Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tsetse Bloodmeal Analyses Incriminate the Common Warthog Phacochoerus africanus as an Important Cryptic Host of Animal Trypanosomes in Smallholder Cattle Farming Communities in Shimba Hills, Kenya

Trypanosomes are endemic and retard cattle health in Shimba Hills, Kenya. Wildlife in the area act as reservoirs of the parasites. However, wild animal species that harbor and expose cattle to tsetse-borne trypanosomes are not well known in Shimba Hills. Using xeno-monitoring surveillance to investigate wild animal reservoirs and sources of trypanosomes in Shimba Hills, we screened 696 trypanosome-infected and uninfected tsetse flies for vertebrate DNA using multiple-gene PCR-High Resolution Melting analysis and amplicon sequencing. Results revealed that tsetse flies fed on 13 mammalian species, preferentially Phacochoerus africanus (warthogs) (17.39%, 95% CI: 14.56–20.21) and Bos taurus (cattle) (11.35%, 95% CI: 8.99–13.71). Some tsetse flies showed positive cases of bloodmeals from multiple hosts (3.45%, 95% CI: 2.09–4.81), including warthog and cattle (0.57%, 95% CI: 0.01–1.14). Importantly, tsetse flies that took bloodmeals from warthog had significant risk of infections with Trypanosoma vivax (5.79%, 95% CI: 1.57–10.00), T. congolense (7.44%, 95% CI: 2.70–12.18), and T. brucei sl (2.48%, 95% CI: −0.33–5.29). These findings implicate warthogs as important reservoirs of tsetse-borne trypanosomes affecting cattle in Shimba Hills and provide valuable epidemiological insights to underpin the parasites targeted management in Nagana vector control programs in the area.
Electrical breakdown in a V2O3 device at the insulator-to-metal transition

We have measured the electrical properties of a V2O3 thin film micro bridge at the insulator-metal transition (IMT). Discontinuous jumps to lower voltages in the current voltage characteristic (IV) followed by an approximately constant voltage progression for high currents indicate an electrical breakdown of the device. In addition, the IV curve shows hysteresis and a training effect, i.e., the subsequent IV loops are different from the first IV loop after thermal cycling. Low-temperature scanning electron microscopy (LTSEM) reveals that the electrical breakdown over the whole device is caused by the formation of electro-thermal domains (ETDs), i.e., the current and temperature redistribution in the device. On the contrary, at the nanoscale, the electrical breakdown causes the IMT of individual domains. In a numerical model we considered these domains as a network of resistors and we were able to reproduce the electro-thermal breakdown as well as the hysteresis and the training effect in the IVs.
Blech effect in single-inlaid Cu interconnects

This work demonstrates that we can prevent electromigration failures in single-inlaid copper during DC electromigration testing by taking advantage of the Blech effect. Electromigration tests were performed on single-inlaid copper metal lines ranging from 5 to 250 /spl mu/m in length at 300/spl deg/C and a stress current density of 1.4/spl times/10/sup 6/ A/cm/sup 2/. Shorter lines showed no resistance increase, while longer lines failed at the same time, independent of line length. The critical product (jl)/sub c/ was calculated to be between 2800 and 3500 A/cm at 300/spl deg/C for single-inlaid copper.
Draft battery of tests for evaluation of motor abilities at 6 years old children

The aim of this paper is to suggest a battery of tests for evaluation of motor abilities in children. The research is conducted at sample of 123 examinees, 6 years old male children, pupils in first grade in five primary schools in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. They were tested in 33 motor tests, hypothetically used for estimation of nine motor abilities. Adequate statistic procedures and methods were used in order to determine test`s discriminativity, reliability, validity and representativity. According obtained result, a battery of 16 motor tests with significant metric characteristics it`s proposed as adequate for further use in evaluation of children`s motor abilities.
Smartphone Addiction in Mexican Engineering Students

Students academic performance could be affected by excessive use of the smartphone. This study focuses on analyzing the level of cell phone addiction in engineering university students. It also seeks to determine if there is a difference by gender in this behavior. 306 engineering students from a Technological Institute in Veracruz, Mexico participated in the study. The instrument used to obtain data was SAS-SV (Smartphone addiction scale-short version) designed by [1]. In order to identify the set of indicators with the highest factor loadings, an exploratory factor analysis was carried out with extraction of components and orthogonal rotation with the Varimax method. To identify if there is a difference by gender, the t test is used to contrast the hypothesis about two independent population means. The findings demonstrated the extraction of two components, which differs from the one-dimensional model proposed by [1], and no difference was found between the groups of male and female students.
Distinct Representations of Tonotopy and Pitch in Human Auditory Cortex

