Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic and Genomic Interactions of Animals with Different Ploidy Levels

Polyploid animals have independently evolved from diploids in diverse taxa across the tree of life. We review a few polyploid animal species or biotypes where recently developed molecular and cytogenetic methods have significantly improved our understanding of their genetics, reproduction and evolution. Mitochondrial sequences that target the maternal ancestor of a polyploid show that polyploids may have single (e.g. unisexual salamanders in the genus Ambystoma) or multiple (e.g. parthenogenetic polyploid lizards in the genus Aspidoscelis) origins. Microsatellites are nuclear markers that can be used to analyze genetic recombinations, reproductive modes (e.g. Ambystoma) and recombination events (e.g. polyploid frogs such as Pelophylax esculentus). Hom(e)ologous chromosomes and rare intergenomic exchanges in allopolyploids have been distinguished by applying genome-specific fluorescent probes to chromosome spreads. Polyploids arise, and are maintained, through perturbations of the ‘normal' meiotic program that would include pre-meiotic chromosome replication and genomic integrity of homologs. When possible, asexual, unisexual and bisexual polyploid species or biotypes interact with diploid relatives, and genes are passed from diploid to polyploid gene pools, which increase genetic diversity and ultimately evolutionary flexibility in the polyploid. When diploid relatives do not exist, polyploids can interact with another polyploid (e.g. species of African Clawed Frogs in the genus Xenopus). Some polyploid fish (e.g. salmonids) and frogs (Xenopus) represent independent lineages whose ancestors experienced whole genome duplication events. Some tetraploid frogs (P. esculentus) and fish (Squaliusalburnoides) may be in the process of becoming independent species, but diploid and triploid forms of these ‘species' continue to genetically interact with the comparatively few tetraploid populations. Genetic and genomic interaction between polyploids and diploids is a complex and dynamic process that likely plays a crucial role for the evolution and persistence of polyploid animals. See also other articles in this themed issue.
Xpert MTB/RIF test performance assay in respiratory samples at real work settings in a developing country.

INTRODUCTION The Xpert MTB/RIF test detects DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and susceptibility to rifampin. It has been evaluated repeatedly under "ideal" conditions including centrifugation of sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage, Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) and auramine/rhodamine staining, as well as with solid and liquid automated culture methods. Results from such evaluations cannot be extrapolated to low-income countries that do not routinely use all these processes. OBJECTIVE To assess the performance of the Xpert MTB/RIF test in respiratory samples under "real" conditions of work in a low-income country and its correlation with phenotypic susceptibility testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the performance of the Xpert MTB/RIF test in =12 year-old patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis. In routine sample processing at the Hospital we do not use sputum centrifugation, staining with auramine/rhodamine or automated liquid culture. RESULTS We screened 152 patients of whom 108 were eligible for the study and 103 were included in the analysis; 34% of the samples were positive. The overall test sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 91%, 92%, 83% and 96%, respectively. In ZN-negative samples the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 87%, 91%, 68% and 97%, respectively. The results of sensitivity and resistance to rifampin were concordant with susceptibility testing using the multiple proportions method (kappa=1, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The Xpert MTB/RIF test overall performance was similar to the one achieved under ideal conditions. Its performance in ZN-negative samples was better under "real" conditions of work in a low-income country.
Factors associated with self‐perceived burden to the primary caregiver in older patients with hematologic malignancies: an exploratory study

Although cancer patients frequently experience self‐perceived burden to others, this perception has not been enough studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self‐perceived burden to the primary caregiver (SPB‐PC) and associated factors in an older patient population with hematologic malignancies at the time of chemotherapy initiation.
Spatial Pyramid Kernel with Lines and Ellipses Feature Hierarchy for Autonomous Classification of Similar Insect Species ( Mabel )

This project focuses on automating the classification of 4700+ photographs from 29 insect species, developing ideas in computer vision and machine learning. Autonomous categorization aims at reducing the manual cost and the number of mistakes even when compared to experts. Therefore, to be competitive, improving accuracy is important. Challenges to accuracy in the 29-category dataset are present in the wide intra-class variations that impose the need for robust appearance and shape feature descriptors. We overcome the difficulties by stacking both descriptors, while preserving spatial information by using a spatial pyramid kernel for the support vector machine (SVM). This kernel achieved 88% overall accuracy, compared to 87% with a histogram intersection kernel, or 84.5% and more time-consuming with a RBF kernel. On the vision aspect, ongoing work attempts to produce a new shape descriptor by extracting medial axis line segments and ellipses from the image to form a paired hierarchy that describes relative shape, location, and angles in neighboring parts of an insect's body. The initial run of this descriptor alone obtained an accuracy of 66%. We hope to achieve even higher accuracies by improving the algorithm and combining this descriptor with other existing ones as described in [11].
The role of tenure as a moderator to work engagement and job satisfaction

