Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward Achieving Sustainable Food Consumption: Insights from the Life Course Paradigm

Trends in world population growth have created an agri-food demand that is unsustainable under the present resource-intensive agricultural systems and expected growth in income levels in many developing countries. As such, research and policy making related to sustainable development have focused on consumption. One major approach to sustainable consumption lies in shaping food demand that would require changes in people’s present food consumption habits that are excessive and unhealthy, leading to overweight and obesity. In order to change food consumption habits, one must understand the factors that lead to their onset and change. This article offers the life course paradigm, which is increasingly used by social and behavioral scientists to study the development and change of various forms of behavior, as a research framework for studying the onset and change in food consumption habits. It shows how the life course approach could help guide future research not only on sustainable consumption, but also on environmental and social sustainability.
Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter spp. and Arcobacter butzleri from Pets in Malaysia

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in pets is not well understood and methods of surveillance are only beginning to be established in a few countries. The consequence of antimicrobial resistant Campylobacter and Arcobacter butzleri to public health is due to the propensity of the bacteria to swiftly acquire and disseminate resistance gene. Thus, making way for the emergence of new and very pathogenic clones resulting to difficulty in treatment with antimicrobials. The objectives of this study were to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns and multidrug-resistant (MDR) profiles of Campylobacter and Arcobacter butzleri isolated from dogs and cats and to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance using the disc diffusion test and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration. Ninety four (94) Arcobacterbutzleri and 28 Campylobacter isolates were tested against 12 antimicrobials using the disc diffusion method namely Ciprofloxacin (Cip) 5µg; Ampicillin (Amp), 10 µg; Tetracycline (Te), 30 µg; Erythromycin (E), 15 µg; gentamicin (CN), 10 µg; Cefotaxime (CTX), 30 µg; Penicillin G (P), µg; Streptomycin (S), µg; nalidixic acid (NA), µg; Enrofloxacin (Enr), µg; Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid (AMC), µg and Ceftazidine (CAZ), µg. Using the M.I. C.E. strip, Campylobacter and A. butzleri isolates showed the exception in the resistance to ciprofloxacin. In comparison, the resistance rates between the disc diffusion and M.I. C. were not significantly different. The resistance patterns showed 18 and 35 antibiotypes for Campylobacter and Arcobacterbutzleri isolates respectively. Campylobacter isolates were found resistant to 9 antimicrobials while Arcobacter butzleri showed resistance to 10 antimicrobials. MDR was reported among 50% and 78.9% of Campylobacter and Arcobacterbutzleri isolates respectively. Antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter and Arcobacter butzleri not only increase the risk of treatment failure in both human and animals but also spread antimicrobial resistance genes. Thus, the presence of Campylobacter in pets could be a potential source of human infections and environmental contamination.
A typology of masspersonal information seeking repertoires (MISR): Global implications for political participation and subjective well-being

Masspersonal information seeking repertoires are a person-centered method of gaining insight into the relationship between Internet use, subjective well-being, and political participation. Through latent profile analysis, three person types were identified in two waves of stratified samples in 18 countries (N = 8352). In accord with the “augmentation hypothesis,” high levels of interpersonal contact and traditional mass media usage covaried with high Internet use for the highly engaged type, that had highest political participation and life satisfaction, political knowledge, low depressive symptoms and also high anxiety. The other two types fit the “displacement hypothesis,” where Internet-based media displaces traditional media and face-to-face communication. Compared with the digitally immersed, the traditional repertoire was more knowledgeable and politically engaged, and had better well-being. Latent transition analysis showed these repertoires were stable over 6 months. Identifying different types of people with different information seeking styles clarifies mixed results on effects of online mass media use.
Layer-by-Layer Deposition of Copper and Phosphorus Compounds to Develop Flame-Retardant Polyamide 6/Montmorillonite Hybrid Composites

