Scientific Achievements Research Articles

Celebrating the 2025 Winners of the Outstanding Achievements in Environmental Science & Technology Award and the James J. Morgan Early Career Award

Celebrating the 2025 Winners of the <i>Outstanding Achievements in Environmental Science &amp; Technology Award</i> and the <i>James J. Morgan Early Career Award</i>

A Novel Microbe, Immunization Deaths, and Vaccination on Trial: BCG and the Lübeck Disaster of 1930.

Today's controversies of gain-of-function virological research and mRNA COVID vaccination policies had an antecedent nearly a century ago in an event often referred to as "the Lübeck disaster." From April through September 1930, 77 newborn infants in Lübeck, Germany, died after receiving oral BCG immunizations tainted with active human Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The tragedy threatened to end BCG immunizations. BCG and its originators, the French scientists Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin, were exonerated from liability. An inquest uncovered careless laboratory practices that contaminated doses of the vaccine with a human pathogen. The calamity underscored the necessity for exacting standards when handling dangerous infective microbes. The physician and bacteriologist responsible for the immunization program in Lübeck were tried and convicted for negligence, a concrete example of the civic responsibility expected of scientists when an experimental venture inflicts harm on an unwitting public. The example of Lübeck stands as an object lesson on the necessity of an informed, measured approach to any novel treatment. Controversies continue whether BCG vaccination is the preferred public health strategy against tuberculosis. Calmette and Guérin's lasting scientific achievement is the creation of a microbe that over a century has kept its essential features of inciting a vigorous immunological reaction that was tolerated by its host and never regaining its pathogenicity. The features form the basis of modern cancer immunotherapy, where intravesical BCG is first-line therapy against non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Identification and Analysis of Small Nucleolar RNAs by Real-Time Quantitative PCR.

One of the greatest scientific achievements of the twenty-first century is the completion of The Human Genome Project (HGP). Thereafter, we came to know that the human genome codes nearly 2% for making proteins and thus named as coding genes, suggesting the rest of the genome as noncoding or junk. However, research in the past two decades has shown and established that noncoding RNAs are major contributors of regulating and modulating the various function of cells as well as tissues. Noncoding RNAs can be classified as basis of their sizes in two categories, long noncoding RNAs (>200nt) and small noncoding RNAs (<200nt). Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are part of the small noncoding RNA family and primarily reside inside the nucleus of eukaryotes. Sno RNAs can be divided into two major categories based on their distinguished structure and function; these are C/D box and HACA box snoRNAs. They participate in the posttranscriptional modifications on ribosomal RNAs (r-RNAs), transfer RNAs (t-RNAs), messenger RNAs (m-RNAs), and small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs). Sno RNAs act as guide RNAs to modify other noncoding RNAs by pseudouridylation or 2'O ribomethylation. We discussed in this protocol about one of the widely used techniques for detection and analysis of snoRNAs, i.e., real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR).

STRATEGIES TO AGE WELL: BUILDING A CREATIVE AND IMPACTFUL CAREER IN BRAIN HEALTH

Abstract Dr. Vonetta Dotson is a gero-neuropsychologist with a program of a researched focused on understanding positive (e.g., exercise) and negative (e.g., depression) modifiers of brain health in diverse older adults in order to identify ways to reduce health disparities in cognitive and affective disorders in late life, thereby enabling every individual to age well. The work is designed to be translational in nature, with implications for the daily lives of older adults and for how we diagnose, treat, and prevent cognitive and affective disorders. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Gerontological Society of American (GSA) have been instrumental in her professional accomplishments throughout her training and career, ranging from early GSA conference experiences and participation in the Technical Assistance Workshop (former name of the Butler Williams program) during graduate school, to her current NIA funding through various mechanisms including R01, R21, and U19 grants. This presentation will summarize Dr. Dotson’s scientific research accomplishments, the role of NIA and GSA in her career, and her more recent translation of her research to community outreach, including her start-up company, CerebroFit, that puts into action the latest research on lifestyle interventions for healthy brain aging and her book Keep Your Wits about You: The Science of Brain Maintenance as You Age, which provides lay audiences with science-based facts and practical tools to help readers develop healthy lifestyles to optimize their brain health.

