Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local and non-local mathematical modelling of signalling during embryonic development

Embryonic development requires cells to communicate as they arrange into the adult organs and tissues. The ability of cells to sense their environment, respond to signals and self-organise is of crucial importance. Patterns of cells adopting distinct states of differentiation arise in early development, as a result of cell signalling. Furthermore, cells interact with each other in order to form aggregations or rearrange themselves via cell-cell adhesion. The distance over which cells can detect their surroundings plays an important role to the form of patterns to be developed, as well as the time necessary for developmental processes to complete. Cells achieve long range communication through the use of extensions such as filopodia. In this work we formulate and analyse various mathematical models incorporating long-range signalling. We first consider a spatially discrete model for juxtacrine signalling extended to include filopodial action. We show that a wide variety of patterns can arise through this mechanism, including single isolated cells within a large region or contiguous blocks of cells selected for a specific fate. Cell-cell adhesion modelling is addressed in this work. We propose a variety of discrete models from which continuous models are derived. We examine the models’ potential to describe cell-cell adhesion and the associated phenomena such as cell aggregation. By extending these models to consider long range cell interactions we were able to demonstrate their ability to reproduce biologically relevant patterns. Finally, we consider an application of cell adhesion modelling by attempting to reproduce a specific developmental event, the formation of sympathetic ganglia. Sth giagi mou, Stalla To my grandmother, Stella
Exploring Black Clergy Perspectives on Religious/Spiritual Related Domestic Violence: First Steps in Facing those Who Wield the Sword Abusively

ABSTRACT People who use violence against their intimate partner(s) sometimes use religion as a mechanism of control. However discussion on religious/spiritual (R/S) abuse in the context of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) has been limited within the academic literature. The attack on one’s spirituality or faith is unique enough to explore separately from typical psychological or emotional abuse. Because many Black women experiencing IPV/A report consistent use of religious faith and/or clergy as key sources of support, qualitative interviews were conducted with Black/African-American clergy (N = 13). The purpose of this study was to capture their perspectives on religious or spiritual related IPV/A. Using interpretative content analysis and thematic analysis, findings revealed that clergy viewed R/S abuse as a spiritual problem and characterized the behavior as a mis-interpretation of God’s Word. Participants emphasized the importance of victim-survivors knowing the Word of God for themselves as a resource to counter R/S abuse. Informants highlighted a need and desire for clergy-specific training, yet data analyses also revealed that fellow clergy members perpetration of R/S abuse was a barrier to addressing the problem. Understanding religious leaders’ perspectives on this specific form of abuse expands knowledge on how IPV/A is exerted and potential intervention strategies.
Changes in the abundance, species richness, and size structure of zooplankton under the influence of environmental conditions in the shallow littoral zone of a heated lake

The aim of the study was to analyze the zooplankton abundance and species richness in 2001-2002 in the littoral zone of Lake Gos3awskie and also to determine the impact of environmental conditions (temperature, oxygen content, macrophytes) on the studied zooplankton. The analysis of the biological samples indicated the occurrence of 64 zooplankton species, of which 42 were representatives of Rotifera and 22 of Crustacea. Species richness and biodiversity during the study period were high, while the zooplankton community structure, in additional to the form classified as littoral, also included pelagic species that often dominated the assemblages. The number of zooplankton species decreased as the area occupied by macrophytes increased as well as when water temperature rose. The abundance of zooplankton was low and remained at similar levels in the study years compared. The dominant taxonomic groups in the zooplankton assemblages throughout the study period were Rotifera or Copepoda naupli.
Signalling and Expressive Interaction: Online News Users’ Different Modes of Interaction on Digital Platforms

Abstract Online news users interact with news on digital platforms in different ways. Some take advantage of the technical affordances that allow sharing, liking and commenting, while others do not. Based on a national survey of the Australian adult online news users, this study explores online news users’ different modes of interaction on digital platforms: non-interaction, signalling interaction, and expressive interaction. This study demonstrates that different types of online news users are largely determined by a combination of structural influences and individual factors related to the uptake, reception, and dissemination of news. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on news engagement by exploring the concept of interaction as a more specific term to describe online news behaviours, and identifies different types of news users connected to, rather than disembodied from, their practice. In doing so, this article advances the understanding of news consumption behaviour and its implications for engaging news audiences in the digital age.
Beyond Allyship: Motivations for Advantaged Group Members to Engage in Action for Disadvantaged Groups