Nowadays, increasing attention is devoted to the search for polymeric composite materials that are characterized by reduced flammability. In this work, the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique was applied to form multilayered protective coatings for polyamide 6/montmorillonite (PA6/MMT) hybrid nanocomposites. This time, the double layers LbL deposition was used in order to improve the thermal properties or flammability of PA6 materials. Our goal was to check how five, 10, and 15 triple-layer deposition onto the surface of PA6 and PA6/MMT composites influenced these relevant properties. For this reason, disodium H-phosphonate, sodium montmorillonite, and iodo-bis(triphenylphosphino)copper were used for polyelectrolyte solution preparation. It was found that the LbL method could be successfully used to improve the flammability characteristics of polyamide 6-based composites. Nevertheless, the deposition of the copper complex should be combined with other flame retardants—preferentially containing phosphorus—which enable synergistic effects to occur. Moreover, microscopic observations confirmed that the surfaces on which the formation of interwoven fibrous crystal structures was observed had a tendency to protect the entire material against the destructive effects of heat, contributing, among other things, to reduce the maximum point of heat release rate (PHRR).
Design and development of a power groundnut sheller

In Bangladesh groundnut shelling is done manually which is laborious, time consuming and costly. Shelling of groundnut pod with the help of mechanical power can be a probable solution of this problem. A power groundnut sheller was designed and fabricated in Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering (FMPE) Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur during 2011-13. The sheller was made of Mild Steel (MS) angle bar, MS flat bar, MS rod, MS sheet, MS sieve, rubber pad etc. The shelling capacities of power groundnut sheller were 110 and 115 kg/h for Dhaka-1 and BARI Badam-8, respectively. Average breakage of groundnut kernel was 2% at 7.5% moisture content (wb). The maximum and minimum unshelled pods were about12.4% and 9.18% for Dhaka -1 and BARI Badam-8, respectively. The shelling efficiency of the power groundnut sheller for Dhaka-1 and BARI Badam-8 were 86.6 and 88.82% respectively at 11.5% moisture content (wb). Winnowing efficiency was found to be 99% in the power groundnut sheller. The use of power groundnut sheller can reduce the cost of shelling by 76% over the manual groundnut sheller. This power groundnut sheller is recommended for shelling of groundnut at farm level and small industry level in Bangladesh.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 43(4): 631-645, December 2018
Infiltrated Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ-Based Electrodes as Anodes in Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells

In the last decades, several works have been carried out on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technologies, as they are powerful and efficient devices for energy conversion and electrochemical storage. By increasing use of renewable sources, a discontinuous amount of electricity is indeed released, and reliable storage systems represent the key feature in such a future energy scenario. In this context, systems based on reversible solid oxide cells (rSOCs) are gaining increasing attention. An rSOC is an electrochemical device that can operate sequentially between discharging (SOFC mode) and charging (SOEC mode); then, it is essential the electrodes are able to guarantee high catalytic activity, both in oxidation and reduction conditions. Ba0.5Sr0. 5Co0.8Fe0. 2O3-δ (BSCF) has been widely recognized as one of the most promising electrode catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in SOFC technology because of its astonishing content of oxygen vacancies, even at room temperature. The purpose of this study is the development of BSCF to be used as anode material in electrolysis mode, maintaining enhanced energy and power density. Impregnation with a La0.8Sr0. 2MnO3 (LSM) discrete nanolayer is applied to pursue structural stability, resulting in a long lifetime reliability. Impedance spectroscopy measurements under anodic overpotential conditions are run to test BSCF and LSM-BSCF activity as the electrode in oxidation mode. The observed results suggest that BSCF is a very promising candidate as an oxygen electrode in rSOC systems.
Drastic Improvements in Air Quality in Ecuador during the COVID-19 Outbreak

