Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
English language investment : a qualitative study on transitioning adult language learners to postsecondary and career certificate programs

ENGLISH LANGUAGE INVESTMENT: A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON TRANSITIONING ADULT LANGUAGE LEARNERS TO POSTSECONDARY AND CAREER CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS Colleen Collins Stribling, Ed.D. Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education Northern Illinois University, 2018 Laura Ruth Johnson, Ph.D., Director This qualitative study elicited and examined the narratives of 15 adult immigrants learning English in a grant-funded program. The purpose of the study was to listen to student voices to understand persistence and investment from the perspectives of the students. The study utilized a process called reciprocal ethnography whereby participants analyzed their journeys with the researcher to determine what factors in their life histories, experiences, and identities had led them to invest sufficiently in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs in order to reach levels of achievement that would allow them to transition into postsecondary and career certificate programs. The findings of the study challenge the notion that successful adults would be those with privileged backgrounds including extensive academic experience, status, and support networks. The success of this diverse group of participants questions the vision and expectations of adult ESL programs of the potential students who may successfully make these transitions and encourages programs to look beyond the more traditional factors that have been utilized to predict student success. The narratives of participants focused on barriers including environmental, situational, cultural, and emotional challenges, and the ability to overcome these challenges was determined by participants as instrumental to their success. Findings indicated that identity and power of the learner is influenced by the social environment and that successful learners are those individuals who have found ways to negotiate these often-inequitable structures. Participants had to challenge the concept of others who concluded that their language skills, or interpretations of them, defined their intelligence or their sense of worth in the community. These individuals had to pursue their goals while being largely ignored or marginalized in their interactions with others. Findings indicated a number of factors that supported participant investment in language socialization and transition. These supports included turning points in their lives that required increased expertise, mentors, and academic environments that acted as “sanctuaries” that helped to counteract experiences and barriers in their social environments. These supports proved critical in the ability of participants to maintain investment in their academic language socialization. (
COMPARAÇÃO DE DIFERENTES MÉTODOS DE AVALIAÇÃO DA ÁREA DE OLHO DE LOMBO E COBERTURA DE GORDURA EM BOVINOS DE CORTE

O presente trabalho avaliou caracteristicas de carcaca de bovinos de corte, de diferentes grupos geneticos, comparando metodos de avaliacao de area de olho de lombo e de gordura de cobertura, alem da estimativa das correlacoes de Pearson entre medidas efetuadas na carcaca e por ultra-sonografia para area de olho de lombo. Foram utilizados 48 bovinos machos dos grupos geneticos Nelore (N), Brangus (BR), ½ Canchim ½ Nelore (CN) e ½ Limousin½ Nelore (LN), criados em regime de pasto com suplementacao, sendo que metade dos animais de cada grupo foi castrada aos doze meses de idade aproximada-mente. Na semana que antecedeu o abate foram realizadas medicoes da area de olho de lombo por ultra-sonografia (AOLU) e, apos o abate, foram avaliados o acabamento (ACAB), a area de olho de lombo medida na carcaca (AOLC)e a espessura de gordura medida a altura da 13a vertebra toracica (EG13). Os resultados mostraram efeito de grupo genetico para AOLU, AOLC, ACAB e EG13. O grupo genetico LN apresentou maiores medias para AOLU e AOLC que os demais (P<0,05). Foi observada uma correlacao de 0,80entre as medidas de AOLU e AOLC. A castracao mostrou efeito significativo para ACAB e EG13 (P<0,01). PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Ultra-sonografia, carcaca, area de olho de lombo, gordura de cobertura, bovinos de corte.
Influences of a Cladophora Bloom on the Diets of Amblema Plicata and Elliptio Dilatata in the Upper Green River, Kentucky

