Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phylogenies and the Comparative Method in Animal Behaviour

1. Phylogenetics in behavior 2. The statistical analysis of interspecific data 3. How to study comparative methods for discrete characters 4. The mechanistic bases of behavioral evolution 5. Geographic variation in behavior 6. Phylogenetic liability and rates of phenotypic evolution 7. Comparing behavioral and morphological characters as indicators of phylogeny 8. The phylogenetic content of avian courtship display and song evolution 9. Comparative analysis of the origins and losses of eusociality 10. Using comparative approaches to integrate behavior and population biology 11. Phylogenetic interpretations of primate socioecology 12. Using cladistic analysis of comparative data to reconstruct the evolution of cognitive development in hominids
Project management in higher education: a grounded theory case study

Purpose This paper analyzes project and portfolio management within a major research library, while it was undergoing a complete physical renovation and reinvention of programs and services. This is a complex, almost 100-million-dollar undertaking that implemented a project management (PM) methodology known as portfolio management. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the implementation and management of this process and provide a brief overview on project and portfolio management as a discipline. Additionally, it provides strengths and weaknesses as well as recommendations when implementing PM. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses a qualitative research methodology case study with a theoretical foundation of inductive grounded theory. The case study is based primarily on seven interviews of project managers who are involved with the project. It also uses document analysis to assist in triangulating the findings and provide a contextual overview of a complex process. A number of themes emerged into overall categories and findings. Findings The key takeaways were the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the process. The strengths were improved communication and transparency, improved organization and documentation and formal decision-making process and resource allocation. The weaknesses were the hammer and the nail problem, the tools and paperwork, rigidity and the lack of agility within the process. This study also describes the process in detail and gives recommendations for improving the methods implemented in similar circumstances. Originality/value This paper analyzes strategic management concepts from an empirical grounded theory approach and real-world perspective with key recommendations.
Unmet Support Needs of Informal Caregivers of Older Adults

Unmet Support Needs of Informal Caregivers of Older Adults by Julie A. Smith Hinders MHA, Des Moines University, 2003 BS, Upper Iowa University, 2001 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Health Sciences Walden University February 2019 Abstract Due to projected growth of the 65-and-older population and concerns of an impending care gap, reliance on informal caregivers is expected to increase. Improving support for informal caregivers is viewed as a national priority, yet research related to the unmet support needs of informal caregivers is limited. The purpose of this cross-sectional correlational study was to examine predictive relationships between contextual factorsDue to projected growth of the 65-and-older population and concerns of an impending care gap, reliance on informal caregivers is expected to increase. Improving support for informal caregivers is viewed as a national priority, yet research related to the unmet support needs of informal caregivers is limited. The purpose of this cross-sectional correlational study was to examine predictive relationships between contextual factors (caregiving relationship and type of illness) and environmental factors (rurality) and the unmet support needs (classes, service access, support groups, counseling, and respite) of informal caregivers of older adults. The theoretical framework was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Archival data were drawn from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System optional caregiver module dataset provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Findings from multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that spousal caregivers had 42.7% lower odds than adult child caregivers of reporting unmet support needs related to service access. Dementia caregivers had 2.05 times higher odds of reporting unmet support needs of counseling, 1.31 times higher odds of reporting unmet support needs related to service access, and 1.91 times higher odds of reporting unmet support needs for respite care, relative to other caregivers. Caregivers residing in a suburban county had 28.7% lower odds and caregivers not residing in a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) had 30.5% lower odds of reporting unmet support needs related to service access, relative to caregivers residing in the center city of an MSA. Health care leaders and policymakers may use the findings to distribute resources and tailor interventions to better meet the needs of informal caregivers of older adults. Unmet Support Needs of Informal Caregivers of Older Adults by Julie A. Smith Hinders MHA, Des Moines University, 2003 BS, Upper Iowa University, 2001 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Snoring sounds analysis: automatic detection, higher order statistics, and its application for sleep apnea diagnosis

Snoring is a highly prevalent disorder affecting 20-40% of adult population. Snoring is also a major indicative of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Despite the magnitude of effort, the acoustical properties of snoring in relation to physiological states are not yet known. This thesis explores statistical properties of snoring sounds and their association with OSA. First, an unsupervised technique was developed to automatically extract the snoring sound segments from the lengthy recordings of respiratory sounds. This technique was tested over 5665 snoring sound segments of 30 participants and the detection accuracy of 98.6% was obtained. Second, the relationship between anthropometric parameters of snorers with different degrees of obstruction and their snoring sounds’ statistical characteristics was investigated. Snoring sounds are non-Gaussian in nature; thus second order statistical methods such as power spectral analysis would be inadequate to extract information from snoring sounds. Therefore, higher order statistical features, in addition to the second order ones, were extracted. Third, the variability of snoring sound segments within and between 57 snorers with and without OSA was investigated. It was found that the sound characteristics of non-apneic (when there is no apneic event), hypopneic (when there is
Mass-Elite Linkages and the Future of European Integration

