Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environment and pollinator‐mediated selection on parapatric floral races of Mimulus aurantiacus

We tested whether selection by pollinators could explain the parapatric distribution of coastal red‐ and inland yellow‐flowered races of Mimulus aurantiacus (Phrymaceae) by examining visitation to natural and experimental populations. As a first step in evaluating whether indirect selection might explain floral divergence, we also tested for local adaptation in early life stages using a reciprocal transplant experiment. Hummingbirds visited flowers of each race at similar rates in natural populations but showed strong (>95%) preference for red flowers in all habitats in experimental arrays. Hawkmoths demonstrated nearly exclusive (>99% of visits) preference for yellow flowers and only visited in inland regions. Strong preferences for alternative floral forms support a direct role for pollinators in floral divergence. Despite these preferences, measures of plant performance across environments showed that red‐flowered plants consistently survived better, grew larger and received more overall pollinator visits than yellow‐flowered plants. Unmeasured components of fitness may favour the yellow race in inland habitats. Alternatively, we document a marked recent increase in inland hummingbird density that may have caused a change in the selective environment, favouring the eastward advance of red‐flowered plants.
Fluorescent protein fusions to a human immunodeficiency virus monoclonal antibody reveal its intracellular transport through the plant endomembrane system.

SUMMARY In order to further understand the production and intracellular trafficking of pharmaceutical proteins in plants, the light and heavy chains (LC and HC) of the human immunodeficiency virus neutralizing monoclonal antibody 2G12 were fused to fluorescent proteins [Venus and monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP)] to enable the visualization of their passage through the plant cell. Co-expression of LC and HC with various markers of the endomembrane system demonstrated that LC fusions were found in mobile punctate structures, which are likely to be pre-vacuolar compartments (PVCs) as a proportion of the LC fusions were found to be located in the vacuole. In addition, apoplast labelling was also observed with a 2G12LC-RFP fusion. The HC fusion expressed alone was found only in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). When the LC and HC fusions were expressed together, they were found to co-locate to larger punctate structures, which were morphologically distinct from any observed on expression of LC or HC alone. These structures appeared to be in close association with the ER and their labelling partially overlapped with PVC marker fluorescence, but no increase in apoplast labelling was observed. Co-immunoprecipitation data demonstrated that the presence of the fluorescent proteins did not affect the assembly of the antibody, and also showed the association of BiP with the antibody chains. The antigen-binding activity of the Venus-fused 2G12 antibody was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
MULTIUSER DETECTION FOR MULTICARRIER COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Wireless broadband communications is a rapidly growing industry. New enabling technologies such as multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) are shaping the future of wireless systems. However, research efforts in improving MC-CDMA receiver performance have received limited attention and there is a need for innovative receiver designs for next generation MC-CDMA. In this thesis, we propose novel multi-user detection (MUD) schemes to enhance the performance of both synchronous and asynchronous MC-CDMA. First, we adapt the ant colony optimization (ACO) approach to solve the optimal MUD problem in MC-CDMA systems. Our simulations indicate that the ACO based MUD converges to the optimal BER performance in relatively few iterations providing more that 95% savings in computational complexity. Second, we propose a new MUD structure specifically for asynchronous MC-CDMA. Previously proposed MUDs for asynchronous MC-CDMA perform the detection for one user (desired user) at a time, mandating multiple runs of the algorithm to detect all users’ symbols. In this thesis, for the first time we present a MUD structure that detects all users’ symbols simultaneously in one run by extending the receiver’s integration window to capture the energy scattered in two consecutive symbol durations. We derive the optimal, decorrelator and minimum mean square error (MMSE) MUD for the extended window case. Our simulations demonstrate that the proposed MUD structures not only perform similar to a MUD that detects one user at a time, but its computational complexity is significantly lower. Finally, we extend the MUD ideas to multicarrier implementation of single carrier systems. Specifically, we employ the novel MUD structure as a multi-symbol detection scheme in CI-CDMA and illustrate the resulting performance gain via simulations. MULTIUSER DETECTION FOR MULTICARRIER COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Increased neurotransmitter release during long‐term potentiation at mossy fibre–granule cell synapses in rat cerebellum

