Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulating change in surface runoff depth due to LULC change using soil and water assessment tool for flash floods prediction

Accurate documentation of land-use/land-cover (LULC) change and evaluating its hydrological impact are of great interest for catchment hydrological management. Jukskei River catchment has undergone a rapid infrastructural and residential development which had an influence on runoff depth. The objective of the study is to integrate Geographical Information System (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) techniques with Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to quantify the spatial and temporal changes in surface runoff depth resulting from LULC change. Landsat images of 1987 MSS, 2001 TM and 2015 OLI were pre-processed and classified using a supervised classification method with maximum likelihood. Results indicated that, there was a significant increase in built-up area from 28700.4ha in 1987 LULC to 36313.6ha in 2001 and 42713.1ha in 2015 at the expense of bare surface, intact vegetation and sparsed vegetation. However, during hydrological modelling, soil, DEM and climatic data were kept constant except LULC images which were interchanged during each simulation phase. Calibrated with observed hydrological data at the catchment outlets, SWAT model was used to evaluate the effect of LULC change on surface runoff depth. The analysis of SWAT model showed increases surface runoff depth from 70.5mm in 1987 LULC to 134.2mm in 2001 and 199.3mm in 2015 LULC. The SWAT model indicated satisfactorily results based on model calibration and validation results. Therefore, this study concluded that, integration of GIS and RS techniques with SWAT model can help in formulating policy guidelines for land-use practices thereby reducing hydrological impacts associated with LULC changes.
The Effects of Green Marketing and Green Corporate Social Responsibility on Customers ’ Willingness to Patronize a Casual Dining Restaurant

Despite the growing interest in green initiatives in the hospitality literature, few studies have investigated customers’ perceptions regarding green practices in restaurants, especially in developing countries such as Egypt. The purpose of the current study is to discuss the relationships between green marketing, green corporate social responsibility (GrCSR), customers’ ecological behaviours, and customers’ intentions to dine at green restaurants. The hypotheses of the current study were tested empirically by employing a self-administered questionnaire as the data-gathering instrument. A total of 500 questionnaires were randomly hand distributed to customers who previously dined at a green casual dining restaurant using the convenience sampling method. The structural equation modelling (SEM), independentsample t test, and one-way independent ANOVA were employed to test the study hypotheses. The results of the current study showed that green marketing had direct and indirect significant effects on customers’ intentions to patronize casual dining green restaurants through their ecological behaviours. Demographic characteristics, i.e., gender, age, and income were significantly related to customers’ intentions to dine at green restaurants. The findings of the current study provide important practical implications for managers of casual dining restaurants.
Acute toxicity of detergent on juveniles of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

The acute toxicity of commercial detergent, (Good mama) containing linear alkyl benzene sulphonate (LABS) was determined using juveniles of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus in 96 hours bioassay. After acclimatization, the fish were exposed to concentrations of 0mg/l, 20mg/l, 30mg/l, 40mg/l, 50mg/l and 60mg/l respectively. The mean lethal concentration, LC50 values for the detergent was 37.65mg/l. With increase in concentration of the toxicant, respiratory disturbances, loss of balance, erratic swimming before death, were observed in the exposed fish. This varied greatly with difference in concentration of the toxicant and these showed that mortality increases with increase in concentration. The differences observed in the mortalities of C. gariepinus juveniles were significant (p
Financial Risk Management and Profitability of Deposit Taking Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Nyeri County, Kenya

Profitability is a key aspect of organization financial performance. Kenya SACCOs have been rated fastest growing SACCOs in Africa. However, this growth is largely attributed to growth in membership and penetration. On the other hand the sub sector has recorded irregular trend on the profitability over the last half a decade. Though past literature has tried to link financial risk management to profitability levels, a range of knowledge gaps remain undressed. The current study therefore sought to establish the effect of financial risk management on profitability targeting deposit-taking SACCOs in Nyeri County. To address this objective, the study targeted the following specific objectives; to examine the effect of credit mitigation, liquidity risk controls operational risk mitigation and finally compliance risk mitigation on profitability of deposit taking SACCOs in Nyeri County. Descriptive study design adopted targeting a population of 8 deposit-taking SACCOs. A census study approach was used to subject all the SACCOs to study. The respondents comprised of deposit taking SACCO managers or operational manager. Thus, in total, the study targeted 8 respondents from the management of the SACCOs. Questionnaires were adopted as a tool for data collection. The researcher administered questionnaires to the respondents by dropping to the respondent office and collected at convenient date agreed by both parties. Before undertaking the study, the researcher conducted a reliability test to assess the consistency of the tool using Cronbach’s Alpha. The study used descriptive and inferential statistic in summarizing the data. Under descriptive statistics, the researcher used mean and standard deviation. To test the significance of study variables, the researcher used Pearson correlation and simple linear regressions. The researcher adhered to research ethic during data collection period. The study findings are presented in charts and tables. The study found compliance risk control; liquidity risk control and operational risk control had significant effect on the performance of Saccos in Nyeri while credit risk control was found insignificant in predicting performance of Saccos in Nyeri County. The study recommends Saccos to intensify the compliance risk control, liquidity risk control and the operational risk control practices in enhancement of Sacco’s performance.
Antibacterial efficiency of apple cider vinegar and pomegranate molasses on meat meals served at a university student hostel

