Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial Diversity in the Midguts of Field and Lab-Reared Populations of the European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis

Background Insects are associated with microorganisms that contribute to the digestion and processing of nutrients. The European Corn Borer (ECB) is a moth present world-wide, causing severe economical damage as a pest on corn and other crops. In the present work, we give a detailed view of the complexity of the microorganisms forming the ECB midgut microbiota with the objective of comparing the biodiversity of the midgut-associated microbiota and explore their potential as a source of genes and enzymes with biotechnological applications. Methodological/Principal Findings A high-throughput sequencing approach has been used to identify bacterial species, genes and metabolic pathways, particularly those involved in plant-matter degradation, in two different ECB populations (field-collected vs. lab-reared population with artificial diet). Analysis of the resulting sequences revealed the massive presence of Staphylococcus warneri and Weissella paramesenteroides in the lab-reared sample. This enabled us to reconstruct both genomes almost completely. Despite the apparently low diversity, 208 different genera were detected in the sample, although most of them at very low frequency. By contrast, the natural population exhibited an even higher taxonomic diversity along with a wider array of cellulolytic enzyme families. However, in spite of the differences in relative abundance of major taxonomic groups, not only did both metagenomes share a similar functional profile but also a similar distribution of non-redundant genes in different functional categories. Conclusions/Significance Our results reveal a highly diverse pool of bacterial species in both O. nubilalis populations, with major differences: The lab-reared sample is rich in gram-positive species (two of which have almost fully sequenced genomes) while the field sample harbors mainly gram-negative species and has a larger set of cellulolytic enzymes. We have found a clear relationship between the diet and the midgut microbiota, which reveals the selection pressure of food on the community of intestinal bacteria.
Revised Version Long-term Study of Safe Internet Use of Young Children

The Internet is an evolving medium that continuously presents new functionalities. Accordingly, also children's Internet usage changes continuously. This requires being vigilant about related Internet risk behavior and safe Internet use. The present article presents a structured overview of Internet risks and summarizes approaches to foster safe Internet behavior. Based on a long-term cross-sectional study, Internet usage of young children has been researched. The focus is on contact risks and content risks. Based on the analysis of survey data from 10000 children, trends in their (un)safe An Unsafe Internet Usage Index (UIUI) is calculated. The average results point at a rather low level of unsafe Internet usage. But these average results hide between-subject differences and a number of children clearly reflects higher levels of unsafe Internet usage. Also, no consistent reduction in unsafe Internet behavior is being observed over the years. Parental and teacher control seem to decrease, and hardly seem to impact the level of unsafe Internet behavior. Considering a number of limitations of the present study, directions for future research are discussed.
Portfolio Assessment: Whose Work Is It? Issues in the Use of Classroom Assignments for Accountability. Evaluation Comment.

See pages 17-23 for listings of new or recently released reports and products from a variety of CRESST researchers. T o many engaged in educational reform, portfolio assessment captures a vision of assessment integrated with instruction. Concerned about the equity and validity of large-scale assessment, portfolio advocates argue that students' classroom work and their reflections on that work provide a richer and truer picture of students' competencies than do traditional or other on-demand assessments. Concerned about the impact of testing on teaching, advocates point out that, as displays of the products of instruction, portfolios challenge teachers and students to focus on meaningful outcomes. Furthermore, portfolio assessment practices support the assessment of long-term projects over time, encourage student-initiated revision, and provide a context for presentation, guidance, and critique. Given such an ambitious agenda for assessment, instruction and accountability , it is no surprise that what is meant by " portfolio " or " portfolio assessment " varies markedly in practice and purpose. 2 Shared by most large-scale assessment projects, however, is a commitment to bridge the worlds of public accountability and classroom practice. The goal is to give students, teachers, and policy makers authentic roles in the assessment of students at all levels of an accountability system and to provide data that are appropriate and useful at each level. The portfolio spans one level of decision making to the next, providing detailed evidence at the class-2 room level of the process and outcomes of student performance to guide instruction and learning, and then supporting more abridged inferences at the large-scale level about the quality of performance and schooling. Integrated with instruction and targeted on high standards for student performance , the portfolio is the bridge that supports reform of classroom practices on the one side and accountability on the other. The vision is enticing, but will it work? Can classroom work be utilized for large-scale, high-stakes assessment? efforts to provide evidence of validity. In both of these studies, patterns of relationships among on-demand assessments and portfolio assessments raise questions about the validity of test scores. • Koretz and his RAND colleagues have been evaluating Vermont's statewide portfolio assessment program since 1990. 5 The Vermont program targets writing and mathematics at Grades 4 and 8 and includes three components for each subject area: year-long student portfolios, " best pieces " drawn from the portfolios, and state sponsored " uniform " tests which …
The forcing and climate response of black carbon aerosols