Freshwater mussels are the most imperiled group of freshwater invertebrates globally. Recent research suggests a better understanding of mussel feeding ecology may facilitate and improve conservation eff orts. The use of stable isotopes is becoming an increasingly common method to study aquatic food webs. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) are two of the most frequently employed elements in food web studies. Diff erences in natural abundance of 13 C/ 12 C can indicate which food sources are the basal sources of carbon incorporated into a consumer’s tissue, while the ratio of 15 N / 14 N provides a method of assessing trophic position within a food web. Attached macroalgae, including the genus Cladophora, may be the dominant primary producers in running water systems. Cladophora, however, has not yet been indicated as a prominent assimilated food source for freshwater mussels. The overall purpose of this study was to assess if the diet of two common Green River mussel species, Amblema plicata (Say) and Elliptio dilatata (Rafi nesque) were infl uenced by the seasonal change in availability of Cladophora during a summer-autumn rapid growth period. Two specifi c questions were asked: 1) Are the assimilated diets diff erent between control and treatment areas, and 2) are the assimilated diets infl uenced by diff ering Cladophora levels across the study period? A mesocosm approach was employed in order to manipulate Cladophora levels within a treatment area. Seventy-two mussels, 36 each species, were sampled across four months, twice between control (= reachscale, heavy Cladophora cover) and treatment (= local-scale removal of Cladophora) areas. The freeware program, IsoSource, a concentration-weighted linear mixing model, was used to determine the potential contribution of potential food sources to the diet of both mussel species. IsoSource revealed that Cladophora was the primary assimilated food source for both species across the study period. Although assimilated diets were not diff erent between control and treatment areas, diets were, however, infl uenced by Cladophora availability across time. The results of this study indicate that, during bloom conditions, Cladophora is the primary carbon source for both A. plicata and E. dilatata and may form the base of food webs in the upper Green River. Mammoth Cave National Park's 10th Research Symposium: Celebrating the Diversity of Research in the Mammoth Cave Region 23
Natural parasitization of sugarcane leaf hopper, Pyrilla perpusilla (Walk.) in Uttarakhand.

The experiment on natural parasitization of sugarcane leaf hopper, Pyrilla perpusilla was conducted at Crop Research Center of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. The maximum number of egg mass, nymph and adult per leaf of pyrilla observed was 6.67, 22.67and 18.00 on 30th, 30th and 15th August, respectively. The highest parasitization of eggs masses by Tetrastichus pyrillae was observed in the month of October i.e. 85.33% indicating peak activity of parasitoid. The maximum population of egg, pupa and adult/ leaf of E. melanoleuca were 8.00, 27.33 and 18.67 on 30th Sept. , 30th Oct. and 15th of Oct., respectively.
Survey of Internet users’ attitudes toward Internet advertising

Many have speculated about the current state of Internet advertising (IA), how it compares to advertising in general (GA), and its implications for traditional marketing models and practices. Although many estimates exist regarding who uses the Internet as well as guidelines about how best to design IA, little is known about Internet users’ attitudes toward IA, much less what characterizes these attitudes. To test this, a national sample of over 400 participants with at least some exposure to the Internet was surveyed. The results revealed no majority opinion of IA: approximately a third of respondents liked, disliked, and felt neutrally toward IA, respectively. A regression analysis indicated that enjoyment of looking at Internet advertisements, its informativeness, and its utility for making behavioral (purchasing) decisions contributed to participants’ attitudes toward IA. Enjoyment of looking at IA contributed the most to attitudes toward IA, yet at the same time appears to be one of IA's weakest features. In order to assess whether attitudes toward and perceptions of IA might reflect attitudes toward advertising in general by this demographic group, rather than attitudes toward IA per se, responses were compared to those of a demographically weighted-to-match national sample of over 1,000 who answered similar questions in regard to advertising in general. The results indicate that more respondents found IA to be informative and trustworthy than a demographically similar sample found GA. Even though the attitudes and perceptions of IA and GA were significantly different, the structure of GA and IA attitudes was the same. Implications for the design of IA are discussed.
Effects of Rhizobium Inoculant, Compost, and Nitrogen on Nodulation, Growth, and Yield of Pea