Antibacterial effect of pomegranate molasses (PM) and apple cider vinegar (ACV) on chicken meat and beef samples before and after cooking was investigated in this study. The samples were separated into six groups as control (untreated), and treated ones with 5%PM, 3% PM, 4% ACV, 2% ACV and mix between two concentrations (2% ACV & 3%PM). A total of 24 samples of chicken and meat were collected from a university hostel. The samples were marinated by the previous concentrations of PM and ACV for 2 hours. Half of them were cooked, then each raw and cooked samples were kept in a separate plastic bag and transferred directly to the laboratory in an insulating refrigerated container under complete aseptic conditions (the experiment was repeated three times). The samples were examined to determine APC, Enterobacteriacae, coliform and the incidence of Salmonella, E. coli and S. aureus. The best results were obtained by the treated groups by the mix of 2% ACV& 3%PM and 5% PM as compared with the other treated groups.
Circular RNA hsa_circ_0005556 Accelerates Gastric Cancer Progression by Sponging miR-4270 to Increase MMP19 Expression

Purpose Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a new class of RNA molecules whose function is largely unknown. There is a growing evidence that circRNAs play an important regulatory role in the progression of a variety of human cancers. However, the exact roles and the mechanisms of circRNAs in gastric cancer are not clear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism of hsa_circ_0005556. Materials and Methods Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of hsa_circ_0005556, miR-4270, and matrix metalloproteinase-19 (MMP19) in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. The expression of hsa_circ_0005556 in gastric cancer cells was silenced by lentivirus, and cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and tumorigenesis in nude mice were assessed to evaluate the function of hsa_circ_0005556 in gastric cancer. Results The expression of hsa_circ_0005556 in gastric cancer tissues and gastric cancer cell lines was higher compared to normal controls. In vitro, the downregulation of hsa_circ_0005556 significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells. In vivo, the downregulation of hsa_circ_0005556 suppressed tumor growth in nude mice. Conclusions Our study shows that the hsa_circ_0005556/miR-4270/MMP19 axis is involved in proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells through the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism.
Estimation of selected biological parameters of the Purple Mangrove Crab Goniopsis pelii (Herklots 1851) from a tropical mangrove swamp in Nigeria

The Purple Mangrove Crab, Goniopsis pelii is one of the more elusive crab species inhabiting most of the microhabitats in the mangrove ecosystem of Southern Nigeria. This study was carried out to investigate the size composition, growth pattern, diets, and reproductive biology of G. pelii from Abule-Eledu mangrove swamp in Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria. A total of 116 specimens were studied. Data revealed that the carapace length and total weight ranged from 2.5 to 4.9 cm (3.72 ± 0.39) and from 11 to 37 g (23.90 ± 4.21) respectively. The crab exhibited negative allometric growth pattern (b<3), and the carapace length-weight relationship was positively correlated (r = 0.577-0.900). The condition factor (K) ranged from 3.5-8.0 (male), 3.2-7.5 (female) and 3.4-8.0 (sexes combined). The highest K-values were recorded for the smaller size group (2.5 - 2.9 cm). In terms of sex, the male has the higher K-value (8.0). Identified food particles included plant materials, algae, detritus, diatoms, and protozoa. The sex ratio was 1:0.57 (male: female), and was significantly different from the theoretical ratio of 1:1. Fecundity ranged between 1.9 and 2.8 million eggs with egg diameter ranging from 0.26 to 0.38 mm. Crabs with partial gonad development were predominant in the mangrove, while adults with fully ripe gonads were encountered occasionally throughout the study period. In this study, the reproductive indices and body conditions are indicators of a viable population. Keywords: allometric growth, crab feeding, reproductive biology, Lagos Lagoon.
Health Behaviour Related to Sputum Conversion of Patients Pulmonary Tuberculosis in the Last Phase of Intensive Medication