Bridging the science achievement gap: Using survival analysis to assess the impact of center-based early childhood programs on children with disabilities

Understanding the factors that influence early science achievement is crucial for developing effective educational policies and ensuring equity within the education system. Despite its importance, research on the patterns of young children achieving science learning milestones and the factors that can reduce disparities between students with and without disabilities remains limited. This study analyzes data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Cohort 2011 (ECLS-K: 2011), which includes 18,174 children from 1328 schools across the United States, selected through a complex sampling process and spanning kindergarten to 5th grade. Utilizing survival analysis, the study finds that children with disabilities achieve science milestones later than their peers without disabilities, with these disparities persisting from early grades. The research highlights the effectiveness of center-based programs in enhancing science learning, particularly in narrowing the achievement gap between children with and without disabilities. These findings contribute to the broader discourse on equity in the education system and policy by introducing novel methodologies for assessing the frequency and duration of science learning milestones, and by providing insights into effective strategies that support equitable science education.

Hohol’s Anthropological Project in the Russian Empire

Purpose. To reconstruct Hohol’s point of view on his anthropological project, that is, to identify his answers to the question of what a person is in the dimensions of the essential and the proper. In other words, it is about clarifying Hohol’s position on the principles of Ukrainian existence in the russian empire. Theoretical basis. Our view of Hohol’s legacy is based on the conceptual positions of phenomenology, existentialism and hermeneutics. Originality. For the first time, an attempt is made to study Hohol’s legacy as a development of an anthropological project. In the process of its implementation, the authors reconstructed the main dimensions of this project, using the biography of the thinker, his correspondence, and texts. Close attention to the peculiarities of Hohol’s anthropology allows us to approach the understanding of the theoretical paradoxes of the writer’s worldview and the factors of his early death as a personal life tragedy of a patriot of Ukraine. The point is that Hohol, in the process of searching for forms of realising his high calling, set himself the task of substantiating a utopian goal. For him, the ways of building russia as a great power involve the emasculation of the basic values of European culture and the humiliation of human dignity. Conclusions. In the course of the study of Mykola Hohol’s works, the authors have identified: a) the importance of worldview and philosophical issues; b) the problems of man in his heritage. It is argued that Mykola Hohol, solving the problem of outlining the general features of human nature, at an early stage of his work demonstrated optimism and expressive life-affirming features rooted in Ukrainian centrism. Significant changes in our thinker’s worldview led to his attempts to substantiate an alternative version of the European anthropological project, which involves justifying the insignificance of the average russian citizen and the empire itself at the cost of denying the achievements of European philosophy and science. The painful experience of this theoretical dissonance was a prerequisite for Mykola Vasylyovych’s early tragic death. Today, it is a kind of warning about the impossibility of combining Ukrainian and russian culture, that is, the danger of a nihilistic attitude towards the achievements of European culture, of which Ukraine is an integral part. The authors associate the prospects for further study of Hohol’s legacy with focusing on his: a) criticism of the Enlightenment and b) clarification of the forms of substantive rootedness of his work in Ukrainian philosophy, primarily in the teachings of Hryhorii Skovoroda.

Крах европоцентризма и два лика русского западничества

The article substantiates the modern collapse of the ideology of Eurocentrism, which claims that the history of the West is the centerline of world history, and European culture is the pinnacle of world culture. This de-prives Westernism of its ontological basis, and its traditional appeals to non-Western peoples to copy the in-stitutions, lifestyle and values of the West become reactionary, throwing them back into the past. Three his-torical forms of Russian Westernism as theory and practice are distinguished: Prussian-imperial, socialist, and liberal-market. Russian perestroika, conducted according to liberal-Western models, turned out for Russia and many countries of the former USSR with incalculable socio-economic and cultural losses and, as it turns out today, with a lot of blood. The article distinguishes between vicious, “smerdyakov's” as the author puts it, Westernism, based on mythological worship of Europe and the USA; and constructive — living —Westernism, as love for the high achievements of Western civilization and understanding of the need for ob-jective study of its modern scientific, technical and cultural achievements. Only this can ensure an equal, ra-tional and productive dialogue between the civilizations of East and West. The collapse of Eurocentrism and the profound crisis of the modern West direct the intellectual elites of non-Western peoples to search for na-tional development strategies and creative discussion of global perspectives related to the transition from the current dead-end techno-consumerist to the emerging spiritual-ecological world order of the future.