During long‐term potentiation (LTP) at mossy fibre–granule cell synapses in rat cerebellum synaptic transmission and granule cell intrinsic excitability are enhanced. Although it is clear that changes in granule cell excitability are mediated postsynaptically, there is as yet no direct evidence for the site and mechanism of changes in transmission. To approach this problem, evoked postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) and miniature synaptic currents (mEPSCs) were recorded by patch‐clamp in cerebellar slices obtained from P17–P23 rats. LTP was induced by theta‐burst stimulation paired with depolarization. During LTP, the EPSCs showed a significant decrease in the coefficient of variation (CV; 28.9 ± 5.2%, n= 8; P < 0.002), the number of failures (87.1 ± 41.9%, n= 8; P < 0.04), and the paired‐pulse ratio (PPR; 25.5 ± 4.1%n= 5; P < 0.02). Similar changes were observed by increasing neurotransmitter release (extracellular solutions with high Ca2+/Mg2+ ratio), whereas increases in CV, numbers of failures and PPR occurred when release was decreased (extracellular solutions with low Ca2+/Mg2+ ratio; 10 μm Cl‐adenosine). No changes followed modifications of postsynaptic holding potentials, while CV and failures were reduced when the number of active synapses was increased. LTP was prevented by use of solutions with high Ca2+/Mg2+ ratio. Moreover, LTP and the associated CV decrease were observed in the spillover‐mediated component of AMPA EPSCs and in NMDA EPSCs. During LTP, mEPSCs did not change in amplitude or variability but significantly increased in frequency (47.6 ± 16%, n= 4; P < 0.03). By binomial analysis changes in EPSCs were shown to be due to increased release probability (from 0.6 ± 0.08 to 0.73 ± 0.06, n= 7; P < 0.02) with a constant number of three to four releasing sites. These observations provide evidence for increased neurotransmitter release during LTP at mossy fibre–granule cell synapses.
International Journal of Health Geographics Open Access Methodology Methodology Identification of Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Mortality: Does Scale Matter?

article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons At-tribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Background: This paper investigates the impact of geographic scale (census tract, zip code, and county) on the detection of disparities in breast cancer mortality among three ethnic groups in Texas (period 1995-2005). Racial disparities were quantified using both relative (RR) and absolute (RD) statistics that account for the population size and correct for unreliable rates typically observed for minority groups and smaller geographic units. Results were then correlated with socioeconomic status measured by the percentage of habitants living below the poverty level. Results: African-American and Hispanic women generally experience higher mortality than White non-Hispanics, and these differences are especially significant in the southeast metropolitan areas and southwest border of Texas. The proportion and location of significant racial disparities however changed depending on the type of statistic (RR versus RD) and the geographic level. The largest proportion of significant results was observed for the RD statistic and census tract data. Geographic regions with significant racial disparities for African-Americans and Hispanics frequently had a poverty rate above 10.00%. Conclusions: This study investigates both relative and absolute racial disparities in breast cancer mortality between White non-Hispanic and African-American/Hispanic women at the census tract, zip code and county levels. Analysis at the census tract level generally led to a larger proportion of geographical units experiencing significantly higher mortality rates for minority groups, although results varied depending on the use of the relative versus absolute statistics. Additional research is needed before general conclusions can be formulated regarding the choice of optimal geographic regions for the detection of racial disparities. Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and accounts alone for 31% of diagnosed cases in the United States [1]. The lifetime risk for women to develop breast cancer has nearly tripled in the last sixty years from 1 in 22 to 1 in 8 [2]. However, all persons are not equal when faced with this disease: different racial and socioeconomic groups display striking disparities across regions with respect to late-stage diagnosis and mortality rates of breast cancer [3-5]. From 1998 to 2002, breast cancer mortality among African-American women was 50% higher than for white women: 36.0 deaths versus 24.4 deaths per 100,000 women, respectively [6]. African-Americans living in counties with more than …
Brief report: parenting styles and obesity in Mexican American children: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE To assess longitudinally the relations between four parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, uninvolved, and indulgent) and child weight status in Mexican American families. METHODS Sixty-nine low-income Mexican American mothers and their 4- to 8-year-old children participated in a 4-year longitudinal study. Mothers completed demographic and parenting measures. Children's body weight and height were assessed annually. Body mass index was calculated to determine weight status. RESULTS At baseline, 65% of children were found to be normal weight, 14% were overweight, and 21% were obese. Analyses examined how parenting styles at baseline predicted child's weight status 3 years later, controlling for initial weight status. Children of indulgent mothers were more likely to become overweight 3 years later than children of authoritative or authoritarian mothers. CONCLUSIONS This study provides longitudinal evidence for the role of indulgent parenting in predicting overweight in Mexican American children. Possible mediating factors that may account for this relationship (e.g., dietary patterns, physical activity patterns, and children's self-regulation) are considered.
Communities of Inquiry in Online Learning

