Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Teachers’ Cultural Stereotypical Belief on Academic Achievement among African American Males

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of teacher’s cultural stereotypical beliefs on the academic performance of African-American males. The population for this study consisted of 96 middle school reading and mathematics teachers from middle schools located in urban school districts in Southern and Midwest sections of the United States. A questionnaire was developed to gather the data. The data revealed any attempt to predict the reading achievement scores of African-American male students should include teachers’ cultural stereotypical beliefs components of blaming the victim, oppression, pseudoscience, temporal changes, educability, and heterodoxy. These factors account for 25 percent of the variance in reading achievement scores.
Perceived employability skills of graduating students: implications for SMES

Companies and employers are complaining that they do not have enough supply of manpower despite the high rate of graduates produced by the higher learning institutions. It results in graduates being unemployed or getting jobs that do not commensurate with their qualification. Whilst the phenomenon of unemployed graduates has been attributed to a number of factors, one being the selective attitude of the graduates themselves, past studies have indicated that unemployment problem lies in the mismatch between the skills required by employers and those possessed by the potential employees. In general, the industry needs both the technical skills which most graduates have, and the soft skills, which unfortunately they lack. To ensure the employability of their graduates, higher education institutions, therefore, need to equip their students with the right skill set. This study aims to measure the employability skills among the final year undergraduate students in UNITAR. Eight variables that make up the employability skills namely communication skills, English language proficiency, ICT skill, team working skill, leadership skill, interpersonal skill, problem solving and adaptability skills. Data were collected through a set of questionnaire and a descriptive analysis of the data was done to find out the level of employability skills among the respondents. Students’ demographic data such as age, gender and area of specializations were used to compare their employability skills. Discussion and recommendations are then made based on the result of the analysis.
Effectiveness of crude extract and purified protein from Vigna unguiculata seed in purification of charco dam water for drinking in Tanzania

Due to chronic water supply problems prevailing in most rural areas of Tanzania, households are obliged to use man made water reservoirs (charco dams) for drinking after receiving inadequate treatment using powdered seeds from different plant species. This study is aimed at investigating the capacity of crude extract and purified proteins (coagulant proteins) from Vigna unguiculata (VUP) seed to purify drinking water from Nunguru charco dam. Coagulant proteins were purified from V. unguiculata crude seed extract (VUCE) by modified ion exchange chromatography technique. The VUP were found to be cationic in nature and have the molecular mass of about 6 kDa, which is very similar to the coagulant proteins purified from Moringa oleifera and Parkinsonia aculeata seeds. The coagulation potentials of VUP and VUCE were verified by jar experiments and the performances were compared to those of aluminium sulphate (alum) using water samples with initial turbidity of 880 NTU. The coagulant proteins reduced most pollutants to the levels that complied with the Tanzania Drinking Water Standards and WHO standards. Minimum residual turbidity achieved by both VUCE and VUP was 3 NTU and 12 NTU for alum. The VUP performed best at the dosage of 8 mg/L which was almost ten times lower than that observed for VUCE (76 mg/L). The VUP reduced organic load in treated water by 80% while VUCE increased it by almost 100%. Although the VUP and VUCE did not alter the pH and alkalinity of the treated water, the VUP increased the conductivity of water substantially without affecting the water palatability. The VUP and VUCE reduced Fe2+ in coagulated by 93 - 98% while NO3− and PO43- were reduced by 91 – 99% and 94 - 99.6%, respectively. The VUP and alum reduced fecal indicators by 94 and 98.6% respectively. The purification procedure of coagulant proteins is simple and user friendly and hence it could be scaled up for large scale production of coagulant proteins for use in water treatment processes in Tanzania. The VUCE and VUP are recommended for production of drinking water and other domestic uses so as to reduce the incidences of cholera and improve people's health and hygiene.
Increased motivation for physical activity among readers of lifestyle intervention articles