The influence of parent-child relationship on academic performance of Basic Science Students in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State

This research was aimed at investigating the influence of Parent-child relationship on academic performance of Basic Science students in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted the export facto research design. The population of the study was made up of all JSS 11 basic science Students of 2022/2023 academic session in Biase L.G.A, totally about 1500 Students. All the schools in the stratum were used since there were few public schools. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 230 JSS11 Students from the public schools in the area of study. The instruments for data collection were Achievement test tagged Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) and a Questionnaire tagged Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire (PCRQ). The achievement test contained 25 questions drawn from the topics: Nature of Matter and Motion from the Basic Science curriculum. Face and content validity were used to validate the instruments. The achievement test and questionnaire were utilized as the main sources of data collection. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions. Seven of which appraised the demographic information of the students while 15 questions (5 for each hypothesis) measured the variables of the study, while the reliability was determined using the test-retest method. The responses were correlated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The coefficient obtained was 0.67 for cordial relationship between children and parents, 0.74 for meeting basic needs of children by parents and 0.69 for monitoring learners' progress. Acquired data was analysed using descriptive statistics consisting of frequency tables and percentages for the demographic information while the variables were correlated using independent t-test. The findings of the study revealed that basic science students who have cordial relationship with their parents have positive significant in their academic performance than their counterparts who do not have cordial relationship with their parents. Significant difference was found in the academic performance of basic science students whose basic needs were satisfied by their parents and those whose needs were not satisfied by their parents in favour of those whose needs were supplied. There is significant difference in the academic performance of basic science students whose academic progresses were monitored by their parents and those whose academic progresses were not monitored in schools in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that parents should strengthen their mutual relationships with their children to provide the home environment and the psychological disposition needed to enhance academic performances in schools.

TƏHSİLALANMƏRKƏZLİ TƏLİM SİSTEMİNİN FƏLSƏFİ-METODOLOJİ ƏSASLARI

The article focuses on the diversity of opinions in the interpretations of the concept of "training" in various scientific sources. It is emphasized that working out the theoretical and practical foundations of an excellent educational system is the central problem of didactics. The search for didactic systems aiming at more effective results is a necessary and continuous process. It is claimed that the "perfect training process", which is perceived as one of the important ways of implementing education, should be interpreted as an learner-centered (it is considered as its emergent sign!) system that conditions the formation of skills in the students in accordance with the implications of the IV industrial revolution. It is emphasized that the theoretical-methodological importance of scientific philosophy, which is in step with the achievements of science and practice, for the management of the educational process is very great, and in this process, the management of students' cognitive activity and the development of their mental abilities is possible only on the condition that the regularities of the thinking process, the characteristics of the forms and methods of scientific cognition and dialectical relations should always be taken into account. In this work, the logic of looking at the management of the learning process as a cognitive issue in itself is brought to attention. In order to achieve effective results in the training process, the appropriateness of the practical educator's reference to the components contained in the dialectic and cognitive theory about the methods of understanding and changing reality in determining the management activity is drawn into the center of attention, and the form of thought movement that contains these "enabling components" is the methodological basis of the management of that process. Which is valued as the basis.

A tribute to Laszlo Zaborszky: pioneering discoveries in the basal forebrain and inspiring generations of neuroscientists.

This editorial celebrates the 80th birthday of Distinguished Professor Laszlo Zaborszky, co-founder of Brain Structure and Function, and reflects on his monumental contributions to neuroscience, particularly his pioneering work on the cholinergic basal forebrain. Professor Zaborszky's research has reshaped our understanding of this brain region's organization and function, uncovering its critical role in cognitive processes such as learning, memory, and attention. His findings have challenged longstanding assumptions, demonstrating that the cholinergic projections to the cortex are highly organized, with implications for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. Beyond his scientific achievements, Professor Zaborszky has made lasting contributions through his mentorship, shaping the careers of many neuroscientists, including the author. This editorial pays tribute to his remarkable legacy, both as a researcher and mentor and highlights his enduring impact on the field of neuroscience.

Татарская историография «Идегея»

The purpose of the study is a systematic analysis of the Tatar historiography of the dastan “Idegey”; the article accumulates a set of basic studies from the 19th century to the present day related to the Tatar epic of the dastan “Idegey”. Research materials: The multifunctional science of folk art samples includes a considerable number of textual and theoretical studies devoted to the collection, publication, and study of the monumental folk epic “Idegey”. At the same time, the historiography of Dastan in Tatar studies has not yet become the subject of special research in the context of philological and historical sciences, although the famous Dastan of the Golden Horde period has repeatedly attracted and continues to attract the attention of prominent collectors and researchers over the years. The relevance of the article is explained by the need to rethink the Tatar historiography of the epic, taking into account the achievements of philological and historical science and presenting a holistic view of this problem. Results and novelty of the research: The study is the first effort at a systematic analysis and description of sources and scientific literature about “Idegey” epic belonging to Tatar scientists. The emphasis on the works of domestic and foreign researchers in relation to the Tatar-language texts of the dastan in different historical periods, along with the identification of significant problems characteristic of the study of the historiography of the epic “Idegey” are also included in the circle of interest of the author. The novelty of the research is a reliable interpretation of the historiography of “Idegey” in the light of new scientific requirements, systematization of assessments, characteristics, and revision of a whole range of previous views on the declared topic. This research provides an important impetus for the active scientific circulation of a number of significant materials on the “Idegey” epic in a broad historical and cultural context.

