Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of Biogas Production via Co-Digestion of Wastewater Treatment Sewage Sludge and Brewery Spent Grain: Physicochemical Characterization and Microbial Community

The present study intends to evaluate a synergy towards enhanced biogas production by co-digesting municipal sewage sludge (SS) with brewery spent grain (BSG). To execute this, physicochemical and metagenomics analysis was conducted on the sewage sludge substrate. The automatic methane potential test system II (AMPTS II) biochemical methane potential (BMP) batch setup was operated at 35 ± 5 °C, pH range of 6.5–7.5 for 30 days’ digestion time on AMPTS II and 150 days on semi-continuous setup, where the organic loading rate (OLR) was guided by pH and the volatile fatty acids to total alkalinity (VFA/TA) ratio. Metagenomics analysis revealed that Proteobacteria was the most abundant phyla, consisting of hydrolytic and fermentative bacteria. The archaea community of hydrogenotrophic methanogen genus was enriched by methanogens. The highest BMP was obtained with co-digestion of SS and BSG, and 9.65 g/kg of VS. This not only increased biogas production by 104% but also accelerated the biodegradation of organic matters. However, a significant reduction in the biogas yield, from 10.23 NL/day to 2.02 NL/day, was observed in a semi-continuous process. As such, it can be concluded that different species in different types of sludge can synergistically enhance the production of biogas. However, the operating conditions should be optimized and monitored at all times. The anaerobic co-digestion of SS and BSG might be considered as a cost-effective solution that could contribute to the energy self-efficiency of wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) and sustainable waste management. It is recommended to upscale co-digestion of the feed for the pilot biogas plant. This will also go a long way in curtailing and minimizing the impacts of sludge disposal in the environment.
The Wearable Robotic Forearm: Design and Predictive Control of a Collaborative Supernumerary Robot

This article presents the design process of a supernumerary wearable robotic forearm (WRF), along with methods for stabilizing the robot’s end-effector using human motion prediction. The device acts as a lightweight “third arm” for the user, extending their reach during handovers and manipulation in close-range collaborative activities. It was developed iteratively, following a user-centered design process that included an online survey, contextual inquiry, and an in-person usability study. Simulations show that the WRF significantly enhances a wearer’s reachable workspace volume, while remaining within biomechanical ergonomic load limits during typical usage scenarios. While operating the device in such scenarios, the user introduces disturbances in its pose due to their body movements. We present two methods to overcome these disturbances: autoregressive (AR) time series and a recurrent neural network (RNN). These models were used for forecasting the wearer’s body movements to compensate for disturbances, with prediction horizons determined through linear system identification. The models were trained offline on a subset of the KIT Human Motion Database, and tested in five usage scenarios to keep the 3D pose of the WRF’s end-effector static. The addition of the predictive models reduced the end-effector position errors by up to 26% compared to direct feedback control.
Assessment of swelling and strength characteristics of expansive soil with addition of WRP

ABSTRACT The moisture migration and high-volume changes due to swelling and shrinkage in the expansive soils have posed severe challenges at many project sites. Additionally, rapid industrialisation in last few decades has posed problems of huge amount of undisposed industrial wastes, which not only cause environment degradation but also occupy huge tracts of valuable land. The paper presents the results of an experimental investigation carried out to assess the effect of waste recycled product (WRP), an industrial waste from steel industries; on the engineering properties of expansive soil and to achieve dual objectives of improving the engineering performance of such soils combined with its gainful utilisation. Test results revealed that addition of WRP to expansive soil in appropriate proportion not only reduces its swelling and shrinkage behaviour but also there is a significant improvement in its strength and deformation characteristics. After adding 30% WRP (by dry weight of soil) in expansive soil, the percentage increase in subgrade modulus and unconfined compressive strength was 89.18% and 68.78%, respectively, and it is concluded that there is significant potential for its use in flexible pavement construction on expansive soil subgrade which in turn provides its safe and economical disposal.
Fast dewatering of high nanocellulose content papers with in-situ generated cationic micro-nano bubbles

Abstract Herein, an innovative method to improve the dewatering of micro- and nanofibrillated cellulose (MNFC) containing furnishes is proposed. This method is based on fiber flotation in which cationic bubbles are injected into the furnish to separate fibers from liquid medium and accumulate them on the surface of the furnish. These cationic bubbles are generated by pressurizing a solution of Hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride in deionized water in a dissolved air flotation (DAF) tank. The drainage properties of the furnishes with MNFC content from 0% to 25% were studied. With the help of the cationic bubbles, drainage rate of 0% and 15% MNFC furnish increased from 183 ml/s to 210 ml/s and 38 ml/s to 113 ml/s, respectively. The final couch solids content of these furnishes also increased from 16 wt% to 23 wt% and from 21 wt% to 24 wt%, respectively. Cationic bubbles flocculate MNFC fibers and increase retention. Sheets characteristics including morphology, permeability, mass distribution and surface profilometry were investigated. Cationic bubbles help structure fiber elements and improve the sheet formation.
Credit Risk and Disclosure Behavior in the Bank Industry: Evidence From Saudi Arabia

