Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Indigenous Environmental Education for Cultural Survival

Aboriginal Peoples are facing a number of serious and complex environmental issues within their territories. Post-secondary environmental education programs in Canada have been slow to adopt curriculum and develop programs to meet the needs of Aboriginal students and their communities. This manuscript outlines necessary components of successful Indigenous environmental education programs at the post-secondary level based on the author’s participation in three such programs as a program developer/director, curriculum developer and instructor, the current literature, and, in addition, her experiences as an Anishinaabe student studying Western science. Resume Les peuples autochtones font face, sur leurs territoires, a de serieuses et complexes questions de nature environnementale. Les programmes d’education environnementale offerts au niveau postsecondaire au Canada tardent a concevoir des programmes et a adopter un programme d’enseignement qui soient en mesure de repondre aux besoins des etudiants autochtones et a ceux de leur communaute. Le present manuscrit donne un apercu des composantes necessaires au succes d’un programme postsecondaire d’education environnementale pour les Autochtones. L’auteure se prononce en vertu de sa participation a trois programmes d’education environnementale (en tant que directrice et conceptrice de programme, conceptrice de programme d’enseignement et enseignante) et en vertu de la litterature actuelle publiee a ce sujet. Le manuscrit fait suite a l’experience personnelle de l’auteure, une Anishinaabe ayant etudie la science occidentale. Many Aboriginal Peoples face devastating environmental degradation impacting their ways of life, knowledge systems, traditional governance systems, foods, and cultures. While larger Aboriginal Nations and tribal council organizations are often able to hire personal to address and manage some of these issues, it is difficult for smaller communities to find the monetary resources and personnel to develop and fill such positions. Consequently, few communities are equipped with the necessary resources to effectively deal with the over-whelming number of environmental issues facing their people and their lands. The root cause of many of the environmental issues facing Aboriginal communities lies in the process of colonization and subsequent colonial policies
A/D Restrictions (Errors) in Ultra-Wideband Impulse Radios

Ultra-Wideband Impulse Radio (UWB-IR) technologies, although are relatively easy in transmission but they present difficulties in reception, in fact the reception of such waveform is a quite complicated matter. The main reason is that in fully digital receiver the received waveform must be sampled at a rate of several GHz. This paper focuses on the impact of the Analog to Digital (A/D) conversion stage that is used to sample the received waveform. More specifically we focus on the impact of the two main parameters that affect the performance of the Software Defined Radio (SDR) system. These parameters are the bit resolution and the time jittering. The influence of these parameters is deeply examined.
Toward an Understanding of Changes in Diversity Associated with Fecal Microbiome Transplantation Based on 16S rRNA Gene Deep Sequencing

ABSTRACT Fecal microbiome transplantation by low-volume enema is an effective, safe, and inexpensive alternative to antibiotic therapy for patients with chronic relapsing Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). We explored the microbial diversity of pre- and posttransplant stool specimens from CDI patients (n = 6) using deep sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. While interindividual variability in microbiota change occurs with fecal transplantation and vancomycin exposure, in this pilot study we note that clinical cure of CDI is associated with an increase in diversity and richness. Genus- and species-level analysis may reveal a cocktail of microorganisms or products thereof that will ultimately be used as a probiotic to treat CDI. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) due to Clostridium difficile is a widespread phenomenon in hospitals today. Despite the use of antibiotics, up to 30% of patients are unable to clear the infection and suffer recurrent bouts of diarrheal disease. As a result, clinicians have resorted to fecal microbiome transplantation (FT). Donor stool for this type of therapy is typically obtained from a spouse or close relative and thoroughly tested for various pathogenic microorganisms prior to infusion. Anecdotal reports suggest a very high success rate of FT in patients who fail antibiotic treatment (>90%). We used deep-sequencing technology to explore the human microbial diversity in patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) disease after FT. Genus- and species-level analysis revealed a cocktail of microorganisms in the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla that may ultimately be used as a probiotic to treat CDI. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) due to Clostridium difficile is a widespread phenomenon in hospitals today. Despite the use of antibiotics, up to 30% of patients are unable to clear the infection and suffer recurrent bouts of diarrheal disease. As a result, clinicians have resorted to fecal microbiome transplantation (FT). Donor stool for this type of therapy is typically obtained from a spouse or close relative and thoroughly tested for various pathogenic microorganisms prior to infusion. Anecdotal reports suggest a very high success rate of FT in patients who fail antibiotic treatment (>90%). We used deep-sequencing technology to explore the human microbial diversity in patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) disease after FT. Genus- and species-level analysis revealed a cocktail of microorganisms in the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla that may ultimately be used as a probiotic to treat CDI.
Inheritance Patterns, Dominance and Cross-Resistance of Cry1Ab- and Cry1Ac-Selected Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée)

