Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Analysis on the Nutritional and Anti-Nutritional Contents of the Sweet and Bitter Cassava Varieties

The main aim of this research was to investigate the nutritional content and anti nutritional factors of the varieties of cassava in order to provide knowledge on the nutritional implication of feeding on cassava diet, which will help to ensure better health condition of people in developing countries. A comparative analysis of the nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of sweet and bitter varieties of cassava (Manihot_esculenta) was carried out using standard analytical techniques. Results obtained show ed the percentage (%) M oisture contents as 0.82 and 0.14, Ash as 2.71 and 1.85, Crude fiber as 4.40 and 4.61, Crude protein as 2.69 and 3.37, Crude lipid as 3.92 and 3.82 and total carbohydrate as 85.46 and 86.21% for sweet and bitter cassava, respectively. The findings also revealed that calcium contents as 33 and 30 mg/100g, phosphorus contents as 52 and 80 mg/100g and iron contents as 30 and 18 mg/100g for sweet and bitter cassava, respectively. The contents of cyanogenic glycosides w ere 0.46 and 0.65 mg/100g, Trypsin inhibitor were 1.0 and 4.0 mg/100g, oxalates were 22.0 and 44.0 mg/100g, phytate were 216 and 304 mg/100g and tannin were 0.40 and 0.60 mg/100g for sweet and bitter cassava, respectively. A comparative assessment of the results however, showed that sweet cassava has higher values of Moisture, Ash, Lipid, Calcium, and Iron but lower value of Fiber, Protein, carbohydrate, phosphorus, and all the anti-nutrients analyzed as compared to the bitter cassava.
Developments in the use of rare earth metal complexes as efficient catalysts for ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters used in biomedical applications

Abstract Biodegradable polymers represent a class of particularly useful materials for many biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Among these types of polyesters, poly(ε-caprolactone) and polylactides are considered very promising for controlled drug delivery devices. These polymers are mainly produced by ring-opening polymerization of their respective cyclic esters, since this method allows a strict control of the molecular parameters (molecular weight and distribution) of the obtained polymers. The most widely used catalysts for ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters are tin- and aluminium-based organometallic complexes; however since the contamination of the aliphatic polyesters by potentially toxic metallic residues is particularly of concern for biomedical applications, the possibility of replacing organometallic initiators by novel less toxic or more efficient organometallic complexes has been intensively studied. Thus, in the recent years, the use of highly reactive rare earth initiators/catalysts leading to lower polymer contamination has been developed. The use of rare earth complexes is considered a valuable strategy to decrease the polyester contamination by metallic residues and represents an attractive alternative to traditional organometallic complexes.
Navigating the winds of change on the smooth sea - The interaction of feedback and emotional disruption on the talent pathway

Abstract Research on the developmental trajectories of performers increasingly focuses on the nature of challenge in talent development. This study sought to investigate the interaction of challenge, emotional disruption and impactful feedback in the talent pathway. Employing a pre-post design, a group of eight junior international rugby league players were interviewed prior to and following their senior transitional season. Data were collected through two semi structured interviews and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants progressed through a pathway that was perceived to be devoid of challenge until the start of the senior transition. At this stage, however, frequent emotional disturbances were experienced, associated with a greater personal weighting of the feedback provided. Findings suggest that events and feedback that were emotionally laden were a critical element of their developmental experience. Lay summary: This study explores the interaction of challenge, emotional disruption and feedback for athletes transitioning to the elite level. The emotional ‘highs and lows’ are identified as critical to overall development, rather than something to be ‘coped with’. We suggest that the athlete experience should be a focal point for practice.
Magnetosensibility and Magnetic Properties of Ectatomma brunneun Smith, F. 1858 Ants