Current trends and future directions in probiotics research for HIV/AIDS.

This study aims to comprehensively and systematically review the current status of research on probiotics and HIV/AIDS, while also exploring future research hotspots and trends in this domain. The Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database was queried up until May 13, 2024, to retrieve relevant literature on probiotics and HIV/AIDS. Utilizing CiteSpace, VOSviewers, and Bibliometrix software, scientific achievements and research frontiers in this field were analyzed. As of May 14, 2024, a total of 90 articles was included in. The publication output in this area peaked in 2017, with a subsequent decline in the number of articles post-2019. The United States emerged as the leading country in terms of article count (32 articles), with The University of Western Ontario being the institution with the highest publication output. Dr. Reid G contributed the most articles (12 articles). In addition to key terms, high-frequency keywords included immune activation, inflammation, and microbial translocation. The burst analysis of keywords suggests that vaccines may become a focal point of future research. Future research hotspots and trends should focus on elucidating the types of probiotics, intervention timing, and optimal strains (in terms of mixing ratios) in the context of HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, exploration into the role of probiotic metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids, in vaccine development is warranted.

Organic Chemistry in Russian Universities: Achievements of recent years

An overview of the main scientific achievements of Russian universities in the field of organic chemistry for the period 2018–2023 is presented.

How Motivation mediated Science Achievement of Indonesian Students: a Path Analysis on PISA 2018 data

The low science achievement of Indonesian students in PISA 2018 is still a challenge for Indonesian education stakeholders. For a long time, socio-economic conditions, low interest in reading, and low motivation have often been the causes of these achievements. This study aims to examine the effects of socio-economic status, reading habits, and gender on Indonesian students' science achievements in PISA 2018. To represent the motivation variable, teacher support, parental support, and self-efficacy are placed as mediating variables toward science achievements. Using the path analysis mediation model implemented in R statistical software, we find that economic-social and cultural status, reading habits, and gender have a direct impact on students' science achievement. In addition, socio-economic and cultural status indirectly affects students' science achievement, mediated by teacher support, parental support, and self-efficacy. Reading habits indirectly affect students' science achievement, mediated by teacher support, parental support, and self-efficacy. Last, gender indirectly affects students' science achievement, mediated by parental support and self-efficacy, but does not affect students' scientific literacy scores when mediated by teacher support. Overall, gender has an indirect effect on students' science achievement.

Ретроспективний огляд дисертацій українських дослідників з теорії і методики навчання математики

In this article, we conduct a retrospective review of dissertation research by Ukrainian mathematics educators in the field of 13.00.02 Theory and Methodology of Mathematics Education, covering the historical period from the mid-20th century to 2024. We consider this review useful for substantiating the need for knowledge about the development of methodological science (mathematics) in the process of forming the methodological competence of future mathematics teachers. Referring to the creative scholarly contributions of prominent Ukrainian mathematics educators and highlighting their methodological views in the context of historical epochs serves as an effective tool for researching and reconstructing facts about methodological science. Specifically, we provide a concise analysis of dissertations (Hlushkov P.M. (1952), Hichiy O.F. (1960), Danyliuk P.F. (1971), L.V. Kuzmych (1998)), which explore specific historical aspects of the development of Ukrainian methodological science. The information we collected about the number of dissertation studies conducted in Ukraine in various research areas during the historical period from the mid-20th century to 2024 is reflected in a table. We analyzed the topics of nearly 300 dissertations. In our study, the analysis of dissertation topics performs several functions: to identify the achievements of Ukrainian methodology in mathematics education as a science, to clarify the main trends in research on the didactics of mathematics over different time periods, and to determine the relevance and level of research on the history of the development of Ukrainian methodological science. Reform processes in the field of school mathematics education since the second half of the 20th century are interconnected with the results of dissertation research in the specialty 13.00.02 Theory and Methodology of Mathematics Education conducted in Ukraine during this period. The quantitative analysis of dissertation research conducted in Ukraine in various research areas allowed us to clarify the relevance of dissertation topics over different time periods and, accordingly, the trends in the development of the theory and methodology of mathematics education in Ukraine. Turning to the national methodological heritage and understanding contemporary national achievements in methodological science has significant scientific and practical importance, as it is a vital component in forming the national-patriotic consciousness of teachers and should contribute to the development of the methodological culture of creative mathematics educators.