The main purpose of this study was to investigate if readers of lifestyle intervention articles published in a newspaper became more motivated for physical activity (PA). A secondary aim was to chart reader characteristics like sex, age and PA level. In 2014, a regional newspaper with 152 000 readers in Stavanger, Norway followed the story of four untrained adults trying to become physically fit. Their goal was to run an 8.2 km park race after 13 weeks of training. A panel of 623 newspaper readers answered a questionnaire about their own PA level and motivation to increase their PA level after reading the articles. Twenty percent of the readers (127 of 623) reported that they always or usually read the intervention articles, which was equal to the number who never read these articles. There was no significant difference in the distribution of men and women within these different categories. Sixteen percent of the reader panel (estimated to 24 000 readers) reported that they were motivated to become more physically active after reading the articles. The study indicates a great potential for promoting a healthy lifestyle by publishing lifestyle interventions in a newspaper.
Role for Substance P–Based Nociceptive Signaling in Progenitor Cell Activation and Angiogenesis During Ischemia in Mice and in Human Subjects

Background— Pain triggers a homeostatic alarm reaction to injury. It remains unknown, however, whether nociceptive signaling activated by ischemia is relevant for progenitor cells (PC) release from bone marrow. To this end, we investigated the role of the neuropeptide substance P (SP) and cognate neurokinin 1 (NK1) nociceptor in PC activation and angiogenesis during ischemia in mice and in human subjects. Methods and Results— The mouse bone marrow contains sensory fibers and PC that express SP. Moreover, SP-induced migration provides enrichment for PC that express NK1 and promote reparative angiogenesis after transplantation in a mouse model of limb ischemia. Acute myocardial infarction and limb ischemia increase SP levels in peripheral blood, decrease SP levels in bone marrow, and stimulate the mobilization of NK1-expressing PC, with these effects being abrogated by systemic administration of the opioid receptor agonist morphine. Moreover, bone marrow reconstitution with NK1-knockout cells results in depressed PC mobilization, delayed blood flow recovery, and reduced neovascularization after ischemia. We next asked whether SP is instrumental to PC mobilization and homing in patients with ischemia. Human PC express NK1, and SP-induced migration provides enrichment for proangiogenic PC. Patients with acute myocardial infarction show high circulating levels of SP and NK1-positive cells that coexpress PC antigens, such as CD34, KDR, and CXCR4. Moreover, NK1-expressing PC are abundant in infarcted hearts but not in hearts that developed an infarct after transplantation. Conclusions— Our data highlight the role of SP in reparative neovascularization. Nociceptive signaling may represent a novel target of regenerative medicine.
Poverty and the Rural Non-Farm Economy in Oromia, Ethiopia

The rural non-farm sector has gained increasing importance over the past decades. In much of Africa, this has had limited effect on the poor, who face entry barriers to non-farm activities. As a result, the nonfarm economy does not reduce poverty but increases inequality instead. Some, but not all, evidence for Ethiopia, however, contradicts this general pattern: the poor do participate in the nonfarm economy, but apparently this does not lift them out of poverty. The present paper analyses the relation between non-farm income and inequality in Oromia, the largest state of Ethiopia, where most households rely on rainfed agriculture for their livelihood. The traditional development approach of providing technology and infrastructure to increase agricultural production has not succeeded in curbing the trend of increasing poverty, and alternative sources of productive employment must be sought in order to support the additional workforce created by population growth. The question is whether the focus of policy should be on improving access of the poor to existing nonfarm activities or on improving the profitability of these activities. We use two complementary methodologies to answer this question: i) econometric estimates of household participation in the non-farm sector; and ii) Gini decomposition of income inequality by sou rce. The results indicate that general growth in the non-farm sector will benefit the poor and that no targeted measures ro increase access of the poor are required.
Calf Production and Husbandry Practices of Agropastoralists in Peri-urban Centres of Southern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria

A cross-sectional survey was done in four Local Governments Areas of Niger State in southern Guinea savannah of northern Nigeria to determine the calf production and husbandry practices of agropastoralists. The study was conducted using interview and administration of structured questionnaires to 100 randomly selected agropastoralists. Average herd size was 15.6 with more bull calves than heifer calves. The ratio of bull calf to heifer calf was 1:1. Bunaji calves were the dominant breed, while Sokoto Gudali calves were the minority. Whereas average number of suckling bull calves was lower than weaned bull calves, suckling heifer calves were more in number than weaned heifer calves. Overall mortality rate was 5.51% with majority (46.51%) occurring in the first three months of life. Mortality was higher in dry season (68.6%) than in wet season (34.4%) and there were more female deaths (65.12%) than male deaths (34.88%). Diarrhoea (48.86%) and helminthosis (39.77%) were the most prevalent diseases in wet season, while soil eating was the major disease in dry season. Few agropastoralists (23%) utilized veterinary services as against majority (77%) depending on self-medication and local herbs for treating their stock. Calves were maintained on free range grazing, browsing and crop residues without provision for housing. Rangelands were, however, the major source of feed for the calves which were rarely supplemented with concentrate even during the dry season. The most commonly used supplement was browse fodders, and Daniellia oliveri was the most lopped browse species for feeding the calves. Feed supplementation was common in dry season (100%) compared to wet season (16.67%). Only 4.5% of the agropastoralists practised castration. Calf husbandry was the exclusive responsible of male children. The age at which calves were separated from their dams overnight, in order to prevent overnight suckling, ranged from 2 to 2.5 months with an average of 2.25 months. Average age of calves at full grazing and weaning were 4.25 months and 9 months respectively. Most farmers (80%) preferred weaning their calves during the wet season. Calf production in the study area is a traditional smallholder affair with little or no input and poor husbandry practices. Improved feeding, and provision of infrastructure, affordable veterinary services and extension services to educate the farmers and assist them in adopting improved husbandry practices will improve the present calf production level.
Option pricing with time-changed Lévy processes

In this article, we introduce two new six-parameter processes based on time-changing tempered stable distributions and develop an option pricing model based on these processes. This model provides a good fit to observed option prices. To demonstrate the advantages of the new processes, we conduct two empirical studies to compare their performance to other processes that have been used in the literature.
Effects of solar cycle variations on oxygen green line emission rate over Kiso, Japan

A sixteen year long dataset of mesospheric OI 557.7 nm green line nightglow emission rate, measured over Kiso (35.79°N, 137.63°E), Japan using ground-based photometers is spectrally investigated using the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT). The spectrograms reveal the presence of semi-annual, annual and quasi-biennial oscillations in consonance with the results obtained from wavelet analysis in an earlier study. In addition, due to the use of the HHT, we have been able to investigate the very low frequency solar cycle variation in the emission rate. It is found that there is a significant solar cycle effect on the oxygen green line emission rate. The mean amplitude of variation is approximately 20% and it is also found that it is maximum at midnight. A correlation study between the means of the emission rate and the solar radio flux at 10.7 cm also shows that the effect of solar activity on the oxygen green line emission rate is maximum at midnight.
Heterogeneity of farmers' preferences towards agri-environmental schemes across different agricultural subsystems

Specialised literature on the uptake of agri-environmental schemes (AES) has paid little attention to how this can be influenced by the different types of agricultural systems. This paper analyses the heterogeneity of farmers' preferences towards these schemes, distinguishing between different subsystems within the same agricultural system. We use the choice experiment method to analyse the case study of three olive grove subsystems in southern Spain, with the subsystems ranging from extensive to intensive. The results reveal inter- and intra-subsystem heterogeneity of farmers' preferences towards AES, both in general and specifically related to scheme attributes. A variety of factors appear to lie behind inter-subsystem heterogeneity, especially those associated with subsystem specificities (principally, the type of joint production). Likewise, numerous factors play a role in intra-subsystem heterogeneity, most of them related to farm/farmer socio-economic and physical characteristics. These findings will help in the design of more efficient AES.
Reduction of EMI coupling between motor and grid connections in a two-level voltage source AC drive