Several experiments have shown that animals can use the geomagnetic field (GMF) for orientation and homing using a magnetoreception process (Wiltschko & Wiltschko, 2005). Social insects, such as bees, ants and wasps, can use magnetoreception for magnetic orientation in guidance and navigation tasks (Wajnberg et al., 2010; Pereira-Bomfim et al., 2015). Unlike magnetic orientation, there are some reports of sensibility to magnetic fields (MF) by insects, where variations in MFs can change common behaviors. Vowles (1954) presented a pioneer study with the ant Myrmica laevinodis (Nylander, 1846). He studied the orientation of ants to gravity and used tiny particles of soft iron cemented to Abstract The present paper aims to study magnetosensibility and seek magnetic nanoparticles in ants. By living in colonies, the social insects developed very efficient methods of nestmate recognition, being less tolerant towards individuals from other colonies. Therefore, any strange behavior between nestmates and/or conspecifics, besides those present in their behavioral repertoire, is not expected. The present paper analyzes whether changes in the intensity of applied magnetic fields on Ectatomma brunneun (Smith) ants can cause changes in the typical pattern of interaction between conspecifics. We used a pair of coils generating a non-homogeneous magnetic field to change the whole local geomagnetic field. Magnetometry studies were done on abdomens and head + antennae using a SQUID magnetometer. The results show that changes in the geomagnetic field affect the usual pattern of interactions between workers from different colonies. The magnetometry results show that abdomens present superparamagnetic nanoparticles and heads present single-domain magnetic nanoparticles. Behavior experiments show for the first time that Ectatomma brunneun ants are magnetosensible. The change in nestmate recognition of Ectatomma ants observed while a magnetic field is applied can be associated with disturbance in a magnetosensor presented in the body based on magnetic nanoparticles. Sociobiology An international journal on social insects
Sustainability Performance Assessment Using Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) and Classification and Ensembles of Regression Trees (CART)

This study aims to develop a new approach based on machine learning techniques to assess sustainability performance. Two main dimensions of sustainability, ecological sustainability, and human sustainability, were considered in this study. A set of sustainability indicators was used, and the research method in this study was developed using cluster analysis and prediction learning techniques. A Self-Organizing Map (SOM) was applied for data clustering, while Classification and Regression Trees (CART) were applied to assess sustainability performance. The proposed method was evaluated through Sustainability Assessment by Fuzzy Evaluation (SAFE) dataset, which comprises various indicators of sustainability performance in 128 countries. Eight clusters from the data were found through the SOM clustering technique. A prediction model was found in each cluster through the CART technique. In addition, an ensemble of CART was constructed in each cluster of SOM to increase the prediction accuracy of CART. All prediction models were assessed through the adjusted coefficient of determination approach. The results demonstrated that the prediction accuracy values were high in all CART models. The results indicated that the method developed by ensembles of CART and clustering provide higher prediction accuracy than individual CART models. The main advantage of integrating the proposed method is its ability to automate decision rules from big data for prediction models. The method proposed in this study could be implemented as an effective tool for sustainability performance assessment.
Monetising the social value of inclusive entrepreneurship: the case of the Abono Café social economy enterprise

The fact that so many people with disabilities are unemployed is a cause for concern among those responsible for employment and creating social policies, and also for families and stakeholders themselves. Self-employment, which is understood as the creation of businesses, could be a means to mitigate this problem. The market evaluation of this type of company should consider not only its economic, but also its social results in terms of both cost savings for various public administrations and the generation of social value. This includes taking advantage of the talent of an important part of the population or increasing the wellbeing of people with disabilities, thus making decent employment possible as regards all that is sought by Sustainable Development Objective (SDA) 8 of the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030. The objective of this work is, therefore, to monetise the social value of this type of undertaking through the use of a case study: that of the Abono Café company. The results show that the non-market value of this company greatly exceeds its market value, thus confirming its potential to generate social value for its stakeholders. The multiplying effect of the funds that Public Administrations allocate to the promotion of this type of initiative among people with disabilities makes them a useful tool and represents a change in the design of public policies, both on a social and employment level.
Crown Structure Explains the Discrepancy in Leaf Phenology Metrics Derived from Ground- and UAV-Based Observations in a Japanese Cool Temperate Deciduous Forest

