Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hyalolithus didymus sp. nov. (Haptophyta): a late Miocene siliceous microfossil from Sicily, Italy

ABSTRACT Siliceous scales observed in an upper Miocene outcrop sample from the Caltanissetta Basin, Sicily, are similar to those of the extant haptophyte Hyalolithus neolepis and the fossil species H. tumescens. The newly discovered scales, examined by light and scanning electron microscopy, are sufficiently different to justify their assignment to H. didymus sp. nov. Like the two previously described species, the scales of H. didymus are elliptical, with a prominent marginal rim and numerous central openings (pores), separated by a submarginal hyaline area. However, the three species can be distinguished by slight (but visually recognizable) differences in the size and number of their central openings (pores). In distal view, the central area of the new species has two mounds, which are smaller and more distinct than in H. neolepis. Unlike the other two species, a swelling on the proximal side (and its corresponding depression on the distal side) has not been seen yet in H. didymus. This finding increases the knowledge of the fossil record of siliceous haptophytes, a poorly known phytoplankton group involved in the biogeochemical silicon cycle.
An efficient conceptual model to simulate surface water body‐aquifer interaction in conjunctive use management models

In conjunctive use management models, the surface and subsurface components must be simultaneously simulated because of the hydraulic interactions and to the combined operating rules inherent to such schemes. When many management alternatives have to be simulated over long time horizon or when optimizing complex large‐scale systems, an efficient tool for surface water body‐aquifer interaction simulation is needed. In this paper, we present a parsimonious conceptual model as an alternative approach to simulate aquifer storage and surface water body‐aquifer interaction for linear aquifers (linear response of head to stresses). The formulation is deduced from a finite difference model preserving its approach of the geometry, boundary conditions, hydrodynamic parameters (heterogeneity), and spatial distribution of the stresses. It does not require any additional assumption. The solution, obtained using eigenvalue techniques, is formulated with an explicit state equation that is a function of time and does not need to be calculated in a sequential way (that is, time is not discretized). The structure of the solution finally deduced allows a simple conceptual interpretation of surface water body‐aquifer interaction phenomenon as the drainage of a number of independent linear reservoirs. The parameters and initial conditions of each linear reservoir are mathematically defined in a univocal way from the original calibrated finite difference model preserving its characteristics. In most practical cases, an accurate solution can be obtained with a reduced number of linear reservoirs. Therefore this multireservoir conceptual definition enables an important reduction in the dimension of the model matrices and provides a straightforward means of incorporating the accuracy of more complex calibrated distributed‐parameter numerical models for simulating surface water body‐aquifer interaction within conjunctive use management models and with a minimum computational cost. Several case studies (synthetic and real world cases) are used to illustrate the applicability of the methodology.
Ca242 as a potential prognostic marker in colorectal cancer Iraqi patients

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer-related mortality worldwide, and its prevalence is increasing among many nations. Aim of the study: Investigate the predictive value of carbohydrate antigen 242 (CA242) in comparison to the CEA biomarker and to estimate the significance of CA242 as prognosis maker in colorectal cancer patients. Methods: a case-control study with a total of 150 individuals, 100 patients (59 males, 41 females) and 50 healthy controls (26 males, 24 females). using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) to determine the serum levels of CA242 and CEA. The study was carried out at the gastroenterology consultation clinic of the oncology teaching hospital between November 2020 and February 2021in Baghdad, Iraq. Result: Patients with colorectal cancer had significantly higher CA242 levels than healthy controls (p >0.001) with a significant positive correlation between CA242 and CEA (r = 0.866, p >0.001). The CA242 ROC curve study revealed an AUC of 0.933, a sensitivity of 89%, a specificity of 88%, and a cutoff value of 45 U/ml. CA242 can serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer.
Bounding geometry of loops in Alexandrov spaces

For a path in a compact finite dimensional Alexandrov space $X$ with curv $\ge \kappa$, the two basic geometric invariants are the length and the turning angle (which measures the closeness from being a geodesic). We show that the sum of the two invariants of any loop is bounded from below in terms of $\kappa$, the dimension, diameter and Hausdorff measure of $X$. This generalizes a basic estimate of Cheeger on the length of a closed geodesic in closed Riemannian manifold ([Ch], [GP1,2]). To see that the above result also generalizes and improves an analogous of the Cheeger type estimate in Alexandrov geometry in [BGP], we show that for a class of subsets of $X$, the $n$-dimensional Hausdorff measure and rough volume are proportional by a constant depending on $n=\dim(X)$.
The agility demands of Australian football: a notational analysis