The effects of Rhizobium inoculant, compost, and nitrogen on nodulation, growth, dry matter production, yield attributes, and yield of pea (Pisum sativums var, IPSA Motorshuti-3 were assessed by a field experiment. Among the treatments Rhizobium inoculant alone performed best in recording number and dry weight of nodules/plant. The highest green seed yield of 8.38 ton/㏊ (36.9% increase over control) and mature seed yield of 2.97 ton/㏊ (73.7% increase over control) were obtained by the application of 90 ㎏ N/ha. The effects of 60 ㎏ N/㏊, Rhizobium inoculant alone and Rhizobium inoculant along with 5 ton compost/㏊ were same as the effect of 90 ㎏ N/㏊ in recording plant height, root length, dry weight of shoot, and root both at preflowering and pod filling stages, number of mature pods/plant, number of mature seeds/pod, 1000-seed weight, green, and mature seed yields of pea.
Monotremata, Marsupialia and Placentalia : inferring Phylogenetic relationships from molecular and morphological data : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in evolutionary biology at Massey University

Living mammals are divided into three groups, Monotremata, Marsupialia and Placentalia. Complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequencing has provided a large dataset for inferring phylogenetic relationships between these groups and within Placentalia. Marsupials however, are underrepresented, with only mt genomes from an opossum (Didelphis virginiana) and a wallaroo (Macropus robustus) having been published prior to this study. Herein I report complete mt genome sequences for two further marsupials, a northern brown bandicoot (lsoodon macrourus) and a common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Phylogenetic analysis of the protein­ coding and RNA-coding mtDNA sequences provides the first statistically robust support for placing bandicoots within the cohort Australidelphia (Australasian marsupials plus Microbiotheria). Examination of vertebrate mtDNA sequences revealed two major problems for phylogeny reconstruction, (a) nucleotide (particularly cytosine versus thymine) compositional bias among taxa and (b) differences in substitution processes between data partitions (concatenation bias). Both biases enhanced the signal for Marsupionta, a grouping of marsupials and monotremes. When the DNA sequence was RY-coded (lumping C and T, and lumping A and G) and the maximum­ likelihood analysis partitioned over subsets of similarly evolving sites the traditional morphology­ based Theria hypothesis (marsupials plus placentals) was recovered. The relationships of monotremes, marsupials and placentals to Mesozoic (65-250 mybp) fossil taxa that are known from near-complete skeletons were tested with dental, mandibular, vertebral, basicranial and upper and lower appendicular characters. The null hypothesis for the phylogeny of Mesozoic mammals that retained essentially ancestral mammalian niches (morganucodontids, (eutriconodonts, (spalacotheriids, (eupantotheres, (eutherians, metatherians»») is strongly supported and congruent with respect to the above anatomical region partitions. The inclusion of the fossorial (echidnas) and semi-aquatic (platypuses) monotremes induces extreme and topologically complex incongruence between the anatomical region partitions. A novel incompatibility analysis for examining signal and conflict among characters indicates that homoplasy affecting monotreme placement evolved non-independently among characters, essentially at the level of the anatomical regions. After consideration of monotreme shoulder girdle and forelimb traits, in view of trends among the background phylogeny, it is apparent that correlated reversal of upper appendicular characters has occurred along the monotreme stem lineage. This is consistent with phylogenetic inference from both mtDNA and the other anatomical regions, which together suggest a close relationship between monotremes and therians.
Delay of Senescence in Carnations by Pyrazon, Phenidone Analogues, and Tiron

