Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of solid state fermentation on proximate composition, antinutritional factors and in vitro protein digestibility of maize flour

Abstract Cereals including maize generally have limiting amino acids particularly lysine. In most cases, spontaneous fermentation is used to improve the nutritional profiles of maize‐based products. However, in such fermentation, biological risks including the presence of pathogenic microorganisms, chemical contaminants, and toxic compounds of microbial origin such as mycotoxins pose a health risk. The aim of this study was, therefore, to improve the nutritional properties of maize flour by reducing antinutritional factors through microbial fermentation by strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and their cocultures. A factorial experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of fermentation setups and time on proximate composition, antinutritional factors, and in vitro digestibility of proteins in maize flour. During 48 h of fermentation, protein content was improved by 38%, 55%, 49%, and 48%, whereas in vitro protein digestibility improved by 31%, 40%, 36%, and 34% for natural, Lactobacillus plantarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and their coculture‐fermented maize flour, respectively. The highest improvement in protein content and its digestibility was observed for Lactobacillus plantarum strain‐fermented maize flour. Phytate, tannin and trypsin inhibitor activity were reduced significantly (p < .05) for natural, Lactobacillus plantarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and coculture‐fermented maize flour. The highest reduction of phytate (66%), tannin (75%), and trypsin inhibitor (64%) was observed for coculture‐fermented maize flour. The two strains and their cocultures were found feasible for fermentation of maize flour to improve its nutritional profiles more than the conventional fermentation process.
Voices in the Background: Environmental Degradation and Climate Change as Driving Forces of Violence Against Indigenous Women

Adopted on the fifteenth anniversary of resolution 1325, Security Council resolution 2242 has recognized for the first time the substantial link between climate change and the “Women, Peace and Security” (WPS) framework. Despite this landmark resolution, the intersections of environmental factors, conflict and violence against women remain largely absent from the Security Council's WPS agenda. Competition over natural resources is generally understood as a driver of conflict. The risk of insecurity and conflict are further increased by environmental degradation and climate change. It is therefore clear that the environment and natural resources must be integrated into the WPS agenda. This should necessarily include a discussion of indigenous rights to land and the gender-related dimensions of environmental factors. Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, caused by resource extraction and increasingly compounded by climatic changes. This in turn exacerbates other vulnerabilities, including sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of marginalization. This article argues, by reference to the situation in West Papua, that unfettered resource extraction not only amplifies vulnerabilities and exacerbates preexisting inequalities stemming from colonial times, it also gives rise to gendered consequences flowing from the damage wreaked on the natural environment and thus poses a danger to international peace and security. As such, the Security Council's failure to recognize the continuous struggle of women in indigenous and rural communities against extractive economies and climate change impact as a security risk forms a serious lacuna within its WPS agenda.
Thimet Oligopeptidase—A Classical Enzyme with New Function and New Form

Peptidases generate bioactive peptides that can regulate cell signaling and mediate intercellular communication. While the processing of peptide precursors is initiated intracellularly, some modifications by peptidases may be conducted extracellularly. Thimet oligopeptidase (TOP) is a peptidase that processes neuroendocrine peptides with roles in mood, metabolism, and immune responses, among other functions. TOP also hydrolyzes angiotensin I to angiotensin 1–7, which may be involved in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 infection. Although TOP is primarily cytosolic, it can also be associated with the cell plasma membrane or secreted to the extracellular space. Recent work indicates that membrane-associated TOP can be released with extracellular vesicles (EVs) to the extracellular space. Here we briefly summarize the enzyme’s classical function in extracellular processing of neuroendocrine peptides, as well as its more recently understood role in intracellular processing of various peptides that impact human diseases. Finally, we discuss new findings of EV-associated TOP in the extracellular space.
Cross-Correlations in Meat Prices in Brazil: A Non-Linear Approach Using Different Time Scales

Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of cattle, chicken and swine. Therefore, co-movements of Brazilian meat prices are important for both domestic and foreign stakeholders. We propose to analyse the cross-correlation between meat prices in Brazil, namely, cattle, swine and chicken, including also in the analysis information from some commodities, namely maize, soya beans, oil, and the Brazilian exchange rate. Our sample covers the recent period which coincided with extensive macroeconomic and institutional changes in Brazil, from 2011 to 2020, and is divided in two periods: (i) presidential pre-impeachment (P1), occurring in August 2016, and; (ii) post-impeachment (P2). Our results indicate that in P1, only the prices of swine and chicken showed a positive and strong correlation over time, and that cattle showed some positive correlation with chicken only in the short run. In P2, there was also a positive and consistent correlation between swine and chicken, and only a positive association with swine and cattle in the long run. For more spaced time scales (days), the changes in the degree of correlation were significant only in the long run for swine and cattle.
Study of pathogenic traits of bacterial wilt-causing phytopathogens around Kanpur and Fatehpur regions, Uttar Pradesh, India

