Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing Girls' Technical Giftedness and Supporting Their Resilience

The article considers the problem of diagnosis and development of technical giftedness of girls. In the practical part, the results of a study of sex and age dynamics of the development of signs of technical giftedness are presented. It is established that in early adolescence the signs of technical giftedness are more developed than in adolescence. An empirical study showed that it is necessary to overcome gender stereotypes that boys have better developed technical thinking than girls. Using same-sex educational environment to reveal the technical abilities of girls and support their resilience in general has been put forward as a proposal.
Biological Flora of the British Isles: Neottia cordata

This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Neottia cordata (L.) Rich. (Lesser Twayblade; Listera cordata (L.) R. Br. ) that are relevant to an understanding of its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of the British Isles: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, reproductive characteristics, herbivores, history and conservation. Neottia cordata is an inconspicuous orchid, confined to humid heathlands and woodlands rich in bryophytes in the British Isles. Neottia cordata is a polycarpic, perennial herb with populations maintained predominantly by vegetative reproduction from root suckers. The main perennating organ is a short rhizome that produces two new internodes each year. The long adventitious roots are mainly colonized not only by mycorrhizal basidiomycetes from the Sebacinales (clade B, Serendipitaceae) but also by several other fungal groups. The species flowers from mid‐April to August depending on latitude and altitude. The flowers possess a sensitive rostellum that releases a viscid fluid when touched, ensuring that the pollinia are glued to the pollinator. The flowers produce nectar and are pollinated mainly by fungus gnats (Mycetophilidae and Sciaridae). Between 60% and 80% of open flowers set fruits. Neottia cordata is classified as Least Concern in Great Britain. It is still locally abundant in north and west Scotland but has declined elsewhere, especially at lower altitudes, because of burning on grouse moors, drainage of swamps and cutting of wet forests. It is likely to have been under‐recorded throughout its range, particularly in earlier surveys, due to its inconspicuousness.
Transcription factors regulating β-cell function

Type 2 diabetes is primarily associated with insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction. Maintenance of functional mature beta-cells is imperative for ensuring glucose homeostasis. This can be achieved by optimal expression of key transcription factors that are required for normal pancreatic development and maintaining beta-cell function. Defining the regulation of transcription factors as well as their regulation of important beta-cell genes like insulin will provide further insight into elucidating the mechanisms leading to beta-cell dysfunction.
Silencing Folylpolyglutamate Synthetase1 (FPGS1) in Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) Improves Lignocellulosic Biofuel Production

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a lignocellulosic perennial grass with great potential in bioenergy field. Lignocellulosic bioenergy crops are mostly resistant to cell wall deconstruction, and therefore yield suboptimal levels of biofuel. The one-carbon pathway (also known as C1 metabolism) is critical for polymer methylation, including that of lignin and hemicelluloses in cell walls. Folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) catalyzes a biochemical reaction that leads to the formation of folylpolyglutamate, an important cofactor for many enzymes in the C1 pathway. In this study, the putatively novel switchgrass PvFPGS1 gene was identified and its functional role in cell wall composition and biofuel production was examined by RNAi knockdown analysis. The PvFPGS1-downregulated plants were analyzed in the field over three growing seasons. Transgenic plants with the highest reduction in PvFPGS1 expression grew slower and produced lower end-of-season biomass. Transgenic plants with low-to-moderate reduction in PvFPGS1 transcript levels produced equivalent biomass as controls. There were no significant differences observed for lignin content and syringyl/guaiacyl lignin monomer ratio in the low-to-moderately reduced PvFPGS1 transgenic lines compared with the controls. Similarly, sugar release efficiency was also not significantly different in these transgenic lines compared with the control lines. However, transgenic plants produced up to 18% more ethanol while maintaining congruent growth and biomass as non-transgenic controls. Severity of rust disease among transgenic and control lines were not different during the time course of the field experiments. Altogether, the unchanged lignin content and composition in the low-to-moderate PvFPGS1-downregulated lines may suggest that partial downregulation of PvFPGS1 expression did not impact lignin biosynthesis in switchgrass. In conclusion, the manipulation of PvFPGS1 expression in bioenergy crops may be useful to increase biofuel potential with no growth penalty or increased susceptibility to rust in feedstock.
From ‘Thinging’ to ‘Musyawarahing’ and beyond: Adapting PD to diverse cultural contexts and democratic ideals

