Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observations on the courtship behaviour of Deocata Pipefish Microphis deocata (Hamilton, 1822) (Actinopterygii: Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae) in an aquarium

The Deocata Pipefish Microphis deocata, is the sole freshwater syngnathid found in the Himalayan range. This species is categorised as ‘Near Threatened’ by the IUCN Red List and is also listed as a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. This species is highly sought after in the ornamental fish trade due to its attractive colouration and uniqueness. The courtship behaviour of M. deocata consists of three distinct phases (initial courtship, spawning, and swaying) characterized by substantial behavioural alterations. M. deocata is a species where the action of females is more visible for commencing courting and strengthening at later phases. The females exhibit skin fold ornamentation to signal their readiness to spawn mature eggs. The first courtship phase is characterised by female quivering along with head pointing by both sexes and often tail entangling. As a sign of embracing the male often overlies upon the female. In the second phase, the female transfers her eggs onto the male incubating ventral surface with an upside-down body posture. During the final phase, the male forms his body into a contracting wave and lastly settles down in the bottom of the tank.
Socio-economic differentials in intergenerational educational mobility among women in India

A few studies have related daughters’ education to their fathers in India but there is little to no evidence when it comes to intergenerational relation between daughters and mothers’ education. Using India Human Development Survey 2011-12, we investigate intergenerational educational mobility for women (15-49 years) (vis-a-vis their mothers). We have used mobility matrices/measures for the estimation. Findings indicate that intergenerational educational mobility at the all-India level is about 0.69, that is, 69% of the women acquire a level of education different from their mothers. Of the overall mobility, about 80% is contributed by upwards mobility whereas the rest is downwards. Mobility is greater in urban areas and is highest among the socially advantaged “Others” (or upper) caste group. Also, the upwards component is substantially lower for socially disadvantaged groups compared to Others. Further, there are large inter-regional variations, with situation being worst in the central and eastern regions which comprise of the underdeveloped states of India. Moreover, mobility (overall and upwards) increases consistently as one move up the income distribution. Furthermore, income is not able to neutralize the caste based gaps in overall mobility as overall mobility among the Others of the poorest income group is more than the overall mobility among Scheduled Castes/Tribes of the richest income group.
Wavelet analysis of simulated paper formation

An analysis of simulated paper formations was conducted using the continuous wavelet transform. A series of simulated images with specific characteristics of grammage, flocculation and orientation were generated and analyzed using conventional and wavelet spectral analysis. Local spectral energy maps derived from wavelet transforms were used to study grammage features. The sensitivity of the wavelet analysis to variations in grammage, floc size, and structural anisotropy was determined. The response of the method to variation of formation as a function of position, or non-stationarity, was examined by testing images with controlled gradation of floc size. The ability to measure variation of orientation as a function of position was also demonstrated.
Phylogenetic Relationships of Avian Cestodes from Brine Shrimp and Congruence with Larval Morphology

Simple Summary Hypersaline lakes provide services like nest sites and food for migratory waterbirds. The crustacean Artemia (brine shrimp) is an intermediate host for many cestode parasites completing their life cycle in multiple waterbirds (flamingos, grebes, waders, and ducks) associated with the hypersaline lakes. The molecular identification of larval stages of six cestodes in Artemia from three countries correlated well with the morphology of advanced larval stages. This study provides the first parasite molecular data on Artemia-cestode-bird relationships to facilitate our understanding of food web dynamics and service provisioning in hypersaline lakes, which are threatened by human-caused perturbations, including climate change. Abstract Determining molecular markers for parasites provides a useful tool for their identification, particularly for larval stages with few distinguishable diagnostic characters. Avian cestodes play a key role in the food webs and biodiversity of hypersaline wetlands, yet they remain understudied. Using naturally infected Artemia, we identified cestode larvae (cysticercoids), assessed their genetic diversity, and explored phylogenetic relationships in relation to larval morphology and waterbird final hosts. We obtained partial 18S rDNA sequences for 60 cysticercoids of the family Hymenolepidae infecting Artemia spp. from seven localities and three countries (Spain, the USA, and Chile). We present the first DNA sequences for six taxa: Confluaria podicipina, Fimbriarioides sp. , Flamingolepis liguloides, Flamingolepis sp. 1, Flamingolepis sp. 2, and Hymenolepis californicus. Intraspecific sequence variation (0.00–0.19% diversity) was lower than intergroup genetic distance (0.7–14.75%). Phylogenetic analysis revealed three main clades: 1—Flamingolepis, 2—Fimbriarioides, 3—Confluaria and Hymenolepis, all of which separated from hymenolepidids from mammals and terrestrial birds. This clear separation among taxa is congruent with previous morphological identification, validating the 18S gene as a useful marker to discriminate at generic/species level. Working with intermediate hosts allows the expansion of knowledge of taxonomic and genetic diversity of cestodes in wildlife, as well as elucidation of their life cycles.
Estimated Energy Expenditure in Youth While Playing Active Video Games: A Systematic Review

