Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three new species of Ophryotrocha (Annelida: Dorvilleidae) from a whale-fall in the North-East Atlantic

Three new Ophryotrocha species are described from sites with high levels of organic carbon flux including a whale-fall at 125 m depth off the Swedish coast and sediment sampled at 104 m depth beneath a fish farm in a Norwegian fjord. Phylogenetic analyses based on the nuclear gene H3 and the mitochondrial genes COI and 16S using MrBayes and Maximum Likelihood analyses show that Ophryotrocha eutrophila sp. nov. is a close relative to Ophryotrocha puerilis, while Ophryotrocha craigsmithi sp. nov. falls together with Palpiphitime lobifera, and Ophryotrocha scutellus sp. nov. occur within the 'hartmanni' clade. The genus Ophryotrocha is in our study monophyletic only if the genera Iphitime and Palpiphitime are included. Two representatives of Ophryotrocha previously described from anthropogenically-enriched sediments are here reported for the first time in very high abundance from a naturally occurring habitat. We suggest that whale falls are important habitats for the evolution of ecosystem services such as the degradation of complex organic compounds.
Attenuated Anticipation of Social and Monetary Rewards in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background Reward processing has been proposed to underpin atypical social behavior, a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous neuroimaging studies have yielded inconsistent results regarding the specificity of atypicalities for social rewards in ASD. Utilizing a large sample, we aimed to assess altered reward processing in response to reward type (social, monetary) and reward phase (anticipation, delivery) in ASD. Methods Functional magnetic resonance imaging during social and monetary reward anticipation and delivery was performed in 212 individuals with ASD (7.6-30.5 years) and 181 typically developing (TD) participants (7.6-30.8 years). Results Across social and monetary reward anticipation, whole-brain analyses (p<0.05, family-wise error-corrected) showed hypoactivation of the right ventral striatum (VS) in ASD. Further, region of interest (ROI) analysis across both reward types yielded hypoactivation in ASD in both the left and right VS. Across delivery of social and monetary reward, hyperactivation of the VS in individuals with ASD did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Reward type by diagnostic group interactions, and a dimensional analysis of autism trait scores were not significant during anticipation or delivery. Levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms did not affect reward processing in ASD. Conclusions Our results do not support current theories linking atypical social interaction in ASD to specific alterations in processing of social rewards. Instead, they point towards a generalized hypoactivity of VS in ASD during anticipation of both social and monetary rewards. We suggest that this indicates attenuated subjective reward value in ASD independent of social content and ADHD symptoms.
Effect of Elevated CO2 Levels on Some Growth Parameters and Seed Quality of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Elevated carbon dioxide is known to impact crop growth and productivity. Groundnut is a very important edible oilseed crop raised mostly under rainfed situations worldwide. In the present study, two cultivars of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) viz., JL 24 and ICGV 91114 were raised in open top chambers at two elevated CO2 levels (550 and 700ppm) during Kharif 2010 to investigate the effect of raised levels of CO2 on various growth parameters and seed quality. The seed oil and protein contents were higher in JL 24 compared to ICGV 91114 in all the treatments and showed a declining trend with elevated carbon dioxide concentrations. The oil and protein contents in ICGV 91114 showed a decline at 550 ppm of CO2 and a slight increase at 700 ppm of CO2. The saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic) showed a decreasing trend while oleic acid (omega-9) registered an increasing trend in JL 24 at elevated CO2 levels. The trend was similar in ICGV 91114 except at 550 ppm of CO2 where oleic acid registered a decline before an increase at 700 ppm. Linoleic acid (omega-6) content decreased at 550 ppm and then increased slightly at 700 ppm of CO2 in JL 24, whereas it showed a reverse trend in ICGV 91114. In general, the saturated fatty acid levels decreased in both the genotypes while a corresponding increase was observed in unsaturated fatty acids under elevated CO2 concentrations which could prove to be beneficial from the human nutritional point of view under future changed climatic scenario.
Phenotypic detection of ESBL and MBL in clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat worldwide. Increasing resistance to third generation cephalosporins has become a cause for concern among Enterobacteriaceae. The prevalence of extended spectrum -lactamases (ESBLs) and metallobetalactamases (MBL) among members of Enterobacteriaceae constitutes a serious threat to current -lactam therapy leading to treatment failure. 100 Enterobacteriaceae isolated from various clinical samples were included in the study. ESBL was detected by phenotypic confirmatory disc diffusion test (PCDDT) using ceftazidime alone and in combination with clavulanic acid. MBL detection was done by Imipenem EDTA combined disc diffusion test. Out of 100 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, 43(43%) were ESBL producers and 18(18%) MBL producers. None of the isolates showed the coexistence of ESBL and MBL in the same isolate. ESBL and MBL production was observed in E.coli, Klebsiella spp. , Enterobacter spp. and Citrobacter spp. isolated from various clinical samples. The study underlines problem of ESBL and MBL mediated resistance, which has created a therapeutic challenge for the clinicians and microbiologists. Simple disk method can be routinely employed to detect these common resistance mechanisms which will reduce the mortality and also spread of such resistant strains.
Speciation in Eastern North American Salamanders of the Genus Plethodon

