Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Focus Group Research: Retrospect and Prospect

This chapter is both historical and conceptual, first highlighting the origins, tensions, and continuities/discontinuities of focus group research and then arguing for how such research embodies three primary, related functions: inquiry, pedagogy, and political. The quasiunique potentials or affordances of focus group work are explored, including mitigating the researcher’s authority; disclosing the constitutive power of discourse; approximating the natural; filling in knowledge gaps and saturating understanding; drawing out complexity, nuance, and contradiction; disclosing eclipsed connections; and creating opportunities for political activism. Contemporary threats to focus group work are described and new research frontiers are proposed, especially in relation to new information technologies. The chapter integrates historical, conceptual, and practical perspectives to fully explain the potentials of focus group research, with the goal of advancing a set of understandings about focus group work that attends to its relatively unique potentials for conducting qualitative inquiry across a wide range of topics and disciplinary contexts.
Stable Generalist Species Anchor a Dynamic Pollination Network

The application of complex network theory to community ecology has enabled quantification of interactions among large suites of species and clarified patterns of community structure across systems. Past analyses, however, have assumed that ecological networks are temporally static and persistent and spatially homogeneous, which could confound inference if species interactions vary over time and space. To evaluate temporal and spatial variation in mutualistic networks, therefore, we evaluated the consistency of a nectarivory/pollination network across years, by season, and over space. We tracked nectaring interactions among 37 butterfly and 58 flowering plant taxa during an 11-yr period (2007–2017), across each summer and over a grassland landscape in Pennsylvania, USA. The composition of butterflies, plants, and their interactions varied markedly across years, months, and sites. Despite this compositional variation, one metric of network structure, nestedness, was invariant, with interactions much more nested than random across all years, months, and sites. Together with previous studies, this result suggests ecological interaction networks are generally more nested than expected by chance. Other measures of network structure were more variable, especially over time. Numbers of plants and interactions varied by year, month, and site. Connectance and numbers of butterflies varied annually and seasonally. Temporal variation in specialization was also evident for some species at an annual level and for the community across the season. We further found highly stable species were almost always generalists, while highly specialized species were almost always temporally and spatially variable, with few exceptions. Together, these results suggest communities are comprised of a reliable core of generalist species, accompanied by a changing suite of specialist species that, when participating in the network, primarily interact with the reliable core species. Our finding of nested mutualistic network centered on stable-generalist species accompanied by a changing suite of sporadic specialists indicates dynamic changes in ecological communities vary with topological position. This finding further suggests that, even as rare species are highly threatened by species invasion, climate change, and other anthropogenic perturbations, network structure may be robust to species loss and compositional change from these perturbations.
Re-Interpreting Mitogenomes : Are Nuclear/Mitochondrial Sequence Duplications Correctly Characterised in Published Sequence Databases?

Copyright: © 2017 Ilze Skujina, Rob McMahon and Matthew Hegarty. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source. *Corresponding author: Matthew Hegarty, Aberystwyth University, IBERS, Gogerddan Campus, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3EE, UK, Tel: +44 (0) 1970 622284; Email: ayh@aber.ac. uk
Relaxation methods for studying transformations in polymer systems

It is known that self-organisation of nanostructures according to the bottom-up approach is driven by the competition of several processes: surface tension, diffusion, gravity, buoyant force and, perhaps, molecular coordination phenomenon. The last one was discussed in the 70s in terms of the so-called “mobile organised molecular arrays” and proved with the help of nuclear magnetic relaxation. This study shows examples of self-organised structures obtained electrochemically by authors and provides a discussion regarding the same terms.
The effects of abusive supervision, emotional exhaustion and organizational commitment on cyberloafing: a moderated-mediation examination