With Participatory Design (PD) increasingly applied across a range of cultural contexts, there is a growing need to better understand the relationship between PD and the many distinct traditional approaches to decision-making PD encounters and the democratic ideals underpinning them. Currently, the PD discourse is strongly tied to Scandinavian democratic history and ideals. Most prominently, contemporary PD literature has drawn links between design and the etymology of the word ‘Thing’ – a democratic gathering in ancient Northern European societies. While this concept provides a useful lens for planning and analysing PD projects conducted in Scandinavia, other conceptualizations of design might be more useful and appropriate for PD taking place elsewhere. By conducting an initial exploration of traditional approaches to democratic decision-making practiced in parts of the Asia-Pacific, this paper offers a small step towards appreciating the diversity of democratic ideals PD may meet, how PD may adapt to these, and what can be learned from them. The paper, specifically, explores the traditions of musyawarah-mufakat practiced in Indonesia, and to a more limited extend talanoa, berkaul and hui practiced in Fiji, Sumatra, and Aotearoa respectively.
A New Anaspid Fish from the Middle Silurian Cowie Harbour Fish Bed of Stonehaven, Scotland

Abstract A new birkeniid anaspid, Cowielepis ritchiei gen. et sp. nov., from the mid Silurian Cowie Harbour fish bed in Scotland is described on the basis of three specimens. Although sharing characters with various well-known anaspids, it possesses a unique combination of features that justifies the establishment of a new genus. Cowielepis is characterized by a single row of dorsolateral scales and a distinctive skull roof pattern with a large pineal plate and elongated posterior plates. The presence of paired ventrolateral fins in C. ritchiei supports previous suggestions that all anaspids possess such fins, but leaves open the question of homology with the gnathostome pectoral fin.
Avian metapneumovirus studies using Reverse Genetics

Avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) is an enveloped negative sense single stranded RNA virus which is a major endemic respiratory pathogen of global domestic poultry. Since reverse genetic (RG) techniques have been applied to this pathogen several reports have investigated the effects of single and multiple genomic mutations and gene deletions or insertions on viral biology. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the viral capacity to accept and in some cases express homologous and heterologous extra sequences. Initially an AMPV subtype A was modified to introduce a homologous 200 bp sequence within the G gene and this recombinant was suggested to be used as a positive control for validating all stages of a previously established RT-nested PCR. Different Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) AMPV recombinants were then prepared each one containing the reporter gene in a different intergenic position and then were assessed for expression, stability and viability. In particular, quantification of the expression was calculated using a quantitative ELISA. All recombinants showed high stability, while good viability was observed in all the positions, except when GFP was inserted between nucleocapsid (N) and phosphoprotein (P). The highest expression was detected in the virus with the insertion between N and P as expected, according to the transcriptional model for non-segmented negative stranded viruses. However GFP was produced at high levels even when inserted at the trailer end intergenic positions. Poor expression was seen for all the other positions. The vectoring abilities of subtype A strains were further investigated to accept and express foreign genes, specifically GFP gene and both spike (S1) and nucleocapsid (N) genes of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). After viruses had been recovered by RG, all recombinants were proven to express the inserted genes efficiently and were all found to be highly stable during passage in vitro. Subsequently IBV recombinants were tested as candidate vaccines by eye-drop inoculation of one-day-old chickens. When chicks were challenged with IBV, partial protection results were observed, as assessed by greater motility of tracheal cilia from animals receiving the recombinants. Finally the development of a new RG system was attempted in order to extend this type of studies to the B subtype. This subtype is distributed worldwide and growing field evidence suggests it to be more able to infect commercial chickens compared to subtype A. For this reason it would be convenient to have an RG available also for B viruses. The construction of a DNA copy of the viral genome was attempted using site-directed mutagenesis and ligation techniques, resulting in more than 85% of the genome cloned. Unfortunately full genome cloning proved to be not possible, as severe problems were encountered, including construct instability and cloning bacteria intolerance to viral sequences.
Macroscopic anatomy of the omasum of free‐ranging moose (Alces alces) and muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and a comparison of the omasal laminal surface area in 34 ruminant species

The function of the 'third compartment' of the ruminant forestomach, the omasum, has been debated for a long time. To date, it is assumed that its major function is fluid reabsorption. In order to investigate differences in this organ between ruminant feeding types, we first compared macroscopic measurements of the omasa of free-ranging muskoxen Ovibos moschatus [n=6, mean body mass (BM) 207 kg, range 180-221], a grazer, and free-ranging moose Alces alces (n=11, mean BM 291 kg, range 144-418), a strict browser. Despite the similar BM range, omasa of muskoxen contained more ingesta, had a higher empty organ weight, had more third- and fourth-order laminae, and represented a higher proportion of the total forestomach weight. In particular, the surface area of the omasal leaves - the area available for fluid absorption - was significantly larger in muskoxen (10 933 +/- 940 cm(2)) than in moose (2228 +/- 885 cm(2)). In order to test whether the difference in available surface area is a true functional correlate of feeding type, additional data on the omasal laminar surface area were generated for 83 individuals of 19 species. These data were supplemented with data on 13 additional species from the literature. The percentage of grass (%grass) in the natural diet was used to characterize the feeding type; the phylogenetic tree used for a controlled statistical evaluation was entirely based on mitochondrial DNA information. Regardless of phylogenetic control in the statistical treatment, there was a significant positive correlation of both BM and %grass in the natural diet with omasal laminar surface area. The data suggest that certain ruminant species that ingest more grass have larger omasal leaf surface areas, possibly indicating a higher need for water reabsorption distal to the ruminoreticulum, which could be explained as a consequence of the more distinct rumen contents stratification in these species.
The distribution of mammal body masses