Studies on allozyme variation in eastern plethodontid salamanders of the woodland genus Plethodon have revealed a large number of cryptic species. Genetic variation within and among species reveals patterns of speciation. In the late Miocene and early Pliocene there appear to have been only five clades of eastern North American Plethodon that still survive today. A burst of speciation took place in the Pliocene, so there are now at least 35 species in four species groups in eastern North America. It is hypothesized that the arid climates of the Pliocene isolated many populations in wetter forested moun­ tainous areas where in isolation allopatric speciation occurred. With the return of wetter climates, many of these species dispersed and a large number of parapatric contact zones may now be studied where closely related species are interacting. Hybridization between clo sely related species is frequent in these contact zones.
MAPK signaling links the injury response to Wnt-regulated patterning in Hydra regeneration

Hydra has a long history as an informative model to study pattern formation and regeneration. Wnt signaling is a critical component of Hydra patterning that must be activated during regeneration, but it is largely unknown how the injury stimulus ultimately leads to this activation. In a proteomic screen we previously identified mitogen protein kinases (MAPKs) among the earliest injury response factors in Hydra regeneration, making them attractive candidates to transmit injury-response signals to the initial steps of patterning, which in Hydra includes Wnt signaling. Our data demonstrate that three MAPKs, p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), are essential to initiate regeneration in Hydra. This activation occurs in response to an injury signal, which consists of calcium and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling. Phosphorylated MAPKs exhibit cross-talk with a mutual antagonism between the ERK1/2 pathway and the stress induced MAPKs. The activation of these MAPK pathways, as well as the induction of apoptosis, occurs in all injuries regardless of the position of the wound. MAPK phosphorylation is required for the transcriptional activation of position independent Wnt3 and Wnt9/10c ligands. In summary, our data show that the activation of MAPKs is an essential component of the wound response which transmits the injury signal to induce the transcriptional activation of Wnt ligands, which are essential for patterning the regenerating tissue. Given the high level of evolutionary conservation of MAPKs and Wnts in the injury response, this likely represents a deeply conserved pathway in animals.
Predicting alcohol use from genome-wide polygenic scores, environmental factors, and their interactions in young adulthood

Alcohol use during emerging adulthood is associated with adverse life outcomes but its risk factors are not well known. Here, we predicted alcohol use in 3,153 young adults aged 22 years from (a) genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS) based on genome-wide association studies for the target phenotypes number of drinks per week and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores, (b) 30 environmental factors, and (c) their interactions (i.e., GxE effects). Data was collected from 1994 to 2018 as a part of the UK Twins Early Development Study. GPS accounted for up to 1.9% of the variance in alcohol use (i.e., Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score), while the 30 measures of environmental factors together accounted for 21.1%. The 30 GPS-environment interactions did not explain any additional variance and none of the interaction terms exceeded the significance threshold after correcting for multiple testing. Our findings suggest that GPS and environmental factors have primarily direct, additive effects rather than interacting systematically.
DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT OF TEACHERS BASED ON COHORT OF GENERATIONS

Distributed leadership is a practical necessity in the education system as teachers and school leaders can establish cooperation and interaction to improve student achievement. Study on distributed leadership is still in its infancy and needs to be increased.The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between distributed leadership and commitment of teachers based on cohort of generations in secondary schools. This study involved 298 respondents that consisted of teachers and was conducted using the cross-sectional quantitative survey approach. The study used the Spillane (2006) distributed leadership theory that connected the interaction among leaders, followers and situation. The Distributed Leadership Survey (DLS) which was introduced by Davis in 2009 consists of 37 items which are divided into 7 dimensions, are used in this study. Meyer and Allen’s (1997) Affective, Continuance and Normative Commitment Scales (ACNCS) instrument was used to measure teachers’ commitment level. The selection of schools and respondents were random and also used the purposive sampling. Three hypotheses were built and tested using statistical methods of Pearson correlation test, independent sample t-test, ANOVA and calculated using SPSS version 21. The findings showed a significant relationship between distributed leadership and teachers’ commitment towards the organization. The principal’s dimensions of leadership and dimensional vision of the school were found to be frequently practised. In terms of commitment towards the organization, normative commitment dimension was the highest. There was no significant difference between distributed leadership and commitment of teachers based on cohorts of generations and gender of the teachers. Based on these findings, it is proposed that school leaders should practice distributed leadership to teachers in addition to share the school's vision clear and easily understood by the school community, regardless of the gender and cohort of generations.
CAN BREEDING HABITAT BE SEXUALLY SELECTED?