The 2005 French and Dutch referendum campaigns were characterized by an alleged disconnect between proEuropean political elites and Eurosceptic masses. Past evidence regarding elite‐mass linkages in the context of European integration has been conflicting. Whereas some scholars argue that political elites respond to the changing preferences of their electorates, others suggest that party elites cue the mass public through a process of information and persuasion. We contend that these conflicting results stem from the reciprocal nature of elite‐mass linkages and estimate a series of dynamic simultaneous equations models to account for this reverse causation. Using Eurobarometer and expert survey data from 1984‐2002, we find evidence of a dual-process model, whereby party elites both respond to and shape the views of their supporters. We also find that the strength of these results is contingent on several factors, including the type of electoral system, intraparty dissent and voter characteristics.
Vibration Based Damage Detection for Structures of Offshore Wind Energy Plants

The offshore wind industry has been growing significantly in the last years. Consequently, a need of structural health monitoring (SHM) methodologies arises to monitor the expensive structures of offshore wind plants (OWEP) which are often difficult to access. Using the vibration of the plants to extract damage sensitive features is often accompanied by problems due to variations of the dynamical properties with the changing environmental and operational conditions (EOC). So it could happen that the EOCs have the same effect on the features variation as a damage. In order to design adequate SHM algorithms for OWEP monitoring, the paper starts with a discussion of the basic characteristics of excitation sources, vibration and environmental conditions of OWEPs. Subsequently, the theoretical backgrounds of the null space-based damage detection algorithm (NSFD) and one approach for compensation of EOC effects by means of fuzzy-classification techniques are presented. Finally the theory and the algorithms are successfully tested with time series from the OWEP M5000 and with data from a OWEP laboratory model.
A size-based model of the impacts of bottom trawling on benthic community structure

Bottom trawling causes widespread disturbance to the sediments in shallow-shelf seas. The resultant mortality of benthic fauna is strongly size dependent. We empirically demonstrate that beam trawling frequency in the central North Sea had a greater effect on fauna size distribution in a soft sediment benthic community than variables such as sediment particle size and water depth. Accordingly, we simulated the impacts of trawling disturbance on benthos using a model consisting of 37 organism size classes between 1 µg and 140 g wet weight. The model produced a production-biomass versus size relationship consistent with published studies and allowed us to predict the impacts of trawling frequency on benthos size distributions. Outputs were consistent with empirical data; however, at high yet realistic trawling frequencies, the model predicted an extirpation of most macrofauna. Empirical data show that macrofauna persist in many heavily trawled regions; therefore, we suggest that trawling by real fisheries is sufficiently heterogeneous to provide spatial refuges less impacted by trawling. If correct, our analyses suggest that fishery management measures that do not reduce total effort but do lead to effort displacement and spatial homogenization (e.g., temporarily closed areas) may have adverse effects on the systemic persistence of intermediate- and large-sized macrofauna.
Habitat restoration will help some functional plant types persist under climate change in fragmented landscapes

In the next century, global climate change is predicted to have large influences on species' distributions. Much of the research in this area has focused on predicting the areas where conditions will be suitable for the species in future, and thus the potential distribution of the species. However, it is equally important to predict the relative abilities of species to migrate into new suitable areas as conditions shift, while accounting for dynamic processes, such as dispersal, maturation, mortality, and reproduction, as well as landscape characteristics, such as level of habitat fragmentation and connectivity. In this study, we developed a spatially explicit individual‐based model that addresses these factors. As a motivating case study, we based aspects of the model on southwest Australia, a global biodiversity hotspot, but stress that the results obtained are generalizable beyond this region. Using the model, we enhanced current understanding of climate change impacts by investigating how and to what extent the functional traits of plant species affect their ability to move with climate change across landscapes with various levels of fragmentation. We also tested the efficacy of strategic restoration, such as planting corridors to increase connectivity among fragments. We found that even if the landscape is fully intact, only an average of 34.2% of all simulated functional groups had a good chance of successfully tracking climate change. However, our study highlights the power of strategic restoration as a tool for increasing species persistence. Corridors linking fragments increased species persistence rates by up to 24%. The lowest persistence rates were found for trees, a functional group with high dispersal but also long generation times. Our results indicate that for trees intervention techniques, such as assisted migration might be required to prevent species losses.
Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of candidate genes involved in milk production traits in riverine buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Domestic buffalo and cattle are two extremely important livestock species in worldwide agricultural production. Despite some similarities with respect to morphologic and genetic characters, cattle and buffalo are divergent evolutionarily and are classified as different genera within the subfamily of Bovinae (Bos and Bubalus). The present study aimed at partial bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction of bovini tribe (Bovidae, Bovinae) from cDNA of 7 autosomal genes. Divergence times between cattle and buffalo were estimated using a relaxed molecular clock using calibration points based on best estimates of divergence times in the fossil record for Suina-Ruminantia and LaurasiatheriaEuarchontoglires splits. In the present analysis two calibration points were accessed. The two bovine subtribes consistently resolved themselves as a dichotomous group with strong support for a bifurcation between representatives of bovina and bubalina subtribes. Based on the molecular calibrations divergence time of buffalo and cattle was estimated to be 10.4 MYA. The mouse and rat split was estimated to be 36.6 MYA. The results are in agreement with the previous studies being carried out different research groups.
EXAMINATION OF THE TERRAIN EFFECT FOR TERRESTRIAL ALBEDO ESTIMATION VIA BRDF MODEL PARAMETERS

