Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Influences on Maternal Care

The basis of social evolution in mammals is the mother‐offspring relationship. It is also the primary and most important instance of indirect genetic effects, where genetic variation in one individual affects phenotypic variation among others. This relationship is so important in mammals that often the major factor determining the life or death of newborns is the environment provided by their mother. Variations in these environments can be due to variations in maternal genotypes. In our work with the intercross of two mouse inbred strains, LG/J and SM/J, we uncovered a very severe variation in maternal performance. These females failed to nurture their offspring and showed abnormal maternal behaviors leading to loss of their litter. Rather than this being due to a single gene variant as in knockout mice, we uncovered a complex genetic basis for this trait. The effects of genes on maternal performance are entirely context dependent in our cross. They depend on the alleles present at the same or other epistatically interacting loci. Genomic locations identified in this study include locations of candidate genes whose knockouts displayed similar aberrant maternal behavior. Behaviors significantly associated with maternal performance in this study include suckling, nest building, placentophagia, pup grooming, and retrieval of pups after disturbance.
Novel approach in speaker identification using support vector machines

This paper presents a novel approach on speaker identification using support vector machines (SVMs). To improve the performance of the identification, an extra training set is applied to train a discrete density hidden markov model (HMM). In testing session, first, the multi-class-SVM classifies each feature vector. Then, the HMM model is applied to make a decision with the classes sequence. HMM-based technique outperforms the conventional methods, especially when there are not enough training or testing data. While the proposed method doesnpsilat induce much computational complexities, it reduces the identification error rates up to 57.14%.
Power as the Integration of Information in a Signaling Network

Understanding the development of power structure is important in understanding the development of social structure. Power is predictive of social behaviors and affects the costs and benefits of living in a social group. We explore how individuals in a primate society use a network of subordination signals to determine the power structure of their group in hopes of understanding how this power structure arises. To do this, we develop two formalisms to measure the power distribution of the population. In addition, we are interested in how much and what kind of information is necessary for this process.
I. Adolescent problem gambling: Developing a gambling expectancy instrument

Positive and negative outcome expectancies have been found to play a significant role in adolescents' decisions to engage in drug and alcohol use. In light of the parallel risk and protective factors among high-risk behaviors, youth gambling outcome expectancies were explored through the development of the 23-item Gambling Expectancy Questionnaire (GEQ) using a sample of 1,013 students aged 12 to 18. The resulting GEQ consists of three positive expectancy scales (enjoyment/arousal, self-enhancement, money) and two negative expectancy scales (overinvolvement, emotional impact). The potential utility of this scale is discussed.
A Survey of Mobile Device Virtualization

Recent growth in the processing and memory resources of mobile devices has fueled research within the field of mobile virtualization. Mobile virtualization enables multiple persona on a single mobile device by hosting heterogeneous operating systems (OSs) concurrently. However, adding a virtualization layer to resource-constrained mobile devices with real-time requirements can lead to intolerable performance overheads. Hardware virtualization extensions that support efficient virtualization have been incorporated in recent mobile processors. Prior to hardware virtualization extensions, virtualization techniques that are enabled by performance prohibitive and resource consuming software were adopted for mobile devices. Moreover, mobile virtualization solutions lack standard procedures for device component sharing and interfacing between multiple OSSs. The objective of this article is to survey software- and hardware-based mobile virtualization techniques in light of the recent advancements fueled by the hardware support for mobile virtualization. Challenges and issues faced in virtualization of CPU, memory, I/O, interrupt, and network interfaces are highlighted. Moreover, various performance parameters are presented in a detailed comparative analysis to quantify the efficiency of mobile virtualization techniques and solutions.
EARLY EVOLUTION OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM AND POLYGYNY IN PINNIPEDIA