I propose that sexual dynamics, through mechanisms of sexual selection, can in part determine what constitutes specific breeding habitat. In this view, breeding-habitat features chosen by organisms, like certain morphological or other behavioral traits they exhibit, can be sexually selected, with the consequence that breeding habitats may not be uniquely aligned for ecological niche requirements. I distinguish sexual selection from natural selection because I mean to contrast sexual natural selection (sexual selection) from nonsexual natural selection (ecological selection). Thus, I suggest that ecological selection, acting on traits related to physical resources, and sexual selection, acting on traits related to mate choice, are potentially conflicting forces acting on breeding-habitat specificity. It is hardly novel to contend that sexual relations influence spatial patterns, but those influences have always been believed to operate within the confines of habitat sculpted by ecological selection. Here, sexual selection defines, in part, what constitutes breeding habitat. Certain predictions arise if sexual selection generates breeding-habitat specificity. Breeding habitat must be specific, though regional differences, including dramatic ones, are consistent with the idea. A shift in, or relaxation of, such specificity in nonbreeding situations is expected, given the flexibility in exploiting resources. Generalized traits, such as beaks equipped to exploit a variety of food sources, are predicted to prevail, because adaptive constraints from one period may compromise adaptive solutions for another. Finally, we would expect social factors to influence habitat occupancy
Efficient and Robust High-Dimensional Linear Contextual Bandits

The linear contextual bandits is a sequential decision-making problem where an agent decides among sequential actions given their corresponding contexts. Since large-scale data sets become more and more common, we study the linear contextual bandits in high-dimensional situations. Recent works focus on employing matrix sketching methods to accelerating contextual bandits. However, the matrix approximation error will bring additional terms to the regret bound. In this paper we first propose a novel matrix sketching method which is called Spectral Compensation Frequent Directions (SCFD). Then we propose an efficient approach for contextual bandits by adopting SCFD to approximate the covariance matrices. By maintaining and manipulating sketched matrices, our method only needs O(md) space and O(md) update time in each round, where d is the dimensionality of the data and m is the sketching size. Theoretical analysis reveals that our method has better regret bounds than previous methods in highdimensional cases. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm and verify our theoretical guarantees.
Performance of a Trichoderma harzianum Bentonite-vermiculite Formulation Against Fusarium Wilt in Seedling Nursery Melon Plants

Practical use of Trichoderma harzianum requires feasible formulated products. The objective of this study was to investigate the survival and effectiveness of a T. harzianum bentonite-vermiculite formulation against fusarium wilt and its growth- promotion effect on melon plants under nursery conditions compared with the in- corporation of this agent as a nonformulated conidia suspension. The effectiveness of the application of T. harzianum to melon plants was related directly to its formulation, as the formulation had a clear influence on its survival on peat. The formulated form maintained the inoculation level of T. harzianum colony-forming units after 8 weeks, whereas the nonformulated form reduced it by two orders of magnitude. Plants treated with the bentonite-vermiculite formulation showed a higher shoot weight and higher resistance to fusarium wilt disease.
Rooting of "Ayvalik" olive cuttings in different media

The "Ayvalik" olive cultivar, the most grown for high quality olive oil in Turkey, is generally regarded as showing very good rooting ability. However, cuttings sometimes show moderate or even poor rooting performances, a problem likely related to the use of inappropriate rooting media. The aim of this work was to determine the most successful media among those traditionally used and to identify promising alternatives. October cuttings were planted in 25 different media in two consecutive years under mist propagation conditions. Substrates such as peat, perlite, bark, pumice, sand, polystyrene beads, phenolic foam, rockwool and vermiculite were used pure or in mixtures. In the first year the highest rooting percentage (100%) and visual rating scores (5) were obtained with phenolformaldehyde foam. Perlite-vermiculite (1:1 v/v) was associated with a 95% rooting percentage in both years. The highest mean number of roots (10.8), root length (47 mm), root dry (382 mg) and fresh weights (48.3 mg), and number of secondary roots (13) were recorded in the same medium in the second year. Rockwool, peat-polystyrene (2:1 v/v) and sand-perlite (1:2 v/v) also led to more than 90% of cuttings taking root, while pure sand, peat and peat-sand mixtures gave very low (5-28%) rooting percentages. Perlite-vermiculite 1:1 (v/v) and pre-sized rockwool cubes may be appropriate alternatives to traditional sand-perlite mixtures for rooting "Ayvalik" olive cuttings.
Digital technology adoption scale in the blended learning context in higher education: Development, validation and testing of a specific tool

