Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial distribution, density, and habitat associations of queen conch Strombus gigas in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Conventional stock assessment methods have been ineffective for determining the status of queen conch throughout the Caribbean, mainly due to a lack of available fishery-independent data. We examined queen conch populations on the northeastern coast of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, using a 10 m radial survey sampling technique with sample sites stratified by water depth, habitat type, and management regime, encompassing both open and closed fishing areas. We completed 503 radial surveys and located 4773 queen conch, representing an overall density of 302 conch ha−1. Densities of juvenile and adult queen conch were higher within Buck Island Reef National Monument (BIRNM) boundaries compared to open fishing areas. Densities of juvenile and adult queen conch were highest in habitats characterized as 50−90 and 10−50% patchy seagrass, respectively. Shell length data suggest that the seagrass beds south of Buck Island are functioning as valuable nursery habitat for juvenile conch, and the presence of multiple juvenile cohorts indicates that larval recruitment in the area has been successful in recent years. Comparisons of data from this and previous studies indicate that the queen conch population in St. Croix is potentially stable under the current management approach and that BIRNM is providing the spatial protection required for the population to continue to recover. Given the spatial and temporal patchiness of queen conch distributions, standardized fishery-independent monitoring surveys should be repeated regularly to provide data sufficient to assess stock conditions and the efficacy of management measures.
The bacteriology of the cervical canal in relation to the use of an intrauterine contraceptive device.

Bacteriological investigations aimed to determine the pattern of the normal bacterial flora of the cervical canal and uterine cavity noting changes in the presence of an IUD and to assess whether vaginal bacterial will ascend up the cervical mucus were performed by a hysterectomy and an in vitro study. A multiple biopsy technique was used to study 50 hysterectomy specimens (from IUD-less patients) to determine normal bacteriological flora. All the uterine cavities and about half of the cervical canals were sterile. The remaining canals contained organisms similar to the vaginal flora in their lower halves only. A decreasing bacterial gradient was demonstrated ascending from the external os. 2 hysterectomy specimens containing a tail-less IUD showed similar findings to the non-IUD containing uterus. But 11 hysterectomy specimens with an IUD with a cervical appendage (9 monofilamentous and 2 multifilamentous) showed bacteria similar to the vaginal flora throughout the cervical canal and into the uterine cavity demonstrating the ascent of bacteria in relationship to IUD tails. In an in vitro system bacteria were demonstrated growing through midcycle cervical mucus containing an IUD tail on 55/58 occasions. On 34 occasions test bacteria were isolated above the mucus/air interface demonstrating the mucus can adhere to IUD tails and that bacterial growth can occur up this adherent mucus and bacteria can be found above the mucus.
Early sulfur‐rich magmatism on the ungrouped achondrite Northwest Africa 7325 differentiated parent body

The ungrouped achondrite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7325 parent body underwent a severe impact after primary crystallization, which completely melted plagioclase and partially melted pyroxene, followed by Mg diffusion into the adjacent plagioclase‐melt. The 26Al‐26Mg system was therefore modified, forming a pseudoisochron with an initial δ26Mg* of 0.094 ± 0.005‰ and an age of 4563.12 ± 0.33 Ma between the primary crystallization and subsequent impact event(s). The positive initial δ26Mg* can be interpreted by a model age of ~1.77 Ma after CAIs when a chondritic composition differentiated into a magma/rock with the Al/Mg ratio equivalent to that of NWA 7325 (~1.52). The LREE enrichments and a positive Eu anomaly suggest that the NWA 7325 parent magma formed by the melting of a plagioclase‐rich crustal lithology, which crystallized from a magma ocean. Differentiation of the magma ocean was prior to 1.77 Ma after CAIs. NWA 7325 is also unique by containing many rounded voids (5–6 vol%) interstitial to or enclosed in silicates, suggested to have formed by the leaching/vaporization of pre‐existing Fe‐Ca‐Mg‐Mn sulfides. This is supported by the similar morphology between voids and Cr‐bearing troilites, the discovery of relict oldhamite, and the highly reducing conditions of NWA 7325. The loss of pre‐existing sulfides could explain the unusual subchondritic Mn/Mg ratio of the bulk sample. Furthermore, the enrichment of moderately volatile elements (K/Th ratio ~2600–10,000) in the NWA 7325 parent body may result from the bonding with S2‐ in silicate melts under highly reducing conditions. NWA 7325 therefore provides evidence of sulfur‐rich magmatism in the early solar system.
Local Political Economy: The State of the Field: Past, Present, and Future