Pyrazon [5-amino-4-chloro-2-phenyl-3(2H)-pyridazinone], phenidone (1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone), BW 755 C(3-amino-l-[m(trifluoromethyl)-phenyl]-2-pyrazoline), and monophenylbutazone (4-butyl-l-phenyl-3, 5-pyrazolidinedione) at 0.1 mM increased the vase life of cut carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus L. ‘White Sim’) by 48% to 85% over that of control flowers. Tiron (l,2-dihydroxybenzene-3,5-disulfonate) also increased vase life about 38% at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.01 μM. These increases were additive to the beneficial effects of the control preservative solution which contained 2% sucrose, 0.02% 8-hydroxyquinoline citrate, and 0.02 m citric acid. A common feature of these compounds is that they are inhibitors of lipoxygenase.
Relative abundance of amphibians in forest canopy gaps of natural origin vs. timber harvest origin

Small-scale canopy gaps created by logging may retain adequate habitat structure to maintain amphibian abundance. We used pitfalls with drift fences to measure relative abundance of amphibians in 44 harvested gaps, 19 natural treefall gaps, and 36 closed-canopy forest plots. Metamorphs had relatively lower capture rates in large harvest gaps for Ambystoma maculatum, Lithobates catesbeianus, L. clamitans, and L. sylvaticus but we did not detect statistically significant (p < 0.1) differences among gap types for Lithobates palustris metamorphs. L. clamitans juveniles and L. sylvaticus juveniles and adults had relatively lower capture rates in large harvest gaps. For juvenile-adult A. maculatum, we caught relatively fewer individuals in all gap types than in closed-canopy areas. Some groups with overall lower capture rates (immature Plethodon cinereus, juvenile L. palustris) had mixed differences among gap types, and Notophthalmus viridescens (efts) and adult P. cinereus showed no differences among gap types. One species, L. clamitans, was captured more often at gap edges than gap centers. These results suggest that harvest gaps, especially small gaps, provided habitat similar to natural gaps for some, but not all, amphibian species or life-stages.
The Southern African orchid flora: composition, sources and endemism

Aim The Southern African orchid flora is taxonomically well known, but the biogeographical and diversity patterns have not yet been analysed. In particular, we want to establish whether (a) it is, like the Southern African flora in general, more diverse than would be expected from its latitude and area; (b) it is an African flora, or whether it contains palaeoendemic relicts of a Gondwanan orchid flora; (c) the diversity and endemism in the orchid flora is concentrated in particular biomes and habitat types; and (d) the patterns of endemism in the flora can be accounted for by current environmental parameters, or whether we need to invoke historical explanations.
Cell Migration and Induction in the Development of the Surface Ectodermal Pattern of the Xenopus laevis Tadpole

The surface of the Xenopus tadpole contains three specialized, transient cell types; the ciliated, hatching gland, and cement gland cells. To distinguish whether the appearance of these cell types on the surface is due to induction of surface cells or due to migration of deep ectodermal cells into the surface, we transplanted labelled surface or deep cells to unlabelled hosts at early to mid‐gastrulae. After raising the host to a tadpole (Stage 28), we examined the embryo's surface for ciliated, hatching gland, and cement gland cells, and observed which cells were labelled. We find that all ciliated cells move into the surface from the deep ectodermal layer along with other cells of unknown function. Hatching gland cells arise by induction of surface cells as do the majority of cement gland cells. A few deep cells give rise to cement gland cells. Therefore, migration of deep cells to the surface and localized induction of surface cells contribute to the final surface patterning of the Xenopus tadpole.
Distribution of Mysids (Crustacea: Mysidacea) in Auckland Region, New Zealand

