Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolution of the Selfing Syndrome in Arabis alpina (Brassicaceae)

Introduction The transition from cross-fertilisation (outcrossing) to self-fertilisation (selfing) frequently coincides with changes towards a floral morphology that optimises self-pollination, the selfing syndrome. Population genetic studies have reported the existence of both outcrossing and selfing populations in Arabis alpina (Brassicaceae), which is an emerging model species for studying the molecular basis of perenniality and local adaptation. It is unknown whether its selfing populations have evolved a selfing syndrome. Methods Using macro-photography, microscopy and automated cell counting, we compared floral syndromes (size, herkogamy, pollen and ovule numbers) between three outcrossing populations from the Apuan Alps and three selfing populations from the Western and Central Alps (Maritime Alps and Dolomites). In addition, we genotyped the plants for 12 microsatellite loci to confirm previous measures of diversity and inbreeding coefficients based on allozymes, and performed Bayesian clustering. Results and Discussion Plants from the three selfing populations had markedly smaller flowers, less herkogamy and lower pollen production than plants from the three outcrossing populations, whereas pistil length and ovule number have remained constant. Compared to allozymes, microsatellite variation was higher, but revealed similar patterns of low diversity and high Fis in selfing populations. Bayesian clustering revealed two clusters. The first cluster contained the three outcrossing populations from the Apuan Alps, the second contained the three selfing populations from the Maritime Alps and Dolomites. Conclusion We conclude that in comparison to three outcrossing populations, three populations with high selfing rates are characterised by a flower morphology that is closer to the selfing syndrome. The presence of outcrossing and selfing floral syndromes within a single species will facilitate unravelling the genetic basis of the selfing syndrome, and addressing which selective forces drive its evolution.
Bis(triethanolamine)nickel(II) sulfate

The title compound, [Ni(C6H15NO3)2]SO4, contains two triethanolamine (TEA) ligands bound to an Ni2+ metal centre, which lies on a crystallographic inversion centre, and one sulfate anion located on a twofold rotation axis such that the asymmetric unit contains one-half molecule of the cation and of the anion. The triethanolamine ligands coordinate via each axial N atom and two of the three O atoms, while the third arm of the ligand has the hydroxyl group pointing away from the metal centre. The sulfate anions are hydrogen bonded to the coordinated hydroxyl groups and also to the free arm, forming a two-dimensional supramolecular hydrogen-bonded network expanding parallel to (010).
Bridging the digital divide: the impact of computer training, internet, and email use on levels of cognition, depression, and social functioning in older adults

— In this quasi-experimental study, we examined the impact of computer training and access to Internet and e-mail on levels of depression, social isolation, and cognition in long-term care (LTC) residents aged 55 or greater. The study population consisted of 23 LTC residents in two counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. Inclusion criteria included a Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) [1] score of 24 or greater, the ability to read a computer screen and use an input device. Pre-test post-test measures included the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form [2], and SF-36 Short-Form Survey [3]. Subjects received technology training using the ACTION curriculum [4]. Generations Online, a software tool designed specifically for elders, was used for email and Internet searches [5]. Using repeated measures t-test on square root transformations of pre and post GDS-SF [2] scores the researcher detected no significant difference in depression following the intervention (M (Pre) = 1.347; M (Post) = 1.449; t = -. 672, p = . 512). Pre and post SF subscale scores showed no significant difference in social functioning following the intervention (M (Pre) = 89.8438; M (Post) = 89.8438). Repeated measures t-test on original MMSE [1] scale scores pre and post intervention showed no significant differences in cognition (M (Pre) = 28.56 ; M (Post) = 28.06 ; t = 0.696, p = . 497). There was a high degree of skew in some of the pre-test, post-test responses within the SF-36[3] measures. Square root and inverse transformations did not completely correct the skew with all measures. A review of the raw data showed that subjects had low levels of depression or no depression at baseline. A one-way ANOVA of GDS-SF [2] scores by number of training sessions detected a significant difference between groups (interaction) on both pre and post intervention scores (F (Pre) = 12.83, p = . 001; F (Post) = 8.22; p = . 005). This finding suggests that increasing
Recruited inflammatory monocytes stimulate antiviral Th1 immunity in infected tissue

Monocytes patrol various tissues for signs of infection and inflammation. Inflammatory monocytes enter peripheral tissues at sites of microbial infection and differentiate into dendritic cells and macrophages. Here, we examined the importance of monocytes in primary mucosal infection with herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), and demonstrate that monocyte-derived APCs are required to elicit IFN-γ secretion from effector Th1 cells to mediate antiviral protection. However, monocyte-derived APCs were dispensable for the generation of Th1 immunity and for the restimulation of memory Th1 cells during secondary viral challenge. These results demonstrate that distinct APC subsets are dedicated for CD4 T cell priming, elicitation, and memory recall responses to a given viral pathogen within the same mucosal tissue and reveal a specialized role for monocyte-derived APCs in the emergency response to infection.
Structure and Correlates of the German Version of the Brief UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scales