PERTTU KAIPIA: Reduction of EMI coupling between motor and grid connections in a two-level voltage source AC drive Tampere University of Technology Master of Science Thesis, 66 pages, 6 Appendix pages August 2018 Master’s Degree Programme in Electrical Engineering Major: Power Electronics Examiner: Assistant Professor Tuomas Messo
Recent Trends in the Identification of Incidental Pulmonary Nodules.

RATIONALE Pulmonary nodules are common incidental findings, but information about their incidence in the era of computed tomography (CT) is lacking. OBJECTIVES To examine recent trends in pulmonary nodule identification. METHODS We used electronic health records and natural language processing to identify members of an integrated health system who had nodules measuring 4 to 30 mm. We calculated rates of chest CT imaging, nodule identification, and receipt of a new lung cancer diagnosis within 2 years of nodule identification, and standardized rates by age and sex to estimate the frequency of nodule identification in the U.S. population in 2010. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Between 2006 and 2012, more than 200,000 adult members underwent 415,581 chest CT examinations. The annual frequency of chest CT imaging increased from 1.3 to 1.9% for all adult members, whereas the frequency of nodule identification increased from 24 to 31% for all scans performed. The annual rate of chest CT increased from 15.4 to 20.7 per 1,000 person-years, and the rate of nodule identification increased from 3.9 to 6.6 per 1,000 person-years, whereas the rate of a new lung cancer diagnosis remained stable. By extrapolation, more than 4.8 million Americans underwent at least one chest CT scan and 1.57 million had a nodule identified, including 63,000 who received a new lung cancer diagnosis within 2 years. CONCLUSIONS Incidental pulmonary nodules are an increasingly common consequence of routine medical care, with an incidence that is much greater than recognized previously. More frequent nodule identification has not been accompanied by increases in the diagnosis of cancerous nodules.
Study of the March 31 , 2001 magnetic storm effects on the ionosphere using GPS data

Despite the fact that much has been learned about the Sun-Earth relationship during disturbed conditions, understanding the effects of magnetic storms on the neutral and ionized upper atmosphere is still one of the most challenging topics remaining in the physics of this atmospheric region. In order to investigate the magnetospheric and ionospheric-thermospheric coupling processes, many researchers are taking advantage of the dispersive nature of the ionosphere to compute total electron content (TEC) from Global Positioning System (GPS) dual-frequency data. Even though there are currently a large number of GPS receivers in continuous operation, they are unevenly distributed for ionosphere study purposes, being situated mostly in the Northern Hemisphere. The relatively smaller number of GPS receivers located in the Southern Hemisphere and, consequently, the reduced number of available TEC measurements, cause ionospheric modelling to be less accurate in this region. In the work discussed in this paper, the University of New Brunswick Ionospheric Modelling Technique (UNB-IMT) has been used to describe the local time and geomagnetic latitude dependence of the TEC during the March 31, 2001 magnetic storm with an emphasis on the effects in the Southern Hemisphere. Data collected from several GPS networks worldwide, including the Brazilian Network for Continuous Monitoring, have been used along with ionosonde measurements to investigate the global ionospheric response to this severe storm. Data analysis revealed interesting ionospheric effects, which are shown to be dependent on the local time at the storm commencement and the magnetic conditions previous to and during the storm period. The southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field during the recovery phase of the storm began a process of substorm activity and development and intensification of electrojet activity over broad regions. Observed effects on the ionosphere during that storm are analysed and the mechanisms that gave rise to the ionospheric behaviour are discussed.
Antecedents of Continuous Usage Intention of Mobile Banking Services from the Perspective of DeLone and McLean Model of Information System Success