Sexual selection is one of the earliest areas of interest in evolutionary biology. And yet, the evolutionary history of sexually dimorphic traits remains poorly characterized for most vertebrate lineages. Here, we report on evidence for the early evolution of dimorphism within a model mammal group, the pinnipeds. Pinnipeds show a range of sexual dimorphism and mating systems that span the extremes of modern mammals, from monomorphic taxa with isolated and dispersed mating to extreme size dimorphism with highly ordered polygynous harem systems. In addition, the degree of dimorphism in pinnipeds is closely tied to mating system, with strongly dimorphic taxa always exhibiting a polygynous system, and more monomorphic taxa possessing weakly polygynous systems. We perform a comparative morphological description, and provide evidence of extreme sexual dimorphism (similar to sea lions), in the Miocene‐aged basal pinniped taxon Enaliarctos emlongi. Using a geometric morphometric approach and combining both modern and fossil taxa we show a close correlation between mating system and sex‐related cranial dimorphism, and also reconstruct the ancestral mating system of extant pinnipeds as highly polygynous. The results suggest that sexual dimorphism and extreme polygyny in pinnipeds arose by 27 Ma, in association with changing climatic conditions.
Combining Next Generation Sequencing with Bulked Segregant Analysis to Fine Map a Stem Moisture Locus in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)

Sorghum is one of the most promising bioenergy crops. Stem juice yield, together with stem sugar concentration, determines sugar yield in sweet sorghum. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) is a gene mapping technique for identifying genomic regions containing genetic loci affecting a trait of interest that when combined with deep sequencing could effectively accelerate the gene mapping process. In this study, a dry stem sorghum landrace was characterized and the stem water controlling locus, qSW6, was fine mapped using QTL analysis and the combined BSA and deep sequencing technologies. Results showed that: (i) In sorghum variety Jiliang 2, stem water content was around 80% before flowering stage. It dropped to 75% during grain filling with little difference between different internodes. In landrace G21, stem water content keeps dropping after the flag leaf stage. The drop from 71% at flowering time progressed to 60% at grain filling time. Large differences exist between different internodes with the lowest (51%) at the 7th and 8th internodes at dough stage. (ii) A quantitative trait locus (QTL) controlling stem water content mapped on chromosome 6 between SSR markers Ch6-2 and gpsb069 explained about 34.7-56.9% of the phenotypic variation for the 5th to 10th internodes, respectively. (iii) BSA and deep sequencing analysis narrowed the associated region to 339 kb containing 38 putative genes. The results could help reveal molecular mechanisms underlying juice yield of sorghum and thus to improve total sugar yield.
An improvement of the rational approximation of the fractional operatorsα

In this paper we propose an improvement of the rational approximation of continuous fractional order differentiators and integrators of typesα obtained using direct discretization approach of power series expansion-signal modeling technique by using a new second order s-to-z transform obtained by inversion and stabilizing the digital integrator designed from conventional Simpson integrator and fractional delay filter. The obtained new IIR type digital fractional order differentiators have much better frequency characteristic as compared to the Al-Alaoui operator based approximations. Furthermore, this paper compares the approximations obtained using PSE-truncation method and those obtained using PSE-modeling, the later best approximatesα.
Editor's Comments: Why Theory?

The article considers the role of theory in management research. The author notes common criticisms include there is too much theory without empirical backing, or an abundance of theory with scant relevance for practitioners. He responds that theory signals values upon which knowledge is built, it can serve as a means of knowledge accumulation and knowledge abstraction, and it can provide a perspective for viewing the world as it could be. A concern he has about theory in management research, though, is its lack of reflexivity
Facilitating Shared Online Group Learning between Carers, Service Users and Social Work Students

We report on our progress in developing a pilot online group teaching innovation with 14 participants, including five service users and carers, and nine social work students. Enhancing student learning by providing shared educational opportunities between students, service users, and carers can be a challenge to organise but the project demonstrates some success in doing so. The evaluation suggests that even the smallest level of service user and carer involvement can enhance student learning and personal development during social work education and training.
Counsellor interpretations and the occurrence of in-session client change moments in non-dynamic psychotherapies

This study explored the relationship between therapist interpretations and optimal in-session client processes in 20 sessions conducted by exemplary psychotherapists of three different theoretical orientations: Client-Centred Therapy (CCT), Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), and Gestalt/Existential Therapy (GT). The results indicated that interpretations were used with similar frequency across therapeutic approaches, but they were neither superior nor inferior to other interventions in relation to the occurrence of optimal in-session client processes. The results support the notion that interpretation is a commonly used therapist intervention and that different therapies accentuate different aspects of interpretation. Implications for psychotherapy integration are offered and the findings are discussed with reference to theory and clinical practice.
Model-Based Systems in the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry was the first to promote the development of applications of model-based systems technology on a broad scale and, as a result, has produced some of the most advanced prototypes and products. In this article, we illustrate the features and benefits of model-based systems and qualitative modeling by prototypes and application systems that were developed in the automotive industry to support on-board diagnosis, design for diagnosability, and failure modes and effects analysis.
The measure of a man: conceptualizations of masculinity among high-achieving African American male college students.