Bacterial wilt is a major cause of concern in many economically essential solanaceous crops present in tropical, subtropical, and some moderate areas of the world. Ralstonia solanacearum is represented as a dominant bacterial wilt-causing phytopathogen in most studies. However, there is not much information regarding bacterial wilt-causing bacterial phytopathogens around Kanpur and Fatehpur districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Samples were collected from ooze leaking off from stem, vascular component of wilted tomato plants, and inflamed potato tuber and isolated on triphenyl tetrazolium chloride medium. 22 out of initial 57 isolates were identified as R. solanacearum by morphological, physiological, biochemical, and serological tests. All isolates showed pathogenicity in tomato seedlings and potato tuber inoculation. The characterization of pathogenic traits such as biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, siderophore and hydrogen cyanide production, potassium solubilization and hydrolytic enzymes, such as cellulase, amylase, gelatinase, and pectinase has been reported. 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequencing showed sequence similarity in NCBI BLAST analysis to members of Enterobacter cloaceae, Serratia marcescens, and Providencia vermicola. Hence, a larger sample study and further genome level characterization is required to understand the biodiversity of bacterial wilt-causing pathogens around Uttar Pradesh, India.
Turbulent Flow through and over a Compact Three-Dimensional Model Porous Medium: An Experimental Study

There are several natural and industrial applications where turbulent flows over compact porous media are relevant. However, the study of such flows is rare. In this paper, an experimental investigation of turbulent flow through and over a compact model porous medium is presented to fill this gap in the literature. The objectives of this work were to measure the development of the flow over the porous boundary, the penetration of the turbulent flow into the porous domain, the attendant three-dimensional effects, and Reynolds number effects. These objectives were achieved by conducting particle image velocimetry measurements in a test section with turbulent flow through and over a compact model porous medium of porosity 85%, and filling fraction 21%. The bulk Reynolds numbers were 14,338 and 24,510. The results showed a large-scale anisotropic turbulent flow region over and within the porous medium. The overlying turbulent flow had a boundary layer that thickened along the stream by about 90% and infiltrated into the porous medium to a depth of about 7% of the porous medium rod diameter. The results presented here provide useful physical insight suited for the design and analyses of turbulent flows over compact porous media arrangements.
Metabolic Risk Factors in Patients with Kidney Stones with and without Type 2 Diabetes

Background: In the past few decades, the prevalence of kidney stones in Western countries has increased in parallel with the growing overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus rates. An increased insulin resistance in these patients explains, in part, the rising prevalence of uric acid stones. The objective of this retrospective study is to evaluate the metabolic abnormalities in type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic patients with kidney stones. All patients were evaluated following an ambulatory protocol for kidney stones. Methods: A total of 104 diabetic patients (age: 57.8 ± 11 years) and 130 non-diabetic (age: 52.1 ± 6.7 years) patients with kidney stones were selected. Higher rates of body mass index, hypertension, urinary tract infection, gout and hyperuricemia were observed in diabetic patients as compared to the non-diabetics, while similar rates were found for their family history of kidney stones. Results: Urinary pH was lower in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients. Metabolic abnormalities were detected in 95.2% and 81.5% of diabetic and non-diabetic, respectively. Unduly acidic urine pH was the most frequent abnormality in diabetic patients while hyperuricosuria was the second more common abnormality. On the other hand, in non-diabetics patients idiopathic hypercalciuria was the most common metabolic abnormality followed by hyperuricosuria. Conclusions: The main risk factor for lithogenesis in type 2 diabetes is unduly acidic urine pH, followed by hyperuricosuria and idiopathic hypercalciuria.
Revisit the Cellular Transmission and Emerging Techniques in Proteinopathies

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's diseases (AD and PD) are amongst top of the prevalent neurodegenerative disease. One-third of PD patients are diagnosed with dementia, a pre-symptom of AD, but the underlying mechanism is elusive. Amyloid beta (Aβ) and α-synuclein are two of the most investigated proteins, whose pathological aggregation and spreading are crucial to the pathogenesis of AD and PD, respectively. Transcriptomic studies of the mammalian central nervous system shed light on gene expression profiles at molecular levels, regarding the complexity of neuronal morphologies and electrophysiological inputs/outputs. In the last decade, the booming of the single-cell RNA sequencing technique helped to understand gene expression patterns, alternative splicing, novel transcripts, and signal pathways in the nervous system at single-cell levels, providing insight for molecular taxonomy and mechanistic targets of the degenerative nervous system. Here, we re-visited the cell-cell transmission mechanisms of Aβ and α-synuclein in medi-ating disease propagation, and summarized recent single-cell transcriptome sequencing from different perspectives and discussed its understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.
An iterative algorithm for regret minimization in flexible demand scheduling problems