A study of high school students’ experiences and perceptions of prosocial immersive content

Although it is still in its incipient stages, there appears to be an increasing interest in immersive learning content, which offers students innovative educational experiences due to its particular way of telling a story and its unique viewing devices. This study explores this new pedagogical scenario with the aim of analysing students’ experiences and perceptions related to the use of this type of content. The research involved the performance of a pre-test and post-test on a sample of 90 high school students aged from 15 to 17, in an effort to identify attitudinal changes after viewing immersive content (360º video) with VR headsets. The originality of this study lies in the fact that the specific immersive content used for the analysis takes a gender perspective on the scientific, social, cultural and political achievements of a group of women in the early 20th century. The main findings suggest that prosocial immersive learning content constitutes a valuable educational tool that makes acquiring new knowledge more attractive to students; however, no significant findings were observed in relation to the gender issue, as participant responses to the questions asked on this point tended towards the middle of the Likert scale used in the survey.

Проблема впливу глобальної зміни клімату на розвиток аграрної галузі в Україні: історичний екскурс

The purpose of the work is to reveal specific issues of climate change, their impact on the development and management of agriculture in Ukraine, caused by intense warming: uneven distribution of precipitation; the increase in the number and intensity of extreme weather phenomena - droughts (droughts), dry spells, etc., as well as the scientific development of Ukrainian scientists in developing the problem. Methodology. The specified historical research is based on the use of general scientific principles of objectivity, systematicity, historicism, comprehensiveness. The subject-chronological and comparative-historical methods used by us are of great importance and their synthetic role in reflecting the progressive development of knowledge about climate change and finding ways to prevent negative effects on agricultural plants. The comparative-historical method contributed to the selection and characterization of the peculiarities of the accumulation of knowledge about extreme climatic phenomena, their development within the climatic zones of Ukraine. By analyzing the scientific work of scientists, the process of overcoming current problems, implementing new scientific developments into practice is traced. The scientific novelty consists in the generalization of the scientific achievements of scientific research institutions of Ukraine on the study of the nature of global climatic phenomena, their influence on the development of agricultural production in different soil and climatic zones of the country through the ways of overcoming crisis phenomena proposed by Ukrainian scientists. For the first time, the works of the outstanding scientist-agriculturalist A. O. Babich of the late 90s and early decades of the 20th century on the problem of global climate change became the object of a separate scientific study. Conclusions. In conclusion, we note that further global and regional climate warming can cause irreversible climate changes with a violation of the climatic balance, and the consequences of dangerous natural hydrometeorological phenomena can become catastrophic, which can lead to changes in the conditions of human life. As the analysis showed, droughts are exacerbated by high plowing of agricultural land, non-compliance with the soil protection system of land cultivation, weak development of moisture-saving technologies and drought-resistant crops and varieties. The industry of crop production is most affected by the adverse factors of drought, dry spells and dust storms, which are often characterized by unpredictability both in terms of their manifestations and the force of their impact on crops. In order to conduct agricultural production, there is a need to review the structure of sown areas by climatic zones of Ukraine, to include in the range of growing adapted to the phenomena of dehydration and prolonged overheating during the hot period and drought, the newest adapted varieties of plants. The efforts of agrarian science and production should be directed not to the exhaustion of natural forces, but to the neutralization and weakening of the effect of droughts and dry spells by a system of measures, including the results of the latest research in meteorology, agriculture and crop production.