How the diversity of organisms relates to their body sizes has long been a question of interest to biologists, an interest that has grown as data have become available from an increasing number of taxa at ever larger spatial scales. Here, we examine the form of this relationship for a large proportion of the global placental mammal fauna. In common with other large‐scale assemblages, the frequency distribution of mammal body masses is strongly right‐skewed, even after logarithmic transformation. The modal body mass is slightly lower than predicted by a recent energetic fitness model, but the exact modal value depends on the taxonomic inclusivity of the analyses. Moreover, threatened species are larger bodied than expected by chance, suggesting that extinct species may also have been so. Therefore, the loss of large‐bodied species from the global mammalian fauna could potentially have lowered the mode of the distribution. However, this loss must be balanced against evidence that most mammal species for which body mass data were not available for our analyses are small‐bodied, which may in turn raise the apparent mode of the distribution. Clearly, tests of explanations for patterns in body size frequency distributions will be complicated by the fact that present‐day distributions may be significantly biased by species that are missing from them.
Momentum, the Disposition Effect and Beta

The existence of a premium to momentum portfolios, formed by buying recent winners and selling recent losers is widely accepted, although the source of the returns remains controversial. It remains a focus of behavioural finance. We focus on one set of explanations, based on prospect theory, specifically the disposition effect. This paper develops a model of stock price movement based on our interpretation of the disposition effect and demonstrates how momentum is generated under this model. Analysis of the models predicts a number of relationships not previously reported, including a negative relationship between momentum returns and the market and a temporary reduction in market beta for positive momentum equities. We provide empirical evidence of these relationships in market data, consistent with the hypothesis that the disposition effect is influences investor behaviour.
GEM Cell Line Establishment, Characterization, and Analysis

Spring 2013 | Volume 7 Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal 4 GEM Cell Line Establishment, Characterization, and Analysis Daniel Chester Abate-Shen Lab, Columbia University, New York NY 10027 Abstract The use of in-vitro cell lines in conjunction with in-vivo mouse models is a common practice in the study of cancer. Culturing cells with the same genotypes as the specific strains of mice being used in studies can be very important and useful in supplementing the research and findings in-vivo. The purpose of this particular study was to develop, characterize, and analyze different cell lines in order to utilize them in conjunction with mice in the lab. We have successfully established two cell lines from two different mouse models. We determined that the two different genetic strains of mice generate two different types of cells when grown in culture that accurately reflect the source strains. The purpose of this project was to adapt a protocol meant for establishing human breast tumors to mouse prostate models, and then to test if the correct cells had been isolated for future use. Western blotting and other testing verified the correct cell type, therefore this project succeeding in developing a method for establishing more cell lines in the future.
Laser speckle denoising with deep convolutional network

Laser speckle is a long-standing issue which will corrupt image formation and interpretation. Over the years, various techniques have been developed to mitigate the speckle noise. Although machine learning approaches have been widely applied for image denoising tasks, there are very few of them are specifically designed for speckle reduction. In this work, we present a network specialized for reducing speckle noise in images. The training set consists of nearly 3,000 coherent- and incoherent-illuminated image pairs of a variety objects. The network is trained to learn a transformation from speckled to speckle-free images. We compare against the traditional image processing methods, and show that our learning-based approach outperforms these methods regarding both high PSNR, SSIM results and maintaining high-frequency edge features. Our data-driven approach dramatically reduces laser speckle noise by 11.71 dB, compared to a 0.17 dB reduction from non-local means filtering, a 0.1 dB reduction from median filtering and a 0.12 dB reduction from Gaussian filtering. Moreover, conventional image processing approaches reduce both laser speckle and high-frequency image features, which will result in the blurring effect. In contrast with optical speckle-denoising approaches, our method reduces cost and computational complexity. So, applications that require small and bright illumination sources with high-quality imaging can benefit from our work.
Plant Resistance to Infection by Viruses

