Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nanobiosensor for the detection and quantification of pork adulteration in meatball formulation

A 27-nucleotide AluI fragment of swine cytochrome b (cytb) gene was integrated to 3-nm diameter citrate–tannate-coated gold nanoparticles to fabricate a species-specific nanobiosensor. The biosensor was applied to authenticate pork adulteration in meatball formulation, which is a favourite food in many Asian and European countries. The sensor was found to be sensitive enough to detect 1% pork in raw and cooked meatballs, prepared from the previously mixed pork and beef in specific ratios (% w/w). The hybridisation kinetics of the hybrid biosensor was studied with synthetic targets from moderate to extreme target concentrations and a hyperbolic relationship was found. However, linearity was observed with probe/target ratios 4:1 to 1:2. This part of the curve quantified target DNA in ready-to-eat mixed meatball preparations with more than 90% accuracy. The biosensor probe was hybridised with a target DNA that was several-fold shorter than a typical PCR-template. This offered the detection and quantitation of potential targets in highly processed meat products or extensively degraded samples where PCR-based identification technique might not work due to the fragmentation of comparatively longer DNA. We believe that the assay can be used as an alternative to qPCR for determining shorter size DNA sequences in degraded samples to address a range of biological problems, such as food analysis, bio-diagnostics, environmental monitoring, genetic screening and forensic investigations.
THE DISPERSION OF THE APHANOMYCES ASTACI-CARRIER PACIFASTACUS LENIUSCULUS BY HUMANS REPRESENTS THE MAIN CAUSE OF DISAPPEARANCE OF THE INDIGENOUS CRAYFISH AUSTROPOTAMOBIUS PALLIPES IN NAVARRA

The tendency of population decline of the indigenous crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes, in Navarra was reduced by the implementation of a plan of restoration in 1996. Recently, a new drop in population numbers has been noticed. In 2004, an extensive survey was carried out to study the reasons for this decline. The results showed that indigenous crayfish had disappeared from 37 out of 73 areas where they were previously present. The main causes were found to be: presence of signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus (40%), habitat alterations (13%) and climatic drought (11%). In 35% of the cases, the reasons could no be determined. Disappearances that were associated with presence of signal crayfish were assigned to crayfish plague. These disappearances have occurred a few years after an increase in the number signal crayfish fishery areas. The new populations of P. leniusculus followed a patchy distribution, and were clearly associated with human introductions. This work shows that signal crayfish currently represents the main reason for decline of indigenous crayfish and that humans play a major role in the dispersal of these carriers of the causative organism of crayfish plague, A. astaci.
Do Board and Audit Committee Characteristics Affect Firm’s Cost of Equity Capital?

﻿This paper examines the association between board and audit committee characteristics and cost of equity capital. Using a sample of TSX-S&P 300 firms, our analysis shows that overall audit committee characteristics are negatively associated to the cost of equity capital. The size of the audit committee and the non-duality of the Chairman of the board are, however, positively related to the cost of equity capital. The results also confirm that being listed on the American stock exchange affects the relationship between non-duality of the Chairman of the board and cost of equity capital. However, being listed in the US capital market doesn’t change the relationship between audit committee features and the cost of equity capital and this can be explained by the fact that audit committee regulatory requirements are similar and mandatory in both Canadian and American capital markets.
The Role of Senior University Students’ Career Adaptability in Predicting Their Subjective Well-Being

The aim of this study is to examine whether career adaptability and career adaptability subscales of senior undergraduates could predict subjective well-being. The research was a descriptive correlational study which was conducted on 310 senior students (173 women, 137 men) in a state-funded university on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and participants participated in this study voluntarily. Participants ranged in age between 20 and 28 years. Career Adaptability Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule were used as data collection tools in this study. Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation Analysis, Simple Regression Analysis, and finally Multiple Regression Analysis were performed to examine the effect of the total score of career adaptability and subscale scores of careers adaptability of senior undergraduate students on subjective well-being. All analyses were conducted using the SPSS version 20.0. The findings of the research showed that career adaptability predicts the subjective well-being of university senior students. Control as a subscale of career adaptability was found to be the strongest predictive variable for subjective well-being among senior university students. Concern and confidence as subscales of career adaptability were found to be other predictive variables of subjective well-being in this study. However, curiosity as a subscale was not found to be a predictor of subjective well-being. These findings are discussed through career construction theory.
Connectivity through ontogeny: fish population linkages among mangrove and coral reef habitats