ABSTRACT In the beginning of 2020, the global human population encountered the pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite social and economic concerns, this epidemiologic emergency has brought unexpected positive consequences for environmental quality as human activities were reduced. In this paper, the impact of restricted human activities on urban air quality in Ecuador is investigated. This country implemented a particularly strict set of quarantine measures at the very dawn of the exponential growth of infections on March 17, 2020. As a result, significant reductions in the concentrations of NO2 (–68%), SO2 (–48%), CO (–38%) and PM2.5 (–29%) were measured in the capital city of Quito during the first month of quarantine. This large drop in air pollution concentrations occurred at all the monitoring sites in Quito, serving as a valuable proof of the anthropogenic impact on urban air quality. The spatial evolution of atmospheric pollution using observed surface and satellite data, showed different results for the two major cities: Quito and Guayaquil. While the population in Quito adhered to the quarantine measures immediately, in the port city of Guayaquil, quarantine measures were slow to be adopted and, thus, the effect on air quality in Guayaquil occurred more slowly. This lag could have a considerable cost to the mortality rate in the port city, not only due to the spread of the disease but also due to the poor air quality. Overall, the air quality data demonstrate how quickly air quality can improve when emissions are reduced.
Queer urban trauma and its spatial politics: A lesson from social movements in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Growing attention has been devoted to the political geography of urban social movements but trauma, its urban context and spatial politics, have been significantly neglected. This paper aims to develop the concept of ‘queer urban trauma’ and its aftermath in the sense of urban and spatial activism, through an analysis of two traumatic events for the LGBT community in Israel. It explains how traumatic events taking place within urban contexts affect the spatial politics of LGBT and queer urban activism. Based on geographies of sexualities and queer theory, this paper aims to fill this gap by analysing traumatic events in two Israeli cities: the 2009 shooting of two young queers in a youth club in Tel Aviv, and the 2015 stabbing of a young girl during the Jerusalem Pride Parade. Tel Aviv is considered the liberal centre of Israel and a local ‘gay heaven’, as well as a destination for global gay tourism. Jerusalem on the other hand is usually described with a sense of alienation among LGBT and queer individuals and movements, where every political, spatial, cultural and financial achievement is a struggle. We argue that the politics of trauma are constructed differently in these two urban settings, producing important nuances of urban activism and politics. Through this empirical discussion, we develop the concept of ‘queer urban trauma’, revealing divergent forms of spatial visibility, presence and activity of the queer movements within urban spaces.
HIV Molecular Immunology 2015

The scope and purpose of the HIV molecular immunology database: HIV Molecular Immunology is a companion volume to HIV Sequence Compendium. This publication, the 2015 edition, is the PDF version of the web-based HIV Immunology Database (http://www.hiv.lanl.gov/ content/immunology/). The web interface for this relational database has many search options, as well as interactive tools to help immunologists design reagents and interpret their results. In the HIV Immunology Database, HIV-specific B-cell and T-cell responses are summarized and annotated. Immunological responses are divided into three parts, CTL, T helper, and antibody. Within these parts, defined epitopes are organized by protein and binding sites within each protein, moving from left to right through the coding regions spanning the HIV genome. We include human responses to natural HIV infections, as well as vaccine studies in a range of animal models and human trials. Responses that are not specifically defined, such as responses to whole proteins or monoclonal antibody responses to discontinuous epitopes, are summarized at the end of each protein section. Studies describing general HIV responses to the virus, but not to any specific protein, are included at the end of each part. The annotation includes information such as cross-reactivity, escape mutations, antibody sequence,more » TCR usage, functional domains that overlap with an epitope, immune response associations with rates of progression and therapy, and how specific epitopes were experimentally defined. Basic information such as HLA specificities for T-cell epitopes, isotypes of monoclonal antibodies, and epitope sequences are included whenever possible. All studies that we can find that incorporate the use of a specific monoclonal antibody are included in the entry for that antibody. A single T-cell epitope can have multiple entries, generally one entry per study. Finally, maps of all defined linear epitopes relative to the HXB2 reference proteins are provided. Alignments of CTL, helper T-cell, and antibody epitopes are available through the search interface on our web site at http:// www.hiv. lanl.gov/content/immunology. « less
Learning progress of fathers compared to mothers in auditory-verbal rehabilitation: A pilot study

