Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A review of shelf-life extension studies of Nigerian indigenous fresh fruits and vegetables in the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute

The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute has been conducting research in technology development suitable for post-harvest handling of Nigerian indigenous fruits and vegetables for extension of the shelf-life of these commodities, retention of nutrients and aesthetics of fresh produce in storage, enhancement of the nutritional status and earning capacity of both the rural and urban poor through proper handling, storage, marketing and consumption of fruits and vegetables; and production of the best quality fruits/vegetables for local and export markets over three decades. The research work carried out and the technologies developed for handling of Nigerian indigenous fruits/vegetables post-harvest for the farm, market and domestic levels of storage are discussed subsequently. These indigenous fruits and vegetables are prone to chill injury when kept at low temperatures. However, storage structures developed by the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute over the years, such as the evaporative coolers and cooler baskets which could record some temperature drop from the ambient, have been used in extending the shelf-life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Packing (wrapping) materials have also showed promise in extending shelf life of Nigerian indigenous fresh produce. The season and time of harvest also play an important role in storage of fruits and vegetables. Garden eggs have very short shelf-life of 7 days during the dry harmattan months in Nigeria. Fresh fluted pumpkin Telfairia occidentalis ‘ugu’ leaves can only be kept for 6 days at 29.1°C and 64.5% relative humidity beyond which physiological breakdown of tissues lead to deterioration and total loss. Fresh pawpaw (Carica papaya L.) fruits, individually wrapped with waxed paper (TIXO) kept at ambient conditions in plastic crate, have a shelf-life of 17 days as compared to fresh pawpaw fruits in evaporative coolers for 7 days. In hot dry weather of the Northern parts of Nigeria, oranges stored in evaporative cooler (EC) Metal-in-Brick wall have a shelf-life of 10 weeks. Adoption of these technologies will play a very vital role in post-harvest loss reduction in fresh fruits and vegetables along the food chain, increase income and improve nutrition for all stakeholders. The interventions to maintain food quality and safety for reduction of postharvest losses in Nigerian indigenous fruits and vegetables through Research activities in NSPRI for three decades are the focus of this review paper. Key words: Postharvest, technologies, fruits, vegetables, shelf-life.
Examining the Use of Learning Communities to Improve Pre-service Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

In this study, we organized and implemented learning communities in an introductory technology course for pre-service secondary teachers. There were 49 participants enrolled in the course “Instructional Media and Applications” in the fall semester of 2015. To measure the participants’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), a questionnaire was administered at the beginning and end of the course. To understand the participants’ perceptions on learning communities, another questionnaire was administered at the end of the course. The results indicate that all the TPACK constructs were significantly improved except the content knowledge construct. Furthermore, the participants expressed a favorable perception on joining in learning communities. There was also an enhancement of interpersonal relations, human skills, practical knowledge, and quality of artifacts. However, two problems were identified in the process of learning communities, namely availability of time and degree of participation. Based on the research findings, relevant suggestions are provided at the end. 
Perceptions Of Polytechnic Students Towards Examination Malpractice

This paper attempted to find out the perceptions of polytechnic students towards examination malpractice. The sample for the study consisted of 920 National Diploma [ND] and Higher National Diploma [HND] students of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti randomly drawn from different subject disciplines. A questionnaire titled Examination Malpractice Perception Questionnaire (EMPQ) was used for the collection of necessary data. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and Chi Square. The study revealed that many students have wrong concepts of examination malpractices. Some students see examination as an instrument of restriction on the ladder of success, hence the need to disobey any rules or regulations that may stand between them and success. The study therefore suggested that there is need to organize orientation lectures and seminars/talks on examination malpractice and corresponding sanctions to all students, at all levels of our educational system every semester and stakeholders in the educational sectors.
Attitude of couples towards family planning practices in the field practice area of Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar

Background: Uncontrolled population growth has been a problematic issue all over the world. Knowing the women’s and their husband’s awareness and attitude towards family planning may help us to intervene so that the practice can be increased. This might ensure the right of women to have child as they wish and later reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Hence the present study is concerned with evaluation of attitude of couples towards family planning.Methods: A cross - sectional study was conducted during February 2013 - January 2014 among the couples residing in the field practice study areas. A semi-structured questionnaire consisting attitude of respondents regarding various aspects of family planning was administered to 406 couples of the study area.Results: It has been observed that the females had higher positive attitude scores (16.04±3.641) than males (13.85±4.605) and was statistically significant (p=0.000). Urban residents showed higher positive attitude scores (17.75±2.873) compared with rural (12.14±3.582) and difference was statistically significant (p=0.000). Conclusions: One of the promising findings of the study is, the majority of respondents showed a positive attitude towards contraceptive use. Female respondents and urban population showed more favorable attitude as compared to males and rural population respectively. There is need to target these population for health education interventions in order to achieve the desirable practices.
Connectivity between juvenile and adult fish populations: do adults remain near their recruitment estuaries?