Most evidence for ontogenetic migration of fishes from mangroves to coral reefs has been based on cross-sectional studies of <2 yr duration that have not considered annual variability in recruitment. Taking a longitudinal approach of following cohorts over time, we evaluated evidence for mangrove-derived replenishment of 10 coral reef fishes by drawing on data from 2 concurrent fish monitoring efforts conducted in Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA, over the period 1999 to 2007. Annual indices of abundance were calculated for fish estimated to be age-0 to 4 + in both habitats, and correlation analyses, with appropriate temporal lags, were performed. Statistically significant (p < 0.05; r 2 = 0.30 to 0.71) correlations between juvenile abundances in mangrove habitats and adult abundances on the reef tract 1 to 2 yr later emerged for 4 species: Abudefduf saxatilis, Lutjanus apo- dus, L. griseus, and Sphyraena barracuda. This is one of the few longitudinal studies that uses juve- nile abundance indices to test mangrove-reef ontogenetic connectivity. Our results have potential utility for nursery habitat assessment, marine reserve design, and for forecasting species-specific year-class strength on the reef, where most fishing is directed.
Temporal dynamics of late second language acquisition: evidence from event-related brain potentials

The ways in which age of acquisition (AoA) may affect (morpho)syntax in second language acquisition (SLA) are discussed. We suggest that event-related brain potentials (ERPs) provide an appropriate online measure to test some such effects. ERP findings of the past decade are reviewed with a focus on recent and ongoing research. It is concluded that, in contrast to previous suggestions, there is little evidence for a strict critical period in the domain of late acquired second language (L2) morphosyntax. As illustrated by data from our lab and others, proficiency rather than AoA seems to predict brain activity patterns in L2 processing, including native-like activity at very high levels of proficiency. Further, a strict distinction between linguistic structures that late L2 learners can vs. cannot learn to process in a native-like manner (Clahsen and Felser, 2006a; 2006b) may not be warranted. Instead, morphosyntactic real-time processing in general seems to undergo dramatic, but systematic, changes with increasing proficiency levels. We describe the general dynamics of these changes (and the corresponding ERP components) and discuss how ERP research can advance our current understanding of SLA in general.
What Master Teachers Do: A Case Study of Planning, Facilitating, Role Modelling and Developing Materials

Teaching is the foundation of our educational system. As such teachers are privileged with the responsibility of nurturing the young and inadvertently, shaping the future. To this end, the Malaysian government is fully cognizant that our future is dependent on the development of a highly skilled and innovative workforce serving as the critical enabling factor for economic growth. Hence, several initiatives were introduced in the education sector, and one of them is the Skim Guru Cemerlang or Excellent Teacher Scheme. The premise is that these Master Teachers comprise the creme de la creme of the Malaysian teaching profession and their teaching practices will be different from the general, non-master teachers. This paper reports on a study that investigated the best practices of three Master Teachers of the English language in two secondary schools in Malaysia. As these master teachers were selected by the Ministry of Education based on very stringent prerequisites, the question is, how different are master teachers from ‘normal’ teachers? Further, in terms of classroom discourse, how is this difference manifested? Based on a research design that incorporated ethnography and applied discourse analysis, three master teachers were selected and observed during formal teaching hours as well as outside the classroom. Interviews were then conducted with the teachers as well as other stakeholders, namely the students and school administrators to triangulate the data. Additionally, documents were then collected and perused. The data went through a four-step analysis. Several key findings will then be revealed and the paper ends with suggestions for further work.
Got Health?: A Student-Led Inquiry Youth Engagement Project

Background: Schools can serve as a pillar for health promotion for children and youth; youth reporting high levels of school engagement and peer connectedness report improved health and decreased health risk behaviours. Students that have a negative school experience and feel alienated are more likely to engage in health risk behaviours. Thus, developing effective student-led inquiry health initiatives based on empowerment and engagement are important for the health of future generations. We examined a student-led inquiry initiative that was developed and piloted in one school district in British Columbia (BC), Canada called Got Health? The purpose was to empower students to create change in their schools through developing and leading a school health project guided by the four pillars of the Comprehensive School Health model. Methods: 4 Elementary, 2 Middle, and 2 High Schools in 1 school district were engaged in the 2011-2012 school year. The project received funding from The District Health Promoting Schools and each school was supported by a small grant from the Directorate of Agencies for School Health (DASH) in BC. Each school identified a teacher champion and a team of students to lead the project. Semi-structured focus groups were used to collect qualitative data. A framework analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Results: Mirroring those found in the literature, major outcomes identified by the focus groups include: increased school connectedness, improved health awareness, and facilitation of student engagement. Conclusions: Our results suggest that student-led health promotion projects can make a positive contribution to both student engagement and school connection. Future research should implement more randomized comparison trials that include implementation information and process evaluation to move the field forward.
Convergence space: process geographies of grassroots globalization networks