ABSTRACT Fathers’ participation in early intervention services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing has increased, but few studies have examined the learning progress of skills learned in these sessions. The aim of this study was to compare the competence patterns of fathers and mothers in implementing auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) practices, and to investigate how the parents’ behaviours changed over time when interacting with their children. Five fathers were matched with mothers with respect to children's chronological age, hearing loss degree, and length of enrolment in AVT. Teaching and behavioural skills of fathers and mothers were rated by children's AV therapists at 3-month intervals. Differences in performance scores and learning progress in AVT skills utilisation between fathers and mothers were explored. Fathers showed greater improvement than mothers in the reinforcement domain from Time 2 to Time 3. However, no statistically significant difference in performance scores between fathers and mothers was detected at any time point, nor was there a significant difference in skill progress rate between fathers and mothers. Results suggest that fathers and mothers are equally suited to serving as their children's language facilitators. Fathers can grow positively in both teaching and parenting behaviours through systematic learning to achieve performance levels comparable to mothers’ in learning early intervention techniques for speech and hearing.
A Comparative Study of EFL Classroom Management Strategies employed by Public and Private School English Teachers

This research project was a comparative study of classroom management practices of English language teachers in secondary level public and private sector schools of Lahore. The purpose of the research was to establish the practices and the strategies used by the English language teachers. A total of 200 including 100 public sector and 100 private sector school teachers, teaching English language, were randomly selected for the present research using random sampling techniques. A close-ended questionnaire was developed by the researchers to collect data from the respondents. The researchers personally collected the data. After receiving the data they were entered into the spreadsheet of SPSS version 21.0. Different statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. Mean scores along with standard deviations were calculated in descriptive statistics. In inferential statistics, independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were calculated. There were significant differences in the classroom management strategies used by public sector and private sector English language teachers. Policy recommendations were given for the administration of the schools to encourage EFL teachers to effectively use classroom management strategies.
Post-antibiotic effect of marbofloxacin, enrofloxacin and amoxicillin against selected respiratory pathogens of pigs

The post-antibiotic effect is defined as the period of bacterial growth suppression that persists after a limited exposure of organisms to antimicrobials and knowledge of its duration is important in establishing and optimising current dosing schedules for the treatment of bacterial infections. The post-antibiotic effect of marbofloxacin, enrofloxacin and amoxicillin were evaluated in vitro for Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Haemophilus parasuis and Pasteurella multocida strains which originated from clinical samples of diseased pigs and were confirmed as susceptible to all tested antimicrobials based on determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations. The post-antibiotic effect for individual antimicrobials was monitored at five and ten times minimum inhibitory concentrations for one and two hours. The duration of the post-antibiotic effect for tested antimicrobials was found to exhibit the following order for all tested pathogens: marbofloxacin > enrofloxacin > amoxicillin. The longest duration of post-antibiotic effect of all tested antimicrobials was found in A. pleuropneumoniae and the shortest post-antibiotic effect duration was detected in P. multocida. No statistical differences in post-antibiotic effect duration were found within marbofloxacin and enrofloxacin in A. pleuropneumoniae and H. parasuis strains. In P. multocida strains there was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0189). On the other hand, the differences between amoxicillin and marbofloxacin or enrofloxacin were statistically significant in all cases (P-values ranged between 0.0058 and 0.008). The prolonged post-antibiotic effect of fluoroquinolones and amoxicillin on important Gram-negative swine pathogens was confirmed. The results can be used to clarify the effect and mechanism of action of antimicrobial drugs in veterinary medicine.
Molecular approach for identification of Catla catla using mitochondrial CO1 from Pakistan