THE ROLE OF TENURE AS A MODERATOR TO WORK ENGAGEMENT AND JOB SATISFACTION by Julie K Rice The purpose of this study was to determine whether the three dimensions of work engagement predicted any of the four dimensions of job satisfaction and whether tenure is a moderator to that relationship. Results of this study do not support the proposition that tenure moderates the relationship between the dimensions of work engagement and job satisfaction. However, vigor and dedication do predict a significant portion of the variance in satisfaction with coworkers and supervision. Dedication also accounts for some of the variance in satisfaction with compensation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my first reader, Dr. Nancy Da Silva, whose support and understanding helped me overcome the difficulties of the thesis process and helped me to understand the importance of learning from the thesis experience. I would also like to thank my second reader, Dr. Howard Tokunaga, for expanding my statistical knowledge throughout my time in the I/O program. I would like to thank my third reader, Dr. Deane Wiley, for taking the time to be on my thesis committee as well as encouraging me to better myself in my education and my career. His guidance in the workplace has strengthened my ability to articulate in writing and ultimately helped in the creation of this thesis. I am also grateful for Hung Nguyen who has been my boss, my mentor, and my friend. I am thankful that he believed in me and allowed me to work with him and trained me to continue to advance in my career. His help and support with my thesis, career, and personal life means so much to me. This thesis would not have been possible without the love and support of my family. First I would like to thank my mother, Kathy, who taught me the importance of education and raised me to believe in my ability to succeed. I would also like to acknowledge my Uncle Ron and Aunt Susie who have always supported and encouraged my education. And finally I would like to express my appreciation to my husband Jamie whose dedication, love, and confidence in me has allowed me to pursue my goals. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Work Engagement Defined 2 Work Engagement Conceptualized 2 Work Engagement Literature Review 4 Job Satisfaction Defined 7 Job Characteristics Theory of Job Satisfaction 8 Relationship between Work Engagement and Job Satisfaction 9 Relationship between Job Burnout and Job Satisfaction 9 The Role of Organizational Tenure 11 Hypothesis 12 Methods 13 Participants 13 Procedure 14 Measures 14 Results 17 Analyses 19 Additional Analysis 25 Discussion 26 Study Limitations and Directions for Further Research 27 Practical Implications 29 References 30
Stretchable, Transparent, Ionic Conductors

Hydrogel Stretch A range of stretchable, conductive materials can be made either by making an electrical conductor more stretchable or by adding an electrical conductor to a stretchable material. Keplinger et al. (p. 984; see the Perspective by Rogers) have added to the possibilities of an alternative stretchable ionic conductor based on a hydrogel material used to make deformable devices that are fully transparent to light over the visible spectrum and that can withstand high voltages and high frequencies. Stretchable ionic gels are fabricated into transparent actuators and loudspeakers. [Also see Perspective by Rogers] Existing stretchable, transparent conductors are mostly electronic conductors. They limit the performance of interconnects, sensors, and actuators as components of stretchable electronics and soft machines. We describe a class of devices enabled by ionic conductors that are highly stretchable, fully transparent to light of all colors, and capable of operation at frequencies beyond 10 kilohertz and voltages above 10 kilovolts. We demonstrate a transparent actuator that can generate large strains and a transparent loudspeaker that produces sound over the entire audible range. The electromechanical transduction is achieved without electrochemical reaction. The ionic conductors have higher resistivity than many electronic conductors; however, when large stretchability and high transmittance are required, the ionic conductors have lower sheet resistance than all existing electronic conductors.
Structured Light Based Depth Edge Detection for Object Shape Recovery

This research features a novel approach that efficiently detects depth edges in real world scenes. Depth edges play a very important role in many computer vision problems because they represent object contours. We strategically project structured light and exploit distortion of light pattern in the structured light image along depth discontinuities to reliably detect depth edges. Distortion along depth discontinuities may not occur or be large enough to detect depending on the distance from the camera or projector. For practical application of the proposed approach, we have presented methods that guarantee the occurrence of the distortion along depth discontinuities for a continuous range of object location. Experimental results show that the proposed method accurately detect depth edges of human hand and body shapes as well as general objects.
Shape Matching Using both Internal and External Morphological Shape Components

A number of morphological shape representation algorithms have been proposed over the years. However, not many shape matching algorithms have been developed based on these representation algorithms. In this paper, we present a structural shape matching algorithm that uses both internal and external shape components selected from the maximal disks determined by a traditional and a generalized morphological skeleton transforms. The algorithm uses relaxation labeling to maintain structural consistency and to derive matching scores. The experiments show that the matching algorithm produces good matching results and it performs better than an earlier algorithm that uses internal components only.
Adaptive Controller and Observer for a Magnetic Microrobot