Sedentary behavior and inadequate energy expenditure are serious global public health concerns among youngsters. The exponential growth in technology emerges as a valuable opportunity to foster physical activity, particularly through active video games. We performed a systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus to provide a comprehensive view of the literature on energy expenditure levels among adolescents while playing active video games. Among the 574 manuscripts identified at the first screening stage, 23 were retained for analysis. Ten studies were characterized by longitudinal and thirteen by cross-sectional designs. The results showed that short-term active video games elicited energy expenditure values comparable to moderate-intensity physical activity (3–6 METs). However, in intervention programs (with at least six weeks) the results indicate no significant effects of active video games on youngsters’ energy expenditure levels and physical activity profiles between baseline and follow-up assessments. Overall, active video games based on sports and dance were the most used, and boys tended to achieve higher energy expenditure than girls. The diversity of methods implemented limits comparing results and drawing generalized conclusions. However, considering its attractiveness to youth, active video games might emerge as a complementary tool to traditional physical activities promoted in schools and local communities. Details regarding gender differences and contradictory results of longitudinal approaches should be considered in future research based on standardized methods.
Conceptualizing and Validating the Trustworthiness of Maps through an Empirical Study on the Influence of Cultural Background on Map Design Perception

Maps are the culmination of numerous choices, with many offering multiple alternatives. Not all of these choices are inherently guided by default, clarity, or universally accepted best practices, guidelines, or recommendations. In the realm of cartography, it is a distinct feature that individual decisions can be made, particularly regarding data preparation and selection and design aspects. As each map is a product of a multitude of decisions, the confidence we place in maps hinges on the reasonableness of these decisions. The trustworthiness of maps depends on whether these decisions are sound, unquestioned, readily accessible, and supported by dependable groups of decision makers whose reliability can be assessed based on their track record as an institution, reputation, and competence. The advent of user-friendly map-making software and data manipulation tools has placed some of these decisions in the hands of the general populace and those interested in using maps to convey specific agendas. This mirrors other forms of communication and has given rise to a growing discourse on “fake news”, “fake media”, and “fake maps”, ultimately prompting us to question how we can trust the information being conveyed and how we can differentiate between “fake” and “trustworthy” maps. This paper highlights the fundamental aspects determined by the pure nature of cartographic modeling, which influences every attempt to understand, analyze, and express the context and trustworthiness of maps. It then identifies fundamental aspects of trustworthiness with respect to maps. Combining these two fundamental considerations represents an epistemological attempt to identify a research portfolio. An example of an empirical study on identifying selected aspects of this portfolio demonstrates the potential of gaining a better understanding of the context given.
Predictive assessment of learners through initial interactions with encoding techniques in deep learning

Recent academic research has prominently focused on predicting student achievements in online learning. However, ongoing challenges persist for teachers and researchers, primarily revolving around the selection of relevant features. To address this issue, the study aims to predict the correlation between the use of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and students’ performance based solely on their initial interactions with the platform during the initial segment of the course module within the annual study sequence of the academic year 2014–2015. The assessment employed a specialized data model that integrates the chronological order of a learner’s interactions with the educational materials provided on the online learning platform throughout the sequence employing data from the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD), which included 32,593 undergraduates in all courses. Innovative methods, such as the VLE, and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network rooted in deep learning, were applied to ensure the prediction of student achievement. Preliminary findings demonstrated a 60% accuracy of the model using only learner interaction data within the first third of the course duration and employing various variable encoding techniques. The successful integration of the esteemed OULAD, combined with the implementation of an LSTM neural network architecture in our data model, proved to be a highly effective strategy. This approach yielded valuable perceptions facilitating the identification of crucial data points essential for predicting student success and contributing to informed decision-making in formulating strategies to assess and support student performance effectively.
Physiological and Biochemical Effects of Thermo-Priming on Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Drought and Heat Stresses

