Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cadmium adsorption on bacteria–mineral mixtures: effect of naturally occurring ligands

The mobility and fate of heavy metals in soil depend strongly on their interactions with naturally occurring ligands and sorbents such as bacteria–mineral complexes, which are among the most important bioactive components in soil. However, the mechanism through which the various ligands affect heavy metal adsorption on bacteria–mineral complexes remains unclear. In this study, the effects of several inorganic and organic ligands on Cd adsorption on Pseudomonas putida–montmorillonite (Mont) and Pseudomonas putida–goethite mixtures were examined with measurements of macroscopic sorption. The results showed that citrate and humic acid enhanced Cd adsorption on P. putida–Mont and P. putida–goethite. Conversely, oxalate suppressed Cd adsorption. Phosphate showed both limited and increased Cd adsorption, depending on the types of mixture. Cadmium adsorption was increased on P. putida–goethite, but was reduced on P. putida–Mont. This study provided the first compelling evidence that the effects of ligands on bacteria–mineral mixtures cannot simply be inferred from the effects on the individual components of such mixtures. The positive, neutral or negative effects also depend on the types and concentrations of ligands as well as the mineral species that form the bacteria–mineral mixtures.
Crystallization Pathway for Metastable Hexagonal Close-Packed Gold in Germanium Nanowire Catalysts

The recent discovery of hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) Au nanoparticles, crystallized at the tips of Ge nanowires following vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth, prompts interest in the mechanism of metastable phase formation in the Au catalyst. The equilibrium structure of Au is face-centered cubic, and observation of hexagonal close-packing in Au is very rare. Here we report on eutectic melting of Au nanocatalysts in the transmission electron microscope (TEM), followed by rapid quenching, and subsequent in situ annealing at intermediate temperatures. A metastable hexagonal Au–Ge alloy phase solidifies during quenching of the Au–Ge liquid in the TEM, and it is a likely precursor to formation of metastable hcp Au during nanowire post-VLS cooling. A novel aspect of the hcp Au phase formation is the rejection of quenched-in Ge from the alloy during low-temperature in situ TEM annealing, while maintaining the metastable hcp crystal structure, indicating that this is the likely pathway for hcp formation following na.
Ethanolic extract from Capsicum chinense Jacq. ripe fruits: phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity and development of biodegradable films

Capsicum chinense, whose common name is habanero-type pepper (pimenta biquinho in Brazilian Portuguese), belongs to the genus Capsicum and to the family Solanaceae. It is native to Brazil and its fruits have sweet flavor and mild pungency. Peppers usually exhibit several nutrients, phenolic compounds, carotenoids, capsaicinoids and capsinoids in their chemical composition. Phenolic compounds play an important role as antioxidants in plant defense mechanisms against fungi, bacteria and predators. Due to their antioxidant activity, plant extracts with phenolic compounds may be considered potential additives to active films that aim at protecting food (Antonious et al., 2006; Alves et al., 2014; Aguiar et al., 2014, 2019).
PRODUCTION, PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXTRACELLULAR PROTEASE FROM Candida guilliermondii USING OKARA AS A SUBSTRATE

The present study was designed to investigate the possible utilization of okara (soybean curd waste) as a substrate for preparation of microbial extracellular protease. Screening of ten different microorganisms revealed that Candida guilliermondii NRRL Y-2075 was the most suitable strain which can utilize the okara giving a high yield of protease. The highest enzyme activity was achieved by growing C. guilliermondii on the medium containing 1 % dry okara for 3 days (155 U/g dry okara). Purification of enzyme was done with different purification techniques giving a specific activity (171.13 U/mg proteins) with 60.5 purification fold. The pure enzyme gave two bands by SDS-PAGE with molecular weights (30, 33 KDa), while 59.50 KDa was recorded by gel filtration technique. The pure enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 5 and was very stable at pH 7, while the optimum temperature was 55 °C, but remained stable with full activity up to 40 °C for 30 min. The enzyme was able to hydrolyze casein, albumin, azocasein, and partially fibrin. The K m value of extracellular enzyme was 2 mg casein. The enzyme activity was inhibited by EDTA and enhanced (6-fold) by 5 mM Mg +2 , indicating the presence of metalloprotease.
Biocompatibility, hemostatic properties, and wound healing evaluation of tilapia skin collagen sponges