Frequency-to-place mapping, or tonotopy, is a fundamental organizing principle throughout the auditory system, from the earliest stages of auditory processing in the cochlea to subcortical and cortical regions. Although cortical maps are referred to as tonotopic, it is unclear whether they simply reflect a mapping of physical frequency inherited from the cochlea, a computation of pitch based on the fundamental frequency, or a mixture of these two features. We used high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure BOLD responses as male and female human participants listened to pure tones that varied in frequency or complex tones that varied in either spectral content (brightness) or fundamental frequency (pitch). Our results reveal evidence for pitch tuning in bilateral regions that partially overlap with the traditional tonotopic maps of spectral content. In general, primary regions within Heschl's gyri (HGs) exhibited more tuning to spectral content, whereas areas surrounding HGs exhibited more tuning to pitch. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tonotopy, an orderly mapping of frequency, is observed throughout the auditory system. However, it is not known whether the tonotopy observed in the cortex simply reflects the frequency spectrum (as in the ear) or instead represents the higher-level feature of fundamental frequency, or pitch. Using carefully controlled stimuli and high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we separated these features to study their cortical representations. Our results suggest that tonotopy in primary cortical regions is driven predominantly by frequency, but also reveal evidence for tuning to pitch in regions that partially overlap with the tonotopic gradients but extend into nonprimary cortical areas. In addition to resolving ambiguities surrounding cortical tonotopy, our findings provide evidence that selectivity for pitch is distributed bilaterally throughout auditory cortex.
Controlled Epitaxial Growth and Atomically Sharp Interface of Graphene/Ferromagnetic Heterostructure via Ambient Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition

The strong spin filtering effect can be produced by C-Ni atomic orbital hybridization in lattice-matched graphene/Ni (111) heterostructures, which provides an ideal platform to improve the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). However, large-area, high-quality graphene/ferromagnetic epitaxial interfaces are mainly limited by the single-crystal size of the Ni (111) substrate and well-oriented graphene domains. In this work, based on the preparation of a 2-inch single-crystal Ni (111) film on an Al2O3 (0001) wafer, we successfully achieve the production of a full-coverage, high-quality graphene monolayer on a Ni (111) substrate with an atomically sharp interface via ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD). The high crystallinity and strong coupling of the well-oriented epitaxial graphene/Ni (111) interface are systematically investigated and carefully demonstrated. Through the analysis of the growth model, it is shown that the oriented growth induced by the Ni (111) crystal, the optimized graphene nucleation and the subsurface carbon density jointly contribute to the resulting high-quality graphene/Ni (111) heterostructure. Our work provides a convenient approach for the controllable fabrication of a large-area homogeneous graphene/ferromagnetic interface, which would benefit interface engineering of graphene-based MTJs and future chip-level 2D spintronic applications.
Errors of the Standard Photometric System when Measuring the Brightness of General Illumination Light Sources

The standard photometric system is reviewed, and the reported disagreement between visual observations and photometric measurements of the brightness of colored lights is examined. The causes of these disagreements are failure of the proportionality and additivity assumption, as well as errors in the V(λ) function on which the standard photometric system is based. Alternative systems of heterochromatic photometry are discussed and experimental evidence is presented to demonstrate the need for an improved system of photometry for the comparison of different colored lights.
Impact Kinematics of Cyclist and Head Injury Mechanism in Car‐to‐Bicycle Collision

The number of cyclist fatalities is the third highest in traffic accidents in Japan, preceded by pedestrians and car occupants. The head is the most frequently injured body region in fatal cases. No injury assessment tests have been established for cyclist protection while impactor tests are regularly conducted for pedestrian protection. One of the reasons is that impact kinematics and injury mechanism of cyclists are not well understood. This study conducted car‐to‐bicycle collision simulations using finite element models for investigating head kinematics up to the contact with the car body. First, four collision cases were simulated with two car body types and two different impact locations. Impact kinematics of the cyclist was compared among the cases. The cyclist commonly showed an inclined trajectory against the car longitudinal line but the later direction changed in the sport utility vehicle (SUV) cases. Next, a parametric study was conducted assuming various car speed, bicycle speed, impact direction and impact position. The head reached the windshield glass and the A‐pillar in the sedan cases, while it impacted the rear end of the hood and the A‐pillar in the SUV cases. When the head impacted such windshield frames, the model indicated high risks of skull fracture and brain injury.
High frequency signal fluctuations in shallow water propagation