White Americans who participate in the Black Lives Matter movement, men who attended the Women’s March, and people from the Global North who work to reduce poverty in the Global South—advantaged group members (sometimes referred to as allies) often engage in action for disadvantaged groups. Tensions can arise, however, over the inclusion of advantaged group members in these movements, which we argue can partly be explained by their motivations to participate. We propose that advantaged group members can be motivated to participate in these movements (a) to improve the status of the disadvantaged group, (b) on the condition that the status of their own group is maintained, (c) to meet their own personal needs, and (d) because this behavior aligns with their moral beliefs. We identify potential antecedents and behavioral outcomes associated with these motivations before describing the theoretical contribution our article makes to the psychological literature.
Functional and Molecular Analysis of Proprioceptive Sensory Neuron Excitability in Mice

Neurons located in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) are crucial for transmitting peripheral sensations such as proprioception, touch, temperature, and nociception to the spinal cord before propagating these signals to higher brain structures. To date, difficulty in identifying modality-specific DRG neurons has limited our ability to study specific populations in detail. As the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) is a neurochemical marker for proprioceptive DRG cells we used a transgenic mouse line expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in PV positive DRGs, to study the functional and molecular properties of putative proprioceptive neurons. Immunolabeled DRGs showed a 100% overlap between GFP positive (GFP+) and PV positive cells, confirming the PVeGFP mouse accurately labeled PV neurons. Targeted patch-clamp recording from isolated GFP+ and GFP negative (GFP−) neurons showed the passive membrane properties of the two groups were similar, however, their active properties differed markedly. All GFP+ neurons fired a single spike in response to sustained current injection and their action potentials (APs) had faster rise times, lower thresholds and shorter half widths. A hyperpolarization-activated current (Ih) was observed in all GFP+ neurons but was infrequently noted in the GFP− population (100% vs. 11%). For GFP+ neurons, Ih activation rates varied markedly, suggesting differences in the underlying hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (HCN) subunit expression responsible for the current kinetics. Furthermore, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed the HCN subunits 2, 1, and 4 mRNA (in that order) was more abundant in GFP+ neurons, while HCN 3 was more highly expressed in GFP− neurons. Likewise, immunolabeling confirmed HCN 1, 2, and 4 protein expression in GFP+ neurons. In summary, certain functional properties of GFP+ and GFP− cells differ markedly, providing evidence for modality-specific signaling between the two groups. However, the GFP+ DRG population demonstrates considerable internal heterogeneity when hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (HCN channel) properties and subunit expression are considered. We propose this heterogeneity reflects the existence of different peripheral receptors such as tendon organs, muscle spindles or mechanoreceptors in the putative proprioceptive neuron population.
Crowdsourcing for Sustainable Urban Logistics: Exploring the Factors Influencing Crowd Workers’ Participative Behavior

With crowd logistics becoming a crucial part of the last-mile delivery challenge in many cities, continued participation of crowd workers has become an essential issue affecting the growth of the crowd logistics platform. Understanding how people are motivated to continue their participation in crowd logistics can provide some clarity as to what policies and measures should be undertaken by the industry to support its further growth. Using the Push–Pull–Mooring (PPM) theory, we developed a research model to explain the factors influencing crowd workers’ participative behavior. Survey data from 455 crowd workers were analyzed using SmartPLS3.0 software. The results show monetary rewards and trust have a significant positive impact on the willingness of crowd workers to continue participating in crowd logistics, while work enjoyment from previous work and entry barriers for work have a significant negative impact. Trust plays an intermediary role between monetary incentives and crowd workers’ willingness to continue participating. Based on the findings of this study, we recommend that crowd logistics platforms should offer reasonable monetary incentives and keep these under constant review, build a high degree of trust and cooperation with their crowd workers, and initiate activities geared towards promoting satisfaction at work.
Prevalence of antibodies to H9N2 avian influenza virus in backyard chickens around Maharlou lake in Iran.

Backyard chickens play an important role in the epidemiology of H9N2 avian influenza virus infection. Close contact of backyard chickens with migratory birds, especially with aquatic birds, as well as neighboring poultry farms, may pose the risk of transmitting avian influenza virus, but little is known about the disease status of backyard poultry. A H9N2 avian influenza virus seroprevalence survey was carried out in 500 backyard chickens from villages around Maharlou lake in Iran, using the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test. The studied backyard chickens had not been previously vaccinated and showed no clinical signs of disease. The overall HI titer and seroprevalence against H9N2 were 7.73 and 81.6%, respectively.
Repatriations of human remains from Germany – 1911 to 2019