Dialyzed tilapia skin collagen sponge (DTSCS) and self-assembled tilapia skin collagen sponge (STSCS) were prepared by freeze-drying. The raw components used in the fabrication of DTSCS and STSCS were separated and purified from tilapia fish skin. It is anticipated that these collagen sponges could be developed into medical dressings for hemostasis and wound healing. The aim of the present research was to explore the possibility of DTSCS and STSCS as medical dressings and compare their differences by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water absorption measurement, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), measurement of porosity, cytotoxicity, hemolysis, in vivo biocompatibility, and evaluation of hemostatic performance and wound healing. The results indicate that DTSCS and STSCS are suitable materials for use in medical applications with a loose and porous structure, high water absorption, high porosity, and high thermal stability. The materials also displayed good biocompatibility, including excellent blood compatibility, a lack of cytotoxicity, with no apparent rejection following implantation. STSCS exhibited rapid hemostasis and promoted healing, with slightly greater efficacy than DTSCS. The hemostatic properties and promotion of healing in DTSCS was similar to that of commercial bovine collagen sponge. Therefore, DTSCS and STSCS both represented excellent potential candidate materials for use as hemostatic agents and wound dressings.
Political Instability Equals the Collapse of Tourism in Ukraine?

The purpose of this study was to determine how political instability influences inbound tourist flows in Ukrainian cities, performance of tourism-related businesses, and tourism-based profits in general. This study allows us to present the impact of various events on the tourism economy in Ukraine; however, the available secondary data with the unobserved component model procedure detection give only a general overview of the situation. Thus, interviews were conducted with experts, including managers of accommodation facilities, employees of municipal tourism development departments, and researchers investigating tourism. Interviews with experts revealed opportunities, threats, and future scenarios of tourism in Ukraine in the face of five years of political instability. The results support previous findings that political instability reduces tourist traffic over the short term. On the other hand, the interviews with experts representing major province cities have shown different results for the long-term perspective. Cities with developed tourism sectors in areas away from the place of conflict are beneficiaries of political instability. Disadvantaged are cities that had their tourist flows based on the citizens of the aggressor’s country—the Russian Federation. Cities that are underdeveloped in terms of tourism did not experience a significant impact of the political instability in eastern Ukraine.
DETERMINAN STATUS PENGGUNAAN METODE KONTRASEPSI JANGKA PANJANG DI INDONESIA TAHUN 2017

Indonesia saat ini masih memiliki berbagai masalah kependudukan. Tingginya angka fertilitas dan laju pertumbuhan penduduk yang tidak seiring dengan peningkatan kualitas penduduk akan berimbas pada beratnya beban pemerintah dalam mensejahterakan rakyatnya. Berbagai cara telah diupayakan pemerintah guna menekan angka fertilitas, salah satunya melalui program Keluarga Berencana (KB) dengan penggunaan alat/cara kontrasepsi. Dari berbagai jenis metode, Badan Kependudukan dan Keluarga Berencana Nasional (BKKBN) mengemukakan bahwa Metode Kontrasepsi Jangka Panjang (MKJP) merupakan metode kontrasepsi paling efektif dengan tingkat keberhasilan melebihi 95 persen. Namun, hasil Survei Demografi dan Kesehatan Indonesia (SDKI) tahun 2017 menyatakan hanya 13,2 persen wanita usia subur (WUS) berstatus kawin yang menggunakan MKJP, padahal target paruh waktu Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah Nasional (RPJMN) pada 2016 harus mencapai 21,1 persen. Melihat rendahnya capaian tersebut, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis determinan status penggunaan MKJP di Indonesia tahun 2017 menggunakan regresi logistik biner yang mengakomodir penimbang survei. Data sekunder diperoleh dari raw data hasil SDKI 2017. Hasil analisis deskriptif menunjukkan bahwa secara umum hanya sebesar 21,05 persen pengguna MKJP di Indonesia tahun 2017. Selanjutnya, berdasarkan hasil analisis inferensia, diperoleh variabel umur WUS, tingkat pendidikan WUS, umur kawin pertama WUS, Anak Lahir Hidup, akses informasi KB, pengambil keputusan ber-KB, umur suami, dan tingkat pendidikan suami signifikan memengaruhi status penggunaan MKJP pada penelitian ini.
Dynamic User Allocation in Stochastic Mobile Edge Computing Systems

