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Abstract Pangolin species are notoriously difficult to detect and monitor in the wild and, as a result, commonly used survey techniques fall short in gathering sufficient data to draw confident conclusions on pangolin populations, conservation status, and natural history. The white‐bellied pangolin is a semiarboreal species that may be poorly detected in general mammal surveys even with modern techniques such as camera‐trapping. As a result, population status information is often derived from hunting, market, and trafficking data. There is therefore a crucial need to improve camera‐trap survey methods to reliably detect this species in its natural environment. Here, we test the influence of camera‐trap placement strategy on the detectability of the white‐bellied pangolin by comparing estimates from targeted ground‐viewing camera‐trapping and a novel log‐viewing placement strategy adapted from local hunters' knowledge. Our results suggest that (1) deploying camera‐traps to detect animals walking along logs is an effective strategy for recording several forest species, including the white‐bellied pangolin, and (2) that camera‐traps targeting logs are more efficient at detecting white‐bellied pangolins than camera‐traps viewing the ground (>100% increase in detection probability). We also found moderate evidence that there is a relationship between the white‐bellied pangolin occurrence at our locality and elevation and weak evidence of an association with distance to the nearest river. Our results suggest an effective new monitoring approach allowing consistent detection of the white‐bellied pangolin with moderate survey effort. This highlights the importance of harnessing local knowledge to guide the design of monitoring protocols for cryptic species.

BackgroundDespite a scale up of control interventions over the years, malaria remains a major public health and economic concern in Cameroon, contributing considerably to hospitalization and deaths. The effectiveness of control strategies depends on the extent of adherence by the population to national guidelines. This study assessed the influence of human knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to malaria and its control on the prevalence of malaria parasite infection, with implications for the elimination of the disease.MethodologyThis is a cross-sectional community and hospital-based study, covering the five ecological and three malaria transmission zones in Cameroon. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to document socio-demographic and clinical parameters as well as knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward malaria control and management. Consenting participants were screened for malaria parasite with rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) of the peripheral blood. Association between qualitative variables was determined using the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis.ResultsA total of 3,360 participants were enrolled, 45.0% (1,513) of whom were mRDT positive, with 14.0% (451/3,216) and 29.6% (951/3,216) having asymptomatic parasitaemia and malaria, respectively. Although most participants knew the cause, symptoms, and control strategies, with 53.6% (1,000/1,867) expertly knowledgeable about malaria overall, only 0.1% (2/1,763) individuals were fully adherent to malaria control measures.ConclusionThe risk of malaria in Cameroon remains high, with the population considerably knowledgeable about the disease but poorly adherent to national malaria control guidelines. Concerted and more effective strategies aimed at improving knowledge about malaria and adherences to control interventions are necessary to ultimately eliminate the disease.

Significant tornado events have prompted a push for the development of design standards that consider tornado loading for conventional buildings and structures. One important loading parameter in the design standards is the variation in the horizontal wind speed with the height (i.e., wind speed profile) as manifested in a velocity pressure profile. Different from the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) in which the wind speed monotonically increases with height, the average wind speed profile in tornadoes exhibits a "nose-like" profile for which the wind speed increases from the surface to a local maximum at "nose" height and then decreases above that height. A tornado task committee (TTC) was convened through the ASCE 7 Wind Load Subcommittee, in part to report on the collection, review, and analysis of tornado wind speed profile data and to propose a "design" tornado velocity pressure profile for inclusion in the new tornado load chapter of the ASCE 7-22 standard. A total of 36 tornado profiles were evaluated independent of terrain exposure or surface roughness and collected from mobile radar data. Significant variability was noted in the profiles, but many showed a peak horizontal wind speed relatively close to surface, with a median height of approximately 164 ft (50 m). A proposed tornado velocity pressure profile and associated velocity pressure exposure coefficient, KzTor , was then developed for ASCE 7-22. The proposed nominal tornado profile closely followed the median radar profile. Values of the new KzTor=1.0 between ground level and 200 ft (61 m) decrease linearly to 0.9 at a height of 328 ft (100 m) then remain constant above that height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color mutations are a common phenomenon in vertebrates. Among these anomalies, albinism is the most common in wild mammals. We deployed 78 camera traps across the Yoko Council Forest (YCF) to inventory medium to large-sized terrestrial mammals and we obtained a total effort of 17,981 operational camera trap days, giving 169 detections of long-nosed mongoose. During this study, we obtained two independent detections of albino long-nosed mongooses (Xenogale naso). To our knowledge, this is the first report of albinism in this taxon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In previous studies, it has been found that the Nigerian bentonite is deficient in terms of its fluid loss and rheological properties which includes yield point. Also, due to its high calcium content and low sodium content as opposed to foreign bentonite, it does not meet the API standard of drilling. This research was carried out to beneficiate the Nigerian bentonite as regards its fluid loss properties, rheological properties and wellbore stability. Snail shell is seen as waste substance in Nigeria, and Mucuna solannie on the other hand is a local major food supplement in Nigeria and is found in large quantities. The elemental and oxide compositions of the snail shell and Mucuna solannie were determined through scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction measurements, respectively. The additives were used to beneficiate the Nigerian bentonite, and the test result proved that at considerable concentrations of the additives, the Nigerian bentonite was able to compete with foreign bentonite and also met API specifications. Both additives contain high concentrations of nanoparticles and inhibitive calcium and potassium for wellbore stability. Beneficiated Nigerian bentonite also proved to be viable economically when compared with foreign bentonite.

Mitigating tornado damage remains a critical challenge for communities throughout much of the United States. Enhanced construction techniques typically used in hurricane-prone regions are often recommended as at least part of the solution, but the effectiveness of these techniques lacks empirical evaluation. This study investigates the performance of modern wood-frame residential structures in Arabi, LA, constructed to hurricane-resistant standards, that were impacted by a strong tornado on March 22, 2022. Field teams deployed beginning March 25, 2022, just three days after the tornado touched down, capturing perishable data on the building performance using vehicle-mounted surface-level panoramic cameras, forensic engineering investigations, and unmanned aerial systems. This paper describes the field deployments and identifies common failure mechanisms observed by the field teams. Analytical fragility functions are developed based on the load path observations and compared to empirical fragility functions generated from linking the building performance observations with wind speed estimates at each building derived from a parametric wind field model conditioned to tree-fall patterns. The study finds that despite the frequent use of hurricane-resistant hardware, such as hurricane straps and anchor bolts, key weak links elsewhere in the load path compromised the resistance and led to premature failures. The agreement between the empirically- and analytically-derived fragility functions was lacking, demonstrating the challenges that remain in understanding near-surface tornado wind loading and structural response. Nonetheless, the study provides a consensus framework for future tornado assessments that can help improve our understanding of tornado loading through the utilization of reconnaissance data. Further, the study findings on deficiencies in the load paths of homes in hurricane-prone regions have practical value to risk assessments and future construction practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the policy direction for pangolin conservation in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The current prohibitionist approach may not be optimal for conserving the species, as it fails to consider diverse and adaptive management approaches. The article suggests that restricting policy options for pangolins in CITES may hinder optimal national policies and proposes that formal domestic use and/or trade of pangolins could contribute to their conservation under appropriate governance conditions. The authors recommend recognizing the need for context-specific solutions and not removing potential tools for pangolin conservation. [Extracted from the article]