Juvenile snapper Pagrus auratus (Sparidae) were collected from 15 estuaries during the recruitment season of 1998-99 and their otoliths were analysed to determine concentrations of chem- ical elements. Differences in elemental composition of juveniles were found among estuaries or groups of estuaries suggesting that the nursery or recruitment estuary of adult fish could be deter- mined by analysing the juvenile region of adult otoliths. Adult fish from the commercial fishery in the vicinity of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia were then collected, their ages estimated and fish with birth years during 1998-99 selected for microchemical analysis to determine their recruitment estuary. Maximum likelihood analyses were used to determine the proportion of juvenile fish and adult fish from different regions (Wallis Lake, Sydney estuaries, Eden, and other estuaries). For juve- nile fish, the actual composition ranged from 7 to 53% depending on the estuary or group of estuar- ies and the estimate of proportion of juveniles from the different estuaries ranged from 7.24 to 48.21% suggesting an error rate of <1 to 4.79%. Most (89%) adult fish caught as part of the snapper fishery in the Sydney region originated from local estuaries, although about 9% of fish had Eden as their recruitment estuary and 2% had come from the remaining estuaries excluding Wallis Lake, which contributed no fish. These results suggest that adults on reefs outside estuaries in the Sydney region have come from the estuaries closest to them with little transfer from other estuaries. For other regions, 2 scenarios are possible, namely, adults originated from estuaries close by with little transfer from other estuaries, or alternatively estuaries in the vicinity of Sydney supply the majority of adult fish along the coast. The latter situation is considered unlikely. Results show a link between juvenile and adult populations and suggest that populations of snapper may be self-sustaining or relatively closed.
Factors Affecting Business Students' Performance in Arab Open University: The Case of Kuwait

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors affecting student performance in Arab Open University- Kuwait branch. To achieve this objective, all graduate students during the academic year 2009-2010 were examined. The graduates were 566 students, consisting of 353 female and 213 male students. The data were analyzed by using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) multiple regressions. The outcome of the analysis revealed that the Grade Point Average (GPA) of the student is affected by age, score of the high school and nationality. In addition, the results revealed that younger students perform better than mature students and non-national students perform better than national student. The results further revealed that significant gender differences exists, female students perform better than male counterparts in line with a significant number of previous empirical studies. More importantly, the results of the analysis indicated that marital status plays a significant role in determining the student's performance by confirming that married students perform better than non-married counterparts.
Title Tumor cells switch to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation under radiation via mTOR-mediated hexokinase II inhibition-A Warburg-reversing effect Permalink

A unique feature of cancer cells is to convert glucose into lactate to produce cellular energy, even under the presence of oxygen. Called aerobic glycolysis [The Warburg Effect] it has been extensively studied and the concept of aerobic glycolysis in tumor cells is generally accepted. However, it is not clear if aerobic glycolysis in tumor cells is fixed, or can be reversed, especially under therapeutic stress conditions. Here, we report that mTOR, a critical regulator in cell proliferation, can be relocated to mitochondria, and as a result, enhances oxidative phosphorylation and reduces glycolysis. Three tumor cell lines (breast cancer MCF-7, colon cancer HCT116 and glioblastoma U87) showed a quick relocation of mTOR to mitochondria after irradiation with a single dose 5 Gy, which was companied with decreased lactate production, increased mitochondrial ATP generation and oxygen consumption. Inhibition of mTOR by rapamycin blocked radiation-induced mTOR mitochondrial relocation and the shift of glycolysis to mitochondrial respiration, and reduced the clonogenic survival. In irradiated cells, mTOR formed a complex with Hexokinase II [HK II], a key mitochondrial protein in regulation of glycolysis, causing reduced HK II enzymatic activity. These results support a novel mechanism by which tumor cells can quickly adapt to genotoxic conditions via mTOR-mediated reprogramming of bioenergetics from predominantly aerobic glycolysis to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Such a “waking-up” pathway for mitochondrial bioenergetics demonstrates a flexible feature in the energy metabolism of cancer cells, and may be required for additional cellular energy consumption for damage repair and survival. Thus, the reversible cellular energy metabolisms should be considered in blocking tumor metabolism and may be targeted to sensitize them in anti-cancer therapy. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone. 0121046 March 25, 2015 1 / 20 a11111
Long‐term heat storage in the Great Lakes