Mobile edge computing (MEC) is a new distributed computing paradigm where edge servers are deployed at, or near cellular base stations in close proximity to end-users. This offers computing resources at the edge of the network, facilitating a highly accessible platform for real-time, latency-sensitive services. A typical MEC environment is highly stochastic with random user arrivals and departures over time. Here, we address the user allocation problem from a service provider's perspective, who needs to allocate its users to the cloud or edge servers in a specific area. A user, who has a multi-dimensional resource requirement, can be allocated to either the remote cloud, which incurs a high latency, or an edge server, which results in a low latency but might require the user to wait in a queue. This article aims to achieve a controllable trade-off between performance (throughput) and several associated costs such as queuing delay and latency costs. We model this problem as a stochastic optimization problem, propose SUAC (Stochastic User AlloCation) – an online Lyapunov optimization-based algorithm, and prove its performance bounds. The experimental results demonstrate that SUAC outperforms existing approaches, effectively allocating users with a desired trade-off while keeping the system strongly stable.
A Marginal Effects Approach to Interpreting Main Effects and Moderation

This Short Methodological Report builds on research about moderation practices by focusing on a marginal effects approach to interpreting how a main effect is informed by the presence of a moderating variable. Following a content analysis of published studies and a survey of management researchers, our findings suggest there is a great deal of confusion about the ways in which to interpret how a main effect may fluctuate owing to a moderating variable. We therefore provide explicit instructions on how to implement and interpret a marginal effects approach that depicts the nature of a main effect in the presence of a moderator. We use different scenarios and examples to illustrate how researchers can employ the marginal effects technique, which provides an indication of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables over different values of the moderator. We argue and demonstrate that the marginal effects approach helps resolve conflicting findings that may arise from using other prevailing techniques to interpret both main effects and moderation.
A Synchronous Long Time-Series Completion Method Using 3-D Fully Convolutional Neural Networks

Traditional spatiotemporal fusion methods utilize remote sensing images from two or three adjacent dates to predict missing images. Thus, temporal information in longtime data sets is not fully utilized, increasing the costs of long time series construction in terms of time and labor. Here, we propose a synchronous long time-series completion method using a 3-D fully convolutional neural network (LTSC3D). This method can be used to convert long time-series high-temporal-low-spatial (HTLS)- and high-spatial-low-temporal (HSLT)-resolution remotely sensed images into 4-D data sets. From these data sets, we can then extract and fuse spatiotemporal features to produce synchronous long time-series high-temporal-high-spatial (HTHS)-resolution predictions. The model was tested using simulated and real data sets and compared with four representative traditional spatiotemporal fusion methods. The results demonstrated the high accuracy and high efficiency of our method.
Rethinking Practices by Rethinking Expertise: A Relational Approach to Family-Centred Inclusive Services

This article focuses on the views and experiences of professionals providing specialised services to disabled children and their families. It is part of a larger research project that investigates the gap between policy ideals and service provision for young disabled children and their families in Iceland. Contrary to official policies, earlier findings based on the families’ perspectives reported strain and stress from fragmented and inflexible services. The findings presented here are based on three focus-group interviews, conducted with 13 professionals from six disciplines. The aim was to capture their views on their roles, responsibilities, and working conditions. A number of organisational and professional barriers were exposed along with an overall lack of awareness of the basic principles of family-centred services and the human rights relational approach to disability. Recommendations for service development are inspired by Edwards’ relational theory about building inter-professional and inter-organisational links to create high quality practices.
The Impact of Audit Committee Performance and Composition on Financial Reporting Quality in Jordan