Given the ecological significance of mysids in brackish and freshwater food chains and the potential importance in toxicity testing in estuarine systems, it is important to understand the distribution of these animals. However, to date, few studies have been undertaken on mysids in the Auckland region. DThe main focus of this study was to find out the distribution of estuarine mysids in this region. Reconnaissance surveys took place to locate mysid habitats in the estuarine waters entering the Manukau Harbour and the East Coast estuarine environments from May of 2006 to January 2009. The samples were taken using a hand held dip net with 500 µm mesh size along an eighty meter transect at the edge of the stream during day time at low tide. At each site four replicate surveys were undertaken (transects of 10 m length, 10 m apart). Five species of mysids have been identified from and are described for estuarine environments in the Manukau Harbour and along the Auckland East Coast: the sometimes sympatric Tenagomysis chiltoni and T. novaezealandiae, and the non-sympatric and patchily distributed Gastrosaccus australis, T. macropsis and a potentially new Tenagomysis sp. The present distributional studies in the North Island reflects that the native mysid T. novaezealandiae is the dominant mysid species along the east coast, and the most geographically widespread species on both east and the west coasts, while T. chiltoni was equally dominant with T. novaezealandiae in the Manukau Harbour. G. australis and T. macropsis reported from North Island estuarine waters for the first time. The salinity ranges where species occurred were different: T. chiltoni 0-18‰, T. novaezealandiae 0-26‰ and G. australis 1.5-12.6‰. T. chiltoni, Tenagomysis sp. and T. novaezealandiae shows that the higher percentages of females than males.
Odor representations in Drosophila receptor neurons analyzed by in vivo calcium imaging

We have developed a new computational framework for merging odor response data sets from heterogeneous studies, creating a consensus metadatabase, the database of odor responses (DoOR). As a result, we obtained a functional atlas of all available odor responses in Drosophila melanogaster. Both the program and the data set are freely accessible and downloadable on the Internet (http://neuro.uni.kn/DoOR). The procedure can be adapted to other species, thus creating a family of “olfactomes” in the near future. Drosophila melanogaster was chosen because of all species this one is closest to having the complete olfactome characterized, with the highest number of deorphanized receptors available. The database guarantees long-term stability (by offering time-stamped, downloadable versions), up-to-date accuracy (by including new data sets as soon as they are published), and portability (for other species). We hope that this comprehensive repository of odor response profiles will be useful to the olfactory community and to computational neuroscientists alike.
Rapid decline and extinction of a montane frog population in southern Australia follows detection of the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

The amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been implicated as a leading agent of amphibian declines. However, few studies have documented the real‐time host/pathogen dynamics during the arrival of Bd and the decline of an amphibian population. Diagnosing population declines is difficult because multiple factors may be involved and data are often inadequate. However, identifying the relative impact among different threatening processes is critical to understanding population declines. We report the decline and extinction of a population of a threatened temperate montane frog species Litoria spenceri in south‐eastern Australia. Unlike most threatened species at the time, its ecology and population demography were well understood, and a monitoring programme was in place, enabling prompt detection of the decline and evaluation of its cause. Histology for Bd on a unique series of phalange samples showed that the decline was strongly linked to the arrival and increased prevalence of Bd, estimated to have emerged in the population within 39 days of first detection. Our study provides the first real‐time observation of a mass die‐off and decline in a temperate Australian species and the first tight estimate of Bd arrival in a declining population in Australia. These findings not only provide further evidence that Bd has contributed to amphibian declines but also demonstrates how Bd may work in concert with other threatening processes, resulting in extinction.
Study of the role of Wnt pathway in a murine model of T-ALL

We report a murine model, R26-βcat, expressing a stable form of β-catenin in T cells. R26-βcat pre-leukemic mice show a developmental block in T-cell differentiation and exhibit increased resistance to apoptosis. Interestingly, the mice develop T cell lymphomas independent of the Notch pathway. Furthermore, we showed that loss of the tumour suppressor Pten and over-expression of Myc was favoured; and may constitute the secondary events contributing to this leukemogenesis. We also demonstrated that R26-βcat tumours are malignant, heterogeneous and that leukaemia stem cells (LSC) were enriched in DP cells. Furthermore, the self-renewal capapcity of R26-βcat LSCs can to be exhausted.We propose that the R26-βcat model defines a new sub-group of Notch-independent T-ALL and the β-catenin may serve as a potential therapeutic target for these tumours.