New Technologies of Grain Boundary Engineering of Materials for Improving the Corrosion Resistance of High Alloy Stainless Steel Pipes

Abstract. Problem. Pipes made of highly alloyed corrosion-resistant steels are widely used in corrosive-aggressive environments in priority industries. In connection with the increasing severity of their operating conditions, increased requirements for resistance to intercrystalline, pitting corrosion, corrosion cracking, and sulfide corrosion cracking under stress become the most important in accordance with the requirements of foreign and international standards. Previous studies have shown that currently operating technologies for the production of pipes do not meet the modern, comprehensive requirements for quality characteristics. To solve this problem, it is necessary to apply new progressive scientific and technological methods. Goal. The purpose of the work is to increase the corrosion resistance and operational reliability of pipes made of highly alloyed austenitic and ferritic-austenitic steels by improving their structure during deformation and temperature treatments according to the principle of grain boundary engineering of materials. Methodology. To achieve the goal, the latest scientific achievements and technologies for improving the structure and increasing the corrosion resistance of rolled products made of high-alloy steel were analyzed. When conducting experimental studies, modern methods were used and methods of metal structure research and complex corrosion tests for resistance to local types of corrosion to which corrosionresistant steels are subjected in operating conditions were developed. The results. The latest technologies for the production of pipes from austenitic chromenickel and ferritic-austenitic chrome-nickelmolybdenum steels, based on the principle of grain boundary construction of polycrystalline materials, have been developed. They ensure obtaining a structure of pipes with an increased content of special low-energy grain boundaries in the theory of coinciding site lattices (CSL) and high resistance against local types of corrosion in accordance with new industry requirements. Originality. For the first time, special low-energy grain boundaries in the ferritic component and interphase boundaries with reduced surface energy in highly alloyed ferriticaustenitic steels were found. The leading role of special boundaries in increasing resistance to local types of corrosion that originate at grain boundaries is shown. Practical value. The results of the work were implemented in the production at Centravis Production Ukraine PJSC, which contributed to the improvement of the quality and competitiveness of products

Examining the Subjective Reasons Leading to Disparities in Academic Achievement among Students in the Architectural Design course at the University of Tripoli.

Architectural education plays a vital role in developing and advancing the urban structure and raising the level of performance of technical departments to achieve a better standard of living for the country’s people within international standards. Architectural design is considered one of the most important basic subjects in the crystallization and formation of an architect's personality. Therefore, the disparity and sometimes weakness of the scientific achievement of students in the Department of Architecture in this subject undoubtedly leads to the inability of graduates to contribute to the process of construction effectively in practical life. This research aims to find out the reasons for the disparity in educational achievement among students of the architectural design subject in the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Tripoli. The Descriptive Analytical method was employed to identify key challenges hindering students' educational progress in architectural design courses AR 302 and AR 403. The study examined a sample that comprised over 25% of the students across the two courses. The results were that all reasons for lack of achievement related to the students themselves. They were represented in order and according to importance in the degree of intelligence; hobbies; method of reading; access to books and references and the extent of benefiting from them; and attention and concentration during lectures. The study found that students did not have the moral courage to answer questions due to shyness (91.7%) and fear of the professor (8.3%). The research resulted in a set of recommendations, the most important of which is that professors should invest in the first meeting with students when presenting the course program. The study also recommends professors provide students with advice and guidance in developing their IQ, aim to reduce or eradicate the effects of shyness, and encourage and motivate students to participate in discussions and ask questions. Implementation of these recommendations will increase the likelihood of fostering an integrated educational institution that is constructive and capable of graduating confident scientific cadres.

THE CRITICAL YET OVERLOOKED SPATIAL COMPETENCE IN LEARNING ASTRONOMY: DECODING SEMANTIC SPATIAL INFORMATION IN PICTURES

This study examined the impact of spatial ability on science achievement by distinguishing between domain-general and domain-specific spatial abilities, focusing on their relationship with the conceptual understanding of the apparent path of the sun. Additionally, the mediating effects of domain-specific spatial knowledge on the relationships between spatial ability and science achievement were tested. A mixed-methods design was used. Forty university students participated. Mental rotation and astronomical drawing tests were used to evaluate their general spatial ability and science achievement. The domain-specific spatial knowledge used in solving astronomical drawing tests was ascertained via interviews and analyzed, with results presented as static-type semantic spatial propositions and dynamic-type spatial skills. The results demonstrated an overlap between general spatial ability and domain-specific spatial knowledge, challenging the traditional dichotomy between them. Furthermore, domain-specific spatial knowledge fully mediated the relationship between general spatial ability and science achievement. These findings have significant implications for astronomy education, highlighting the importance of domain-specific spatial competence over general ability in solving domain problems and underscoring the need for explicit instruction in the decoding of semantic spatial information in pictorial representations, which is often overlooked in studies focusing on spatial skills training or the surface characteristics of scientific representations. Keywords: spatial ability, domain generality, domain specificity, semantic spatial knowledge, astronomy education