Two colonies of Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée), artificially selected from a Bt-susceptible colony (ACB-BtS) for resistance to Cry1Ab (ACB-AbR) and Cry1Ac (ACB-AcR) toxins, were used to analyze inheritance patterns of resistance to Cry1 toxins. ACB-AbR and ACB-AcR evolved significant levels of resistance, with resistance ratios (RR) of 39-fold and 78.8-fold to Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac, respectively. The susceptibility of ACB-AbR larvae to Cry1Ac and Cry1F toxins, which had not previously been exposed, were significantly reduced, being >113-fold and 48-fold, respectively. Similarly, susceptibility of ACB-AcR larvae to Cry1Ab and Cry1F were also significantly reduced (RR > nine-fold, RR > 18-fold, respectively), indicating cross-resistance among Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, and Cry1F toxins. However, ACB-AbR and ACB-AcR larvae were equally susceptible to Cry1Ie as were ACB-BtS larvae, indicating no cross-resistance between Cry1Ie and Cry1Ab or Cry1Ac toxins; this may provide considerable benefits in preventing or delaying the evolution of resistance in ACB to Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac toxins. Backcrossing studies indicated that resistance to Cry1Ab toxin was polygenic in ACB-AbR, but monogenic in ACB-AcR, whilst resistance to Cry1Ac toxin was primarily monogenic in both ACB-AbR and ACB-AcR, but polygenic as resistance increased.
A Model-Based Visualization Taxonomy

Frameworks for organizing literature and ideas in visualization are valuable since they allow us to gain a higherlevel understanding of the state of visualization research. Current taxonomies of visualization techniques are problematic because the terminology is vague. We present a new taxonomy based on models of a data set rather than attributes of the data itself. This method addresses several problems with existing classification schemes and generates less ambiguous visualization categories.
Clinical evaluation of two consanguineous families with homozygous mutations in BEST1

Purpose To describe the clinical and genetic findings in two consanguineous families with Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVMD) and homozygous mutations in the bestrophin-1 (BEST1) gene. Methods Ophthalmologic examination was performed in eight members of two families originating from Spain and Denmark. Mutation screening was performed using the Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy mutation array from Asper Biotech, and by the directed genomic sequencing of BEST1. Results Two homozygous mutations were detected in these families. Mutation c.936C>A (p.Asp312Glu) has been reported previously in a Danish family; here, we describe four additional individuals in this family demonstrating findings compatible with a severe dominant BVMD, albeit with reduced penetrance in heterozygotes. In the Spanish family, a novel homozygous missense mutation in exon 4, c.388 C>A (p.Arg130Ser), was identified in the siblings. Homozygous siblings demonstrated evidence of multifocal vitelliform retinopathy, whereas heterozygous family members presented findings ranging from isolated reduction of the electrooculogram Arden ratio to normal values on all clinical parameters. Conclusions As demonstrated in these consanguineous families, a great clinical variability is associated with homozygous mutations in BEST1, ranging from severe dominant BVMD with reduced penetrance in heterozygotes to autosomal recessive bestrophinopathy.
MNADK, a Long‐Awaited Human Mitochondrion‐Localized NAD Kinase

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and its phosphorylated form, NADP, play essential roles in numerous cellular processes in all organisms. NADP maintains a pool of its reducing equivalent, NADPH, which regenerates cellular oxidative defense systems to counteract oxidative damages. Mitochondria represent a major source of oxidative stress, because the majority of superoxide, a reactive oxygen species, is generated from the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Therefore, as universal electron carriers in cellular electron transfer reactions, the pyridine nucleotides are required by mitochondria for both antioxidant protection and biosynthetic pathways. The NAD kinase (NADK) is the sole NADP biosynthetic enzyme. Because NADP is membrane‐impermeable, eukaryotes need compartment‐specific NADKs for different organelles. Consistently, in both yeast and plants, three compartment‐specific NADKs have been identified. In contrast, even though the first human NADK, a cytosolic one, was identified in 2001, the identity of a hypothesized mitochondrial NADK remained elusive, until a recent discovery that the uncharacterized human gene C5ORF33 encodes a mitochondrion‐localized NADK, referred to as MNADK. Three groups have characterized MNADK functions based on distinct systems involving yeast, mouse, and human studies, from aspects of both in vitro and in vivo evidence. MNADK is a mitochondrial NADK that is enriched and nutritionally‐regulated in mouse liver, and a MNADK‐deficient patient exhibits symptoms characteristic of mitochondrial disease. The identification of MNADK provides a key clue to the mechanism involved in mitochondrial NADPH production and the maintenance of redox balance in mammalian cells. The roles of MNADK in physiological and pathological processes have yet to be discovered. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 1697–1701, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Influence of aerosol chemical composition on N2O5 uptake: airborne regional measurements in northwestern Europe