This paper discusses the control design of a magnetically guided microrobotic system in blood vessels to perform minimally invasive medical procedures. Such microrobots consist of a polymer-bonded aggregate of nanosized ferromagnetic particles and a possible payload that can be propelled by the gradient coils of a magnetic device. A fine modeling is developed and used to define an optimal trajectory which minimizes the control efforts. We then synthesize an adaptive backstepping law that ensures a Lyapunov stable and fine tracking, despite modeling errors, and estimates some key uncertain parameters. As the controller synthesis uses the microrobot unmeasured velocity, the design of a high-gain observer is also addressed. Simulations and experiment illustrate the robustness to both noise measurement and some uncertain physiological parameters for a 250-μm radius microrobot that navigates in a fluidic environment.
Evaluation of the Digene Hybrid Capture II CT-ID Test for Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in Endocervical Specimens

ABSTRACT The performance characteristics of the new signal amplification-based Hybrid Capture (HC) II CT-ID test system (Digene, Silver Spring, Md.) with endocervical specimens were compared to those of tissue culture and PCR (AMPLICOR CT PCR; Roche Molecular Systems, Branchburg, N.J.) for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in 587 women. HC II CT-ID identified 62 of 65 confirmed C. trachomatis-positive patients (sensitivity of 95.4%) and was negative for 517 of 522 patients who were negative by culture and PCR (specificity of 99.0%). Twelve of the 65 confirmed positive patients were negative by culture but were identified by both HC II CT-ID and PCR (sensitivity of culture was 81.5% [P < 0.01]). In comparison, PCR detected 59 of 65 positive specimens (sensitivity of 90.8%) and had a specificity of 99.6% (520 of 522). These results demonstrate that the Digene HC II CT-ID test is a highly sensitive and specific assay for the detection ofC. trachomatis infection in endocervical specimens.
The Environmental Concern in Thailand

Abstract This study presents a survey of the environmental concern based on 271 Thai adults in Bangkok, using the Socially Responsible Consumption Behavior Scale of Antil and Bennett (1979). Mean scores and standard deviations for each item and for the whole scale are reported. The results indicate that respondents are moderate on environmental concern. There is no difference between males and females. Older respondents exhibit more concern than do younger ones on 18 out of 40 items. Lower educated respondents show more concern than do higher educated ones on a few items. The managerial implications of the environmental concern in Thailand are discussed.
Class II fusion protein of alphaviruses drives membrane fusion through the same pathway as class I proteins

Viral fusion proteins of classes I and II differ radically in their initial structures but refold toward similar conformations upon activation. Do fusion pathways mediated by alphavirus E1 and influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) that exemplify classes II and I differ to reflect the difference in their initial conformations, or concur to reflect the similarity in the final conformations? Here, we dissected the pathway of low pH–triggered E1-mediated cell–cell fusion by reducing the numbers of activated E1 proteins and by blocking different fusion stages with specific inhibitors. The discovered progression from transient hemifusion to small, and then expanding, fusion pores upon an increase in the number of activated fusion proteins parallels that established for HA-mediated fusion. We conclude that proteins as different as E1 and HA drive fusion through strikingly similar membrane intermediates, with the most energy-intensive stages following rather than preceding hemifusion. We propose that fusion reactions catalyzed by all proteins of both classes follow a similar pathway.
The E-learning Cabaret: do's and don'ts in E-Learning Design

Westera, W. (2006). The E-Learning Cabaret: do's and don'ts in E-Learning Design. Book of Abstracts, 12th International Conference on Technology Supported Learning & Teaching, Online Educa Berlin (pp. 169-171). November, 29-December, 1, 2006, Berlin, Germany: ICWE-GmbH.
Polska adaptacja testu Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) – TIPI-PL – wersja standardowa i internetowa

Najpopularniejszą krotką metodą pomiaru cech „Wielkiej Piątki” jest „Ten-Item Personality Inventory” (TIPI; Gosling, Rentfrow, Swann Jr., 2003). Efektem zaprezentowanych prac jest powstanie polskiej wersji inwentarza osobowości - TIPI-PL - w dwoch wersjach – papierowej i internetowej.
Text Entry on Tiny QWERTY Soft Keyboards