Recent studies suggest that the Arctic temperature response to black carbon (BC) forcing depend strongly on the location of the forcing. We investigate how atmospheric BC in the mid-latitudes remotely influence the Arctic climate, and compare this with the response to atmospheric BC located in the Arctic itself. In this study, idealized climate simulations are carried out with a fully coupled Earth System Model, which includes a comprehensive treatment of aerosol microphysics. In order to determine how BC transported to the Arctic and BC sources not reaching the Arctic impact the Arctic climate, atmospheric BC concentrations are scaled up in the mid-latitudes (28–60◦N) and in the Arctic (60–90◦ N), respectively. Estimates of the impact on the Arctic energy budget are represented by analyzing radiation fluxes at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface, surface turbulent fluxes, and meridional heat transport in the atmosphere. Our calculations show that increased BC forcing in the Arctic atmosphere reduces the surface air temperature in the Arctic with a corresponding increase in the sea-ice fraction, despite the increased planetary absorption of sunlight. The analysis indicates that this effect is due to a combination of a weakening of the northward heat transport caused by a reduction in the meridional temperature gradient and a dimming at the surface. On the other hand we find that BC forcing at the mid-latitudes warms the Arctic surface significantly and decreases the sea-ice fraction. Our model calculations indicate that atmospheric BC forcing outside the Arctic may be more important for the Arctic climate change than the forcing in the Arctic itself. These results suggest that mitigation strategies for the Arctic climate should also address BC sources in locations outside the Arctic even if they do not contribute much to BC in the Arctic.
Self-serving evaluation of conflict behavior and escalation of the dispute

There is good evidence that people generally tend to evaluate behaviors, contributions, and outcomes in terms favorable to the self. The present series of studies expands this finding by showing that professional negotiators (Study 1), governmental decision makers (Study 2), and organizational consultants (Study 3) make self-serving evaluations of conflict behavior: They view their own conflict behaviors as more constructive and as less destructive than those of their opponents. In addition, results revealed that self-serving evaluation of conflict behavior is associated with increased frustration, with reduced problem solving, and with enhanced likelihood of future conflict. It is argued that these findings expand the conflict literature in that they provide better insight into the motivational-cognitive antecedents and consequences of conflict escalation.
A simple model for the Pacific cold tongue and ENSO

Abstract A conceptual model is constructed based upon the Bjerknes hypothesis of tropical atmosphere–ocean interaction. It is shown that strong feedbacks among the trade winds, equatorial zonal sea surface temperature contrast, and upper-ocean heat content occur in the tropical Pacific basin. Coupled atmosphere–ocean dynamics produce both the strong Pacific cold-tongue climate state and the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. The cold-tongue climate state is unstable and gives rise to the self-sustained ENSO, which can be understood as an equatorial ocean recharge oscillator. The small basin size and the influence of a wind system resulting from heating sources of its adjacent landmasses are responsible for a weak and stable Atlantic cold-tongue state that cannot support ENSO-like interannual variability. The presence of westerly wind associated with the Walker circulation ascending at the western Pacific warm pool disables the dynamical coupling processes in the equatorial Indian Ocean. As a .
Singapore Centre for Applied and Policy Economics

This paper is devoted to empirical investigations of the effects of international outsourcing on labour productivity using the five-digit SIC Singapore’s manufacturing industry data. There are two types of international outsourcing this paper takes into consideration. The first is international outsourcing of materials input, which follows the narrow definition of materials outsourcing put forward by Feenstra and Hanson (1999) and is thus concerned mainly with intraindustry imports of intermediate materials. The other is international outsourcing of services input pertaining to inter-industry imports of services. Our empirical framework reveals that Singapore’s manufacturing sector thrived on international outsourcing of materials input as a key engine of observed labour productivity enhancement.
Singapore Centre for Applied and Policy Economics

Feminization of ageing leads to issues relating to long term healthcare financing since females are more susceptible to chronic illnesses. This paper assesses the current provision of long-term care (LTC) in Singapore by first examining the health status of elderly female; and then estimates the present value of LTC expenses. We calibrate the LTC costs for institutional nursing homes, community homes and informal home-based care with domestic helper. We next evaluate the comprehensiveness of a private disability insurance scheme in Singapore (Eldershield) in capturing the expected share of LTC expenditures. We compare the policy comprehensiveness of Eldershield payouts for different utilizations of LTC at different levels of means-tested government subsidies. With subsidies, the LTC cost can be adequately covered by Eldershield; without any subsidies, Eldershield is able to capture 25% to 40% of the LTC costs. We also evaluate the LTC financing implications after an osteoporotic hip fracture surgery. JEL Classification: H51, I11, J14
Bone sialoprotein, matrix metalloproteinase 2, and alpha(v)beta3 integrin in osteotropic cancer cell invasion.