: Studying local politics is key to answering fundamental questions of who gets what, how, and when in the United States. And understanding institutions – the rules and structures that shape the aggregation of preferences and political outcomes – is crucial to this endeavor. In part this is because local governments are not sovereign in the federal structure and so naturally, studying cities requires understanding the context in which they are embedded. But it is also because cities feature endless variation in their formal and informal governing arrangements. These institutional differences affect representation, accountability, and the provision of public goods and services. In this essay, I offer an overview of what we know about the political economy of subnational governments, discuss some of the frontiers of knowledge still to be discovered, and put forth a plea for the importance of answering political economy questions at the local level. I argue that studying local institutional variation advances our understanding of institutional development, maintenance, and consequences more generally.
The Self-Efficacy for Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (SESCAS): Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation

Adjustment to the interpersonal and environmental contexts of a host country is critical for sojourners. Founded in social cognitive career theory, the Self-Efficacy for Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (SESCAS) is a multidimensional scale that assesses self-efficacy for three types of tasks (affective, behavioral, cognitive) in two cultural contexts (environmental, interpersonal). We conducted item-total correlations, confirmatory factor analyses, reliability analyses (test-retest, internal consistency), within-scale convergent and discriminant validity, convergent and discriminant validity, and predictive validity assessments across an initial sample of the general population (n = 227), a cross-validation sample of undergraduate students enrolled in education abroad (n = 546), and a predictive validity sample of re-entered education abroad undergraduates (n = 74). Psychometric properties of the scale support its use as a total score and as various subfactor constellations. Researchers are encouraged to use the SESCAS to explore how self-efficacy for sociocultural adaptation may contribute to global learning outcomes and well-being.
Entrepreneurial Experience and Performance: From the Aspect of Sustainable Growth of Enterprises

In the uncertain entrepreneurial ecosystem, scholarly knowledge is bounded by the sustainable growth of entrepreneurial enterprises. Moreover, there is a lack of consensus in academic circles on the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial performance. In adopting the meta-analysis method, we found a significant relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial performance based on an investigation of 45 independent samples (N = 18,752). We also examined theoretically derived moderators of this relationship referring to firm age, industry condition and experience type to test whether the moderating effects can explain the inconsistent research results on the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurial performance. The relationship was stronger for the high-tech industry than for low-tech industry, for the early business stage than for late business stage and for start-up experience compared to management experience, work experience and industry experience. Our research findings are meaningful for practitioners to achieve sustainable growth by better preserving and coordinating entrepreneurial experience in a dynamic environment. Further, these findings are also important for future research to analyze the factors triggering the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial experience and to investigate the extent to which the start-up experience is more capable of promoting entrepreneurial performance.
The Prevalence of Back and Leg Pain and the Cross-sectional Association With Adverse Health Outcomes in Community Dwelling Older Adults in England.

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of the Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle (OPAL) Cohort Study. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of back pain (BP) and leg pain and determine their relationship with adverse health states among older adults in England. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Epidemiological data describing the prevalence of BP and leg pain in older adults in England is lacking. METHODS A total of 5304 community-dwelling adults (aged 65-100 years) enrolled in the OPAL cohort study who provided data on BP and leg pain were included. Participants were classified into four groups based on reports of back and leg pain: no BP, BP only, BP and leg pain which was likely to be neurogenic claudication (NC), and BP and leg pain which was not NC. Adverse health states were frailty, falls, mobility decline, low walking confidence, poor sleep quality, and urinary incontinence. We collected demographic and socioeconomic information, health-related quality of life, and existing health conditions, and estimated the association between BP presentations and adverse health states using regression analysis. RESULTS Thirty-four percent of participants (1786/5304) reported BP only, 11.2% (n = 594/5304) reported BP and NC and 8.3% (n = 441/5304) reported BP and non-NC leg pain. Participants with BP had worse quality of life compared to those without BP. All BP presentations were significantly associated with adverse health states. Those with NC were most affected. In particular, there was greater relative risk (RR) of low walking confidence (RR 3.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.56-3.78), frailty (RR 1.88, 95% CI 1.67-2.11), and mobility decline (RR 1.74, 95% CI 1.54-1.97) compared to no BP. CONCLUSION Back and leg pain is a common problem for older adults and associated with reduced quality of life and adverse health states. Findings suggest a need to develop more effective treatment for older adults with BP especially for those with neurogenic claudication. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2.
Canine Myiasis and its Causal Agents in India