The focus of this chapter is on a framework that has drawn considerable interest in creating collaborative communities of inquiry in online learning environments (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000). The goal is to provide an overview and update of the Community of Inquiry Framework with a particular focus on social, cognitive and teaching presence that constitute the framework. Creating and sustaining a community of inquiry requires an understanding of the progressive or developmental nature of each of the presences and how they interact. This chapter will explore what constitutes each of the presences and implications for practice.
Clinical Relevance of the Tumor Location-Modified Lauren Classification System of Gastric Cancer

Purpose The Lauren classification system is a very commonly used pathological classification system of gastric adenocarcinoma. A recent study proposed that the Lauren classification should be modified to include the anatomical location of the tumor. The resulting three types were found to differ significantly in terms of genomic expression profiles. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of the modified Lauren classification (MLC). Materials and Methods A total of 677 consecutive patients who underwent curative gastrectomy from January 2005 to December 2007 for histologically confirmed gastric cancer were included. The patients were divided according to the MLC into proximal non-diffuse (PND), diffuse (D), and distal non-diffuse (DND) type. The groups were compared in terms of clinical features and overall survival. Multivariate analysis served to assess the association between MLC and prognosis. Results Of the 677 patients, 48, 358, and 271 had PND, D, and DND, respectively. Their 5-year overall survival rates were 77.1%, 77.7%, and 90.4%. Compared to D and PND, DND was associated with significantly better overall survival (both P<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that age, differentiation, lympho-vascular invasion, T and N stage, but not MLC, were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Multivariate analysis of early gastric cancer patients showed that MLC was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (odds ratio, 5.946; 95% confidence intervals, 1.524~23.197; P=0.010). Conclusions MLC is prognostic for survival in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, in early gastric cancer. DND was associated with an improved prognosis compared to PND or D.
Sensitive Cowboys

In the past few decades, a multi-billion-dollar “therapeutic boarding school” industry has emerged for America’s troubled upper-class youth. This article examines the therapeutic models prominent in these programs and the ways they conflict with dominant notions of masculinity. Using in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork inside a Western therapeutic boarding school, I show how privileged young men navigate this masculinity dilemma by constructing hybrid masculinities that incorporate qualities associated with femininities and subordinate masculinities. However, these qualities are incorporated strategically and in ways that reproduce and obscure privileges associated with students’ positions as young, upper-class, white men. Using hybrid masculine styles that include humility, commitment to service, and open emotional expression, students re-assert dominant positions as leaders and as “better” men in contrast to various others.
Diversity management research in hospitality and tourism: past, present and future

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a review of diversity management research published in hospitality and tourism-specific and business discipline-based journals. The study objectives include attempting to assess the progress of diversity management research in hospitality and tourism, identifying gaps between the general business diversity management literature and the hospitality and tourism literature and providing hospitality and tourism scholars with suggestions to advance knowledge in diversity management. Design/methodology/approach The study is a critical review of the existing diversity management literature in the general business and hospitality and tourism disciplines in an attempt to identify gaps and make suggestions for expanding this knowledge in the hospitality and tourism fields. Findings There are significant gaps between the diversity management scholarship conducted in hospitality and tourism disciplines and the general business field. Diversity management research in general business is far more in-depth and uses sociological and social psychological theoretical frameworks. Research limitations/implications There are lessons to be learned from the general business literature that uses strong theoretical foundations deeply grounded in sociological, psychological, social-psychological and management theories. The general management literature also explores the conditions under which diversity management adds value or creates challenges for organizations. Practical implications The hospitality and tourism industry has employed large numbers of ethnic minorities, women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for decades. As such, it is critical that scholars explore the implications of such a diverse workforce not only on organizational outcomes, but also on individual and group performance. The general business diversity management research suggests that workgroup composition can influence individual and group performance, as well as the quality of co-worker relationships. Given the team-oriented, interdependent nature of work in the hospitality and tourism industry, it is imperative that researchers conduct studies that help practitioners understand the most effective perspectives and approaches to diversity management. Social implications The critical literature review demonstrated that there is extremely scarce research on diversity management focusing on employees with disabilities. It is imperative to shed more light on best diversity management practices, workplace etiquette of this under-represented group of employees and their interaction with their co-workers. Originality/value This study’s results provide insight into areas of exploration that can significantly enhance the scholarship on diversity management in the hospitality and tourism literature.
Facial and Speech Recognition Emotion in Distance Education System