PurposeCyberloafing (employees' non-work-related online activities at work) has become a common workplace problem for many organizations. Research investigating the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions under which abusive supervision influences cyberloafing remains largely underdeveloped. Drawing from social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory, we developed a moderated-mediation model in which emotional exhaustion was theorized as a unique mechanism underlining why employees are more likely to engage in cyberloafing under the supervision of abusive leaders. In addition, we proposed that organizational commitment to be a relevant boundary condition to influence such a relationship.Design/methodology/approachWe collected 255 data from employees working in public listed companies in Malaysia and used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data.FindingsThe results showed that the influence of abusive supervision on cyberloafing through emotional exhaustion is only significant when organizational commitment is low.Originality/valueThis study constructed a moderated-mediation model by introducing the potential mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and the moderating effect of organizational commitment to reveal the mechanism through which abusive supervision related to cyberloafing.
A hybrid unsupervised clustering-based anomaly detection method

In recent years, machine learning-based cyber intrusion detection methods have gained increasing popularity. The number and complexity of new attacks continue to rise; therefore, effective and intelligent solutions are necessary. Unsupervised machine learning techniques are particularly appealing to intrusion detection systems since they can detect known and unknown types of attacks as well as zero-day attacks. In the current paper, we present an unsupervised anomaly detection method, which combines Sub-Space Clustering (SSC) and One Class Support Vector Machine (OCSVM) to detect attacks without any prior knowledge. The proposed approach is evaluated using the well-known NSL-KDD dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that our method performs better than some of the existing techniques.
Molecular cloning of BeMYB140 from Bambusa eminencies, canvassing transactivation and expression profiling for its dynamic chunk against abiotic stresses

The MYB is a major family of transcriptional factor’s (TFs), which significantly regulate several physiological processes in plants, i.e. growth, metabolism and development on one side and defenses against abiotic and biotic stresses on other. In this research a novel gene “BeMYB140” (GenBank accession number MG763923) encoded for TF was cloned and characterized from Bambusa emeiensis. The isolated gene BeMYB140 has an open reading frame (ORF) of 723bp which encoded a protein of 240 amino acids with a predicted relative molecular mass of 27.34346 kDa. Multiple proteins sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that this protein contains a typical MYB domain and showed high homology with HvMYB1, ZmMYB38 and AtMYB4. Meanwhile, transactivation analysis and sub-cellular localization assay unveiled that the BeMYB140 protein is a transcriptional activator and localized in the nucleus. Moreover, BeMYB140 exhibited a dynamic expression under different abiotic stressors, such as, in response to ABA and Na2SO4 treatments down regulation was followed by a significant up-regulation; whereas the opposite results were observed during PEG treatment. The highly significant difference and maximum fold changes were observed in PEG, NaCl and H2O2 treatments. In ABA and NaCl treatments the peak expression level were observed during 3hrs, meanwhile, under PEG and H2O2 treatments BeMYB140 was strongly induced during later stages i.e. 24hrs. It is concluded from the results, that BeMYB140 involved in broad range of abiotic stresses and mediates stress tolerance in Bambusa emeiensis. Abbreviations: ABA= Abscisic acid, GFP= Green fluorescent protein, PEG= Polyethylene glycol, Y1H= Yeast one way Hybridization, NAM= No apical meristem, SD= Synthetic dropout, ORF= Open reading frame, PCR= Polymerize chain reaction.
Monitoring volumetric fluctuations in tropical lakes and reservoirs using satellite remote sensing