The article proposes a shortened German version of the UPPS impulsive behavior scales. In Study 1, 149 high-school students completed the UPPS questionnaire, a Big-Five questionnaire, additional established self-report scales to measure conscientiousness and impulsivity, as well as tests of working memory capacity, reasoning, and clerical speed. Measurement models were applied to the full translated UPPS scales using confirmatory factor analysis. A satisfactory measurement model could be established only by removing many of the initial items. The remaining items correlated as expected with other self-report and ability measures: Substantial correlations with impulsivity and conscientiousness contrasted with zero correlations with working memory and reasoning ability. The association between impulsivity factors and perceptual speed was primarily a result of the number of solved items rather than the number of mistakes in the speed tasks. In Study 2 the reduced item set from Study 1 was administered to 246 .
Understanding Adult Learners Amidst Societal Crisis: Learning and Griefin Tandem

The tragedy of September 1 1 , 200 1 , was felt deeply across the United States and the world. Since that terrible day, the media has explored the impact that these events have had on national and global economics, politics, international relations, and the survivors. But what does 9/1 1 mean for learners in college classrooms? What can educational institutions and educators learn about the needs of adult learners during times of crisis like these so we can be better prepared for current and future response? Given the way that many people's views changed regarding our country's safety, security, and vulnerability, and given our vast and deeply prolonged grief, could the theory and research of adult development and learning offer learners insight into their experiences or help them cope? In this article, I examine adult learners' needs and experiences in times of emotional trauma by studying the experiences of 19 adult education graduate students in New York City. Learners participated by answering survey questions, joining in small group discussions, and responding to follow-up surveys. The resulting data reveal how we may better understand learners and show that educational accountability might be needed in such contexts. This research uses the frameworks of both transformational learning and grief/bereavement to help learners articulate their process, perspective, and reorganization in coping with the crisis. Background
Mast Cell Degranulation RI-Mediated Granule Translocation and ε Gab 2 , via PI-3 K , Regulates ARF 1 in

Mast cells are major players in allergic responses. IgE-dependent activation through Fc«R leads to degranulation and cytokine production, both of which require Gab2. To clarify how the signals diverge at Gab2, we established Gab2 knock-in mice that express Gab2 mutated at either the PI3K or SH2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 (SHP2) binding sites. Examination of these mutants showed that both binding sites were required for the degranulation and anaphylaxis response but not for cytokine production or contact hypersensitivity. Furthermore, the PI3K, but not the SHP2, binding site was important for granule translocation during degranulation. We also identified a small GTPase, ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF)1, as the downstream target of PI3K that regulates granule translocation. Fc«RI stimulation induced ARF1 activation, and this response was dependent on Fyn and the PI3K binding site of Gab2. ARF1 activity was required for Fc«RI-mediated granule translocation. These data indicated that Fyn/Gab2/PI3K/ARF1-mediated signaling is specifically involved in granule translocation and the anaphylaxis response. M ast cells are key effector cells in immune responses, including allergic disorders and inflammatory diseases (1–3). The IgE-dependent activation of mast cells leads them to secrete three classes of mediators. The first are preformed mediators stored in the granules, which are secreted via the degranulation of activated cells. The second mediators are cytokines and chemokines, which must be newly synthesized by the mast cells and, therefore, are secreted later than the preformed mediators. The third class is also synthesized de novo and consists of lipid mediators, such as prostaglandin D2 and leukotriene C4. These classes of mediators contribute to mast cell-dependent biological events. However, it is unclear how these distinct mast cell responses are differentially controlled. IgE activates mast cells through its receptor, FcεRI. FcεRI-mediated signaling is initiated through the phosphorylation of ITAMs in the tails of the FcεRI b and g subunits, which is carried out by Src family protein tyrosine kinases. The tyrosine-phospho-rylated ITAMs recruit Syk kinase, which, together with the activated receptor-proximal Src protein tyrosine kinases, such as Fyn and Lyn, mediates the phosphorylation and consequent reorganization of scaffolding proteins at the activated FcεRI complex (4). Early signaling induces the activation of downstream enzymes, such as PI3K and protein kinase C, and leads to mast cell degranulation via exocytosis. Gab2 is a member of the Gab family of adaptor proteins and contains binding sites for signaling molecules, such as SH2 domain containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 (SHP2) and PI3K (5–9). Many …
Expert-Novice Differences in Memory, Abstraction, and Reasoning in the Domain of Literature