While occasional earlier restitutions of colonially acquired human remains, mostly skulls, from German anthropological collections to source communities went largely unnoticed, it seems that such repatriations have 'taken off' since the hand-over of 20 skulls to a Namibian delegation in 2011. It is, however, difficult to get a comprehensive overview of these events, given the German federal system and the diversity of institutions involved. Moreover, there is no standard as to how much provenance research should be conducted before returning human remains and how much detail should be published, if at all. This article reviews repatriations of human remains from German institutions and related publications. It argues for authors and institutions to publish and publicize these events and related research more widely. It also looks at the variability of the political context of these processes and argues for more direct, i.e. government-independent contacts between collecting institutions and source communities.
Detection Performance Regarding Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Episodes with Fuzzy Logic Fusion on Single-Channel Airflow Indexes

Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) affects more than 936 million people worldwide and is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder; almost 80% of potential patients remain undiagnosed. To treat moderate to severe OSAHS as early as possible, the use of fewer sensing channels is recommended to screen for OSAHS and shorten waiting lists for the gold standard polysomnography (PSG). Hence, an effective out-of-clinic detection method may provide a solution to hospital overburden and associated health care costs. Applying single-channel signals to simultaneously detect apnea and hypopnea remains challenging. Among the various physiological signals used for sleep apnea-hypopnea detection, respiratory signals are relatively easy to apply. In this study, a fusion method using fuzzy logic and two single-channel respiratory indexes was proposed. A total of 12,391 apnea or hypopnea episodes were included. The proposed algorithm successfully fused standard deviation of airflow signals (SDA) and amplitude changes of peaks (ACP) indexes to detect apnea-hypopnea events, with overall sensitivity of 74%, specificity of 100%, and accuracy of 80% for mild to moderate OSAHS. For different apnea-hypopnea severity levels, the results indicated that the algorithm is superior to other methods; it also provides risk scores as percentages, which are especially accurate for mild hypopnea. The algorithm may provide rapid screening for early diagnosis and treatment.
Creative metaphors in video lessons: the relationship between the novel and the conventional / Metáforas criativas em videoaulas: a relação entre o novo e o convencional

Abstract: The metaphors used in non-poetic contexts are mostly conventional. This study, which is part of a broader research, analyzes the emergence of – and the relationship between – conventional and novel/creative metaphors in Biology video lessons. The theoretical basis is composed of the Theory of Conceptual Metaphor (LAKOFF; JOHNSON, 2002; LAKOFF; TURNER, 1989) and the Perspective of Metaphor in Discourse (SEMINO, 2008). Thus, the general objective of this paper is to verify the emergence of conceptual and linguistic metaphors produced by teachers in Biology video lessons, as well as to analyze their degree of novelty and/or conventionality. The data analyzed came from YouTube video subtitles, and the methodology used to identify metaphors in speech was the MIP (PRAGGLEJAZ GROUP, 2007). The results indicate that creative metaphors are present in the discourse of these teachers and play a relevant role in the presentation of scientific content. Keywords : metaphor; creativity; conventionality; video lessons; textual patterns. Resumo: As metaforas empregadas em contextos nao poeticos apresentam-se majoritariamente de forma convencional. O presente estudo, que faz parte de uma pesquisa mais abrangente, trata da analise da emergencia de – e da relacao entre – metaforas convencionais e novas/criativas em videoaulas de Biologia. O aporte teorico e composto pela Teoria da Metafora Conceptual (LAKOFF; JOHNSON, 2002; LAKOFF; TURNER, 1989) e pela Perspectiva da Metafora no Discurso (SEMINO, 2008). Desse modo, o objetivo geral deste artigo e verificar a emergencia de metaforas conceptuais e linguisticas produzidas por professores em videoaulas de Biologia, assim como analisar seu grau de novidade e/ou convencionalidade. Os dados analisados sao provenientes de legendas de videoaulas do YouTube , e a metodologia empregada na identificacao de metaforas no discurso foi o MIP (PRAGGLEJAZ GROUP, 2007). Os resultados indicam que metaforas criativas estao presentes no discurso desses professores e desempenham um papel relevante na apresentacao de conteudos cientificos. Palavras-chave: metafora; criatividade; convencionalidade; videoaulas; padroes textuais.
Social Work Minors in Undergraduate Education: Benefit or Burden?