ABSTRACT Keys TA, Scott DT. 2017. Monitoring volumetric fluctuations in tropical lakes and reservoirs using satellite remote sensing. Lake Reserv Manage. 34:154—166. Sustainable management of lakes and reservoirs is currently a major challenge in regions of the world with limited hydrologic data and monitoring equipment. Specifically, temporal variability of water storage is difficult to quantify and is often neglected in lake and reservoir management. Here, we present a high temporal resolution remote sensing technique for quantifying volumetric fluctuations in surface water bodies without any field data. For this study, we utilized Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery in conjunction with satellite radar altimetry from 2 altimetry databases to develop high frequency time series of storage variations in 10 large tropical surface water bodies. For 3 of the sites, altimetry-based water level (L) estimates were validated by in situ data from monitoring stations while estimates of surface area (A) and changes in water volume (δV) were validated by bathymetric maps with corresponding L—A and L—δV polynomial relationships. Results indicate that remotely sensed δV estimates agree well with in situ measurements for 2 of the 3 water bodies. For the third, A and δV estimates were greatly underestimated due to the coarse spatial resolution of MODIS. Our findings suggest that the presented methodology works well for lakes and reservoirs with well-defined boundaries and low shoreline to surface area (S:A) ratios, in contrast to reservoirs with dendritic geometry and high S:A ratios. Overall, this method provides a free, user-friendly platform for monitoring and managing lakes and reservoirs.
Expression of SULTR2;2 in the Arabidopsis bundle sheath is mediated by a highly conserved positive regulator

The bundle sheath provides a conduit linking veins and mesophyll cells. In C3 Arabidopsis thaliana it also plays important roles in oxidative stress and sulphur metabolism. However, the mechanisms responsible for the patterns of gene expression that underpin these metabolic specialisations are poorly understood. Here we used the A. thaliana SULTR2;2 gene as a model to better understand mechanisms that restrict expression to the bundle sheath. Deletion analysis indicated that the SULTR2;2 promoter contains a short region necessary for expression in the bundle sheath. This sequence acts as a positive regulator and is tolerant to multiple consecutive deletions indicating considerable redundancy in the cis-elements involved. It is highly conserved in SULTR2;2 genes of the Brassicaceae and is functional in the distantly related C4 species Flaveria bidentis that belongs to the Asteraceae. We conclude that expression of SULTR2;2 in the bundle sheath is underpinned by a highly redundant sequence that likely represents an ancient and conserved mechanism found in families as diverse as the Asteraceae and Brassicaceae.
The biochemistry and genetics of floral scent production as part of the petunia pollination syndrome

Floral scent plays a major role in flower discrimination by pollinators in the Petunia genus. By providing specific signals to pollinators, floral scent can significantly contribute to the plant pollination efficiency and reproductive success. Fragrant petunias mostly emit volatile benzenoids and phenylpropanoids from their petals, and time of emission coincides with foraging behavior of the preferred pollinators, thus making it an ideal model for investigating the role of scent as part of a pollination syndrome. Research on the biochemistry and genetics of petunia scent has developed intensively, with many biosynthetic steps being characterized and a draft petunia genome that is publicly available. In this thesis, we characterized a caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) from fragrant petals that leads to volatile phenylpropene production. We also demonstrated a link between CCoAOMT and anthocyanin production. Furthermore, we investigated the rhythmic volatile production in wild and cultivated petunia using recombinant inbred lines and promoter modification of the key regulator ODORANT1, respectively. Our results indicate that the timing of the expression of ODORANT1 determines the bouquet of volatiles produced.
The attributes of mathematics learning which Ghanaian senior high school students value

Valuing constitutes an important aspect of mathematics pedagogy and hence student learning outcomes. This study surveyed 416 students from Cape Coast, Ghana to explore what senior high school students in this country in West Africa valued in their study of mathematics. The data collected were analyzed using principal component analysis. The results suggest that Ghanaian senior high school students found connections, understanding, fluency, learning technologies, feedback, instructional materials, open-endedness and problem-solving important in their mathematics learning. Implications of the findings for curriculum delivery in mathematics and future research opportunities are also discussed.
Bioinformatic Approaches to Detecting Copy Number Variation in Next Generation Sequencing Data for Clinical Diagnostics