This paper considers grassroots globalization networks, which comprise a diversity of social movements working in association to engage in multi-scalar political action. Drawing upon David Harvey’s notion of militant particularism (regarding the problems of effecting politics between different geographical scales), and recent research on networks and their relationship to places, the paper analyses People’s Global Action, an international network of social movements opposing neoliberal globalization. From an analysis of the process geographies of People’s Global Action, the paper proposes the notion of convergence space as a conceptual tool by which to understand and critique grassroots globalization networks. The paper argues that contested social relations emerge in such convergence spaces and considers the implications of these for theorizing such networks, and for political action.
Spontaneous and reflexive eye activity measures of mental workload

Measures of eye activity, such as blink rate and scanning patterns, have been used extensively as psychophysiological indices of mental workload. In a review of measures derived from spontaneous eye activity it is shown that different measures are differentially sensitive to specific aspects of mental workload. A less well-known measure of non-spontaneous eye activity, the blink reflex, is also reviewed. Experiments using discrete punctuate stimuli and continuous tasks analogous to real-world systems show that blink reflexes are modulated by attention and that this modulation reflects modality-specific attentional engagement. Future research should examine the utility of the blink reflex according to the desirable properties of sensitivity, diagnosticity, validity, reliability, ease of use, unobtrusiveness, and operator acceptance.
Estimating juvenile copepod growth rates: corrections, inter-comparisons and recommendations

The 2 most common experimental methods used to estimate rates of juvenile growth in marine copepods are the molt rate (MR) method, and the artificial cohort (AC) method. Recently, we showed the equations used in the MR method to be incorrect, and proposed a modified molt rate (MMR) method. Here, using statistical and model approaches, we compare the AC and MMR methods under various scenarios to quantify their errors. Although the AC and MMR methods both use a combination of field sampling and simulated in situ incubations to estimate somatic growth, they differ in several important characteristics. The AC method determines growth by the change in mean weight during incubation. Mean weight of copepods in the samples can be determined directly, or inferred from mean weight by life stage or from length–weight regressions. We show that substantial error is avoided only if weights are measured directly (ACdirect). The ACdirect method is insensitive to variable age within stage due to mortality or variable recruitment in the sampled population, an important advantage over the MMR method. However, the ACdirect method is sensitive to variation in growth rate during incubation, which does not affect the MMR method. We therefore recommend that most experimental estimates of growth rate should apply the ACdirect method, with the MMR as a suitable alternative provided its biases are considered. An indirect method based on life stage is biased and we no longer recommend it, and an indirect method based on length–weight regression provides an intermediate level of bias.
Willingness to pay for electricity from renewable energy

National polls reveal widespread public preference and willingness to pay more for renewables. ``Green pricing`` programs attempt to capitalize on these preferences and on an expressed willingness to pay more for environmental protection. This report explores the utility option of green pricing as a method of aggregating public preferences for renewables. It summarizes national data on public preferences for renewables and willingness to pay (WTP) for electricity from renewable energy sources; examines utility market studies on WTP for renewables and green-pricing program features; critiques utility market research on green pricing; and discusses experiences with selected green-pricing programs. The report draws inferences for program design and future research. Given the limited experiences with the programs so far, the evidence suggests that programs in which customers pay a monthly premium for a specific renewable electricity product elicit a higher monthly financial commitment per customer than programs asking for contributions to unspecified future actions involving renewables. The experience with green-pricing programs is summarized and factors likely to affect customer participation are identified.
A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF FARMER BASED SEED PRODUCTION FOR COMMON BEAN IN KENYA

Community based informal seed production has recently gained popularity as an alternative to the formal seed sector of disseminating new crop varieties including the common bean. This is because farmer produced seed is readily available and is more affordable by most farmers than certified seed. This study examined the profitability of farmer based common bean seed production in Kenya. The study used data collected from farmers and one seed company participating in seed multiplication. The principal finding was that farmer based common bean seed production was a profitable enterprise and was less sensitive to price fluctuations. Compared to certified common bean seed production, net profit margins were five times higher for certified common bean seed than for farmer based common bean seed production. With the current varieties, profitability depends on access to irrigation and good agronomy.
Divergence and genetic variability among superior rubber tree genotypes

The objective of this work was to estimate the genetic variability and divergence among 22 superior rubber tree (Hevea sp.) genotypes of the IAC 400 series. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using eight quantitative traits (descriptors), including yield. In the univariate analyses, the estimated parameters were: genetic and environmental variances; genetic and environmental coefficients of variation; and the variation index. The Mahalanobis generalized distance, the Tocher agglomerative method and canonical variables were used for the multivariate analyses. In the univariate analyses, variability was verified among the genotypes for all the variables evaluated. The Tocher method grouped the genotypes into 11 clusters of dissimilarity. The first four canonical variables explained 87.93% of the cumulative variation. The highest genetic variability was found in rubber yield-related traits, which contributed the most to the genetic divergence. The most divergent pairs of genotypes are suggested for crossbreeding. The genotypes evaluated are suitable for breeding and may be used to continue the IAC rubber tree breeding program.
Ergodic measures on spaces of infinite matrices over non-Archimedean locally compact fields