In this study, I explore the information processing abilities associated with expertise in literature. Literary experts were superior to novices in gist level recall, the extraction of interpretations, and the breadth of aspects addressed of literary texts but not of a scientific text. Literary experts also surpassed novices in reasoning about literary texts: They generated arguments with greater hierarchical depth and made more complex comparisons between texts. Experts appeared to form composite representations of literary texts, consisting of a basic novice-like representation augmented by a rich derived representation. The convergence of evidence from a variety of tasks indicates that literary experts' extended experience has led to the development of a knowledge base organized by highly abstract structures that enhance experts' memory, analysis, and reasoning within their domain.
An Iterative Graph-Based Generic Single and Multi Document Summarization Approach Using Semantic Role Labeling and Wikipedia Concepts

This paper proposes an innovative graph-based text summarization model for generic single and multi-document summarization. The approach involves four unique processing stages: parsing sentences semantically using Semantic Role Labeling (SRL), grouping semantic arguments while matching semantic roles to Wikipedia concepts, constructing a weighted semantic graph for each document and linking its sentences (nodes) through the semantic relatedness of the Wikipedia concepts. An iterative ranking algorithm is then applied to the document graphs to extract the most important sentences deemed as the summary. The empirical evaluation of the proposed summarization model on a standard dataset from the Document Understanding Conference (DUC) showed the effectiveness of the approach which outperformed the baseline comparators in terms of ROUGE scores.
Medicalization of unemployment: individualizing social issues as personal problems in the Swedish welfare state

This article reports qualitative data on how the Swedish Public Employment Service classifies unemployed individuals as ‘occupationally disabled’ in order to transfer them to various labour market programmes.The article draws on a framework of medicalization, arguing that the individualization of the social issue of unemployment into a personal trouble of disability is a neglected yet important phenomenon that has interesting implications for theory and policy. By classifying some people as disabled in order to explain their unemployment, medicalization can be seen as an important yet so far neglected mechanism in understanding how this individualizing enterprise comes about. It is concluded that by medicalizing unemployment, the target for society’s intervention to fight the spectre of unemployment is primarily individuals’ personal troubles rather than any social issues.
Management of Barrett's esophagus: a national study of practice patterns and their cost implications

OBJECTIVE:The optimal management of Barrett's esophagus (BE) is controversial. Little is known about current practice patterns or associated direct medical costs.METHODS:In a national cross-sectional survey, we asked a random sample of gastroenterologists how they would manage patients with BE and various degrees of dysplasia. We used logistic regression to identify factors associated with so-called “frequent” (at least every 12 months) surveillance. We calculated direct medical costs using Medicare payments and population-based estimates of the number of BE patients under surveillance.RESULTS:Approximately 50% of 555 gastroenterologists responded. More than 96% of respondents recommended endoscopic surveillance for BE. For BE without dysplasia, 30% would perform frequent surveillance; this was the case particularly gastroenterologists older than age 45 yr (odds ratio = 1.91, p= 0.038) or those receiving primarily fee-for-service reimbursement (odds ratio = 2.57, p= 0.004). For BE with low-grade dysplasia, the frequency of endoscopy was highly variable (range, 1–24 months). For BE with high-grade dysplasia, 73% of gastroenterologists recommended esophagectomy and the remainder recommended endoscopic surveillance. Approximately 95% of the gastroenterologists who recommended surveillance for high-grade dysplasia, however, were not in agreement with recommended protocols. We estimated the national annual expenditure for surveillance endoscopy every 24 months for BE without dysplasia to be at least $22 million. Increase in surveillance intensity from low frequency (every 36 months) to high frequency (every 12 months) strategies would escalate costs by $29 million annually.CONCLUSIONS:Physician age and reimbursement influence BE surveillance practice, suggesting the influence of nonclinical factors on clinical decisionmaking. The majority of clinicians who would recommend surveillance for high-grade dysplasia may not be using an appropriately aggressive strategy. Variations in surveillance strategies can have large cost implications.
A novel routing metric for multi-hop cooperative wireless networks

In cooperative wireless networks, the source node transmits the packets to its destination with the help from the cooperative nodes. However, existing routing metrics in the literature do not take into account the cooperative gain in choosing the next hop in a multi-hop network. In this paper, we propose a new routing metric that accounts for the potential cooperative gain a candidate next hop may receive from its neighbors. As such, a more efficient route selection can be done for better end-to-end performance. We call the proposed routing metric, Expected Transmission Time with Cooperation, and show that it outperforms hop count as a routing metric in terms of end-to-end transmission time (packet delay).
oStream: asynchronous streaming multicast in application-layer overlay networks