In coastal areas, multipath interferences give rise to large fluctuations in received levels, and hence to major difficulties in defining underwater acoustic transmission systems. This paper presents an experimental analysis of high frequency (up to 12 kHz) signal fading from the study of both envelope fluctuations and channel impulse responses. Orders of magnitudes of several parameters such as fading rates, time-bandwidth product, randomicity are given and compared in order to characterise the channel behaviours. They are analysed according to physical conditions of experimentation and to channel geometrical configurations. Envelope probability density functions are also computed, and compared with Rician theoretical distributions. <<ETX>>
field quantification of crop water stress

ABSTRACT CANOPY temperature is used to quantify crop stress by use of a crop water stress index (CWSI). The index can be developed empirically and theoretically and advantages of each approach are described. Relationships between the CWSI and traditional plant stress parameters such as leaf water potential and stomatal conductance are presented for cotton. The daily change in CWSI for cotton shows its dynamic response to changing atmospheric demand and soil moisture conditions. The value of the CWSI is shown in terms of scheduling irrigations and predicting lint cotton yield.
M-learning: A Nexus for Adult Learners’ Motivation and Readiness to Learn in Federal Universities at Southwest, Nigeria

A ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine the perspective of adult learners on the relationship that exist between motivation to learn, readiness to learn and the use of m-learning for teaching and learning activities. In order to accomplish this, descriptive research survey design was adopted by this study. The population of the study comprised of adult students at the distance learning programmes of Federal Universities in Southwest, Nigeria. The sample for the study comprised of one hundred and twenty adult learners that were selected using multistage sampling techniques. A questionnaire was designed for data collection and validated through face and content validity while the reliability was done through Cronbach Alpha with coefficient 0.89. Collated data were analyzed through simple percentage and Pearson product moment correlation. The findings revealed that adult learners use mobile devices and there are significant relationships between motivation to learn, readiness to learn and the use of m-learning. It was recommended that m-learning should be formally introduced into adult education programme in Nigeria.
Empirical evidence against U.S. H1-B visa restrictions, the case of employment in the manufacturing industry

This empirical research paper provides ample evidence for policy makers to readdress the immigration policy--especially H1-B visa cap restrictions. The paper is focused on employment shifts and human capital achievement for two groups: the U.S. born and foreign-born working within the United States manufacturing industry. The manufacturing industry is the largest industry employer in the country, and it is in the brink of being at a disadvantage in the global stage due to labor shortage as the workforce ages. The paper uses data for three-year periods--2000, 2010, and 2019--from U.S. Census, The American Community Survey (ACS), Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files, thus providing an overview in labor trends and the human capital needed for the industry to be competitive. The paper builds from the Mincer (1974) earnings function to determine hourly wages for the two groups and then uses the Oaxaca-Blinder (1973) method to measure potential bias between the U.S. born and foreign-born employees in the manufacturing industry. The results in this paper align with other recent research findings (Gest et al., 2021; Eckstein & Peri, 2018) that show immigration as a tool to economic competitiveness. The data trends and findings in this paper synchronize with Borjas and Edo (2021) insights indicating that the native-born may respond to supply shocks of immigration by moving to other labor markets that are not directly affected by immigration.
Is White Blood Cell Count Associated With Mortality in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients?: A Retrospective Single-Center Analysis

Objective White blood cell (WBC) count was used as a predictor in researches since it is a prognostic indicator and a substantial predictor of the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). There have been very few reports looking at the association between WBC count and overall mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We intended to explore if the baseline total leukocyte count is linked to all-cause mortality, considering the association for linearity in PD patients. Material and methods The study comprised 204 incident PD patients who began treatment at the Nephrology Department of Health Sciences University, Kayseri Medical Faculty, Kayseri City Hospital between January 2009 and December 2017. The research period ended in January 2018. The link between baseline WBC count and all-cause mortality was studied using Cox proportional hazards models. Results The average age of the patients was 46.75 (8.49) years, and 48.5% were male. Diabetes and hypertension were prevalent in 59.8% and 76% of the population, respectively. The average WBC count was 9.37 (2.70) × 103/µL. The mortality risk increased by 23% for every one-unit increase in the crude model. The hazard of death in the fully corrected model was 1.12 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.23, p = 0.015]. In the models with WBC count stratified by tertiles, the mortality hazard of patients in tertile 2 was 2.38 (95% CI: 1.24-4.58, p = 0.009) and of patients in tertile 3 in the fully adjusted model was 2.64 (95% CI: 1.30-5.33, p = 0.007), compared with patients in tertile 1. Conclusion The initial WBC count may have a long-term impact on patient survival. Individuals with higher basal values or even an elevation in follow-up should therefore be strictly controlled, and all preventative measures should be made to lower the risk level.
Evaluation of the HIV Case-Based Surveillance System: A Pilot of the Electronic Health Record System in Mutare District, Zimbabwe, 2021