This study investigates the extent of credit risk disclosure and the effects of bank-specific attributes on the disclosure level of Saudi listed banks. The study considers the content analysis of 12 Saudi listed banks from 2016 to 2020. A comprehensive credit risk disclosure index is developed, covering seven dimensions to measure the levels of credit risk disclosure. The generalized linear model is used to examine whether bank-specific attributes could explain any differences in disclosure levels among banks. This research provides evidence that although banks have similar regulatory requirements, they differ in their credit risk disclosure. The empirical results indicate that few bank-specific attributes significantly influence the risk disclosure. Bank size and leverage positively affect risk disclosure. Therefore, banks’ asset size is a key factor in all risk disclosure categories. In contrast, the results show that a bank’s age and profitability have no impact on the level of credit risk disclosure. This paper contributes to the risk disclosure literature in Saudi Arabia. Understanding factors that affect the level of credit risk disclosure might help the regulators to formulate strategies and policies, enabling shareholders and investors to make informed decisions.
Bank Credit Risk Rating Process: Is There a Change With the 2007-09 Crisis?

The purpose of this article is to study empirically the bank credit risk rating (BCRR) process over time using 89 banks from 27 EMENA countries rated by S&P’s simultaneously before and after 2007-09 crises. We made this comparison based on the CAMELS model with a proposed ‘S’ to BCRR. We use "ordered logit" regression for the rating classes and we complete our analysis by “linear multiple” regression for the rating grades. The results show that the rating changes in 2012 are mainly a methodology revision consequence of the entire rating process changes, including the weight of components, the important factors and the relevant variables in order to take into account some of the lessons learned from this global crisis. They also show a consistence between the BCRR's revealed and practiced methodologies revised by the credit rating agencies (CRAs).
The Role of Elasticity in the Vortex Formation in Polymeric Flow around a Sharp Bend

Fluid dynamic simulations using the FENE-P model of polymer physics are compared to those of an incompressible Newtonian fluid base case in order to understand the role of elasticity in the formation of vortices in a 90° bend narrow channel. The analysis bridges the flow behavior of a purely elastic fluid and that of a Newtonian fluid. We evaluated how four dimensionless numbers—Reynolds number (Re), Weissenberg number (Wi), viscosity ratio (β), and elasticity number (El)—affect the formation of vortices. It is shown that increasing Re and Wi, or lowering β will cause vortices to grow in size. Two phase space diagrams, β vs. El and β vs. Re, were created to show the range of values where inertial and elastic vortices form. Both diagrams have three zones. Depending on the polymer viscosity ratio and the elasticity number, the vortices form either upstream of the bend (elasticity driven) or form downstream of the bend (inertia driven), are suppressed. Our predictions are in good agreement with previous experimental and numerical works.
Energy and Exergy Analyses of a Flat Plate Solar Collector Using Various Nanofluids: An Analytical Approach

Energy and exergy (EnE) efficiencies are considered the most important parameters to compare the performance of various thermal systems. In this paper, an analysis was carried out for EnE efficiencies of a flat plate solar collector (FPSC) using four different kinds of nanofluids as flowing mediums, namely, Al2O3/water, MgO/water, TiO2/water, and CuO/water, and compared with water as a flowing medium (traditional base fluid). The analysis considered nanofluids made of nanomaterials’ volume fractions of 1–4% with water. The volume flow rates of nanofluids and water were 1 to 4 L/min. The solar collector′s highest EnE efficiency values were obtained for CuO/water nanofluid among the four types of nanofluids mentioned above. The EnE efficiencies of the CuO nanofluid-operated solar collector were 38.21% and 34.06%, respectively, which is significantly higher than that of water-operated solar collectors. For the same volume flow rate, the mass flow rate was found to be 15.95% higher than water for the CuO nanofluid. The EnE efficiency of FPSC can also be increased by increasing the density and reducing the specific heat of the flowing medium.
Effect of accelerated ripening agent on nutrient and antinutrient composition of banana