Among the most devastating pathogens, plant viruses are responsible for considerable losses of most agronomically important crops in the fields. The development and use of cultivars that are genetically resistant to viruses is an efficient strategy to tackle the problems associated with virus diseases. Recently, important advances have been made in our understanding of the molecular nature and mechanisms associated with natural recessive and dominant resistance genes, as well as in the antiviral defence system based on ribonucleic acids, referred to as RNA silencing. In this review, the authors summarise current knowledge about the defence mechanisms that prevent or limit viral infection in plants and discuss the likely collaboration of these different antiviral strategies insuring the resistance of the whole plant. Key Concepts: A vast number of natural recessive resistances to plant viruses encode translational factors that are fully required for infection success. Most of plant antiviral R genes encode NBS-LRR proteins that mediate resistance through the specific (direct or indirect) recognition of a virus avirulence factor. Plant hormone balance participates actively to plant virus resistance and can be modulated by viruses. The mechanisms of RNA silencing (or RNA interference) target virus multiplication at the nucleic acid level. Plant immunity against viruses results from a highly efficient build-up of all resistance mechanisms. Keywords: plant resistance; recessive and dominant resistances; R genes; plant hormones; RNA silencing; innate immunity
Development and Optimization of Quantitative PCR Assays to Aid Ostrea lurida Carpenter 1864 Restoration Efforts

ABSTRACT The Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida)† is a prime candidate for the development of a rapid, high throughput, species-specific larval identification and quantification assay. We developed O. lurida specific DNA primers and a fluorescently labeled probe that amplify a mitochondrial DNA region cytochrome oxidase 1 subunit (COI) to use in quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We also developed qPCRs for the specific detection of Neotrypaea californiensis and Upogebia pugettensis, two burrowing shrimp species that have been shown to have a negative effect on oyster bed habitat. The primer and probes amplified only the target organisms. Using standard curves constructed from known quantities of larvae, we are able to rapidly and accurately identify and estimate unknown quantities of larvae. In blind tests, direct counts of O. lurida larvae did not significantly differ from qPCR estimates. DNA was fully liberated from up to 80 O. lurida larvae, and 10 N. californiensis larvae; PCRs were not inhibited as demonstrated by an internal positive control multiplexed into the qPCRs. Genetic based assays are an extremely useful method for sorting complex plankton samples that can be more time and cost effective than traditional microscopy techniques. Our qPCR assay may prove to be a valuable tool to monitor O. lurida restoration site productivity as well as increase our understanding of this critical life history stage.
BIOMINERALIZATION OF THE STALKS OF ANTHOPHYSA VEGETANS (CHRYSOPHYCEAE) 1

Mineralized stalks of the chryophyte Anthophysa ve‐getans (O. F. Müller) Stein were examined by electron microscopy, and the composition of the stalks was determined by energy dispersive x‐ray microanalysis. Colonies grown in water from a local lake (Dowdy Lake) had mineralized stalks that were colorless and composed mainly of spherules of calcium phosphate up to 0.7 μm in diameter. The addition of 0.1 mM MnCl2 to the culture medium resulted in deeply orange‐brown stalks mineralized primarily with minute granules of a manganese compound. The addition of 0.1 mM FeCl3 to the culture media resulted in light yellow stalks mineralized mainly with small granules of an iron compound. The addition of 0.1 mM MgCl2 or KCl resulted in stalks that were similar in appearance and composition to the colonies grown in culture medium alone. These results show that the composition of the mineralized stalks of A. vegetans is dependent on the elements present in the culture medium. This is also the first time that calcium phosphate has been reported as a mineralization product in the chrysophytes.
First report on large scleractinian (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) accumulations in cold-temperate shallow water of south Chilean fjords

South Chilean fjords contain an astonishing diverse benthic macrofauna of which anthozoans form a major portion. Azooxanthellate solitary scleractinians, which were hitherto known from major depths, were found as shallow as 8 m during several expeditions to the south Chilean fjord region. At some sites, stony corals dominate the macrofauna and form dense aggregations, which may cover several 10’s of square meters in depths below 25 m. The discovery of these communities in shallow water for the first time allows for in situ observations and structural analysis of these populations by means of SCUBA diving. For further studies, living and dead corals were sampled, photographed, and dried for preservation. Several specimens and tissue samples were preserved in 96% ethanol. The sampled specimens were identified as Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) and Caryophyllia Lamarck, 1801 spec. nov. Specimens of D. dianthus found on a shipwreck allowed for growth rate estimations. Minimum growth rates were estimated as 2.3 mm longitudinal growth per year and 1.6 mm diameter growth. Due to increasing human impact on benthic communities in Chilean fjords, especially through salmon farming, it cannot be excluded that these coral communities are in danger before they are even studied.