Background: Zimbabwe started HIV case-based surveillance in April 2017. Rapid testing for HIV recent infection was introduced into routine HIV and testing services in 2019 along with the Impilo Electronic Health Record System. For the period January-June 2020, only 1 out of 13 health facilities in Mutare district reported seven newly diagnosed HIV patients through the electronic health record system compared to 483 in the District Health Information System (DHIS-2) recorded from paper-based registers. We evaluated the case-based surveillance system attributes, usefulness and reasons for under-re-porting from January-December 2020. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study using updated Centres for Disease Control guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance systems. Questionnaires were admi-nistered to 36 health workers involved in HIV testing services. Facility check-lists were used to collect data on knowledge, system attributes and usefulness of the system. Completed HIV case-based surveillance forms were assessed for completeness. Epi Info Version 7 was used to generate frequencies, means and proportions. Results: The reasons for under-reporting of patients in the electronic health record system were lack of reporting guidelines 26/36 (72%), limited coordination between technical staff and health facilities 24/36 (67%) and limited competency Quarter-4 of 2020. Acceptability was 100% due to reduced paperwork and the ability to generate simple reports. The information generated was used to identify new infection hotspots 28/36 (78%). Conclusion: The HIV cases based surveillance system was timely, acceptable with good data quality. Representativeness was poor due to limited competency on the electronic health record system. As a result, health workers received further training.
Status of women dairy farmers in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat

Prevailed status of women dairy farmers in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat was studied by selecting 150 women farmers randomly covering all talukas. Desired information was collected by questionnaire was analyzed in SPSS 26 software. It revealed that majority women were studied upto secondary standard and were associated with agriculture and animal husbandry together. Mehsani breed of buffalo and Crossbred cow was main preference of women dairy farmers. Mean age of women dairy farmers was about 42 years. Average family members were 5.42. Among total 150 respondents 121 and 110 women have reared cows and buffaloes, respectively. Average numbers of cows were about 2.5 times more than buffaloes. Total average herd strength including cows and buffaloes were 7.03. Housing management practices used by women dairy farmers of SK district are showing that majority of respondents (75%) have pakka house with concrete floor located mostly in proximity to their dwellings. Concrete was mostly preferred. Majority of them were having manger and practically all farms were well ventilated. Thus, it can conclude that women in study area are possessing good number of cattle and buffaloes with good housing facility.
Verification of 3D constitutive model of concrete in line with capacity and ductility of laterally reinforced concrete columns.

Three-dimensional elasto-plastic and continuum fracture model for concrete, which had been originally developed with reference to uniform stress field, is verified on structural member level of non-uniformity. This study adopts idealized square concrete cores purely confined by closed square lateral steel ties. The constitutive model is examined in view of confining stress induced from lateral steel to core concrete and enhanced strength and ductility of core concrete at the axial capacity of columns. The verified applicable range of the constitutive model is clarified under practical stress conditions and paths arising in RC column members. The effect of loading rate on the plasticity evolution is also discussed.
Stable Low-Grade Degenerative Spondylolisthesis Does Not Compromise Clinical Outcome of Minimally Invasive Tubular Decompression in Patients with Spinal Stenosis

Background and Objectives: In recent literature, the routine addition of arthrodesis to decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) with concomitant stable low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis remains controversial. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical outcome, complication and re-operation rates following minimally invasive (MIS) tubular decompression without arthrodesis in patients suffering from LSS with or without concomitant stable low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective review of prospectively collected data. Ninety-six consecutive patients who underwent elective MIS lumbar decompression with a mean follow-up of 27.5 months were included in the study. The spondylolisthesis (S) group comprised 53 patients who suffered from LSS with stable degenerative spondylolisthesis, and the control (N) group included 43 patients suffering from LSS without spondylolisthesis. Outcome measures included complications and revision surgery rates. Pre- and post-operative visual analog scale (VAS) for both back and leg pain was analyzed, and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was used to evaluate functional outcome. Results: The two groups were comparable in most demographic and preoperative variables. VAS for back and leg pain improved significantly following surgery in both groups. Both groups showed significant improvement in their ODI scores, at one and two years postoperatively. The average length of hospital stay was significantly higher in patients with spondylolisthesis (p-value< 0.01). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of post-operative complications rates or re-operation rates. Conclusions: Our results indicate that MIS tubular decompression may be an effective and safe procedure for patients suffering from LSS, with or without degenerative stable spondylolisthesis.