ABSTRACT Agility is essential to success in Australian football (AF). However, the nature of agility events in competition is currently unknown. This study analysed in-game 1v1 agility events to identify the movement and cognitive demands of agility in elite AF. The study described the technique, the angle of change of direction (COD), and the approach speed. Cognitive demands were inferred by recording inter-athlete position and deceptive manoeuvres. Findings revealed sidestepping to be commonly used for both attacking and defending athletes. However, attacking athletes were substantially more likely to use the sidestep technique than their defending counterparts (74% vs 39% of the time). Analysis of movement speeds indicated a preference for submaximal approaches. Further, the movement technique was varied, with the angle of directional change particularly diverse. Overall, the notational analysis indicates a need for agility training and testing that reflects in-game agility demands. To achieve this, training and testing must allow for submaximal movement speeds, context-specific techniques, and the use of deceptive manoeuvres. Field-based or subjective assessment methods are proposed as viable testing alternatives. Further, the effectiveness of recorded deceptive actions suggests that athletes should be provided with training opportunities to practice fake disposals and fake CODs.
Pollution Characteristics, Spatial Distribution, and Health Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metal(loid)s in Panxi District, Southwest China: A Typical Industrial City

ABSTRACT This study collected 49 topsoil samples in agricultural soil from Panxi district (Sichuan, China), investigating the contamination status and probabilistic health risk of their heavy metal(loid)s (HMs). The average concentrations (mg/kg) of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were 18.18, 1.66, 294.05, 143.37, 70.18, 31.70 and 139.18, respectively. The pollution index (Pi) of the seven HMs were in the descending order of Cd > Cr > Cu > As > Zn > Ni > Pb, and the comprehensive Nemeiro risk index (PN) was 2.67, indicating that the study area was a moderate pollution by HMs. Meanwhile, Cd showed major contribution to the soil pollution among these HMs. The spatial distribution of HMs revealed that the southwestern part of the study area was the contamination hotspots. The hazard index (Hi) for children and adults were 1.621 and 0.346, respectively, and the total non-carcinogenic risk for children exceeded the threshold of 1. The carcinogenic risks associated with Cr (adults:, children:) and Ni (adults:) far exceeded the safe level of 1E-04; Monte Carlo simulations showed that humans locating in the study area suffered from a relatively significant carcinogenic risk; and the children were at higher risk than the adults. Among the three exposure pathways (ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact), the ingestion was the most important way for HMs to harm human health. Overall, this study provides a scientific basis for both controlling HMs contamination and reducing the potential health risks in studied soils.
Outcome of Acute Peritonitis Related To Cause and Duration Of Presentation

Objective: To determine the outcome of acute cause-related peritonitis correlated with the duration of inflammation within 24, 24-48, and after 48 hours of hospital admission. Methodology: This quasi experimental study was conducted at Surgical Ward #3, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre from September 2019 to March 2021. Patients over 12 years old were included in this study. The duration, cause, and outcomes of peritonitis were noted. All complications were recorded and treated accordingly. Results: 136 patients between the ages of 13 to 80 years old were included, 104 were males (76.8%) and 32 females (23.18%). 37 patients (28.2%) were aged 13–20 years, 61 (44.2%) were aged 21–40, 33 (23.91%) were aged 41–60, and 5 (3.6%) were aged over 60 years. Mortality showed 2 patients (1.47%) expired in 24–48 hours, and 6 (4.4%) in 48 hours. The cause of peritonitis included typhoid ileal perforation (41%), duodenal perforation (33%), ruptured appendix (28%), intestinal tuberculous (14%), gangrenous gut (7%), tumour perforation (6%), liver abscess (3%), and gastric perforation and rectal tear (1%). Notably, 2.4% of patients with typhoid peritonitis, 3.0% with duodenal perforation, 3.5% with ruptured appendix, 14.2% with tuberculous intestine, 33.3% with tumour perforation, and 100% with liver abscess perforation passed. Paralytic ileus (8%) and burst abdomen (8%), were the most common complications. Conclusion: Typhoid ileal perforation was the major cause of peritonitis, and paralytic ileus and burst abdomen were the most common complications contributing to the mortality rate.
Minimal surfaces and conservation laws for bidimensional structures

We discuss conservation laws for thin structures which could be modeled as a material minimal surface, i.e., a surface with zero mean curvatures. The models of an elastic membrane and micropolar (six-parameter) shell undergoing finite deformations are considered. We show that for a minimal surface, it is possible to formulate a conservation law similar to three-dimensional non-linear elasticity. It brings us a path-independent J-integral which could be used in mechanics of fracture. So, the class of minimal surfaces extends significantly a possible geometry of two-dimensional structures which possess conservation laws.
Measuring the Psychological Markers of Birds Encounter Using Virtual Reality Environments