This study examines within-group alternative conceptualizations of masculinity among African American men on university campuses. Individual interviews were conducted with 32 high-achieving African American male undergraduates at six predominantly White research universities in the Midwest. Findings indicate that unconventional definitions of masculinity when coupled with active campus involvement and leadership in minority student organizations are deemed acceptable by uninvolved undergraduate men and help promote healthy masculine identities for African American male student leaders. Implications and recommendations for university administrators are offered at the end of the article. (authors)
Differentiation as an interactional consequence of routine classroom testing

This paper examines the differentiating or selective function of schooling as constituted in the interactional sequences of routine testing events. An investigation of teacher‐student interaction surrounding the return and review of corrected tests documents repeated displays of students’ differential test performance, suggesting that classroom testing represents a critical activity through which the selection of students into more or less successful groups is interactionally accomplished. The analysis centers on the sequential organization of talk in six test review events and demonstrates how each conversational move can be structured or interpreted to serve the differentiating function of the event. It suggests that the differentiation of both homogeneous and heterogeneous school populations is a necessary by‐product of current testing practices and points to the need for alternative models of assessment.
From Small Groups to Social Networks

The early history of network analysis, currently in great vogue among social scientists, lies in the small group research of the 1940s and 1950s. At that time, social psychologists pursuing the sociometric concerns originating with Jacob Moreno produced imaginative mathematical methods for deciphering the group structure of affective relations. These methods were limited in their application by computational complexity, which imposed drastic limits on the size of the groups to which they could be applied, as well as by the intellectual context in which they arose, the study of small and well-bounded groups. Two developments during the 1960s changed the significance of these methods decisively. One was the realization that a body of mathematics, graph theory, was highly suited for describing the key features of group structures. The other was the introduction of high-speed computers, which suddenly and sharply increased the size of the groups within the scope of mathematical methods.
Modelling the Direct and Indirect Effects of Positive Emotional and Cognitive Traits and States on Social Judgements

It was hypothesised that positive affective states and situational information-processing demands would differentially influence the favourability of social judgements of a target social group. These hypothesised direct effects on social judgements were subsequently incorporated into a broader statetrait model of the social judgement process, whereby direct and indirect effects of personality and cognitive traits, along with positive affective states and information-processing demands (i.e. cognitive state), were also hypothesised to influence social judgements. Three hundred and eight subjects reported their trait levels of introversion-extraversion and need for cognition, and were subsequently induced into an affective state (content, happy, surprise, or neutral) and a cognitive state (heuristic or substantive information processing). Results indicated that study participants who were manipulated into either a content or a happy affect state made more positive judgements about the target group than stud.
Health Care Systems in Transition

Population The population is estimated to be 4.45 million (1999). The natural population growth rate reached 3.4 per 1000 in 1997, a figure well above the average EU levels. The main reasons for this are migration and the rise in average life expectancy. Future trends point to a growing and aging population. Fertility rates stood at 1.8 in 1999, the highest figure within the Scandinavian countries.
Enhancing Thought Suppression with Hypnosis

Abstract Much research indicates that attempts to suppress thoughts lead to increased accessibility of those thoughts, especially when additional cognitive load is present. On the premise that hypnosis may permit more effective management of cognitive load, it was hypothesized that hypnosis may enhance more effective thought suppression. The present research examined whether the obstacle of cognitive load could be bypassed using hypnosis to facilitate successful thought suppression. Thirty-nine high and 40 low hypnotizable participants were hypnotized and received either a suppression instruction or no instruction for a memory of an embarrassing experience and subsequently completed a sentence-unscrambling task that indexed accessibility of embarrassing thoughts. Whereas lows instructed to suppress displayed a delayed increase in suppressed thoughts, highs did not. These findings support the proposition that hypnosis facilitates thought suppression.
Fear of Crime in Relation to Three Exterior Site Features