The corporate governance literature indicates efforts to investigate the role of the audit committee (AC) in improving the financial reporting quality (FRQ) after the emergence of financial scandals in many countries in the world, inclusive Jordan. To date, empirical findings are inconclusive enough to address all audit committee characteristics regarding its competency and responsibilities by employing a questionnaire to collect data about this relationship. Thus, this study measures the correlation between AC (performance and composition) and FRQ of manufacturing corporations registered on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). To test this impact empirically, the target population was financial managers, audit committee members, and internal audit managers who are working in manufacturing corporations listed on the (ASE). According to the coefficient (β), the independent variables (Audit Committee Performance and Audit Committee Composition influence the dependent variable FRQ. This research recommends that firms enhance the audit committee work performance and composition to ensure audit committee members effectively enhance the FRQ audit committee is a vital mechanism of the firm's corporate governance system.
Yield Potential and Variability of Teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) Germplasms under Intensive and Conventional Management Conditions

Teff is the most strategic cereal crop grown from high rainfall to drought prone areas of Ethiopia, where it covers nearly 30% of the land allotted for cereals. However, its productivity remains very low due to lack of knowledge and research interventions. To investigate the grain yield potential, estimate the genetic parameters, and the diversity, a pot experiment with intensive management and a field experiment with conventional management at two contrasting locations for two seasons using the same 317 genotypes and additional 3 improved cultivars in the field experiment were carried out. The results showed highly significant variation among the genotypes for grain yield, biomass, harvest index, and phenological traits under both experiments. The best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP)-adjusted grain yield performance of the genotypes ranged from 4.2 to 8.8 g/plant in the intensive management and 1.8 to 4.3 g/plant in the field growing condition with conventional management. Coefficient of genetic variation, heritability, and expected genetic advance for grain yield were the highest in both experiments. Among the phenological traits, the grain filling period in the intensive growing condition exceptionally showed the highest genetic coefficient of variation and genetic advance. The high grain yield performance and wider range of the harvest index observed under the intensive management condition with moderate to high heritability signifies the genetic potential of teff for further improvement through trait recombination.
Interdependence and Information Exchange Between Conflicting Parties: The Role of Interorganizational Trust

It is difficult to avoid conflict in interorganizational relationships, and information exchange is critical for resolving conflict. This article reveals a mechanism that shows the separate and joint influences of different dimensions of trust and interdependence on information exchange in the process of conflict resolution. Based on survey data from the construction industry, the empirical results suggest that competence trust, total interdependence, and interdependence asymmetry positively affect information exchange when trust and interdependence act separately. When they act together, in the case of symmetric interdependence, competence trust plays a positive mediating role in the relationship between total interdependence and information exchange, whereas goodwill trust plays a negative mediating role. In the case of asymmetric interdependence, competence trust below the average level strengthens the positive impact of interdependence asymmetry on information exchange. Only when goodwill trust is above, the average level can strengthen the positive effect of interdependence asymmetry on information exchange. This article expands the research on information exchange, trust, and interdependence, which helps practitioners address conflict.
Comparative Antibiotic and Probiotic Effects on Antimicrobial Sensitivity of Escherichia coli Isolates and Performance of Broiler Chickens