Abstract DNA barcoding is a rapid, precise, and effective way of species identification. A short and standard target gene marker is used to create sequence profile of identified species. Specific tag or marker is used, which is derived from mitochondrial COI for identification. Effectiveness of this method axes the degree of divergence among species. Identification is necessary for their representation. In the present work, Catla catla was used to study by using Cytochrome C Oxidase 1.The genetic distances were computed, and Neighbor Joining tree was constructed based on the Kimura 2 Parameter method. GenBank and BOLD revealed definitive identity matches. Conspecific and congeneric K2P nucleotide divergence was estimated. Evolutionary tree was analyzed clearly by relating their species to phylogenetic tree, as same as species were bunched under same tree node, while species were differently clustered under distinct nodes. These findings conclude that the gene sequence may serve as a milestone for identification and phylogenetic history of related species at molecular level.
Croissance de nanostructures de composés III-nitrures en épitaxie en phase vapeur d'organo-métalliques : de la croissance auto-assemblée à la croissance sélective

Ce travail est consacre a l'epitaxie en phase gazeuse d'organometallique de nanostructures de nitrures en forme de fil et de pyramide, pour lesquelles nous cherchons a comprendre les mecanismes de croissance mis en jeu. Une etude parametrique complete est presentee pour optimiser et mieux apprehender la croissance de nanofils GaN auto-assembles non-catalyses. Nous demontrons notamment que l'injection de silane est un parametre-cle pour la croissance des nanofils grâce a la formation d'une couche SiNx de passivation sur les facettes laterales qui joue le role d'un masque favorisant ainsi la croissance verticale. Un nouveau procede de croissance de nanofils sans silane est aussi propose dans ce travail en utilisant de tres faibles flux de precurseurs qui favorise la formation de facettes verticales. De tels nanofils presentent d'excellentes proprietes structurales et optiques grâce a l'absence de silicium. Par ailleurs, nous montrons que la polarite joue un role crucial sur la croissance des nanostructures de GaN puisque la forme des nanostructures peut etre simplement determinee par l'orientation de la polarite: une polarite N resulte en fils alors qu'une polarite Ga en pyramides. Par consequent, la forme fil/pyramide des nanostructures peut etre directement choisie en controlant la polarite sur des substrats de saphir ou de GaN. Nous avons justement exploite cette methode pour obtenir des reseaux ordonnes de fils et de pyramides de GaN en utilisant la croissance selective a travers un masque nanostructure par lithographie. De telles nanostructures ont ete utilisees pour la croissance d'heterostructures InGaN/GaN pour obtenir soit des puits quantiques non-polaires sur les flans des nanofils, soit des boites quantiques d'InGaN aux sommets des pyramides.
Vitrification of blastocyst murine embryos affects PI3K pathway by modulating the expression of XIAP and S6K1 proteins

Cryopreservation by vitrification has been widely used in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to preserve embryos for an extended period of time. However, the effect of vitrification on development of the embryos is lacking. Therefore, understanding on vitrification effects on embryonic proteins, especially those involved in preimplantation development is crucial to provide high quality embryos for further usage. In this study, XIAP and S6K1 protein expressions following vitrification was investigated, since they have been implicated in diverse cellular processes including cell growth, migration, proliferation, differentiation, survival and development of preimplantation embryos via the PI3K pathway. Embryos were obtained from superovulated female ICR mice which were mated with fertile males. The embryos were harvested at the 2-cell stage and cultured until blastocyst stage. Blastocysts were then vitrified in ESF40 cryoprotectant. Western blot was carried out to determine the expression of XIAP and S6K1 proteins. The results showed the expression of XIAP and S6K1 significantly decreased in vitrified Mohd Fazirul, M. , Sharaniza, A. R. , Norhazlin, J. M. Y. , Wan Hafizah, W. J., Razif, D. , Froemming, G. R. A. , Agarwal A. , Mastura, A. M. and Nor Ashikin, M. N. K. 188 Pertanika J. Sci. & Technol. 25 (S): 187 198 (2017) blastocyst compared to the control. This indicates that blastocyst vitrification may impact developmental competence through the activation of apoptotic pathways.