This article examines fear of crime in relation to exterior site features on a college campus. The authors propose and test a theoretical model that posits that places that afford offenders refuge, and victims limited prospect and escape, will be seen as unsafe. In three studies, the authors observed behavior, obtained responses to site plans and on-site responses to perceptions of safety in relation to exterior campus areas that varied in prospect, refuge, and escape. The findings confirmed that fear of crime was highest in areas with refuge for potential offenders and low prospect and escape for potential victims. In places such as campuses, which have pronounced fear of crime, designs that manipulate prospect, refuge, and escape could reduce the fear of crime, as well as opportunities for crime.
Force generation by a dynamic Z-ring in Escherichia coli cell division

FtsZ, a bacterial homologue of tubulin, plays a central role in bacterial cell division. It is the first of many proteins recruited to the division site to form the Z-ring, a dynamic structure that recycles on the time scale of seconds and is required for division to proceed. FtsZ has been recently shown to form rings inside tubular liposomes and to constrict the liposome membrane without the presence of other proteins, particularly molecular motors that appear to be absent from the bacterial proteome. Here, we propose a mathematical model for the dynamic turnover of the Z-ring and for its ability to generate a constriction force. Force generation is assumed to derive from GTP hydrolysis, which is known to induce curvature in FtsZ filaments. We find that this transition to a curved state is capable of generating a sufficient force to drive cell-wall invagination in vivo and can also explain the constriction seen in the in vitro liposome experiments. Our observations resolve the question of how FtsZ might accomplish cell division despite the highly dynamic nature of the Z-ring and the lack of molecular motors.
Scrophularia arguta, a widespread annual plant in the Canary Islands: a single recent colonization event or a more complex phylogeographic pattern?

Abstract Many studies have addressed evolution and phylogeography of plant taxa in oceanic islands, but have primarily focused on endemics because of the assumption that in widespread taxa the absence of morphological differentiation between island and mainland populations is due to recent colonization. In this paper, we studied the phylogeography of Scrophularia arguta, a widespread annual species, in an attempt to determine the number and spatiotemporal origins of dispersal events to Canary Islands. Four different regions, ITS and ETS from nDNA and psbA‐trnH and psbJ‐petA from cpDNA, were used to date divergence events within S. arguta lineages and determine the phylogenetic relationships among populations. A haplotype network was obtained to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes. Our results support an ancient origin of S. arguta (Miocene) with expansion and genetic differentiation in the Pliocene coinciding with the aridification of northern Africa and the formation of the Mediterranean climate. Indeed, results indicate for Canary Islands three different events of colonization, including two ancient events that probably happened in the Pliocene and have originated the genetically most divergent populations into this species and, interestingly, a recent third event of colonization of Gran Canaria from mainland instead from the closest islands (Tenerife or Fuerteventura). In spite of the great genetic divergence among populations, it has not implied any morphological variation. Our work highlights the importance of nonendemic species to the genetic richness and conservation of island flora and the significance of the island populations of widespread taxa in the global biodiversity.
A Core Metabolic Enzyme Mediates Resistance to Phosphine Gas

Dissecting Phosphine Resistance Worldwide populations of pest insects—such as the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica, and the rust-red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum—have become highly resistant to the fumigant phosphine, providing a potential threat to global food security. The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans is vulnerable to phosphine, but phosphine-resistant strains are known. Schlipalius et al. (p. 807) show that mutations in the delta-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (dld-1) genes both give rise to phosphine resistance in C. elegans. Phosphine resistance mutants in R. dominica, and T. castaneum also map to the dld-1 gene, which codes for a core metabolic enzyme. These mutants are, however, hypersensitive to arsenic, mimics of which might thus synergize with phosphine. Mutations in a lipoic acid metabolism enzyme confer resistance to phosphine but also result in sensitivity to arsenite. Phosphine is a small redox-active gas that is used to protect global grain reserves, which are threatened by the emergence of phosphine resistance in pest insects. We find that polymorphisms responsible for genetic resistance cluster around the redox-active catalytic disulfide or the dimerization interface of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD) in insects (Rhyzopertha dominica and Tribolium castaneum) and nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans). DLD is a core metabolic enzyme representing a new class of resistance factor for a redox-active metabolic toxin. It participates in four key steps of core metabolism, and metabolite profiles indicate that phosphine exposure in mutant and wild-type animals affects these steps differently. Mutation of DLD in C. elegans increases arsenite sensitivity. This specific vulnerability may be exploited to control phosphine-resistant insects and safeguard food security.