BACKGROUND Bone sialoprotein (BSP) interacts separately with both matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and integrin alpha(v)beta3 and is overexpressed in many metastatic tumors. Its role in tumor biology, however, remains unclear. We investigated whether BSP enhances cancer cell invasiveness by forming a trimolecular complex with MMP-2 and cell-surface integrin alpha(v)beta3. METHODS Invasiveness of breast, prostate, lung, and thyroid tumor cell lines was measured with a modified Boyden chamber assay. Binding and co-localization of BSP, MMP-2, and integrin alpha(v)beta3 were investigated with immunoprecipitation and in situ hybridization. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Treatment with BSP increased invasiveness of many breast, prostate, lung, and thyroid cancer cells through Matrigel in a dose-dependent manner. BSP at 50 nM increased the invasiveness of SW-579 thyroid cancer cells (95.2 units, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 90.4 to 100 units) by approximately 10-fold compared with that of untreated control SW-579 cells (9.1 units, 95% CI = 5.7 to 12.5 units) (P<.001). Addition of an inactive mutated BSP, in which BSP's integrin-binding RGD tripeptide was altered, or addition of integrin alpha(v)beta3-blocking antibodies resulted in invasiveness equivalent to that of untreated cells. Inhibiting cellular MMP-2 activity with chemical inhibitors or a specific antibody also blocked BSP-enhanced invasiveness. Osteopontin and dentin matrix protein 1, proteins related to BSP that also bind integrin alpha(v)beta3 and form complexes with other MMPs (but not MMP-2), did not enhance invasiveness. Immunoprecipitation showed that a complex containing BSP, integrin alpha(v)beta3, and MMP-2 formed in vitro. Addition of BSP increased the amount of MMP-2 bound by cells in an integrin-dependent fashion. Co-expression of BSP, integrin alpha(v)beta3, and MMP-2 in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells was shown by in situ hybridization. CONCLUSION Cancer cells appear to become more invasive when BSP forms a cell-surface trimolecular complex by linking MMP-2 to integrin alpha(v)beta3.
The osmotic pressure and the concentration of some solutes of the intestinal contents and the faeces of the cow, in relation to the absorption of the minerals

In the cows' intestine there is no isotony with the blood serum. In the upper part of the small intestine the chyme is strongly hypertonic but as it passes along the intestinal tract to the large intestine it becomes more and more hypotonic. The hypertony in the small intestine is not due to inorganic elements but is caused by organic non-electrolytes. In the large intestine hypotony is the result of strong selective absorption of sodium against a concentration gradient.This is an important aspect of the sodium metabolism of the cow. Chlorine is also absorbed from the large intestine against a concentration gradient.
Changes in Snow Accumulation and Ablation after a Fire in South- central British Columbia

s addressing all aspects of post- disturbance hydrology are invited. This includes disturbances such as mountain pine beetle, wildfire, and salvage harvesting; and hydrologic processes including snow, soil moisture, groundwater, and runoff generation. For more information, go to: http://people.ucalgary. ca/~cguconf/index.htm 5th Canadian Conference on Geotechnique and Natural Hazards May 15–17, 2011, Kelowna, B.C. Geohazards are more relevant every day as population growth and exploitation of natural resources increases interactions between the Earth and human activities. The GeoHazards conferences are the premiere forum in Canada for sharing and disseminating scientific and engineering knowledge related to geohazards. GeoHazards 5 will be held at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus in beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia. For more information, go to: http://www.geohazards5. ca Applied Fluvial Geomorphology August 15–19, 2011, Calgary, Alberta This introductory course is designed to familiarize students with the fundamentals of river behavior and the general principles of fluvial geomorphology. This course is a prerequisite for River Morphology, River Assessment and Monitoring, and River Restoration and Natural Channel Design. For more information, go to: http://www.cwra. org/branches/alberta/ Applied_Fluvial_Geomorph_Course_Aug_2010. aspx
EFFECT OF INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ON HERBAGE, DRY FODDER YIELD AND QUALITY OF OAT (AVENA SATIVA L.)