Food safety especially of fruits is important for a healthy and sustainable food system. Though accelerated ripening of fruits is common in Nigeria, its effect on nutritional quality of fruits remains underexplored. This study was conducted to investigate the changes in the nutrient and antinutrient composition of banana ripened with Calcium carbide (CaC2). In this study, mature bunches of freshly harvested green bananas were grouped separately and allowed to ripen naturally and artificially (with CaC2). At the end of the ripening stage, the nutritional parameters (proximate, minerals, vitamins) and antinutritional parameters were determined using relevant analytical methods, and the results obtained were compared across groups. The results showed that the proximate composition of the artificially ripened samples increase in ash (1.49), fat (0.76), and moisture (69.86) while carbohydrate (23.92) and protein (1.88) contents declined. Similarly, Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe and Zn (mg/100 g) contents were higher in calcium carbide ripened than naturally ripened sample. Naturally ripened samples contained the higher amount of Vitamins C (28.87 mg/100 g), niacin (0.89 mg/100 g), pantothenic acid (0.27 mg/100 g) and pyridoxine (0.29mg/100 g). The β-carotene (127 mcg/100 g), Vitamin E (2.9 mg/100 g) and Vitamin K (0.31 mg/100 g) increased significantly in the artificially ripened samples, when compared to the naturally ripened samples. The use of calcium carbide as a ripening agent increases moisture and phlobatannin content, and loss in protein, carbohydrate, fibre, niacin, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine composition of Cavendish banana.
“We Sort of Dance Around the Race Thing”: Race-Evasiveness in Teacher Education

The racial and linguistic diversity of U.S. classrooms has drawn attention to the intersecting dynamics of race, racism, and language learning in teacher education. While most studies in this vein focus on teachers, almost no research has focused on teacher educators themselves. Therefore, this study draws on interviews with teacher educators to document how they addressed—or more often, evaded—the topics of race and racism. Participants (n = 33) were instructors for state-mandated courses on teaching emergent bilinguals for general educators across the state of Massachusetts. Through the lens of poststructural discourse analysis, the findings of this study demonstrate that race-evasiveness is not a byproduct of passive omission, but instead involves active, discursive effort. These findings underscore the importance of individual and collective efforts to disrupt race-evasiveness, but also illustrate the limits of surface-level race-intentionality for advancing antiracism in teacher education.
Marked Differences in Butterfly Assemblage Composition between Forest Types in Central Amazonia, Brazil

Amazonia comprises a mosaic of contrasting habitats, with wide environmental heterogeneity at local and regional scales. In central Amazonia, upland forest (terra firme) is the predominant forest type and seasonally flooded forests inundated by white- and black-water rivers (várzea and igapó, respectively) represent around 20% of the forested areas. In this work, we took advantage of a natural spatial arrangement of the main vegetation types in central Amazonia to investigate butterfly assemblage structure in terra firme, várzea and igapó forests at the local scale. We sampled in the low- and high-water seasons, combining active and passive sampling with traps placed in both the understory and canopy. Terra firme supported the highest number of butterfly species, whereas várzea forest provided the highest number of butterfly captures. The high species richness in terra firme may reflect that this forest type is floristically richer than várzea and igapó. Várzea is a very productive environment and may thus support a higher number of butterfly individuals than terra firme and igapó. Most butterfly species (80.2%) were unique to a single forest type and 17 can be considered forest type indicator species in this landscape. Floodplain forest environments are therefore an important complement to terra firme in terms of butterfly species richness and conservation in Amazonia.
What being an owner can also mean: A socio-anthropological study on the development of a forgotten relationship to objects

In a context of ecological crisis, new economic models have developed based on the replacement of ownership by access. While they have been studied at length, the very idea of ownership, which is supposed to be abandoned in this process, has rarely been questioned. This is the aim of our research, which investigates the meanings of the concept of ownership for consumers. A socio-anthropological investigation and an ethnographic study on various sharing systems (for houses, boats and clothes) reveals the development of a relationship to ownership, which differs from the one that prevails in the society. In this paradigm, which questions possessive individualism, the owner appears as the ‘custodian’ of his possessions. The identification of his expectations opens managerial and societal perspectives to build the offers that will enable him to fulfil this role.
Cultural contributors to negative emotionality: A multilevel analysis from the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium

This study advances the cross-cultural temperament literature by comparing temperament ratings of toddlers from 14 nations. Multilevel modeling (MLM) procedures were utilized to regress negative emotionality (NE) and component subscales on Hofstede’s cultural value dimensions while controlling for age and gender. More individualistic values were associated with lower NE, and component discomfort, fear, motor activity, perceptual sensitivity, and soothability scales. The discomfort subscale was negatively associated with power distance and positively associated with masculine cultural values. Higher ratings of shyness were related to a more long-term cultural orientation. Results illustrate the feasibility of an MLM approach to cross-cultural research and provide a new perspective on the intersection of culture and temperament development. Limitations and future implications are discussed.
COVID-19, T Cells, Cytokines and Immunotherapy: Review