Let $F$ be a non-discrete non-Archimedean locally compact field and ${\mathcal{O}}_{F}$ the ring of integers in $F$ . The main results of this paper are the classification of ergodic probability measures on the space $\text{Mat}(\mathbb{N},F)$ of infinite matrices with entries in $F$ with respect to the natural action of the group $\text{GL}(\infty ,{\mathcal{O}}_{F})\times \text{GL}(\infty ,{\mathcal{O}}_{F})$ and the classification, for non-dyadic $F$ , of ergodic probability measures on the space $\text{Sym}(\mathbb{N},F)$ of infinite symmetric matrices with respect to the natural action of the group $\text{GL}(\infty ,{\mathcal{O}}_{F})$ .
Explaining Heterogeneity in the Organization of Scientific Work

Prior studies of academic science have largely focused on researchers in life sciences or engineering. However, while academic researchers often work under similar institutions, norms, and incentives, they vary greatly in how they organize their research efforts across different scientific domains. This heterogeneity, in turn, has important implications for innovation policy, the relationship between industry and academia, the scientific labor market, and the perceived deficit in the relevance of social sciences and humanities research. To understand this heterogeneity, we model scientists as publication-maximizing agents, identifying two distinct organizational patterns that are optimal under different parameters. When the net productivity of research staff (e.g., PhD students and postdocs) is positive, the funded research model with an entrepreneurial scientist and a large team dominates. When the costs of research staff exceed their productivity benefits, the hands-on research approach is optimal. The model implies significant heterogeneity across the two modes of organizing in research funding, supply of scientific workforce, team size, publication output, and stratification patterns over time. Exploratory empirical analysis finds consistent patterns of time allocation and publication in a prior survey of faculty in U.S. universities. Using data from an original survey, we also find causal effects consistent with the model’s prediction on how negative shocks to research staff—due to visa or health problems, for example—differentially impact research output under the two modes of organization.
Source apportionment of carbonaceous chemical species to fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning and biogenic emissions by a coupled radiocarbon–levoglucosan marker method

Abstract. An intensive aerosol measurement and sample collection campaign was conducted in central Budapest in a mild winter for 2 weeks. The online instruments included an FDMS-TEOM, RT-OC/EC analyser, DMPS, gas pollutant analysers and meteorological sensors. The aerosol samples were collected on quartz fibre filters by a low-volume sampler using the tandem filter method. Elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), levoglucosan, mannosan, galactosan, arabitol and mannitol were determined, and radiocarbon analysis was performed on the aerosol samples. Median atmospheric concentrations of EC, OC and PM2.5 mass were 0.97, 4.9 and 25 µg m−3, respectively. The EC and organic matter (1.6 × OC) accounted for 4.8 and 37 %, respectively, of the PM2.5 mass. Fossil fuel (FF) combustion represented 36 % of the total carbon (TC = EC + OC) in the PM2.5 size fraction. Biomass burning (BB) was a major source (40 %) for the OC in the PM2.5 size fraction, and a substantial source (11 %) for the PM10 mass. We propose and apply here a novel, straightforward, coupled radiocarbon–levoglucosan marker method for source apportionment of the major carbonaceous chemical species. The contributions of EC and OC from FF combustion (ECFF and OCFF) to the TC were 11.0 and 25 %, respectively, EC and OC from BB (ECBB and OCBB) were responsible for 5.8 and 34 %, respectively, of the TC, while the OC from biogenic sources (OCBIO) made up 24 % of the TC. The overall relative uncertainty of the OCBIO and OCBB contributions was assessed to be up to 30 %, while the relative uncertainty for the other apportioned species is expected to be below 20 %. Evaluation of the apportioned atmospheric concentrations revealed some of their important properties and relationships among them. ECFF and OCFF were associated with different FF combustion sources. Most ECFF was emitted by vehicular road traffic, while the contribution of non-vehicular sources such as domestic and industrial heating or cooking using gas, oil or coal to OCFF was substantial. The mean contribution of BB to EC particles was smaller by a factor of approximately 2 than that of road traffic. The main formation processes of OCFF, OCBB and OCBIO from volatile organic compounds were jointly influenced by a common factor, which is most likely the atmospheric photochemistry, while primary organic emissions can also be important. Technological improvements and control measures for various BB appliances, together with efficient education and training of their users, in particular on the admissible fuel types, offer an important potential for improving the air quality in Budapest, and likely in other cities as well.