Practical estimation of long-term daily Great Lakes evaporation requires one-dimensional (depth) models of heat storage and mixing. Conceptual models are preferable to physical models for small-computer simulations that are multiple, continuous, and long. This paper describes a new conceptual superposition model of heat storage to extend an existing evaporation model along the lake depth. The resulting daily model is recalibrated to remotely sensed surface water temperatures and is used to illustrate anew seasonal heating and cooling cycles, heat-temperature hysteresis, water column turnovers, and mixed-layer developments. It is used as well to compare the vertical distribution of temperatures with independent bathythermograph data. The time occurrence structure of evaporation on the Great Lakes is investigated, and the effects of summertime initial conditions on subsequent wintertime behavior of evaporation are simulated. Impacts of perceived large-lake thermodynamic behavior are analyzed, and suggestions are made for further research.
The acquisition of new word meaning by auditory-motor associations in a trial-and-error learning paradigm

В соответствии с теорией телесно-воплощенного познания, речь в значительной степени базируется на моторном и сенсорном опыте. Вопрос, критически важный для понимания природы речи, состоит в том, как наш мозг трансформирует сенсорно-моторный опыт в смысл, присваиваемый словам. Мы разработали слуховую-моторную экспериментальную задачу, позволяющую исследовать мозговые механизмы научения смыслу слов путем ассоциативного научения по типу "проб-и-ошибок", имитирующего важные аспекты естественного научения речи. Участникам предъявляли восемь псевдослов; четыре псевдослова в ходе научения приобретали смысл и обозначали движения конкретными частями тела; процедура включала в себя выполнение испытуемыми движений правыми или левыми конечностями и получение ими обратной связи. В ответ на остальные псевдослова никаких действий выполнять не требовалось, и они служили в качестве контрольных стимулов. Магнитоэнцефалограмму регистрировали во время пассивного прослушивания слов до и после научения. Кортикальные источники магнитных вызванных ответов реконструировали с помощью модели распределенных источников. Научение смыслу новых слов путем ассоциаций между словами и действиями селективным образом усилило специфическое сродство к этим словам в области слухового парапояса, ответственной за спектрально-временной анализ, а также в артикуляционных областях, причем обе области были локализованы в левом полушарии. Выраженность изменений в мозговой активности коррелировала со скоростью речевого научения, что подчеркивает физиологический вклад левой перисильвиллярной коры в успешность речевого научения.
Improvement of Corrosion Resistance by Laser Surface Melting of 7075 Aluminum Alloy

In the present work, a high power diode laser (HPDL) has been used for surface melting of a 7075-T651 aluminum alloy under a nitrogen atmosphere to induce microstructural changes on the surface to improve corrosion resistance. The re-solidified laser-melted layer got refined with elimination of detrimental constituent particles and grain boundary network present in wrought structure. The compositional and microstructural analysis of the laser melted layer carried out by SEM, XRD and EDS indicated complete absence of coarse precipitates. The comparative corrosion study determined by Potentiodynamic Polarization measurements in 3.5 % sodium chloride solution showed corrosion current reduced by 5 times in laser melted surface compared to un-treated substrate. The refined microstructure of laser melted layer with presence of aluminum nitride phase, that can plausibly enhance electrical insulation, could be attributed to its vast improvement in corrosion resistance.
Costless Discrimination and Unequal Achievements in a Labour Market Experiment

We investigate the emergence of discrimination in an experiment where individuals affiliated to different groups compete for a monetary prize, submitting independent bids to an auctioneer. The auctioneer receives perfect information about the bids (i.e. there is no statistical discrimination), and she has no monetary incentive to favour the members of her own group (the bidders are symmetric). We observe nonetheless some discrimination by auctioneers, who tend to assign the prize more frequently to a member of their own group when two or more players put forward the highest bid. Out-group bidders react to this bias and reduce significantly their bids, causing an average decay of their earnings throughout the game, with cumulative effects that generate strongly unequal outcomes. Because the initial bias is costless, such mechanism can survive even in competitive market, providing a rationale for a well-known puzzle in the literature, i.e. the long-run persistence of discrimination.
Comparative of Infection Rate in Non-Elective and Elective Surgery, and Its Relation on Quality of Life

In recent decades, surgical joint replacements have represented a significant improvement in functional capacity of patients with osteoarthritis [1]. Approximately, 90% of hip joint replacements resolve the pain and functional limitation without complications over a period of 10-15 years after surgery, being therefore a more cost-effective intervention than other surgeries. However, this procedure is not exempt from risks and the complications incidence is around 4% [2]. One of the most serious and feared complication of hip joint replacement is a surgical site infection, due to the inherent emotional costs to the long process of treatment to follow, as it can cause the prosthesis failure [1], and the economic implication it has.
Democracy and Income Inequality: Revisiting the Long- and Short-Term Relationship