Although initially proposed as the deployable alternative to Internet protocol multicast, the application-layer overlay network actually revolutionizes the way network applications can be built, since each overlay node is an end host and is able to carry out more functions than simply forwarding packets. The paper addresses the on-demand media distribution problem in the context of an overlay network. We take advantage of the strong buffering capabilities of end hosts, and propose a novel overlay multicast strategy, oStream. We have performed extensive analysis and performance evaluation with respect to the scalability and the efficiency of oStream. With respect to the required server bandwidth, we show that oStream defeats the theoretical lower bound of traditional multicast-based approaches, under both sequential and nonsequential stream access patterns. oStream is also robust against bursty requests. With respect to bandwidth consumption on the backbone network, we show that the benefit introduced by oStream overshadows the topological inefficiency (e.g., link stress and stretch) introduced by using application-layer multicast.
An empirical study on the role of context factors in employees' commitment to change

The study attempts to address the gap of exploring the possible antecedents of employees' commitment to change and its three dimensions. The role of context factors – participation in decision making, quality of communication, trust in management and history of change – are tested on overall commitment to change and also on its three dimensions – affective, continuance and normative commitment to change. Data were collected via survey from employees who have been part of major transformational changes such as restructuring, merger and acquisition from various organisations across manufacturing and IT sectors. A total of 305 responses were obtained and the hypothesised relationships were tested using multiple regression analysis. Among the context factors, participation in decision making was found to be a significant predictor, whereas quality of communication was found to be insignificant. Hence while implementing the change process, employees should be actively involved in it rather than being just informed.
The NEO Five-Factor Inventory: Latent Structure and Relationships With Dimensions of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in a Large Clinical Sample

The present study evaluated the latent structure of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO FFI) and relations between the five-factor model (FFM) of personality and dimensions of DSM-IV anxiety and depressive disorders (panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], obsessive—compulsive disorder, social phobia [SOC], major depressive disorder [MDD]) in a large sample of outpatients (N = 1,980). Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was used to show that a five-factor solution provided acceptable model fit, albeit with some poorly functioning items. Neuroticism demonstrated significant positive associations with all but one of the disorder constructs whereas Extraversion was inversely related to SOC and MDD. Conscientiousness was inversely related to MDD but demonstrated a positive relationship with GAD. Results are discussed in regard to potential revisions to the NEO FFI, the evaluation of other NEO instruments using ESEM, and clinical implications of structural paths between FFM domains and specific emotional disorders.
The performance of pathogenic bacterial phytosensing transgenic tobacco in the field.

Phytosensors are useful for rapid-on-the-plant detection of contaminants and agents that cause plant stress. Previously, we produced a series of plant pathogen-inducible synthetic promoters fused to an orange fluorescent protein (OFP) reporter gene and transformed them into tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana plants; in these transgenic lines, an OFP signal is expressed commensurate with the presence of plant pathogens. We report here the results of 2 years of field experiments using a subset of these bacterial phytosensing tobacco plants. Time-course analysis of field-grown phytosensors showed that a subset of plants responded predictably to treatments with Pseudomonas phytopathogens. There was a twofold induction in the OFP fluorescence driven by two distinct salicylic acid-responsive synthetic promoters, 4 × PR1 and 4 × SARE. Most notably, transgenic plants containing 4 × PR1 displayed the earliest and highest OFP induction at 48 and 72 h postinoculation (h p.i.) upon inoculation with two phytopathogens Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato and P. syringae pv. tabaci, respectively. These results demonstrate transgenic tobacco harbouring a synthetic inducible promoter-driven OFP could be used to facilitate monitoring and early-warning reporting of phytopathogen infections in agricultural fields.
Religious and Secular Belief Systems in Social Work: A Survey of Israeli Social Work Professionals

In this study, the authors examined the impact of religiosity on social workers' ranking of ethical principles. The findings indicate that religiosity may be a distinguishing variable in some, but not all, contexts of ethical decision making in social work practice. The religiosity of religious social workers may influence their ethical decision making in situations with religious connotations. Moreover, religious social workers' ethical hierarchies seem to be more consistent both in different contexts and in comparison to those of secular social workers. The prospect that social workers may be influenced in some situations by a competing code of rules in conflict with the professional code of ethics emphasizes the need for social workers' awareness of their own belief system.
Managers, spectators and citizens: where does ‘theory’ come from in action research?

Abstract The importance of the question in the article title (where does ‘theory’ come from in action research? ) is that it brings into focus the relationship between higher education institutions and the community (individuals and organisations) they serve. Academic conceptions of theory tend to be prescriptive – theory defining the meaning of action – and managerial conceptions of theory try to take advantage of this (‘evidence-based practice’), but are bound to fail because the nature of social science theory is such that it cannot sustain claims to prescribe action. Theory in an action research process is: (1) a personal, improvised selection of resources; (2) reflexive and multi-disciplinary; (3) speculation on the hypothetical meanings of the immediately observable; and (4) integration of the ideas required for practical action. In this way, action research defines theory as a necessary process for the role of ‘citizens’ in a democracy.