A major challenge to develop optimal strategies for allocation of flexible demand toward the smart grid paradigm is the uncertainty associated with the real‐time price and electricity demand. This article presents a regret‐based model and a novel iterative algorithm which solves the minimax regret optimization problem. This algorithms exhibits low computational burden compared with traditional linear programming methods and affords iterative convergence through updates of feasible power schedules, thus enabling a scalable parallel implementation for large device populations. Specifically, our approach seeks to minimize the induced worst‐case regret over all price scenarios and solves the optimal charging strategy for the electrical devices. The convergence of the method and optimality of the computed solution is justified and some numerical simulations are discussed for the case of a single device operating under different types of price realizations and uncertainty bounds.
Learning Processes and Agency in the Decarbonization Context: A Systematic Review through a Cultural Psychology Point of View

In the scientific literature on energy transition toward decarbonization, the learning process is often described as a preferred way to achieve change. However, despite a large number of theoretical and empirical endeavors, a systematic understanding of the process is still lacking due to the diversity of disciplines and approaches and to the multi-layered nature of the phenomenon. The aim of this systematic review is to highlight the dimensions of learning processes from a cultural psychological point of view in order to understand and assess different planes of the relation between humans and technology. We thus explore the literature following the PRISMA protocol. Through a narrative synthesis, we critically assess the theoretical and methodological advancement, the presence of cultural determinants, the value ascribed to agency, and the depoliticization risk. We found that: theories and methodologies still lack systematicity and concordance in their application; learning processes are studied with little focus on the context and are mostly treated as facilitators; agency mostly lacks a psychosocial focus, despite the exploration of multi-level problems; and the depoliticization of learning is a matter of fact. Nevertheless, positive examples are present, although they are few. Epistemological and political implications are discussed, and a psychosocial conception of agency is proposed, together with a reflective stance for researchers.
College students’ attitudes toward people with sickle cell disorders

ABSTRACT Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a serious hereditary blood disorder affecting millions of people around the world. Approximately 100,000 people have SCD and two and a half million have Sickle Cell Trait (SCT) in the United States. However, the literature on attitudes toward people with SCD is limited. The purpose of this study was to assess college student’s attitudes toward people with SCD disorders. The sample included 416 college students at a North Texas university. A descriptive, cross sectional research approach using a modified version of the Behavior toward SCD Scale was used in this study. The majority (78%) of the participants believed that everyone should know their carrier status however; only 26% indicated that they knew their carrier status at the time. Findings suggest that participants had positive attitudes toward people with SCD overall. The majority of participants indicated that they would be friends (86%), date (62%), or marry (49%) someone if they had SCD. Results support the need for improved knowledge of carrier status of both partners and the reproductive implications associated with being carriers.
Respiratory Outcomes After 6 Months of Hospital Discharge in Patients Affected by COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort

Background Considering millions of people affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), long-lasting sequelae can significantly impact health worldwide. Data from prospective studies in lower-middle-income countries on persistent lung dysfunction secondary to COVID-19 are lacking. This work aims to determine risk factors and the impact of persistent lung dysfunctions in COVID-19 survivors. Methods Observational and prospective cohort of patients admitted to a tertiary hospital from June 2020 to November 2020. Persistence of chest CT scan alterations, desaturation in the six-minute walk test (6MWT), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), lung carbon monoxide diffusion (DLCO), and maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) were measured 6 months after hospital discharge. Additionally, the Barthel index (BI) and the Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale were used to determine the impact of lung dysfunction in activities of daily living (ADL). Results It was included 44 patients. Sixty percent had persistent lung CT scan abnormalities. From 18 to 43% of patients had at least one pulmonary function dysfunction, a decrease in FEV1 was the least prevalent (18%), and a reduction in DLCO and MIP was the most frequent (43%). In general, female gender, comorbidity index, and age were associated with worse lung function. Additionally, the presence of lung dysfunction could predict worse BI (r-square 0.28) and mMRC (r-square 0.32). Conclusion Long-term lung dysfunction is relatively common in survivors from severe COVID-19 and impacts negatively on ADL and the intensity of dyspnea, similar to studies in high-income countries.
Ahmaud Arbery: murder as the outcome of an assemblage’s enactment