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) provide a new platform for monitoring crown-level leaf phenology due to the ability to cover a vast area while offering branch-level image resolution. However, below-crown vegetation, e.g., understory vegetation, subcanopy trees, and the branches of neighboring trees, along with the multi-layered structure of the target crown may significantly reduce the accuracy of UAV-based estimates of crown leaf phenology. To test this hypothesis, we compared UAV-derived crown leaf phenology results against those based on ground observations at the individual tree scale for 19 deciduous broad-leaved species (55 individuals in total) characterized by different crown structures. The mean crown-level green chromatic coordinate derived from UAV images poorly explained inter- and intra-species variations in spring leaf phenology, most probably due to the consistently early leaf emergence in the below-crown vegetation. The start dates for leaf expansion and end dates for leaf falling could be estimated with an accuracy of <1-week when the influence of below-crown vegetation was removed from the UAV images through visual interpretation. However, a large discrepancy between the phenological metrics derived from UAV images and ground observations was still found for the end date of leaf expansion (EOE) and start date of leaf falling (SOF). Bayesian modeling revealed that the discrepancy for EOE increased as crown length and volume increased. The crown structure was not found to contribute to the discrepancy in SOF value. Our study provides evidence that crown structure is a pivotal factor to consider when using UAV photography to reliably estimate crown leaf phenology at the individual tree-scale.
Evaluation of the potential impact of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and pumping scenarios on groundwater level in the Nile Delta aquifer

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential impact of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and pumping scenarios on groundwater level by a three-dimensional groundwater model of the Nile Delta using MODFLOW software. The Nile Delta has highly intensive irrigation canals networks that share yearly about 35.5 km 3 of water. In this study, an integrated three-dimensional groundwater model is built considering the actual condition of the irrigation canals and their recharges of the Nile Delta aquifer. The model was calibrated for estimating the vertical and hydraulic conductivity. The model was run for three scenarios: (1) reduction of water depth in canals, (2) increasing pumping discharge from the aquifer and (3) combination between the first and second scenarios. Results reveal that the effect of increasing the pumping discharge on groundwater level in the Nile Delta is more significant than decreasing in the water depth of canals network due to the fact that the existence of the upper clay layer which reduce the permits of water to penetrate and reach the groundwater in the aquifer. The last scenario presents the worst case as the average drawdown reached 1.26 m, 1.7 m and 1.35 m in western, central and eastern parts of the Nile Delta respectively. The study results should be taken in account for studying the saltwater intrusion and climate change impacts on the Nile Delta region.
Assessment of power generation potential from the cofiring of Elaeis Guineensis Residues with coal pellets in a popular Nigerian palm oil research institute

ABSTRACT The effect of cofiring elaeis guineensis residues with coal pellets for power generation was investigated. Samples of elaeis guineensis residues (palm kernel shell (PKS), palm fiber (PF) and empty fruit bunch (EFB)), and coal were collected and pulverized. The pellets were thereafter produced mechanically, using an optimized mixing ratio of 80:20. Coal palm kernel shell (CPKS), coal palm fiber (CPF), coal empty fruit bunch (CEFB), and coal (C) pellets were thereafter produced and characterized in accordance with the ASTM standard. Results obtained show that the caloric values of CPKS, CPF, CEFB, and C pellet were 28033 kJ/kg, 27695 kJ/kg, 27687 kJ/kg and 22021 kJ/kg, respectively. While the % ash was 11.15%, 12.97%, 12.75%, 14.89%; % sulfur was 0.7%, 0.71%, 0.73% and 0.76% for CPKS, CPF, CEFB, and C, respectively. Four case scenarios; A (raw biomass without power generation), B (raw biomass with power generation), C (raw biomass converted to pellets) and D (raw biomass blended with coal pellets) were compared. Case D was found to have the highest power generation potential and energy utilization efficiency of 3.378 MW and 84.43%, respectively. Cofiring of elaeis guineensis residues with the coal pellets, reduced percentage ash and sulfur contents of combusted pure coal.
In-vitro antidiabetic activities, chemical compositions, antioxidant activities, and toxicity of black tea polysaccharides as a potential source of dietary ingredients