Abstract. In this paper, we examine the effect of terrain on terrestrial albedo estimation. Terrestrial albedo is one of the most important parameters for understanding the global heat balance. The existing approach for estimating terrestrial albedo involves the estimation of model parameters of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) based on measurements obtained at different geometries. Then, narrowband albedos are estimated from the BRDF model parameters and the broadband albedo is finally estimated by narrowband-tobroadband conversion. Previous studies have not considered the terrain effect for generating the terrestrial albedo. Experiments using in situ measurements showed that the BRDF model, which transforms the geocoordinate of the reflectance of the shadowed terrain, generates the best accuracy. The improvement in the accuracy by the terrain effect correction is limited, and therefore further investigations using more in situ and simulated data are necessary for operational products.
Evaluative Conditioning Revisited: an Affective Information Processing Model

Evaluative conditioning has influenced attitude and preference formation research for nearly three decades, yet our understanding of the processes underlying these effects remains limited. The authors focus on the emotional information present in the conditioning process and provide an affect-as-information theoretical model for understanding conditioning effects. Their research provides new insights into evaluative conditioning, including the role of emotion and the differential impact of emotional information processing on conditioning effects.
Short Communication: Stability of Chymosin and Cyprosins Under Milk-Coagulation and Cheese-Ripening Conditions

Chymosin was stable under milk-coagulation and cheese-ripening conditions with a loss of activity not exceeding 8% of the initial level. Cyprosins lost up to 33% of their activity under milk-coagulation conditions and less than 6% under cheese-ripening conditions. Chymosin incubated in the presence of cyprosins lost up to 94% of its activity under milk-coagulation conditions and up to 70% under cheese-ripening conditions.
Development of an efficient protocol for genomic DNA extraction from mango (Mangifera indica)

Abstract. Majumder DAN, Hassan L, Rahim MA, Kabir MA. 2011. Development of an efficient protocol for genomic DNA extraction from mango (Mangifera indica). Nusantara Bioscience 3: 105-111. A simple and efficient method for genomic DNA extraction from woody fruit crops containing high polysaccharide levels has been described here. In the present study, three kinds of plant DNA extraction protocols were studied and the target was to establish the water-saturated ether (WSE) with 1.25 M NaCl method as the most efficient protocol for removing the highly concentrated polysaccharides from genomic DNA of woody fruit crops. This method involves the modified CTAB or SDS procedure employing a purification step to remove polysaccharides using the WSE method. Precipitation with an equal volume of isopropanol caused a DNA pellet to form. After being washed with 70% ethyl alcohol, the pellet became easily dissolved in TE buffer. Using these three methods, DNA was extracted from samples of 60 mango genotypes, including young, mature, old, frosted old and withered old leaves. Compared with the three studied DNA extraction protocols of mango, it was found that the WSE method with NaCl had the highest value of average percentage (85.44%) in DNA content of the mango genotypes. The average yield of DNA ranged from 5.05 µg/µL to11.28 µg/µL. DNA was suitable for PCR and RAPD analyses and long-term storage for further use.
Aerobic exercise: bioenergetics, physiologicaladjustments, fatigue and performance indices