Myiasis, the invasion of tissues of live humans and vertebrate animals with dipteran larvae is common throughout the tropical regions of the world. It is a real welfare problem of worldwide distribution and a matter of great concern among medical and veterinary fi elds. The reports indicate that dogs are the most common canine species affected by myiasis. The present study was conducted to ascertain prevalence of myiasis among pet dogs and to identify myiasis-causing fl ies in India. The study resulted in the identifi cation of three species of myiasis causing fl ies among pet dogs. The Old World Screw-worm fl yChrysomya bezziana was reported to be the predominant fl y species followed by Musca domestica and Sarcophaga rufi cornis. The overall infestation rate was high in rainy season followed by summer, spring, autumn and least in winter. Incidence of myiasis was found to be higher among adult males than the females. The most frequently infested body regions were the face, neck and perianal region among males and face, neck and vulvar lips among females. Most infestations were found in the wounds at front body parts of the adult males, suggesting the common occurrence of myiasis in consequence of competitive fi ghting. ABSTRACT *Corresponding author
GeoGebra integration and effectiveness in the teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools: A review of literature

This article explores studies that investigated GeoGebra integration and its effectiveness in teaching and learning mathematics. The study examines existing studies on how and why GeoGebra enhanced students’ performance; understanding, analytical thinking, generalization, abstract thinking, representation, and logical thinking. By a deep exploration of the main construct of the study, we collected and analyzed 20 studies whose results reported that GeoGebra added values when applied in teaching and learning in different mathematical domains. The reviewed literature identified four domains in Mathematics: Geometry, Algebra, Calculus, and Trigonometry that was studied. The majority of the reviewed studies investigated the integration of GeoGebra in Geometry and few studies were found in other mathematical domains. The literature ascertains that students can explore independently the software and acquire mathematical concepts with minimum assistance from the teacher. The results from the reviewed literature, on the one hand, indicated 16/20 or (80 %) of the studies generally showed that GeoGebra is effective in teaching and learning Mathematics since GeoGebra contributed in enhancing students’ understanding of mathematical concepts and improved students’ interest to learn mathematics. On the other hand, only 4/20 studies or (20%) showed non-effectiveness of GeoGebra since students in both experimental and control groups did not show the difference in their performance after being both given post-tests or an interview. This may indicate that although GeoGebra seems to be largely effective, such effectiveness is dependent on the way it is integrated into the teaching and learning process. Therefore, we recommend that other research should step up investigating why most of the studies were found in the Geometry domain and few in other domains.
DFT‐based insight into the magnetic and thermoelectric characteristics of XTaO3 (X = Rb, Fr) ternary perovskite oxides for optoelectronic applications

Nowadays, there exists an increasing trend of investigating ternary perovskite oxide materials because of their wide applications in solar cells and similar electronic and optoelectronic devices. This work describes a systematic study performed through state‐of‐the‐art ab initio density functional theory (DFT) approach associated with the magnetic, electronic, and thermoelectric behavior of XTaO3 (X = alkali metals i.e., Rb, Fr) tantalate perovskite oxides. These compounds are found to be semiconductor because both materials have shown significant values of the band gap energy, that is, indirect energy band gap of 1.12 eV (↑↓) in RbTaO3 and direct band gap of 1.08 eV (↑↓) in FrTaO3. The calculated formation energies appear to be decreasing such as −3.54 and −1.92 eV for RbTaO3 and FrTaO3, respectively. The analysis through projected density of states discloses that Fr‐6p and 2p states from anion sites have shown overall contribution in forming the highest edge of the valence band (VBM), while, Ta‐5d states have depicted chief role to form major part of the conduction band minima, thereby, contributing in electronic conductivity. The much better values of thermoelectric parameters such as power factor of (5.5062 × 1013 W.m−1.K−2.s−1) and figure of merit (0.82) demonstrate that RbTaO3 is more dominating and promising semiconducting material which would, comparatively, be deemed an appropriate candidate for application in developing efficient thermoelectric devices. Finally, on the bases of above cited facts and the already existing data on similar perovskite oxides, it can be speculated that the studied compounds seem potential candidates to understand underlying physics and for possible applications in thermoelectric and other allied devices.
Stand with #StandingRock: Envisioning an Epistemological Shift in Understanding Geospatial Big Data in the “Post-truth” Era