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the fast growing diet-related chronic diseases throughout the world. Tea contains several bioactive compounds, some of which render health benefits. Black tea polysaccharides (BTPS), extracted from low grade quality tea leaves, after processing, were examined for their in-vitro antidiabetic activities (α-glucosidase inhibitory and glucose uptake activities), chemical compositions (yield, monosaccharides, amino acids, and minerals), and antioxidant activities as well as toxicity (cytotoxicity and genotoxicity). In addition, 50% lethal dose (LD50) for BTPS was determined using an acute toxicity test to assess the safe use of it as a dietary ingredient. BTPS had strong α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC50 value of 3.4 μg/mL. This was much lower than that of the positive control, pharmaceutical glucosidase inhibitor acarbose with IC50 of 687.5 μg/mL. BTPS also increased glucose uptake into the adipocyte differentiated 3T3-L1 MBX cells. Neither cytotoxic nor mutagenic effects were found for BTPS. The LD50 of BTPS for acute toxicity demonstrated that it was safe to use. The present work suggests that BTPS can be used as an antidiabetic dietary ingredient without posing any potential health risk.
Effects of organic acids on the adsorption of heavy metal ions by chitosan flakes

Abstract The effects of two different organic acids, citric and oxalic, on the capacity of chitosan flakes to remove heavy metal ions, namely Zn2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ from aqueous solutions were studied. A significant reduction in chitosan's adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions was observed in response to both organic acids, particularly when used at concentrations higher than 10‐2M. The magnitude of reduction in response to citric acid was slightly greater as compared to oxalic acid.
Do Local Labor Market Conditions Impact Bank Profitability?

This paper studies the impact of local unemployment shocks on bank profitability. Our work advances on previous studies that only use national or state level data, as we create bank-specific measures of local unemployment in which the bank has exposure. Using these novel measures, we can determine how shocks to unemployment affect each individual bank's profitability. Our results indicate that an increase in the local market unemployment rate decreases bank profitability on average by 2.9%. We further examine what components of bank profitability are most impacted by local labor market conditions and find that net interest income is most impacted.
Ambulatory chest physiotherapy in mild-to-moderate acute bronchiolitis in children under two years of age — A randomized control trial

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the role of a chest physiotherapy (CP) intervention to no intervention on the respiratory status of children under two years of age, with mild-to-moderate bronchiolitis. Methods: Out of 80 eligible children observed in the Emergency Room, 45 children completed the study with 28 randomized to the intervention group and 17 to the control group. The intervention protocol, applied in an ambulatory setting, consisted of combined techniques of passive prolonged slow expiration, rhinopharyngeal clearance and provoked cough. The control group was assessed with no chest physiotherapy intervention. The efficacy of chest physiotherapy was assessed using the Kristjansson Respiratory Score at the admission and discharge of the visit to the Emergency Room and during clinical visits at day 7 and day 15. Results: There was a significant improvement in the Kristjansson Respiratory Score in the intervention group compared to the control group at day 15 [1.2 (1.5) versus 0.3 (0.5); p-value=0.005, in the control and intervention groups, respectively], with a mean difference (95% CI) of −0.9 (−1.6 to −0.3). Conclusion: Chest physiotherapy had a positive impact on the respiratory status of children with mild-to-moderate bronchiolitis. Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04260919.
A century of social wasp occupancy trends from natural history collections: spatiotemporal resolutions have little effect on model performance

