), humidity (Goulson, 1994), diet and population density (Goulson and Cory, 1995; Gunn, 1998). The environmental factors like weather parameters and host plant nutrition play a vital role in colour polymorphism of insects. Hence, it is very important to have an idea about insect colouration in order to correctly identify the insect pest including the M. vitrata. In these contexts, the present study was carried out to find out the pattern of impact of weather parameters on the occurrence of different larval colour froms in M. vitrata.
First year students' experiences with technology: Are they really digital natives?

This paper reports on a study conducted in 2006 with more than 2,000 incoming first-year Australian university students. Students were asked about their access to, use of and preferences for an array of established and emerging technologies and technology based tools. The results show that many first year students are highly tech-savvy. However, when one moves beyond entrenched technologies and tools (e.g. computers, mobile phones, email), the patterns of access and use of a range of other technologies show considerable variation. The findings are discussed in light of Prensky's (2001a) notions of the 'Digital Natives' and the implications for using technology to support teaching and learning in higher education.
Cornea Aqueous Tear Deficiency Increases Conjunctival Interferon-c ( IFN-c ) Expression and Goblet Cell Loss

Citation: Pflugfelder SC, De Paiva CS, Moore QL, et al. Aqueous tear deficiency increases conjunctival interferon-c (IFN-c) expression and goblet cell loss. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015;56:7545–7550. DOI:10.1167/ iovs.15-17627 PURPOSE. To investigate the hypothesis that increased interferon-c (IFN-c) expression is associated with conjunctival goblet cell loss in subjects with tear dysfunction.