The main aim of the present study was to develop, validate and test an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that contributes to the overall understanding of students' intention to use digital tools in a blended learning context of higher education. The external bidimensional factor of familiarity with digital tools, which is not usually explained by the TAM, was included, and evaluated. Following a four-stage scale development technique, a seven-dimensional 25-item survey was developed, which includes two external correlated variables: familiarity with high-tech digital tools and familiarity with traditional digital tools, two mediator variables—computer anxiety, and perceived barriers, and three response variables, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and intention to use. The initial version of the survey was administered on 250 undergraduate students. Next, for another sample of 206 students, latent dimensions of the survey were tested using exploratory factor analysis. The structure of the survey was validated in two other subsequent stages with one sample of 262 responses of undergraduates and one of 310 responses of master's students from two different universities. All students who agreed to participate in research attended blended learning. The validity, reliability and invariance of the instrument were established by psychometric analyses. Collected data indicated that the survey has an adequate multifactorial structure that is reliable and invariant across degree levels. The scale is recommended for use in higher education studies targeting the promotion of blended learning and reduction of negative attitudes of learners toward digital instruments, supporting university professors to select their own efficient way to teach.
Measures of figural fluency: Relationship to neuropsychological variables and traumatic brain injury severity

Abstract Figural fluency tests were originally developed as a measure of right frontal lobe integrity and are presently a standard component of neuropsychological evaluation. To better understand the clinical interpretation of figural fluency scores (design output and perseverative errors), the current study investigated two trials from the Ruff Figural Fluency Test (RFFT) and their correlations with other neuropsychological variables in examinees who were being evaluated for cognitive difficulties (N = 84). Design output was significantly correlated (rs > .4) with psychomotor speed, non-verbal memory, and false positive recognition errors on a verbal memory test, while perseverative errors did not show a significant correlation with these variables or with design output. Design output also showed a significant correlation with phonemic fluency (rs > .3) as well as correlations (rs > .25) with semantic fluency and intellectual functioning. In a sample of examinees with mild (n = 33), complicated-mild (n = 11), and moderate-severe (n = 16) traumatic brain injuries (TBI), group differences in design output did not reach significance, whereas perseverative errors were significantly related to the severity of injury. This study suggests that design output and perseverative errors on figural fluency may be separate measures, and their clinical interpretations are discussed.
Modeling Perception Errors towards Robust Decision Making in Autonomous Vehicles

Sensing and Perception (S&P) is a crucial component of an autonomous system (such as a robot), especially when deployed in highly dynamic environments where it is required to react to unexpected situations. This is particularly true in case of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) driving on public roads. However, the current evaluation metrics for perception algorithms are typically designed to measure their accuracy per se and do not account for their impact on the decision making subsystem(s). This limitation does not help developers and third party evaluators to answer a critical question: is the performance of a perception subsystem sufficient for the decision making subsystem to make robust, safe decisions? In this paper, we propose a simulation-based methodology towards answering this question. At the same time, we show how to analyze the impact of different kinds of sensing and perception errors on the behavior of the autonomous system.
CARBOHYDRATE TRANSLOCATION IN ORCHID MYCORRHIZAS

Summary The soluble sugars of uninfected regions of Dactylorchis purpurella were found to be glucose, fructose and sucrose. Mycelium of three mycorrhizal fungi, isolated from this orchid, was found to contain glucose and trehalose. Two of the fungi also contained mannitol. Mycorrhizal seedlings of D. purpurella contained carbohydrates contributed by both orchid and fungal partners. The incorporation of 14C into mycorrhizal seedlings was followed, after [14C]glucose had been supplied to infective hyphae some distance from the seedlings. 14C incorporation into soluble and insoluble materials continued throughout the 7-day experimental period. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that a carbohydrate, possibly trehalose, is translocated by the fungal hyphae into the seedlings. The fungal sugar, trehalose, was the first to become labelled, and the proportion of label in this sugar declined as 14C was incorporated into other carbohydrates, notably sucrose. As sucrose was not found in fungal mycelium, movement of a 14C-labelled compound from internal fungal hyphae to orchid cells must have taken place.
NuCDS: An Efficient Local Search Algorithm for Minimum Connected Dominating Set

The minimum connected dominating set (MCDS) problem is an important extension of the minimum dominating set problem, with wide applications, especially in wireless networks. Despite its practical importance, there are few works on solving MCDS for massive graphs, mainly due to the complexity of maintaining connectivity. In this paper, we propose two novel ideas, and develop a new local search algorithm for MCDS called NuCDS. First, a hybrid dynamic connectivity maintenance method is designed to switch alternately between a novel fast connectivity maintenance method based on spanning tree and its previous counterpart. Second, we define a new vertex property called \emph{safety} to make the algorithm more considerate when selecting vertices. Experiments show that NuCDS significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art MCDS algorithms on both massive graphs and classic benchmarks.