Promoting positive experiences: Students perceptions and future intentions from attending a Student Organization and Competition Fair

This study explores the role of extra-curricular activities among students. In particular, this study focuses on investigating the effects of student organization and external competition fair on creating students\u27 motivation. Flow and Student Engagement theory supports students\u27 active involvement on campus. The finding highlights the importance of extra-curricular activities on students overall

The significant role of post-pairing male behavior on the evolution of male preferences and female traits

Existing sexual selection theory postulates that a sufficiently large variation in female fecundity or other direct benefits are fundamental for generating male mate choice. In this study, we suggest that, in addition to pre-pairing preferences, choosy males can also have different post-pairing behaviors, a factor which has been comparatively overlooked by previous studies. We found that both male preferences and female traits could evolve much more easily than previously expected when the choosy males that paired with unpreferred females would allocate more efforts to seeking additional post-pairing mating opportunities. Furthermore, a costly female trait could evolve when there was a trade-off between seeking additional mating and paternal care investment within social pair for choosy males. Finally, a costly male preference and a costly female trait might still evolve and reach a stable polymorphic state in the population, which might give rise to a high variability in male choice and female traits in nature. We suggest that male mate choice may be even more common than expected, which needs to be verified empiricall

Fine-grained Complexity Meets IP = PSPACE

In this paper we study the fine-grained complexity of finding exact and approximate solutions to problems in P. Our main contribution is showing reductions from exact to approximate solution for a host of such problems. As one (notable) example, we show that the Closest-LCS-Pair problem (Given two sets of strings $A$ and $B$, compute exactly the maximum $\textsf{LCS}(a, b)$ with $(a, b) \in A \times B$) is equivalent to its approximation version (under near-linear time reductions, and with a constant approximation factor). More generally, we identify a class of problems, which we call BP-Pair-Class, comprising both exact and approximate solutions, and show that they are all equivalent under near-linear time reductions. Exploring this class and its properties, we also show: $\bullet$ Under the NC-SETH assumption (a significantly more relaxed assumption than SETH), solving any of the problems in this class requires essentially quadratic time. $\bullet$ Modest improvements on the running time of known algorithms (shaving log factors) would imply that NEXP is not in non-uniform $\textsf{NC}^1$. $\bullet$ Finally, we leverage our techniques to show new barriers for deterministic approximation algorithms for LCS. At the heart of these new results is a deep connection between interactive proof systems for bounded-space computations and the fine-grained complexity of exact and approximate solutions to problems in P. In particular, our results build on the proof techniques from the classical IP = PSPACE result

Grain boundary effects on magnetotransport in bi-epitaxial films of La0.7_{0.7}Sr0.3_{0.3}MnO3_3

The low field magnetotransport of La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ (LSMO) films grown on SrTiO$_3$ substrates has been investigated. A high qualtity LSMO film exhibits anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and a peak in the magnetoresistance close to the Curie temperature of LSMO. Bi-epitaxial films prepared using a seed layer of MgO and a buffer layer of CeO$_2$ display a resistance dominated by grain boundaries. One film was prepared with seed and buffer layers intact, while a second sample was prepared as a 2D square array of grain boundaries. These films exhibit i) a low temperature tail in the low field magnetoresistance; ii) a magnetoconductance with a constant high field slope; and iii) a comparably large AMR effect. A model based on a two-step tunneling process, including spin-flip tunneling, is discussed and shown to be consistent with the experimental findings of the bi-epitaxial films.Comment: REVTeX style; 14 pages, 9 figures. Figure 1 included in jpeg format (zdf1.jpg); the eps was huge. Accepted to Phys. Rev.

The evolution of post-pairing male mate choice

An increasing number of empirical studies in animals have demonstrated male mate choice. However, little is known about the evolution of postpairing male choice, specifically which occurs by differential allocation of male parental care in response to female signals. We use a population genetic model to examine whether such postpairing male mate choice can evolve when males face a trade-off between parental care and extra-pair copulations (EPCs). Specifically, we assume that males allocate more effort to providing parental care when mated to preferred (signaling) females, but they are then unable to allocate additional effort to seek EPCs. We find that both male preference and female signaling can evolve in this situation, under certain conditions. First, this evolution requires a relatively large difference in parental investment between males mated to preferred versus nonpreferred females. Second, whether male choice and female signaling alleles become fixed in a population versus cycle in their frequencies depends on the additional fecundity benefits from EPCs that are gained by choosy males. Third, less costly female signals enable both signaling and choice alleles to evolve under more relaxed conditions. Our results also provide a new insight into the evolution of sexual conflict over parental care

A Comparative Photophysical Study of Structural Modifications of Thioflavin T-Inspired Fluorophores.

The benzothiazolium salt, Thioflavin T (ThT), has been widely adopted as the "gold-standard" fluorescent reporter of amyloid in vitro. Its properties as a molecular rotor result in a large-scale (∼1000-fold) fluorescence turn-on upon binding to β-sheets in amyloidogenic proteins. However, the complex photophysics of ThT combined with the intricate and varied nature of the amyloid binding motif means these interactions are poorly understood. To study this important class of fluorophores, we present a detailed photophysical characterization and comparison of a novel library of 12 ThT-inspired fluorescent probes for amyloid protein (PAPs), where both the charge and donor capacity of the heterocyclic and aminobenzene components have been interrogated, respectively. This enables direct photophysical juxtaposition of two structural groups: the neutral "PAP" (class 1) and the charged "mPAP" fluorophores (class 2). We quantify binding and optical properties at both the bulk and single-aggregate levels with some derivatives showing higher aggregate affinity and brightness than ThT. Finally, we demonstrate their abilities to perform super-resolution imaging of α-synuclein fibrils with localization precisions of ∼16 nm. The properties of the derivatives provide new insights into the relationship between chemical structure and function of benzothiazole probes.EPSRC Follow on Fund, EPSRC DTC, Royal Society UR

Synergistic recapturing of external and internal phosphorus for in situ eutrophication mitigation

In eutrophication management, many phosphorus (P) adsorbents have been developed to capture P at the laboratory scale. Existing P removal practice in freshwaters is limited due to the lack of assessment of the possibility and feasibility of controlling P level towards a very low level (such as 10 μg/L) in order to prevent the harmful algal blooms. In this study, a combined external and internal P control approach was evaluated in a simulated pilot-scale river-lake system. In total, 0.8 m 3 of simulated river water was continuously supplied to be initially treated by a P adsorption column filled with a granulated lanthanum/aluminium hydroxide composite (LAH) P adsorbent. At the outlet of the column (i.e., inlet of the receiving tanks), the P concentration decreased from 230 to 20 µ g/L at a flow rate of 57 L/day with a hydraulic loading rate of 45 m/d. In the receiving tanks (simulated lake), 90 g of the same adsorbent material was added into 1 m 3 water for further in situ treatment, which reduced and maintained the P concentration at 10 µ g/L for 5 days. The synergy of external and internal P recapture was demonstrated to be an effective strategy for maintaining the P concentration below 10 µ g/L under low levels of P water input. The P removal was not significantly affected by temperature (5-30 °C), and the treatment did not substantially alter the water pH. Along with the superior P adsorption capacity, less usage of LAH could lead to reduced cost for potation eutrophication control compared with other widely used P adsorbents