Interactions between humans and animals benefit human health and well-being. There has been little study on the effects of bird encounters on people. This study addresses this conceptual gap by analyzing the results of a between-subjects experiment with 136 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to experience one of four 360 stereo panorama virtual environments representing four encounters, namely "bird depicted in images," "Birds in a Cage," "Watching Birds in Nature inside a path," and "Birds in nature. " Following their encounter in a virtual environment, participants assessed their experience in terms of spatial awareness, emotions, psychological well-being, and connection to nature through the use of an online survey. Standard descriptive statistics, correlation, Kruskal–Wallis, and post hoc Bonferroni analysis are used in data analysis. The findings suggested that experiences with birds in open surroundings were more likely to affect participants' spatial perception, emotions, psychological health potentials, and connection to nature than encounters with birds in confined places. This study is critical for environmental awareness since maintaining biodiversity and wildlife is inextricably linked to the potential well-being and quality of life of the human population who are part of the ecosystem.
Removal of Pb2+ ions from synthetic wastewater using functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes decorated with green synthesized iron oxide–gold nanocomposite

Purification of wastewater before it is discharged into the aquatic environment is important in order to prevent pollution of clean water. This study investigated the applicability of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decorated with gold-iron oxide nanoparticles for the adsorptive removal of Pb2+ from synthetic wastewater. CNTs were commercially obtained and functionalized with a mixture of H2SO4/HNO3 acids. The CNTs were coated with gold-iron oxide nanoparticles, to enhance the adsorption of heavy metals. The gold-iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by reacting green tea leaf extract with iron chloride (FeCl2) and gold (III) chloride (HAuCl4) precursors. The composite was cross-linked using N, N-dimethylformadide (DMF). The adsorbents were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to assess their surface morphology, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify the functional groups present, X-ray diffraction (XRD) to ascertain the crystallographic structure of the green adsorbent and Raman spectroscopy to determine the sample purity. SEM results showed highly agglomerated and polydispersed nanoparticles, owing to the presence of phytochemicals in the tea extract and magnetic interaction between the individual particles indicating the successful synthesis of Au/Fe3O4 adsorbent. Furthermore, an increase in the amount of Pb2+ removed per unit mass (qe) of adsorbent from 1.233 to 7.266 mg‧g-1 at 298 K was observed. A high sorption capacity was noticed for MWCNT-Au/Fe3O4 as compared to the MWCNT-COOH. The Pb2+ removal percentage increased from 50% to 78% with an increase in MWCNT-Au/Fe3O4 dosage from 0.02 g to 0.1 g. Adsorption isotherm data fitted well to the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models for MWCNT-COOH and MWCNT-Au/Fe3O4 adsorbents and the rate of Pb(II) adsorption by MWCNT-Au/Fe3O4 encountered an increase with increasing solution temperature and followed the pseudo-second-order model. The synthesized MWCNT-Au/Fe3O4 has good potential in removing heavy metals from wastewater.
The Effect of Product-Specific Country-of-Origin: The Evidence from Emerging Market

This study aimed at evaluating Product-Specific Industry image from Country of Brand (COB) and Country of Manufacturing (COM) Origin on consumer perceived quality of a bi-national product. This research uses a cross-sectional survey to determine the COM effect towards consumers' perceived quality on South Korean Sport Utility Vehicle Brand manufactured in Indonesia by involving 273 samples, which are then processed using the Structural Equation Modelling. The results indicate that the Car Industry Image from COM and Car Product Image from COB significantly influence consumers' perceived quality. This research will give managerial implications to international automobile marketers to consider the car-specific country image when deciding the manufacturing location or involve the COM in the marketing communication process to domestic consumers.
The Seventh International Comparison of Absolute Gravimeters ICAG-2005 at the BIPM. Organization and Preliminary reseults

ICAG-2005, an international comparison of absolute gravimeters, was held in September 2005 at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), Sèvres, France. Nineteen absolute gravimeters performed measurements of free-fall acceleration g at eleven sites of the BIPM gravity network. Fifteen relative gravimeters were used to measure the vertical gravity gradients and to provide gravity ties between the sites. The ∗ deceased, April 2006 Corresponding author : Leonid Vitushkin, BIPM, LVitushkin@bipm.org maximum g-difference was about 9 mGal. The status of a pilot study was agreed for this comparison by the Consultative Committee for Mass and Related Quantities. For the first time in the ICAG series, a technical protocol specifying the organization, measurement strategy, data processing, calculation of the uncertainties and presentation of the results, was developed for the ICAG 2005. The unweighted mean value of the results of absolute measurements referred to the site A is presented and compared with the similar values obtained in ICAG-1997 and ICAG-2001.
Aboriginal Nation: A strong Kimberley tertiary education narrative