Seed priming is a physical method for increasing the stress tolerance of crops against stressful environmental conditions. Drought and high temperatures are important environmental factors that limit the growth and grain yield of wheat. The aim of our study is to determine the physiological (germination rate, root and shoot length, specific leaf area (SLA), relative water content (RWC), biomass, total chlorophyll amount (SPAD)), and biochemical (protein amount, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) amount, catalase activity (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase activity (APX), glutathione reductase activity (GR)) changes that occur with thermo-priming in wheat seeds under drought stress (D) and heat stress (H). Our results showed that shoot lengths were drastically reduced with D, H, and HD compared to root lengths. Besides, combined stress protected RWC by 6.8% with 60 min thermo-priming compared to other stress treatments. Chlorophyll content decreased dramatically with D and H, while thermo-priming wasn’t limited to that decrease. In addition, SLA was decreased with all stress treatments, while it healed only with 60 min thermo-priming (HDT60) by 12%. H2O2 was increased with drought stress, while reduced with all heat stress treatments. Among them, HDT60 was found to be more effective than the others. GR activities were increased with thermo-priming by 14-18%, with D and H by 5%. Additionally, GR activity was increased with 30 min thermo-priming (HDT30) in HD treatment by 5.8%, while only with HD by 3.2%. Consequently, HDT60 seemed to effectively on biochemical parameters in wheat seedlings against drought and heat stresses.
Curious and Persistent, but not Consistent: Self‐regulation Traits and Creativity

The present study examines two self‐regulation traits, grit and curiosity, in predicting creative achievement in an adult sample (N = 522). Grit has been related to achievement in various domains, and although prior empirical work failed to find associations with everyday creative activities in adolescent and young adult samples, theoretically it is relevant to long‐term creative achievement (which requires persistence). Curiosity supports creative achievement through positive judgments of novelty and an intrinsic motivation to approach instead of avoid uncertainty, and both novelty and uncertainty are central to the creative process. Results showed that the perseverance dimension of grit positively predicted creative achievement, whereas the consistency of interests dimension was negatively related to creative achievement. Additionally, five curiosity dimensions predicted creative achievement above grit. In particular, thrill seeking predicted creative achievement in both art and science; deprivation sensitivity positively predicted creative achievement in art. Our research suggests that, instead of a narrow focus on consistency of interest, creative achievement benefits from curiosity.
Knowledge and Perception of ‘Pay-to-Play’ in Football among Sport Journalists in Ghana

Football (soccer) is a major sport among the Ghanaian population, followed by Boxing and other emerging sports like Handball, Indoor Volleyball, Swimming, Field Hockey, Basketball, Badminton, and Arm Wrestling, among others. To the Ghanaian community, ‘sports is football,’ and this has attracted much attention and interest among the youth in an attempt to develop their talent and skills. With such an interest and passion among the Ghanaian youth, it is an expectation and dire hope to be featured in football competitions. This often is not the case, as there is a perceived intention of ‘Pay-to-Play’ to participate in national football competitions in Ghana. This study explored the knowledge and perception of ‘Pay-to-Play’ in football among Sports Journalists in Accra, Kumasi, and Ho. The study adopted qualitative methods with a semi-structured open-ended question sent to the respondents via Email and WhatsApp. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit the respondents, and the snowball technique aided the researchers in reaching other Sports Journalists. The study identified the existence of ‘Pay-to-Play’ in football in Ghana. This has resulted in the loss of interest in football consumption among the youth, particularly in the Ghana Premier League, and has led to less football development in Ghana.
Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton

Almost from the day of its accidental discovery along the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State in July 1996, the ancient skeleton of Kennewick Man has garnered significant attention from scientific and Native American communities as well as public media outlets. This volume represents a collaboration among physical and forensic anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists, and geochemists, among others, and presents the results of the scientific study of this remarkable find. Scholars address a range of topics, from basic aspects of osteological analysis to advanced research focused on Kennewick Man's origins and his relationships to other populations. Interdisciplinary studies, comprehensive data collection and preservation, and applications of technology are all critical to telling Kennewick Man's story. Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton is written for a discerning professional audience, yet the absorbing story of the remains, their discovery, their curation history, and the extensive amount of detail that skilled scientists have been able to glean from them will appeal to interested and informed general readers. These bones lay silent for nearly nine thousand years, but now, with the aid of dedicated researchers, they can speak about the life of one of the earliest human occupants of North America.
Beyond bifurcation: using complex models to understand and predict abrupt climate change