A field experiment was conducted during rabi 2005-06 at Adaptive Trial Centre, Tabiji, Ajmer (Rajasthan), to study the effect of nutrient management on green forage yield, dry matter and crude protein yield of oats. fodder, dry matter and crude protein yield of oat was significant. Application of 100 % RDF along with 5 t/ha vermi-compost (T3), being at par with 100% RDF alone (T1) and 100% or 75 % RDF with organics (T2, T4 & T5,) produced significantly higher green fodder over organics only (T6 & T7).
Organisation of audio-visual three-dimensional space

Stereopsis refers the perception of depth that arises when a scene is viewed binocularly. The visual system relies on the horizontal disparities between the images from the left and right eyes to compute a map of the different depth values present in the scene. It is usually thought that the stereoscopic system is encapsulated and highly constrained by the wiring of neurons from the primary visual areas (V1/V2) to higher integrative areas in the ventral and dorsal streams (V3, inferior temporal cortex, MT). Throughout four distinct experimental projects, we investigated how the visual system makes use of binocular disparity to compute the depth of objects. In summary, we show that the processing of binocular disparity can be substantially influenced by other types of information such as binocular occlusion or sound. In more details, our experimental results suggest that: (1) da Vinci stereopsis is solved by a mechanism that integrates classic stereoscopic processes (double fusion), geometrical constraints (monocular objects are necessarily hidden to one eye, therefore they are located behind the plane of the occluder) and prior information (a preference for small disparities). (2) The processing of motion-in-depth can be influenced by auditory information: a sound that is temporally correlated with a stereomotion defined target can substantially improve visual search. Stereomotion detectors are optimally suited to track 3D motion but poorly suited to process 2D motion. (3) Grouping binocular disparity with an orthogonal auditory signal (pitch) can increase stereoacuity by approximately 30%
RHM 1(2).indb

The number of international English as a Second Language hospitality students completing their degree programs in Australasia has risen dramatically in the past decade. One factor that may be motivating students to undertake tertiary studies in Australasia is the expectation that this form of immersion in English language degree programmes will lead to improved English language skills. However, existing research, such as research on the impact of study abroad programs on learners’ second language (L2) skills, has produced mixed findings. Furthermore, most of this research has tended to focus on progress in L2 speaking skills. To date there has been very little research on the impact of living and studying in the L2 environment on learners’ L2 writing development. This paper reports on a study that used a test–retest design to investigate changes, if any, in the learners’ academic writing after one semester of study in an L2-medium university. The writing scripts of 25 students who did not access the formal language support programs offered by the university were analysed using a range of qualitative and quantitative measures. The study found that after a semester of study at the university, the learners’ writing improved mainly in terms of structure and development of ideas. There was also some improvement in the formality of learners’ language, but there was no evidence of improvement in linguistic accuracy or complexity. Strategies used to incorporate source materials also remained largely unchanged, with learners continuing to copy verbatim from sources and acknowledging sources incorrectly. A number of factors are put forward to explain these findings. These factors include the short duration of the study (one semester) as well as perhaps the absence of feedback.
Satellite-derived volume loss rates and glacier speeds for the Juneau Icefield, Alaska

We provide a high-resolution map of elevation change rates dh dt at the Juneau Icefield (JIF), southeastern Alaska, in order to quantify its contribution to sea-level rise between 2000 and 2009/2013. We also produce the first high-resolution map of ice speeds at the JIF, which we use to constrain flux and look for acceleration. We calculate dh dt using stacked digital elevation models (DEMs) from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), taking into account SRTM C-band penetration via comparison with SRTM X-band elevations. Overall, the JIF is losing mass less rapidly (0.13 0.12mw.e. a) than other Alaskan icefields (0.79mw.e. a). We determine glacier speeds using pixel-tracking on optical image pairs acquired from 2001 to 2010 by ASTER, from radar image pairs acquired between 2007 and 2011 and from radar interferometry in 1995. We detect seasonal speed variations but no interannual acceleration, ruling out dynamics as the cause of the observed thinning. Thinning must therefore be due to the documented warming in the region. Flux measurements confirm this for Mendenhall Glacier, showing that calving constitutes only 2.5–5% of mass loss there.
An Experiment of a Statistical Downscaling Forecast Model for Summer Precipitation over China

Abstract A combination of the optimal subset regression (OSR) approach, the coupled general circulation model of the National Climate Center (NCC-CGCM) and precipitation observations from 160 stations over China is used to construct a statistical downscaling forecast model for precipitation in summer. Retroactive forecasts are performed to assess the skill of statistical downscaling during the period from 2003 to 2009. The results show a poor simulation for summer precipitation by the NCC-CGCM for China, and the average spatial anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC) is 0.01 in the forecast period. The forecast skill can be improved by OSR statistical downscaling, and the OSR forecast performs better than the NCC-CGCM in most years except 2003. The spatial ACC is more than 0.2 in the years 2008 and 2009, which proves to be relatively skillful. Moreover, the statistical downscaling forecast performs relatively well for the main rain belt of the summer precipitation in some years, including 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009. However, the forecast skill of statistical downscaling is restricted to some extent by the relatively low skill of the NCC-CGCM.