The study evaluated the growth performance, haematology, serum biochemistry, intestinal microbial count, and antimicrobial resistance profile of Escherichia coli (E. coli) from broiler chicks fed diets supplemented with antibiotics (neomycin, and oxytetracycline), and probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). One hundred and twenty Abor acre broiler chicks randomly alloted to four treatment groups (30 birds/group; 10 birds/replicate) were used in the 49 days study. Group one (G 1, control) were fed basal diet while G 2, 3, and 4 received basal diet containing S. cerevisiae (0.80g/kg; 108cfu/g), neomycin (0.50g/kg) and oxytetracycline (0.30g/kg), respectively. Results showed significant treatment effects on body weight, feed intake, linear body values, some haematological indices, intestinal, caecal and combined caecal and intestinal bacteria counts, diameter of E. coli inhibition zone, and mortality. Body weight and feed intake were significantly higher in the supplemented groups. Intestinal bacterial count was highest in neomycin and control groups (5.29 ± 0.01 and 5.22 ± 0.02 Log10 cfu/ml, respectively) while S. cerevisiae and neomycin groups yielded the highest caecal, and combined caecal and intestinal bacterial counts. Eimeria Oocyst count did not differ significantly between groups. Escherichia coli from antibiotic fed groups had reduced sensitivity or were resistant to the antibiotics. It was concluded that subtherapeutic use of antibiotics as growth promoters in broiler chickens caused the development of antibiotic resistance, and therefore, should be avoided.
The Work of Milgrom and Wilson in the Theory and Practical Application of Auctions

127 This paper seeks to provide insight into the field of auction theory to the general readership, the area of the 2020 Nobel laureates in Economic Sciences, Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson. To understand for what reasons and for what purpose they were awarded the Nobel Prize, it is worth taking a step back, looking at this area of economics from a greater distance. For this reason, we not only report the results associated specifically with their names here, but we also review the path to get here. Finally, we provide an outlook for the future of the topic with a brief description of the interdisciplinary areas of engineering economics and market design. Journal of
Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Prices in Mexico: A Study of the Main Border and Non-Border Cities

This study analyzes the exchange rate pass-through effect on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Mexico's main border and 27 non-border metropolitan cities. The period examined includes monthly data from January 2002 to December 2019. A vector autoregressive model (VAR) is used, which includes formal employment at the city level as a proxy to economic development, interest rates, nominal exchange rates, each analyzed city’s CPI, U.S. consumer prices, energy commodity prices and control variables such as service sector employment share and large firm employment share. Impulse response functions are constructed. Results for the 2002-2016 period indicate that exchange rate changes primarily affect border cities. Different arguments are included to justify such results. Pass-through values are also found to increase in general for all cities when the period 2017-2019 (January 2017 when important gasoline price shocks started previous its price liberalization in December 2017) is included in the regressions.
Aggregated Roles of Smartphones in Young Adults’ Leisure and Well-Being: A Diary Study

Young adults spend most of their leisure time in the company of their smartphones. Drawing on the theory of digital well-being and on the concept of psychological sustainability, our aim is to investigate the relationship between digitalization-dominated leisure-time consumption to identify the aggregated roles of smartphones. We suggest that smartphones play different roles in young adults’ daily life. To test our predictions, we used a qualitative method, a two-day time-use diary with structured interviews; two sample groups were recruited for data gathering. The results of the content analysis and of the qualitative sentiment analysis show that mobile devices have a marked agenda-setter function, along with the functions of ‘separator’ and ‘enabler’. The use of smartphones leads to idleness and perceived timelessness while staying physically immobile. Results expand our knowledge on the aggregated role of smartphones in young adults’ activities. Wider society can benefit from the research findings, stimulating young adults to acknowledge the aggregated roles and functions of their smartphones and to develop their digital well-being.
Transformation of 1,2,3-Thiadiazolyl Hydrazones as Method for Preparation of 1,2,3-Triazolo[5,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazines

The transformation of 1,2,3-thiadiazolyl hydrazones of aldehydes and ketones including Dimroth rearrangement giving 1-alkylidenamino-5-mercapto-1,2,3-triazoles, alkylation of mercapto group of these heterocyclic compounds by α-bromoacetophenones and cyclization giving 6,7-dihydro-5H-[1,2,3]triazolo[5,1-b][1,3,4]thiadizines have been investigated. It was shown that the reaction for hydrazones of acetophenones and benzoaldehydes is diastereoselective. Triazolothiadiazine spiro derivatives were prepared with transformation of hydrazones of cyclic ketones.