Research on the possibility of future abrupt climate change has been popularized under the term ‘tipping points’ and has often been motivated by using simple, low-dimensional concepts. These include the iconic fold bifurcation, where abrupt change occurs when a stable equilibrium is lost, and early warning signals of such a destabilization that can be derived based on a simple stochastic model approach. In this paper, we review the challenges and limitations that are associated with this view, and we discuss promising research paths to explore the causes and the likelihood of abrupt changes in future climate. We focus on several climate system components and ecosystems that have been proposed as candidates for tipping points, with an emphasis on ice sheets, the Atlantic Ocean circulation, vegetation in North Africa and Arctic sea ice. In most example cases, multiple equilibria found in simple models do not appear in complex models or become more difficult to find, while the potential for abrupt change still remains. We also discuss how the low-dimensional logic of current methods to detect and interpret the existence of multiple equilibria can fail in complex models. Moreover, we highlight promising methods to detect abrupt shifts and to obtain information about the mechanisms behind them. These methods include linear approaches such as statistical stability indicators and radiative feedback analysis as well as non-linear approaches to detect dynamical transitions and infer the causality behind events. Given the huge complexity of comprehensive process-based climate models and the non-linearity and regional peculiarities of the processes involved, the uncertainties associated with the possible future occurrence of abrupt shifts are large and not well quantified. We highlight the potential of data mining approaches to tackle this problem and finally discuss how the scientific community can collaborate to make efficient progress in understanding abrupt climate shifts.
The health status, social support, and subjective well-being of older individuals: evidence from the Chinese General Social Survey

Objectives This study aims to investigate the impact of health status and social support on the subjective well-being of older individuals. Methods Using data from the China General Social Survey 2017, this research analyzed 5,187 Chinese citizens aged 60 years and older. The predicted effect of each variable on subjective well-being was evaluated through hierarchical regression analysis. The direct and indirect effects of social support and health status on subjective well-being are examined based on a structural equation model. Results The mental health and social support positively impact subjective well-being. Mental health mediates the effect of physical health on subjective well-being, and social support mediates the relationship between physical and mental health and subjective well-being. Conclusion The findings provide strong evidence for the interrelationship mechanisms among the factors influencing subjective well-being. Consequently, improving mental health services and social support systems is advantageous for enhancing the well-being of Chinese seniors.
The influence of gratitude on patriotism among college students: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

Introduction Patriotism, a positive emotional attachment to one’s country, has been associated with prosocial behavior, social responsibility, and gratitude. It plays a crucial role in promoting social harmony and national development. However, the factors influencing patriotism and their mechanisms remain unclear. This research consists of two studies exploring the internal mechanisms that connect gratitude and patriotism. Methods Study 1 conducted a cross-sectional analysis among 3,826 college students to investigate the influence of gratitude on patriotism, emphasizing the mediating role of general life satisfaction and the moderating impact of socioeconomic status. This approach aimed to elucidate the complex relationships between these variables within college students. Study 2 adopted a longitudinal approach, surveying 905 college students across three-time points. This study was designed to explore the temporal mediation of general life satisfaction in the gratitude-patriotism relationship, offering insights into the evolution of these constructs over time. The sequential surveys aimed to capture the dynamic nature of gratitude’s impact on patriotism, considering the continuous interplay with general life satisfaction among college students. Results Study 1 reveals a noteworthy finding: Gratitude enables the direct prediction of patriotism, while additionally, general life satisfaction plays a role between them. Furthermore, the predictive effect of gratitude on patriotism is strengthened among individuals with higher levels of socioeconomic status. However, there is no significant moderating effect between general life satisfaction and patriotism by socioeconomic status. Study 2 demonstrates that general life satisfaction plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between gratitude and patriotism, over a period of three times. However, the moderating influence of socioeconomic status was not substantiated in the longitudinal mediation model. Conclusion These two studies shed light on the complex relationship between gratitude and patriotism. They emphasize the significance of gratitude, general life satisfaction, and socioeconomic status in shaping patriotism, offering potential avenues for understanding the internal mechanisms that influence patriotism.
How Do Adaptive Learning Expectations Rationalize Stronger Monetary Policy Response in Brazil?

This paper estimates a standard Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model that includes a wage and price Phillip’s curves with different expectation formation processes for Brazil and the USA. Other than the standard rational expectation process, we also use a limited rationality process, the adaptative learning model. We show that the adaptive learning model does a better job in fitting the data in both Brazil and the USA. Our estimation results show that expectations are more backward-looking and started to drift away sooner in 2021 in Brazil than in the USA. We then conduct optimal policy exercises that prescribe early monetary policy tightening in the context of positive output gaps and inflation far above the central bank target.