Genetic disorders can be detected by prenatal diagnosis using Chorionic Villus Sampling, but the 1:100 chance to result in miscarriage restricts the use to fetuses that are suspected to have an aberration. Detection of trisomy 21 cases noninvasively is now possible owing to the upswing of next-generation sequencing (NGS) because a small percentage of fetal DNA is present in maternal plasma. However, detecting other trisomies and smaller aberrations can only be realized using high-coverage NGS, making it too expensive for routine practice. We present a method, WISECONDOR (WIthin-SamplE COpy Number aberration DetectOR), which detects small aberrations using low-coverage NGS. The increased detection resolution was achieved by comparing read counts within the tested sample of each genomic region with regions on other chromosomes that behave similarly in control samples. This within-sample comparison avoids the need to re-sequence control samples. WISECONDOR correctly identiﬁed all T13, T18 and T21 cases while coverages were as low as 0.15–1.66. No false positives were identiﬁed. Moreover, WISECONDOR also identiﬁed smaller aberrations, down to 20 Mb, such as del(13)(q12.3q14.3), +i(12)(p10) and i(18)(q10). This shows that prevalent fetal copy number aberrations can be detected accurately and aﬀordably by shallow sequencing maternal plasma. WISECONDOR is available at bioinformatics.tudelft. nl/wisecondor .
The development and validation of a teacher-reported low-level classroom disruption scale (LLCD-S)

ABSTRACT Low-level classroom disruption (LLCD) is characterised by pupils swinging on chairs, whispering or fidgeting in class. This paper provides initial data on the development and validation of the teacher-rated Low-Level Classroom Disruption Scale (LLCD-S), with two samples of primary school pupils. Exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 (N= 120) revealed one factor accounting for 61% of the variance; supported by confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 (N= 274), with one factor accounting for 63% of the variance. Both studies reported high Cronbach’s alpha values of.82 and.93 respectively. The evidence supports LLCD being a unidimensional construct, measured by the eight item LLCD-S. Weak convergence validity was found between the LLCD-S and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire’s (SDQ) externalising behaviours: conduct problems and hyperactivity. This preliminary evidence indicates that LLCD-S is a valid and reliable measure of low-level classroom disruption. Further research is needed to test the utility of the LLCD-S across different levels of education, cultures and as a pupil-reported measure.
Board and Top Management Social Sustainability Work in Cluster Organizations

This case study aims to analyze how boards and top management in regional cluster organizations contribute to social sustainability commitment for themselves and their member organizations with specific focus on gender equality and diversity issues. The study adopts a case study research approach, where interviews, observations and secondary data constitute the basis for in-depth analysis. To deepen the case analysis, four theoretical perspectives are applied for pattern-matching: stakeholder, resource dependence, agency and institutional theory. Results of the study show that the boards are aware of stakeholder requirements, have necessary resources and expertise, and are well aware of the importance of social sustainability, but they act traditionally by focusing on economic incentives and responsibility. Board members act symbolically by transferring social responsibility to the top management of these cluster organizations through their applications for funds. From agency and stakeholder perspectives, the fund application regulates roles and responsibilities between the parties. Top management legitimates the responsibility by initiating projects and initiatives to strengthen social sustainability in a substantive way in member organizations. The study contribution shows that the board’s mission and role have symbolic significance for building social responsibility, while top management contributes substantively.
Promotion of Flowering from Far-red Radiation Depends on the Photosynthetic Daily Light Integral