The objective of this study was to present relevant updated information regarding the physiological determinants of aerobic training and performance. In contrast to common concepts, the aerobic metabolism rapidly responds to energy requirements, with the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems equally contributing to total energy production during maximal exercise lasting about 75 s. However, in the case of longer exercise duration the possible mechanisms of fatigue related to anaerobic metabolism are still the main determinants of exercise tolerance. Prolonged exercise (more than one hour) can be limited by several factors such as substrate depletion, water and electrolyte disturbance, or problems related to thermoregulation leading to an increase in body temperature. The most important variables of endurance performance have been organized into a model that integrates factors such as maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), blood lactate thresholds, and muscle efficiency. For highly trained athletes, in addition to a high VO2max, success in endurance events also requires the ability to exercise for prolonged periods at a high percentage of VO2max, as well as to efficiently convert the energy produced into muscle work. Depending on the duration of the aerobic event, the training sessions should be aimed at improving VO2max, anaerobic lactate capacity and acidosis tolerance in the case of short-lasting events and aerobic capacity for events of intermediate duration, and at increasing muscle glycogen content and fat utilization in the case of long-lasting events.
Discovering and Plotting Hidden Networks created with USB Devices

USB is still a dangerous vector of attack. Attacks such as Stuxtnet make this evident. Sharing USB devices between machines that are physically or logically isolated can stablish connections between them, building what is called a Hidden Network. Being aware of such links is essential for guarantying the security of the network, machines connected and data within them. This paper presents a tool able to detect these links automatically, both remotely and locally. These links are explicitly plotted in graphs, making them visible and allowing taking security measures against threats. Furthermore, this tool can be used for forensic purposes, for example in cases of data exfiltration, since it can plot the trazability of a given USB device within a network, besides showing which USB devices were connected to a certain computer.
A Cell Signal Pathway Involving Laminin-5, α3β1 Integrin, and Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Can Regulate Epithelial Cell Proliferation

Laminin-5 (LN5) is a matrix component of epithelial tissue basement membranes and plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of epithelial cell anchorage to the underlying connective tissue. Here we show that two distinct LN5 function-inhibitory antibodies, both of which bind the globular domain of the α3 subunit, inhibit proliferation of epithelial cells. These same antibodies also induce a decrease in mitogen-activated protein kinase activity. Inhibition of proliferation by the function-perturbing LN5 antibodies is reversed upon removal of the antibodies and can be overcome by providing the antibody-treated cells with exogenous LN5 and rat tail collagen. Because epithelial cells use the integrin receptor α3β1 to interact with both LN5 and rat tail collagen, we next investigated the possibility that integrin α3β1 is involved in mediating the proliferative impact of LN5. Proliferation of human epithelial cells is significantly inhibited by a function-perturbing α3 integrin antibody. In addition, antibody activation of β1 integrin restores the proliferation of epithelial cells treated with LN5 function-perturbing antibodies. These data indicate that a complex comprising LN5 and α3β1 integrin is multifunctional and contributes not only to epithelial cell adhesion but also to the regulation of cell growth via a signaling pathway involving mitogen-activated protein kinase. We discuss our study in light of recent evidence that LN5 expression is up-regulated at the leading tips of tumors, where it may play a role in tumor cell proliferation.
Postembedding Immunoelectron Microscopy with Immunogold-Silver Staining (IGSS) in Epon 812, Durcupan ACM and LR-White Resin Embedded Tissues

Abstract Intracellular, extracellular, and bacterial antigens were demonstrated ultrastructurally by means of silver enhanced immunogold marker systems (IGSS method). Mild fixation provided a suitable compromise between the ultrastructural and antigenic preservation. The use of small (5 nm) gold-coupled streptavidin on anti-rabbit IgG markers resulted in high sensitivity, which could be further amplified in the latter case by repeating both incubation steps in a double sandwich. However, without the silver enhancement step, the traditional counterstainings obscured theparticles, and theultrastructure was hardly visible on weak tissue staining. The photographic silver reaction allowed good reaction product visualization. In LR-White sections, a doubled silver reaction time was necessary to attain the same particle size as for those in epoxides. LR-White embedding was found to be at least as good as epoxy embedding in preserving immunoreactivity, and in some cases, more effective.The system described is a s.
Contributions to deep learning methodologies

In recent years the Deep Neural Networks (DNN) has been using widely in a big range of machine learning and data-mining purposes. This pattern recognition approach can handle highly nonlinear problems. In this work, three main contributions to DNN are presented. 1A method called Semi Parallel Deep Neural Networks (SPDNN) is introduced wherein several deep architectures are mixed and merged using graph contraction technique to take advantage of all the parent networks. 2The importance of data is investigated in several attempts and an augmentation technique know as Smart Augmentation is presented. 3To extract more information from a database, multiple works on Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) are given wherein the joint distribution of data and its ground truth is approximated and in other projects conditional generators for classification and regression problems are trained and tested.