The current dearth of long‐term insect population trends is a major obstacle to conservation. Occupancy models have been proposed as a solution, but it remains unclear whether they can yield long‐term trends from natural history collections, since specimen records are normally very sparse. A common approach for sparse data is to coarsen its spatial and/or temporal resolution, although coarsening risks violating model assumptions. We (i) test whether occupancy trends of three social wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Vespinae) species – the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), the German wasp (Vespula germanica) and the European hornet (Vespa crabro) – have changed in England between 1900 and 2016, and (ii) test the effect of spatiotemporal resolution on the performance of occupancy models using very sparse data. All models are based on an integrated dataset of occurrence records and natural history collection specimen records. We show that occupancy models can yield long‐term species‐specific trends from very sparse natural history collection specimens. We present the first quantitative trends for three Vespinae species in England over 116 years. Vespula vulgaris and V. germanica show stable trends over the time series, whilst V. crabro's occupancy decreased from 1950 to 1970 and increased since 1970. Moreover, we show that spatiotemporal resolution has little effect on model performance, although coarsening the spatial grain is an appropriate method for achieving enough records to estimate long‐term changes. With the increasing availability of biological records, the model formulation used here has the potential to provide novel insights by making use of natural history collections' unique specimen assemblages.
Haze-level prior approach to enhance object visibility under atmospheric degradation

: Outdoor captured scenes are degraded by atmospheric particles and water droplets. Due to scattering and absorption effects in the atmosphere, degraded images lose contrast and color fidelity. Performances of the computer vision algorithms are bound to suffer from low-contrast scene radiance. In many single-image dehazing models, the larger the deviation in estimation of the key parameters such as transmission map and atmospheric light, the higher the halo artifacts and loss of fine details in the dehazed image. The available models assume that the scattering light is independent of wavelength, as the size of the atmospheric particles is larger compared to the wavelength of light. The model presented in this paper emphasizes the appropriate estimation of intensified transmission map from the hazy images by exploiting the scattering coeﬀicient in order to address the issues of haze concentrations. Experiments conducted on thick and thin hazy images provide an optimal estimation of the model parameters, which can be applied directly in real-time situations. The available models are observed to be inconsistent sometimes in the enhancement of contrast, saturation and color information either together or independently. The proposed model addresses these issues by extracting the haze-relevant features from the hazy images, such as hue disparity, contrast, and darkness, which yield more vivid saturation results. Moreover, the proposed model addresses different haze densities in the scene without the use of refinement filters.
STUDENTS, PLEASE TEACH US! IMPLEMENTING STUDENT-EMPLOYEE REVERSE MENTORING TO INCREASE CAREER READINESS

ABSTRACT Despite being a key competency sought by employers, many college students do not exhibit career readiness upon graduation. Reverse mentoring between students (mentors) and company employees (mentees) is an innovative applied learning experience that helps students gain important job knowledge beyond what is taught in a traditional classroom setting. We report on the implementation of a student-employee reverse mentoring experience with a Fortune 500 company in a qualitative marketing research course. Furthermore, we provide seven steps for replicating the experience across a variety of other marketing courses. Finally, we deliver evidence that the reverse mentoring teaching innovation contributes to students’ preparedness on four important career readiness competencies: critical thinking, teamwork, professionalism, and communication.
Mediation framework connecting knowledge contract, psychological contract, employee retention, and employee satisfaction: An empirical study

The present research is inclined to study the relationship between two important forms of “Contract” in employment relations, psychological contract and knowledge contract, and job outcomes, i.e. employee retention and employee satisfaction. For this purpose, the data were collected from 268 employees working in the IT sector from North India. The results suggest the mediating impact of the psychological contract in the relationship between knowledge contract and job outcomes. Besides, this study develops a theoretical model that establishes the relationship between knowledge sharing and knowledge integration that plays a major role in employee satisfaction as well as retention of employees in the organization.