Modern distance education is an important direction of the international education development since 1980s. It is a primary approach to realize information education and education internationalization, though modern distance education arouses a profound revolution in educational model and educational conception. Aiming at emotion deficiency in present distance education system, a lot of negative effects were analyzed and corresponding countermeasures were proposed. Based on it, facial emotion recognition and speech emotion recognition technologies are applied in Web based education system, the emotion state is judged and understood. The corresponding emotion encouragement and compensation are provided according to the specific emotion state. In future, teaching strategies and learning behaviors are adjusted according to specific emotion state.
General Methodology for Analysis and Modeling of Trust Relationships in Distributed Computing

In this paper, we discuss a general methodology for analysis and modeling of trust relationships in distributed computing. We discuss the classification of trust relationships, categorize trust relationships into two layers and provide a hierarchy of trust relationships based on a formal definition of trust relationship. We provide guidelines for the analysis and modeling of trust relationships. We review operations on trust relationships and relative types of trust relationships in our previous work. We provide a set of definitions for the properties of direction and symmetry of trust relationships. In order to analyze and model the scope and diversity of trust relationship, we define trust scope label. We provide some example scenarios to illustrate the proposed definitions about properties of trust relationship. All the definitions about the properties of trust relationships are elements of the taxonomy framework of trust relationships. We discuss the lifecycle of trust relationships that includes the analysis and modeling of trust relationships, trust relationships at runtime, and change management of trust relationships. We propose a trust management architecture at high level to place the analysis and modeling of trust relationships under the background of trust management.
Target detection in synthetic aperture radar imagery: a state-of-the-art survey

Abstract Target detection is the front-end stage in any automatic target recognition system for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery (SAR-ATR). The efficacy of the detector directly impacts the succeeding stages in the SAR-ATR processing chain. There are numerous methods reported in the literature for implementing the detector. We offer an umbrella under which the various research activities in the field are broadly probed and taxonomized. First, a taxonomy for the various detection methods is proposed. Second, the underlying assumptions for different implementation strategies are overviewed. Third, a tabular comparison between careful selections of representative examples is introduced. Finally, a novel discussion is presented, wherein the issues covered include suitability of SAR data models, understanding the multiplicative SAR data models, and two unique perspectives on constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection: signal processing and pattern recognition. From a signal processing perspective, CFAR is shown to be a finite impulse response band-pass filter. From a statistical pattern recognition perspective, CFAR is shown to be a suboptimal one-class classifier: a Euclidean distance classifier and a quadratic discriminant with a missing term for one-parameter and two-parameter CFAR, respectively. We make a contribution toward enabling an objective design and implementation for target detection in SAR imagery.
Cdc1 removes the ethanolamine phosphate of the first mannose of GPI anchors and thereby facilitates the integration of GPI proteins into the yeast cell wall

The essential CDC1 gene of yeast encodes a Mn2+-dependent lipid phosphatase of the endoplasmic reticulum. Hypomorphic alleles affect Ca2+ signaling, actin polarization, Golgi inheritance, and cell cycle progression. Cdc1 removes an ethanolamine phosphate from the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor and thereby facilitates integration of GPI proteins into the yeast cell wall.
Parallelization of the SSAKE Genomics Application

Present advances in sequencing technology make possible to generate large amounts of data in short time. The problem is that fragments produced by these high-throughput methods are much shorter than in traditional Sanger sequencing, and this makes stringent the issue of exploiting an efficient sequence assembly algorithm. While two common approaches are actually applied to genome assembly, overlap graph and sequence hashing, the latter allows aggressive assembling of millions of short fragments with a reasonable memory and computational cost. In particular SSAKE, one of the first and more popular implementation of the sequence hashing algorithm, was designed to leverage the information from short sequence reads by stringently assembling them into contiguous sequences that can be used to characterize novel sequencing targets. In this paper we present a parallel version of this tool that enables a fast, lightweight and scalable solution for modern genome assembly.
Automated Detection of Information Flow Vulnerabilities in UML State Charts and C Code

Information flow vulnerabilities in UML statecharts and C code are detrimental as they can cause data leakages or unexpected program behavior. Detecting such vulnerabilities with static code analysis techniques is challenging because code is usually not available during the software design phase and previous knowledge about what should be annotated and tracked is needed. In this paper we propose textual annotations used to introduce information flow constraints in UML state charts and code which are afterwards automatically loaded by informationflow checkers that check if imposed constraints hold or not. We evaluated our approach on 6 open source test cases available in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)Juliet test suite for C/C++. Our results show that our approach is effective and can be further applied to other types of UML models and programming languages as well, in order to detect different types of vulnerabilities.