ABSTRACT On February 23rd, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man out for a jog in Georgia, was murdered by two white men who, acting as vigilantes, assumed Arbery was responsible for recent burglaries. While Blacks being murdered by whites in America is nothing new, new theories of identification – specifically, assemblage theory and identitarian articulations – offer us tools to better understand how such events take place. Specifically, we argue that racialization occurs not just on the body, but through a complex process resulting in ‘race’ immanently emerging as the outcome of an assemblage. In this article, we show, first, that Arbery, through no fault of his own, entered into a ‘Neighborhood Watch Assemblage’ that already anticipated the body of a Black man that would fulfill an overdetermined role as ‘criminal’ and that this identitarian articulation emerges through the arrangement of several identifications, bodies, technologies, objects, discourses, affects, and emotions that, together, actualize ‘races’ on bodies. Tragically, in this case, death became a capacity of the assemblage. In contrast to the death of an innocent man in Georgia, we secondly analyze what occurred in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a ‘Law and Order’ assemblage’s outcome resulted in a White identitarian articulation not being, initially, interpellated as ‘criminal’ even though the person had committed murder. Overall, we show that assemblage theory and the concept of identitarian articulations help us better understand such occurrences. Such analyses can shed a different light on episodes of systemic racism and can, eventually, help in overcoming it.
Corporate governance and the cost of equity: Evidence from the developing country

This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on a firm’s cost of equity. The corporate governance mechanisms examined consist of board size, board independence, CEO duality, multiple directorships held by board members, and board political influence. To accomplish the study objective, 210 firm-year observations for manufacturing companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) in the period 2014–2018 are analyzed using panel data analysis techniques. The results of the fixed effects regression model reveal that CEO duality and board political influence negatively affect the cost of equity, while there is no significant effect of board size, board independence, and multiple directorships on the cost of equity. The results suggest that firms’ board of directors is an important factor in mitigating the agency problem suggested by Jensen and Meckling (1976). They also suggest that information risk is priced, which is consistent with previous research such as Easley, Hvidkjaer, and O’Hara (2002), and that the board of directors plays a role in reducing that risk in capital markets.
Power Grid Dynamic Performance Enhancement via STATCOM Data-Driven Control

This work proposes a data-driven approach to controlling the alternating current (AC) voltage via a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). This device offers a fast dynamic response injecting reactive power to compensate the voltage profile, not only during load variations but also depending on the operating point established by the grid. The proposed control scheme is designed to improve the dynamic grid performance according to the defined operating point into the grid. The mathematical fundamentals of the proposed control strategy are described according to a (model-free) data-driven-based controller. The robustness of the proposed scheme is proven with several tests carried out using Matlab/Simulink software. The analysis is performed with the well-known test power system of two areas, demonstrating that the proposed controller can enhance the dynamic performance under transient scenarios. As the main strength of the present work with respect to the current state-of-the-art, we highlight the fact that no prior knowledge of the system is required for the controller implementation, that is, a model or a system representation. The synthesis of the controller is obtained in a pure numerical way from data, while it can simultaneously ensure stability in a rigorous way, by satisfying Lyapunov conditions.
A Case Study Evaluating Youth Acceptability of Using the Connect – a Sexuality Education Game-Based Learning Program

Abstract Game-based learning offers an interactive and effective way to teach health content and skills. This article discusses feasibility testing of Using the Connect (UTC), an innovative, game-based sexuality education program to evaluate its acceptability among youth. Utilizing mixed methods in a single case study design, qualitative and quantitative data was collected from youth (surveys, facilitated discussions, and observations). Qualitative data triangulated quantitative findings that youth liked the program design, felt the games and content were relatable, and learned knowledge and skills around adolescent development, accessing information, communication, and making healthy decisions through playing the games. Overall, UTC was highly acceptable to the youth; they had fun and learned information and skills. Not only would most participants recommend the program to friends, all reported they would participate in the program again and use the information they learned in the future.
A test for the contributions of urban and rural inflation to inflation persistence in Nigeria

ABSTRACT This study tests the contributions of urban and rural inflation to inflation persistence in Nigeria using the fractional cointegration VAR model and the univariate fractional integration approaches. The results indicate a high contribution of urban and rural inflation to the overall inflation persistence in Nigeria albeit with contrasting evidence for the pre-and post-Global Financial Crisis (GFC) periods. While the urban inflation contributed more than the rural inflation to the persistence of the overall inflation during the pre-GFC, the converse holds during the post-GFC. Although, the empirical analysis of the factors underlying this outcome is reserved for future research, bridging the gap between the two inflation subsamples would be a plausible policy action.