This article examines an online protest to develop a contextual interpretation of geospatial big data and to challenge the debates on post-truth. In 2016, in support of the local protests against a crude oil pipeline passing through the region, social media users around the world remotely checked in to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota using a technique that we call location spoofing. This collective action thus generated a massive volume of inconsistent locational data that could easily be treated as fake information. Our contextual approach, integrating anthropological methodology, interprets user-generated big data as digital traces of human activities in the broader social–technological network of the involved human and nonhuman actors. This study reveals that the online protesters’ use of location-based features and content recommendation algorithm challenged not only the political and technological authorities but also, at a more profound level, the established ways for determining what is true and who gets to decide what is true for what purpose. We argue that this case of decentralized data generation and dissemination demonstrates an ongoing reconfiguration of the previously established regime of truth that has been monopolized by scientists or politicians. Our unique contextual approach to data interpretation is a pioneering effort to update epistemological assumptions about truth in today’s data-intensive environments. We call on scholars from geography, GIScience, and other disciplines to collectively envision an epistemological shift in our continuous pursuit of knowledge and truth in the so-called post-truth era.
The impact of submerged friction stir processing on the friction stir welded dissimilar joints

The submerged friction stir processing (SFSP) technique was employed on the prior friction stir welded (FSW) AA6082/AA8011 dissimilar aluminum alloy joints. The tap water with room temperature was kept at 40 mm depth throughout the processing. The AA6082 was kept at the advancing side during FSW and SFSP process and this was done to enhance the strength of the joint. The SFSP joints were studied comparatively with the FSW joints. The sampling position was also studied for both the FSW joint and SFSP joint. The employment of the submerged friction stir processing resulted in the microstructural grain size refinement. The tensile strength of the SFSP joint was found to be higher than that of AA8011 base metal but lower than that of AA6082 base metal. The tensile strength of the FSW joint was found to be lower than that of both base metals. There was a clear correlation between the tensile properties and the grain size refinement. The SFSP joint exhibited good microhardness properties compared to the FSW joint.
Prevalence of hyperemesis gravidarum and associated risk factors among pregnant women in a tertiary health facility in Northeast, Nigeria

Among the commonest and earliest gastro-intestinal symptoms observed during pregnancy is nausea and vomiting, with as many as 60% of women getting relief by the end of first trimester and 90% of pregnant women by the 20 week of gestation, although only one tenth of women have symptoms that continue throughout pregnancy. and close to 5% women get a solution to these symptoms only after delivery of the baby. The persistence of these symptoms may have on-toward effects on both the psychosocial, environmental and ABSTRACT
Fluctuations in self-perceived foreign language anxiety during visits to Second Life: a case study

ABSTRACT The present paper presents the results of a study which examined fluctuations in the levels of foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the virtual world Second Life (SL) and factors accounting for such changes as reported by a female student of English philology. The student participated in 14 sessions over the period of one semester. Using data gathered by means of a set of collection instruments, the study found that the participant’s FLA was subject to some changes both during her visits to SL and from one session to the next. These ups and downs in FLA levels were affected by a host of negative (e.g. conversations with strangers, the lack of sufficient language, negative experience) and positive (e.g. conversations with familiar interlocutors, interesting topics, language progress) factors.
Seed yield and agronomic performance of seven improved cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) varieties in Ghana

Cowpea is well adapted to environmental conditions that affect crop production such as drought, high temperatures and other biotic stresses compared with other crops. Notwithstanding, growth and development of many cowpea cultivars are affected by drought and high temperatures, especially during floral development. This is because cowpea cultivars tend to have narrow range of adaptation as cultivars developed for one zone usually are not very productive in other zones. A study on the yield and growth performance of seven cowpea varieties was conducted during the 2012 major and minor rainy seasons at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Kwadaso-Kumasi, Ghana to compare the performance of the seasonal variation on each variety. These improved varieties Nhyira, Tona, Asetenapa, Asomdwe, Hewale, Videza and IT 89KD374-57 were evaluated using a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The results showed that varieties Hewale, Videza and Nhyira gave higher seed yields, whereas IT 89KD374-57 and Asetenapa had lower seed yields. Nhyira and Hewale gave comparatively better seed yields under both conditions. Hewale was the highest seed-yielding genotype under both major and minor raining season. Cowpea production could be a profitable agribusiness for cowpea growers in Ghana considering the higher returns in terms of grain yield obtained in both seasons. Key words: Cowpea, agronomic performance, improved varieties.
Genetic etiology of cleft lip and cleft palate

Genetic studies in humans have demonstrated that Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) have a diverse genetic background and probably environmental factors influencing these malformations. CL/P is one of the most common congenital birth defects in the craniofacial region with complex etiology involving multiple genetic factors, environmental factors and gene-environment interaction. Children born with these defects suffer from various difficulties such as difficulty in speech, hearing, feeding and other psychosocial problems, and their rehabilitation involves a multidisciplinary approach. The article describes the brief introduction of CL/P, epidemiology and general concepts, etiological factors, and the genes implicated in the etiology of nonsyndromic CL/P (NSCL/P) as suggested by different human genetic studies, animal models, and other expression studies.