The advent of wearables (e.g., smartwatches, smartglasses, and digital jewelry) anticipates the need for text entry methods on very small devices. We conduct fundamental research on this topic using 3 qwerty-based soft keyboards for 3 different screen sizes, motivated by the extensive training that users have with qwerty keyboards. In addition to ZoomBoard (a soft keyboard for diminutive screens), we propose a callout-based soft keyboard and ZShift, a novel extension of the Shift pointing technique. We conducted a comprehensive user study followed by extensive analyses on performance, usability, and short-term learning. Our results show that different small screen sizes demand different types of assistance. In general, manufacturers can benefit from these findings by selecting an appropriate qwerty soft keyboard for their devices. Ultimately, this work provides designers, researchers, and practitioners with new understanding of qwerty soft keyboard design space and its scalability for tiny touchscreens.
Quantum Systems as results of Geometric Evolutions

In the framework of deterministic finslerian models, a mechanism producing dissipative dynamics at the Planck scale is introduced. It is based on a geometric evolution from Finsler to Riemann structures defined in ${\bf TM}$. Quantum states are generated and interpreted as equivalence classes, composed by the configurations that evolve through an internal dynamics, to the same final state. The existence of an hermitian scalar product in an associated linear space is discussed and related with the quantum pre-Hilbert space. This hermitian product emerges from geometric and statistical considerations. Our scheme recovers the main ingredients of the usual Quantum Mechanics. Several testable consequences of our scheme are discussed and compared with usual Quantum Mechanics. A tentative solution of the cosmological constant problem is proposed, as well as a mechanism for the absence of quantum interferences at classical scales.
An Efficient and Lightweight Intrusion Detection Mechanism for Service-Oriented Vehicular Networks

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are wireless networks that provide high-rate data communication among moving vehicles and between the vehicles and the road-side units. VANETs are considered as the main wireless communication platforms for the intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Service-oriented vehicular networks are special categories for VANETs that support diverse infrastructure-based commercial infotainment services including, for instance, Internet access, real-time traffic monitoring and management, video streaming. Security is a fundamental issue for these service networks due to the relevant business information handled in these networks. In this paper, we design and implement an efficient and light-weight intrusion detection mechanism, called efficient and light-weight intrusion detection mechanism for vehicular network (ELIDV) that aims to protect the network against three kinds of attacks: denial of service (DoS), integrity target, and false alert's generation. ELIDV is based on a set of rules that detects malicious vehicles promptly and with high accuracy. We present the performance analysis of our detection mechanism using NS-3 simulator. Our simulation results show that ELIDV exhibits a high-level security in terms of highly accurate detection rate (detection rate more than 97%), low false positive rate (close to 1%), and exhibits a lower overhead compared to contemporary frameworks.
FlowR: aspect oriented programming for information flow control in ruby

This paper reports on our experience with providing Information Flow Control (IFC) as a library. Our aim was to support the use of an unmodified Platform as a Service (PaaS) cloud infrastructure by IFC-aware web applications. We discuss how Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) overcomes the limitations of RubyTrack, our first approach. Although use of AOP has been mentioned as a possibility in past IFC literature we believe this paper to be the first illustration of how such an implementation can be attempted. We discuss how we built FlowR (Information Flow Control for Ruby), a library extending Ruby to provide IFC primitives using AOP via the Aquarium open source library. Previous attempts at providing IFC as a language extension required either modification of an interpreter or significant code rewriting. FlowR provides a strong separation between functional implementation and security constraints which supports easier development and maintenance; we illustrate with practical examples. In addition, we provide new primitives to describe IFC constraints on objects, classes and methods that, to our knowledge, are not present in related work and take full advantage of an object oriented language (OO language). The experience reported here makes us confident that the techniques we use for Ruby can be applied to provide IFC for any Object Oriented Program (OOP) whose implementation language has an AOP library.
Know thy student! Combining learning analytics and critical reflections to develop a targeted intervention for promoting self-regulated learning

It is well established that a student’s capacity to regulate his or her own learning is a key determinant of academic success, suggesting that interventions targeting improvements in self-regulation will have a positive impact on academic performance. However, to evaluate the success of such interventions, the self-regulatory characteristics of students need to be established. This paper examines the self-regulatory characteristics of a cohort of second-year allied health students, using the evaluation of responses to “meta-learning” assessment tasks supported by access data from the learning management system. Students primarily report using learning strategies from the performance and self-reflection phases. Although few reported using forethought strategies, access to preparatory course materials suggests that these were under-reported. Students who reported reviewing lectures as a learning strategy were more likely to access the online lecture recordings; however, higher access was associated with poorer academic performance. Cluster analysis of all available data showed high academic performance was positively associated with early submission of intra-semester assessment tasks but negatively associated with both use of, and reported of use of lecture recordings by students. These findings suggest that early submission of intra-semester assessment may be useful as a predictor of academic achievement.