Abstract. Aerosol chemical composition was found to influence nighttime atmospheric chemistry during a series of airborne measurements in northwestern Europe in summer conditions, which has implications for regional air quality and climate. The uptake of dinitrogen pentoxide, γ (N2O5), to particle surfaces was found to be modulated by the amount of water content and ammonium nitrate present in the aerosol. The conditions prevalent in this study suggest that the net uptake rate of N2O5 to atmospheric aerosols was relatively efficient compared to previous studies, with γ (N2O5) values in the range 0.01–0.03. This is likely a consequence of the elevated relative humidity in the region, which promotes greater aerosol water content. Increased nitrate concentrations relative to particulate water were found to suppress N2O5 uptake. The results presented here contrast with previous ambient studies of N2O5 uptake, which have generally taken place in low-nitrate environments in the USA. Comparison of the N2O5 uptake derived from the measurements with a parameterised scheme that is based on the ratio of particulate water to nitrate yielded reasonably good agreement in terms of the magnitude and variation in uptake, provided the effect of chloride was neglected. An additional suppression of the parameterised uptake is likely required to fully capture the variation in N2O5 uptake, which could be achieved via the known suppression by organic aerosol. However, existing parameterisations representing the suppression by organic aerosol were unable to fully represent the variation in N2O5 uptake. These results provide important ambient measurement constraint on our ability to predict N2O5 uptake in regional and global aerosol models. N2O5 uptake is a potentially important source of nitrate aerosol and a sink of the nitrate radical, which is the main nocturnal oxidant in the atmosphere. The results further highlight the importance of ammonium nitrate in northwestern Europe as a key component of atmospheric composition in the region.
Adaptive similarity fusion strategy in stereo matching algorithm

Cost initialization is an important step in both local and global stereo matching algorithms. Different similarity measures may perform differently in a particular location depending on the image structure. Different from the traditional similarity fusion strategies, we present a new fusion strategy which fuses similarity measures adaptively based on their performance on different image regions. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed adaptive similarity fusion algorithm used in both local and global stereo matching algorithms is capable of providing high-quality disparity maps comparable to other fusion strategies.
Study of the MEG background activity in Alzheimer's disease patients with scaling analysis methods

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prominent neurodegenerative disorders. The aim of this research work is to study the magnetoencephalogram (MEG) background activity in AD patients using two scaling analysis methods: detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and backward detrended moving average (BDMA). Both measures have been designed to quantify correlations in noisy and non-stationary signals. Five minutes of recording were acquired with a 148-channel whole-head magnetometer in 15 patients with probable AD and 15 control subjects. Both DFA and BDMA exhibited two scaling regions with different slopes. Significant differences between both groups were found in the second region of DFA and in the first region of BDMA (p < 0.01, Student's t-test). Using receiver operating characteristic curves, accuracies of 83.33% with DFA and of 80% with BDMA were reached. Our findings show the usefulness of these scaling analysis methods to increase our insight into AD.
An Agent Enabled System for Personalizing Wireless Mobile Services

Handheld wireless devices such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) have limited memory, storage, and processing power. In addition, small screens and limited input facilities make entering information tedious. It is therefore important that wireless mobile applications optimize resource usage and minimize input effort imposed on the user. One way is to download to the client only the information most relevant to the user, then present that information effectively, taking into account the user's preferences and history as well as the task at hand. This personalization approach minimizes the information to be displayed. In this paper, we present a mobile agent-based system for personalizing mobile services; we use mobile agents simply because such autonomous software entities have characteristics that can benefit mobile devices and the wireless environment. We introduce the tiered architecture of the proposed system and the functions of the different components; then we discuss how we use the Composite/Capabilities Preferences/Profile (CC/PP) in personalizing wireless mobile services. A proof of concept implementation has been developed using Java technologies.
Stepped-etching for preserving critical dimensions in through-wafer deep reactive ion etching of thick silicon

This paper presents the experimental investigation of stepped deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process in order to minimize critical-dimension (CD) variations due to local heating observed in through-wafer etch of 100µm-thick, high aspect ratio silicon microstructures that are suspended over glass substrate. Classical methods of cooling the substrate, using a heat-sink layer, or increasing the thickness of sidewall passivation in general turns out to be insufficient for preventing excessive damage in critical dimensions during deep etches. Alternatively, stepped etching is evaluated for improving the CD variation in deep through-wafer etch. Preliminary results indicate that the CD variation improves from +2. 56µm to +0. 55µm for a 2µm-wide and 100µm-deep capacitive comb finger gap, by using 7 successive DRIE steps with 10min etch and 20min interrupt periods, compared to a single 70min DRIE without any interrupt.
Autonomy as a start-up motive