Mobile banking (M-banking) has been attested to play an important role in customer satisfaction therefore retention and inclination of the customers to decide and sustainable usage of the banking services. Presumably, relative advantage, post-use-trust influence and attitudinal loyalty plays important role in the decision of the continuous usage of M-banking. In addition to the specific factors, there are other important factors, which are required to be identified and modeled in evaluating the tendencies and intentions of continuous usage of M-banking. To discuss these and similar other factors affecting the customers post-use-trust, this study extends the key framework of DeLone and McLean (2003) by assessing the efficacy of the determinants of the post-adoption satisfaction and intention of continuous usage. Expected modification includes the identification of the effects of the relative advantage, post-use-trust influence and attitudinal loyalty. A key expectation of this study is to review the aspects of retention models in literature and hence propose a generalized approach towards identification and assessing determinants of overall satisfaction of M-banking customers generally and specifically of the intention of post-adoption and continuous usage and post-use-trust. It is expected that evidence of such modification and extension of the framework will lead to conclusion and findings towards key factors of post-adoption satisfaction and customer inclination and intention towards continuous usage of M-banking and hence will be beneficial for the banking sector researchers.
Gulf of Mexico Historic ( 1955-1987 ) Surface Drifter Data Analysis

Analysis of historic (1955-1987) surface drifters (mostly cards and bottles) released in the Gulf of Mexico reflect two meteorological seasons of the Gulf, winter and nonwinter. Five clusters of high drifter recoveries evident in both seasons were identified: 1) south Texas; 2) Louisiana-Texas border; 3) Mississippi River Delta to Cape San BIas, Florida; 4) Tampa, west Florida; and 5) southern to eastern Florida. A chi-squared test revealed that the distributions of drifter landings and human population, represented by human marine activities, are different at the 95% confidence level. Currents and winds are the dominant factors controlling the geographical distribution of drifter landings, while population density in coastal areas plays a minor role. The drifters' geographical distribution and the distributions of marine mammal and turtle strandings have correlations (statistically not significant) of 0.25 and 0.31, respectively. Recovered drifters in selected segments in the eastern Gulf received drifters released primarily in the eastern Gulf, whereas western areas received drifters from everywhere. This distribution is probably the result of the westward surface drift driven by prevailing westward winds in the Gulf. Landing probabilities from drifters when compared with results from the Oil Spill Risk Analysis (OSRA) model were within an order of magnitude and their spatial distributions have correlation coefficients of 0.44 to 0.49 (significant at 80% level) for the total, winter, and nonwinter seasons.
Microstructure evolution during electromigration between Sn–9Zn solder and Cu

This study investigated the electromigration behavior between Cu and Sn–9Zn solder under a current density of 1.0 × 10^3 A/cm^2 for up to 230 h. The experimental results indicated that Cu_5Zn_8 was formed at the interface between Cu and the cathode side of the Sn–9Zn solder as well as in the bulk near the anode. Consumption of Cu was also observed for the Cu plating on the cathode side and anodic side, but with less compound formation and Cu consumption at the anode. The intermetallic compound layer on the cathode side was always thicker than that on the anode side after the same current-stressing time. The effect of chemical potential overwhelms electromigration in inducing Zn diffusion when a counterflow of electrons and chemical potential gradient exists. Voids formed at the Cu_5Zn_8–solder interface inside the solder regardless of the direction of current flow.
The organisation of pedagogy in a learnership model of teacher education

The different ways in which student teacher learning was organised and managed as part of the Level 6 Learnership for Educators in Schooling are described. Three primary schools working in 2003 with the Cape Technikon were chosen for the study. Lave and Wenger's notion of situated learning is used as the conceptual framework for describing the purpose of a learnership. The article focuses on the spatial and temporal organisation of this learnership, the knowledge and practices that are privileged in each school, how these repertoires are made available to student teachers and how the student teachers are assessed. Some points for further exploration are raised, in particular around the selection of schools, the roles and responsibilities of mentors, and models of partnership.