This paper studies the relationship between democracy andincome inequality in long- and short/medium-run. Using appropriate econometrictechniques on both, averaged and panel data for the period 1962-2006, we findno evidence that democracy is associated with tighter income distribution. Ourresults are robust to different specification techniques, to exclusion ofdeveloped as well as the transition countries. We speculate that the different(and opposing) transmission mechanisms, as well as the nature and thedefinition of the democracy variables (both Polity IV and Freedom House)influence our results. Improvement of conceptualization and measurement of democracycould shed further light onto the democracy-inequality nexus.
Free-energy distribution of the directed polymer at high temperature

We study the directed polymer of length t in a random potential with fixed endpoints in dimension 1+1 in the continuum and on the square lattice, by analytical and numerical methods. The universal regime of high temperature T is described, upon scaling “time”t∼T5/κ and space x=T3/κ (with κ=T for the discrete model) by a continuum model with δ-function disorder correlation. Using the Bethe Ansatz solution for the attractive boson problem, we obtain all positive integer moments of the partition function. The lowest cumulants of the free energy are predicted at small time and found in agreement with numerics. We then obtain the exact expression at any time for the generating function of the free-energy distribution, in terms of a Fredholm determinant. At large time we find that it crosses over to the Tracy-Widom distribution (TW) which describes the fixed-T infinite-t limit. The exact free-energy distribution is obtained for any time and compared with very recent results on growth and exclusion models.
International competition and labor market adjustment

How does welfare change in the short- and long-run in high wage countries when integrating with low wage economies like China? Even if consumers benefit from lower prices, there can be significant welfare losses from increases in unemployment and lower wages. I construct a dynamic multi-sector country Ricardian trade model that incorporates both search frictions and labor mobility frictions. I then structurally estimate this model using cross-country sector-level data and quantify both the potential losses to workers and benefits to consumers arising from China’s integration into the global economy. I find that overall welfare increases in northern economies, both in the transition period and in the new steady state equilibrium. In import competing sectors, however, workers bear a costly transition, experiencing lower wages and a rise in unemployment. I validate the micro implications of the model using employer-employee panel data.
Effects of molasses level in a concentrate mixture on performances of crossbred heifer calves fed a basal diet of maize stover

This study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance and feed intake of crossbred (Boran x Holstein Friesian) female calves fed different levels of molasses in concentrate mixture using 24 yearlings calves with average initial weight of 142.4±20.7 kg which lasted for 90 days. The calves were assigned into treatments having 0 (T1), 15 (T2), 30 (T3) and 50% (T4) molasses which replaced wheat bran in concentrate mixture using randomized complete block design into six blocks of four animals. The dry matter (DM) degradability was determined by incubating 3 g of feed samples in fistulated steers fed natural pasture hay ad libitum supplemented with 2 kg of concentrate. The total DM and organic matter (OM) intake for T2 and T3 diets were higher (P< 0.05) than those fed T1 and T4 diets. The stover DM and OM intake for T2 and T3 diets were higher (p<0.05) than for other treatments. The highest (p<0.05) crude protein intake was observed in calves fed T3 diets. Metabolizable energy (ME) intake was higher (P<0.05) for calves fed on T2 and T3 diets, respectively. Calves fed on T2, T3 and T4 diets had higher average daily gain compared to those fed T1 diet. The DM degradability after 4, 8, 24, 48, and 96 h of incubation was higher (P < 0.05) for T4 than that of T1. Based on intake of DM, OM and ME and growth performance, 15 and 30% molasses could be used as a replacement to wheat bran in the ration of heifers fed maize stover with good performance. Key words: Molasses, performance, crossbred, calves, maize stover, Ethiopia.
Evolution of saproxylic and mycophagous coleoptera in New Zeland

Beetles are an old holometabolous group dating back to the early Permian and associated with sediments containing conifers, ginkgos, and cycads. To determine the antiquity of dead wood beetles the evolution of gondwanan saproxylic and mycophagous beetles was examined in the context of available phylogenies that include New Zealand taxa. Phylogenetic position and branch lengths showed that 50 percent of the New Zealand fauna is basal and may represent old lineages dating to around 82 million years when New Zealand separated from Gondwana. Meanwhile, 60 percent of the New Zealand taxa have relatively long branches relative to overseas outgroups and this phenomenon may have resulted from the adaptation of these groups to resource shifts in changing forest communities. The resource shift hypothesis predicts that polyphagy will be widespread in mycophagous and phytophagous insects. Podocarp-broadleaf forest associations are more primitive than associations with Nothofagus based on species level phylogenies and forest associations of long-branched taxa.