Our past shapes our present. However, do Australian universities understand the ways historical discourses continue to shape them? Provoked by the findings of our empirical study implemented in Western Australia’s Kimberley region in 2018-2019, we conducted a critical text analysis of recent and past policies to seek historical explanation. As a research team, we noted a demand on behalf of Aboriginal activists to shift from the discourse of ‘problem’ to ‘nationhood’, during the first launch of the Aboriginal flag at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972. However, in our study we observed the ‘problem’ vocabulary lives on, impacting remote Aboriginal tertiary education through its deficit discourse and ‘gap language’. In this paper, we show how the future for remote Aboriginal tertiary education sits within our everyday narratives and explanations. It is to recognise Aboriginal knowledges, strengths, contribution and experience, or remain trapped by the deficit discourses of a colonial era. A strengths-based discourse acknowledges that Aboriginal people living in remote communities have the capacity, knowledge and ‘know-how’ to engage with tertiary education in culturally secure ways. Remote Aboriginal tertiary education could show the way to genuine socio-political transformation in Australia; and the Kimberley could lead this process.
The Psychological Contract Theory on Individual and Work-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Literature Review (SLR)

The aim of this article was to present evaluation-based themes related to the psychological contract theory, specifying the influence this theory has on individual and work-related outcomes as reported in articles published between January 2009 and December 2020 through a systematic literature review. The individual and work-related outcomes in this study lack a systematic literature review (SLR) despite enormous number of published articles with these outcomes. A systematic literature review method was used to gather data, which was analysed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Following the PRISMA guidelines, 45 eligible studies were included from various industries and countries, and findings were reported using descriptive synthesis and tabulation. Scoping evaluation was used to capture the state of current, relevant literature, to acknowledge gaps, and make recommendations for upcoming studies. The findings of the systematic literature review showed that perceived psychological contract is embedded in the fulfilment of the employer obligations, which influences the employees’ perception of the state of the psychological contract, and both the employee and employer obligations need to be precise. This study aimed at aggregating and collecting fragmented academic knowledge on the individual and work-related outcomes related to the psychological contract. This systematic literature review emphasises the importance of the psychological contract in organisations in managing the employment relationship. The review made suggestions for practical implications for organisations, limitations and recommendations for future studies.
Determining the number of factors in approximate factor models with global and group-specific factors

For an approximate factor model, in a static representation, with a common component comprising global factors and factors specific to groups of variables, the consistency of the principal components estimator is discussed. An extension of the well known Bai and Ng criteria is proposed for determining the number of global and group-specific factors. The consistency of the suggested criteria is established and the small sample properties are assessed through Monte Carlo simulations. As an empirical illustration, the proposed criteria is applied to estimate the number of global and country-specific macroeconomic factors for the major euro area countries.
Pakistani Teachers’ Views About Their Undergraduates’ Willingness to Communicate in English Inside the Classroom

The main goal of modern second language (L2) pedagogy is to engender effective communication among its learners. Willingness to Communicate (WTC) has emerged as the most vibrant topic in L2 pedagogy, especially in the last two decades. A plethora of research on students’ views about their WTC has been conducted in a variety of contexts. However, research on teachers’ views about their students’ WTC in English is still in its infancy. Thus, this study investigated ESL teachers’ views about their undergraduates’ WTC in English inside the classroom. The cluster sampling technique was used to collect data from 80 ESL teachers from eight universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The results revealed that the teachers viewed the undergraduates’ level of WTC as high in most classroom situations, such as during groups, during activities with the same and opposite gender, when given preparation time, seated in the middle of the class, and in front of the whole class. However, students showed a moderate level of WTC in situations such as sitting in front of the class and at the back of the class. A one-way ANOVA was performed to examine the differences between different classroom situations. The results showed significant differences in the teachers’ views about their students’ WTC in most classroom situations. Thus, the current study affirms that WTC is a dynamic variable that changes from situation to situation.
A Scientometric Analysis and Visualization of Global LEED Research

With the promotion of the concept of sustainable development and green buildings, green building rating systems are beginning to emerge and gradually attract more attention. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a widely used and influential rating system worldwide, and research on it has shown an increasing trend year by year. To establish a comprehensive understanding of the LEED research field, this article visualizes and analyzes the LEED research literature by CiteSpace to obtain journal, author, institution, and country collaboration networks, reference co-citations and clusters, keyword co-occurrence networks and citation bursts. The study found the relationships among journals, authors, institutions, countries, research frontiers, research hotspots, and research processes in the field of LEED research. A framework of the knowledge system of LEED research was constructed based on these findings to present the current status and future trends and provide a reference for future research.
The Economic Effects of Mafia: Firm Level Evidence

We analyze the effects of Mafia infiltration in the legal economy. Combining information from investigative records with panel data on firms’ governance and balance sheets, we build an indicator of infiltration in firms located in an area with no tradition of Mafia. We show that Mafia targets young and less efficient firms and that infiltration generates a significant rise in firms’ revenues, with no proportionate growth in production inputs and a deterioration of the firm’s financial situation leading to market exit. These findings are consistent with a story of predatory behavior in which infiltration is used for money laundering or rent extraction. (JEL D22, G32, G34, K42, L25)