Purpose – Autonomy is a primary motive for a large majority of small business starters. As an explanation of why people want their own (autonomous) business it is tautological. This study sets out to focus on an explanation of the autonomy motive itself: why small business starters want autonomy.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews with a sample of 167 nascent entrepreneurs.Findings – There are two types of autonomy motives: a proximal motive which is associated with task characteristics of being self‐employed (decisional freedom), and distal motives for which autonomy is instrumental (to avoid a boss or restrictions; to act in a self‐endorsed and self‐congruent manner; and to be in charge). Research limitations/implications – Autonomy measures should either operationalise autonomy only in a proximal sense without regard to underlying motive sources, or take distal motives into account and offer items that reflect these autonomy motive sources.Practical implica.
Randomization can be as helpful as a glimpse of the future in online computation

We provide simple but surprisingly useful direct product theorems for proving lower bounds on online algorithms with a limited amount of advice about the future. As a consequence, we are able to translate decades of research on randomized online algorithms to the advice complexity model. Doing so improves significantly on the previous best advice complexity lower bounds for many online problems, or provides the first known lower bounds. For example, if $n$ is the number of requests, we show that: (1) A paging algorithm needs $\Omega(n)$ bits of advice to achieve a competitive ratio better than $H_k=\Omega(\log k)$, where $k$ is the cache size. Previously, it was only known that $\Omega(n)$ bits of advice were necessary to achieve a constant competitive ratio smaller than $5/4$. (2) Every $O(n^{1-\varepsilon})$-competitive vertex coloring algorithm must use $\Omega(n\log n)$ bits of advice. Previously, it was only known that $\Omega(n\log n)$ bits of advice were necessary to be optimal. For certain online problems, including the MTS, $k$-server, paging, list update, and dynamic binary search tree problem, our results imply that randomization and sublinear advice are equally powerful (if the underlying metric space or node set is finite). This means that several long-standing open questions regarding randomized online algorithms can be equivalently stated as questions regarding online algorithms with sublinear advice. For example, we show that there exists a deterministic $O(\log k)$-competitive $k$-server algorithm with advice complexity $o(n)$ if and only if there exists a randomized $O(\log k)$-competitive $k$-server algorithm without advice. Technically, our main direct product theorem is obtained by extending an information theoretical lower bound technique due to Emek, Fraigniaud, Korman, and Ros\'en [ICALP'09].
Negotiating Ethnic Identity In Canada

Satellite children are children of ethnically Chinese immigrants to North America who have returned to their country of origin after immigration. Based on interview transcripts of 68 adolescent satellite children, an analysis on the negotiation of ethnic identity was performed using the NUD*IST software. The analysis showed multiple ways of ethnic identity negotiation, ranging from an essentialist approach to differentiation and to confusion. Existing approaches to theoretical conceptualization are critically examined, drawing implications for practice.
Molecular analysis and pathogenesis of the feline aplastic anemia retrovirus, feline leukemia virus C-Sarma

We describe the molecular cloning of an anemogenic feline leukemia virus (FeLV), FeLV-C-Sarma, from the productively infected human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line RD(FeLV-C-S). Molecularly cloned FeLV-C-S proviral DNA yielded infectious virus (mcFeLV-C-S) after transfection of mammalian cells, and virus interference studies using transfection-derived virus demonstrated that our clone encodes FeLV belonging to the C subgroup. mcFeLV-C-S did not induce viremia in eight 8-week-old outbred specific-pathogen-free (SPF) cats. It did, however, induce viremia and a rapid, fatal aplastic anemia due to profound suppression of erythroid stem cell growth in 9 of 10 inoculated newborn, SPF cats within 3 to 8 weeks (21 to 58 days) postinoculation. Thus, the genome of mcFeLV-C-S encodes the determinants responsible for the genetically dominant induction of irreversible erythroid aplasia in outbred cats. A potential clue to the pathogenic determinants of this virus comes from previous work indicating that all FeLV isolates belonging to the C subgroup, an envelop-gene-determined property, and only those belonging to the C subgroup, are potent, consistent inducers of aplastic anemia in cats. To approach the molecular mechanism underlying the induction of this disease, we first determined the nucleotide sequence of the envelope genes and 3' long terminal repeat of FeLV-C-S and compared it with that of FeLV-B-Gardner-Arnstein (mcFeLV-B-GA), a subgroup-B feline leukemia virus that consistently induces a different disease, myelodysplastic anemia, in neonatal SPF cats. Our analysis revealed that the p15E genes and long terminal repeats of the two FeLV strains are highly homologous, whereas there are major differences in the gp70 proteins, including five regions of significant amino acid differences and apparent sequence substitution. Some of these changes are also reflected in predicted glycosylation sites; the gp70 protein of FeLV-B-GA has 11 potential glycosylation sites, only 8 of which are present in FeLV-C-S.