Under natural short days, growers can use photoperiodic lighting to promote ﬂowering of long-day plants and inhibit ﬂowering of short-day plants. Unlike traditional lamps used for photoperiodic lighting, low-intensity light-emitting diode (LED) lamps allow for a wide array of adjustable spectral distributions relevant to regulation of ﬂowering, including red (R) and white (W) radiation with or without far-red (FR) radiation. Our objective was to quantify how day-extension (DE) photoperiodic lighting from two commercially available low-intensity LED lamps emitting R + W or R + W + FR radiation interacted with daily light integral (DLI) to inﬂuence stem elongation and ﬂowering of several ornamental species. Long-day plants [petunia ( Petunia 3 hybrida Vilm.-Andr. ‘Dreams Midnight’) and snapdragon ( Antirrhinum majus L. ‘Oh Snap Pink’)], short-day plants [african marigold ( Tagetes erecta L. ‘Moonsong Deep Orange’) and potted sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L. ‘Pacino Gold’)], and day-neutral plants [pansy ( Viola 3 wittrockiana Gams. ‘Matrix Yellow’) and zinnia ( Zinnia elegans Jacq. ‘Magellan Cherry’)] were grown at 20/18 8 C day/night air temperatures and under low (6–9 mol · m L 2 · d L 1 ) or high (16–19 mol · m L 2 · d L 1 ) seasonal photosynthetic DLIs from ambient
Dual RNA-Seq analysis of Mus musculus and Leishmania donovani transcriptomes

Parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania cause a spectrum of disease, affecting 12 million people worldwide. This project aimed to investigate the effect of Leishmania donovani infection on the gene expression of healthy/WT (Black 6) and immunocompromised (RAG2KO) mice. Differences in the gene expression of parasites in inoculum and tissue were also elucidated. WT and RAG mice were infected using an L. donovani inoculum, and were euthanised after 28 days. Harvested spleens (and the inoculum) were used to generate RNA samples, from which mRNA was isolated and purified. Transcriptome data was generated using dual RNA-Seq approaches from the mRNA samples. After appropriate pre-processing, data underwent a number of bioinformatic analyses to explore differential gene expression, such as Gene Ontology, Gene Set Enrichment, and KEGG Pathway analysis. Comparison of different mouse spleen transcriptomes revealed that even in uninfected mice, WT mice more highly express genes related to immunoglobulins when compared with their immunocompromised counterparts. Healthy mice were found to react to infection through the induction of inflammatory response, and the production of NOX generating species. RAG mice still upregulated immunoglobulin-related genes in response to infection, despite their inability to generate antibodies, T-cells, and B-cells. However, RAG modulation of haeme and iron metabolism may contribute to defence against the parasites despite a lack of acquired immunity. Differences in the amastin, the key glycoprotein on the surface on intracellular-stage parasites, are apparent between the inoculum and tissue parasites, which may reflect microenvironment adaptation. Additionally, tissue-derived parasites showed significant upregulation of genes related to gene expression control, such as histones and DNA-packing. These experiments are among the first attempts to in vivo transcriptome sequence mice and Leishmania simultaneously, a powerful approach giving insight to action and reaction. However, these techniques are not without challenge, such as low parasite read counts.
Current View on Hematopoiesis and Beyond

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have the ability to self-renew and give rise to all lin- eages of blood cells while remain the capacity of regenerative in hematopoiesis. As the only stem cell type in routine clinical use, HSCs can be isolated from bone marrow, peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood. Stem cells transplantation is mainly used in HSCs while the trans-differentiation ability broadens the research of HSCs in regenera - tive medicine. Here, we focus on the current view on hematopoiesis and beyond and summarize the clinical application and the regulation of the fate of HSCs. We intend to outline recent advances in the human HSCs research area and review the characteristic of HSCs from definition through development to their clinical applications and future prospect.
Fermentation and Characterization of Pitaya Wine

Juice was extracted from pitaya pulp. After fermentation, the wine produced contained 11.2% vol (v/v) alcohol, total sugar content is 7.3g/L, 7.8% °Brix, the content of titratable acid and amino acid nitrogen are 2.34 g/L and 0.46 g/L, respectively. Dragon fruit wine of the communist party of detect aroma components is 56 kinds, content is more than 0.5%, 17 kinds, 9 esters are among those kinds, 5 kinds alcohol, there are 2 kinds of acids, one kind of alkanes. The physicochemical characteristics of wines produced from pitaya is attractive, with unique flavor and rich nutritional value, which makes it widely accepted and even liked.