ABSTRACT While much is written about the professionalization of practitioners with bachelor’s degrees in social work, there is a void in the literature with regard to the role of those with undergraduate minors in social work. The few articles on social work minor programs are dated, yet the number of such programs is increasing, but with little consistency in requirements and no agreed upon competencies for their graduates. Much like the debate that took place when those with bachelor’s degrees were recognized as professionals in the field, there are “pros” and “cons” associated with offering social work minors. This article presents some arguments both in favor of and opposed to accredited programs offering social work minors. It also suggests necessary “next steps” for social work educators and administrators in order to strengthen the efficacy of social work minor programs and solidify their place in social work education.
Dendritic cells and immuno-modulation in autoimmune arthritis

The immune system consists of a broad array of immune cells to protect the body against invasive pathogenic microorganisms. Immune responses should however, be tightly controlled to ensure tolerance to the body’s own cells and proteins in order to limit damage to the host own cells and tissue. Autoimmune diseases can arise when the balance between pathogen-driven immunity (inflammatory immune response) and tolerance (regulatory immune response) to self products is dysregulated. Dendritic cells are immune cells with the ability to direct immune responses towards an inflammatory or regulatory immune reaction. During immune homeostasis, i.e. in the absence of infectious or inflammatory stimulation, dendritic cells reside in state that contributes to immune tolerance. In this condition, dendritic cells are a promising immunotherapeutic target in autoimmune diseases. These tolerance inducing properties can be enhanced and stabilized under laboratory conditions. Stress proteins are imperative for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and are especially produced after forms of stress like: increased temperature (fever), nutritional deficiency and exposure to toxins, inflammatory mediators and viral infections. Stress proteins are also highly immunogenic and have the potential to induce immuno-regulatory pathways. The research described in this dissertation focuses on the in vitro induction and stabilization of a regulatory phenotype in dendritic cells via administration of stress proteins to dendritic cells, or otherwise via treatment of dendritic cells with a physiological stress to ensure production of stress proteins by dendritic cells. Their potential regulatory role was studied in an experimental mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, the immune-regulatory role of dendritic cells during immune homeostasis was studied in more detail
Manufacturing of Ti-6%Al and Ti-6%Al-4%V Alloys and Their Corrosion in Sodium Chloride Solutions

The current research aims at the manufacturing of Ti-6%Al alloy and Ti-6%Al-4%V alloy using the mechanical alloying method and studying their corrosion behavior after various periods of immersions in 3.5% NaCl solutions. The fabricated alloys were also evaluated using spectroscopic techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses. The corrosion behavior was studied using potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and chronoamperometric current-time electrochemical methods. It is confirmed that the presence of 4% V greatly decreases the uniform corrosion of the Ti-6%Al alloy as a result of the role of V in decreasing the cathodic, anodic, and corrosion current, and the rate of corrosion along with increasing the corrosion resistance. Increasing the time of immersion to 24 h and further to 48 h highly decreased the corrosion of the alloys. The presence of 4% V and extending the time of exposure thus increase the resistance against corrosion via decreasing the corrosion of Ti-6%Al alloy in the chloride test solution.
Production of antimicrobials and antioxidants from filamentous fungi

Filamentous fungi have proven throughout history to be a vast source of potential therapeutic activities. They are recognised as nutritious, highly palatable functional foods and are now widely accepted as an untapped source of potentially powerful natural products of pharmacological significance. In the present study, ten species of filamentous fungi were explored on the basis of their curative potential. Submerged liquid fermentation (SLF) was employed and proved to be a promising method for the production of bioactive functional compounds. Crude aqueous mycelial biomass demonstrated a broad range of antibacterial activity against pathogenically significant bacteria. Supplementation with various carbon sources at 1 % (w/v) affected the biomass production of several species significantly (p < 0.05) and in some cases also had a significant impact on cellular composition. Additionally, depending on species specificity, cell wall composition was found to affect the interaction of microbes prior to infection. Various extracts (crude, hot water and methanol) from the mycelium of each of the selected species were demonstrated as effective antioxidants. Additionally, total phenolic content positively attributed to the overall antioxidant capacity of the extracts. Bioassay-guided isolation and purification of extracts from cultured mycelia led to the identification of biologically active phenolic acids and compounds of lipid class. For effective utilisation of natural products or functional food components, quantitative information on the individual phenolic acids in each strain was generated. Compounds separated by TLC were extracted and analysed by LC/MS for fatty acid composition. The fatty acids; linoleic, palmitic, stearic and oleic acid were established as the main lipid metabolites of each fungal species. In addition, the effect of hot water and methanol extraction on fatty acid composition of the fungal cell was analysed by GC/MS. The fractionated extracts demonstrated that a combination of multiple chemical constituents yielded favourable biological activities. Submerged fermentation of mycelium from ten species of filamentous fungi proved to be an effective cultivation method for the production of bioactive and nutritional functional compounds. This research has provided information which could benefit further research in the isolation and characterisation of active chemical components of natural origin.