In December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus (COVID-19), materialized in the city of Wuhan and quickly spread to form a global pandemic. An essential role in the immune system is undertaken by lymphocytes, which defend against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Previous study found that very severe COVID-19 patients had suppression of the immune response enabling the virus to spread and cause more damage. This was evident by the changes in their white blood cell and lymphocyte count. Early clinical findings suggest that those suffering from severe COVID-19 have reduced numbers of lymphocytes, monocytes, and other granulocytes. One of the most efficient responses for a variety of viral infections is cellular immune response activation, especially via T cells. Viruses can be eliminated by T cytotoxic (CD8+) (Tc) in the host body, these secrete a variety of molecules, including interferons (IFNs), granzyme, and perforin. T helper (CD4+) (Th) cells help by assisting cytotoxic T cells and B cells to eliminate viral infection. CD8+ and CD4+ work together in a coordinated immune response with other constituents to primarily resolve acute viral infections, and after to produce protection against any reinfection. Also, COVID-19 causes dramatic changes in cytokine profiles and serological markers. Therefore, the subsets of immune cells and the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokines are crucial evidence to determine the severity of COVID-19. The disease severity has already been proved to be associated with the disruption in the proinflammatory chemokine response, this eventually leads to a cytokine storm and progression of cytokines release syndrome (CRS). This review aimed to demonstrate a full understanding of the alterations to the immune response by determining the T-cell expression and cytokine levels against the pathological processes of COVID-19, which can be a significant step in early treatment and diagnosis of this disease, in reduction of COVID-19 mortality cases, and to emphasize the most recent and current studies to try to identify new immuno-therapeutics for COVID-19.
VIRTUAL REALITY BERBASIS COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY UNTUK MENURUNKAN KECEMASAN BERBICARA DI DEPAN UMUM

Most students carry out formal communication such as presenting assignments or expressing opinions in formal forums and there is anxiety about public speaking in their implementation. Virtual reality based on cognitive behavior therapy (VR-CBT) is one of the psychological interventions that can be applied in this study with the aim of reducing the level of anxiety in public speaking. The public speaking anxiety scale, TMAS, and psychological tests were used as measures to determine the subject's anxiety level. Collecting data using observation and interviews with subjects and related parties. This research design uses descriptive qualitative with a case study approach (case study). This study consisted of one subject who was a 20 year old sixth semester student. The VR CBT consisted of 10 sessions (+60 minutes / session). The data analysis technique used qualitative data analysis. The results showed that the subject's public speaking anxiety level decreased. That is, VR CBT is effective in reducing the level of public speaking anxiety.
Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Surface Sediments of Langkawi Island, Malaysia

The individual compounds and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) were studied in the surface sediments at 32 locations in the tourism area of Langkawi Island. A total of 15 PAHs were determined and quantified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The total PAH concentrations of surface sediments from Langkawi Island ranged from 228.13 to 990.25 ng/g and they were classified as being in the low to moderate pollution range. All sampling stations were dominated by high molecular weight PAHs with 4 rings (31.59%) and 5-6 rings (42.73%). The diagnostic ratio results showed that in most cases, the sampling stations have pyrogenic input. Further analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) combined with absolute principal component score (APCS) and multiple linear regression (MLR) showed that the natural gas emissions contributed to 57% of the total PAH concentration, 22% from the incomplete combustion and pyrolysis of fuel, 15% from pyrogenic and petrogenic sources and 6% from an undefined source.
Education and Crime across America: Inequity’s Cost

Much of current research on crime and education has focused on the effect of minimum dropout age on rates of crime. Combining the FBI’s uniform crime reporting database and district finance data, we study the longitudinal relationship between crime in every town/city (whose police department has reported crime statistics) and its school district spending in years 2003 to 2018. We combine over 213 datasets to control for population, density, wealth, education, employment, cost-of-living, race, law enforcement, and voting history. Additionally, we also look at teacher salary, teacher engagement, and student chronic absenteeism. Using linear mixed-effect modeling, we find an overall average of 2.35% percent decrease in property crime for every $1000 more a school district spends per pupil on education. Moreover, a $1000 increase in education spending decreased property crime nearly four times as much as a 10 percent increase in per capita income. We also looked at the range in district spending in towns/cities and counties whose students attend multiple districts. We find that for every $1000 difference in district spending within a city, property crime increases by an average of 3%; interestingly, violent crime decreases by 3%. When we lag variables of education quality, allowing these effects to playout, we also find that for every 10 percentage-point increase in chronic absenteeism among students, violent crime increases by 4%. Importantly, we find no such effect for property crime, suggesting a distinct mechanism of education on violent crime. Additionally, both law enforcement and unemployment explain little variance in crime. Our results demonstrate a robust relationship between education funding and reduced crime across America with regard to amount spent per student as well as equity in spending.