Introduction: The major drawback of Silver diamine fluoride was the dark discoloration of the treated carious lesion. Aim: This study was conducted to determine the parental acceptability and perceptions to the discoloration and assess whether the degree of their acceptability could be altered with the position of the discoloured teeth, child attitude and the demographic characteristics of parents. Method: The parents who attended the dental clinic received a questionnaire which formulated with short summery about silver diamine fluoride with photographs (before and after treatment) and containing questions about the demographical data, attitude of the child in the dental clinic and the acceptability of SDF discoloration at different locations and situation according to child attitude. Coded data were processed in IBM SPSS statistics software for calculating the result by using independent t- test and P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 79 mothers and 23 fathers with different backgrounds were participated in this study. The acceptance of silver diamine fluoride discoloration was more in the back teeth 71.6% and less in the front teeth 43.2%. Statistically, nonsignificant differences were obtained with the demographic data like age, gender, community, and educational level while high associations were found with the different child attitudes. Conclusion: Silver diamine fluoride discoloration showed widely different acceptability. The position of the tooth and child attitude were the most influenced factors in the perception of the parents that the discoloration was more tolerable when the tooth located posteriorly, and the child acting was worse.
BIODIESEL PRODUCTION BY ETHYLIC AND METHYLIC ROUTE BASED ON FACTORIAL

The analysis carried out in this research had as objective the development of a process for the bench-scale production of biodiesel. The reaction was produced by the alkaline transesterification method, in which the reagents were subjected to a temperature of 60 ± 2°C, maintaining constant mechanical agitation. From a factorial experimental design, we evaluated the maximum and minimum levels of three variables: catalyst, molar ratio, and reaction time, combining their effects without altering the response quality, verifying the yields, and interpreting the possible variations based on statistical treatments to justify which one has the best performance. As the main point, two alcohols were used, one imported (methanol) that underwent a high-quality process, and another with a large national production capacity (ethanol). The research emerges as a way to reinforce the statement that biodiesel is one of the solutions to mitigate environmental impacts and socioeconomically contribute to the country. However, the production cost DOI: 10.5327/Z2176-947820200600 BIODIESEL PRODUCTION BY ETHYLIC AND METHYLIC ROUTE BASED ON FACTORIAL DESIGN PRODUÇÃO DE BIODIESEL POR ROTA ETÍLICA E METÍLICA A PARTIR DE PLANEJAMENTO FATORIAL Biodiesel production based on factorial design
Economic Efficiency of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) Varieties by Farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria. (Stochastic Frontier Production Function Approach); Implication to Public Health in Rural Nigeria

Economic efficiency of orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) Varieties by Farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria was studied using one hundred and twenty farmers. The sampled farmers were selected using purposive and multistage random sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Normalized profit function and factor analyses were used to address the objectives of the study. The result shows that level of education, household size, poor access to extension services; farm size and access to credit were the determinant factors to the economic efficiency of the crop production. The constraints to the crop production were high labour cost, high cost of vines and high cost of fertilizer. There is need to enhance farmers’ access to education programmes, extension services, inorganic fertilizer and labour saving device.
Analysis of β-amylase gene family in soybean (Glycine max)

Beta-amylases (β-amylase, EC 3.2.1.2) belong to the glycosyl hydrolase family 14. These enzymes hydrolyze the 1,4-a-D-glucosidic linkages in starch-type polysaccharide substrates to remove successive maltose units from the non-reducing ends of the chains. Using in silico methods, showed that soybean b-amylase was a multigenic family. A total of indentified 19 genes encoding the b-amylase in the whole genome of this crop plant. These 19 genes distributed on 12 out of 20 chromosomes. Compared to Arabidopsis , the b-amylase family was larger in soybean. The large size of the b-amylase family in soybean is derived from many different gene duplication events which were observed in its genome. Based on our phylogenetic analysis, we classified the soybean b-amylases into four subfamilies I, II, III and IV. These subfamilies contained 5; 8; 2 and 5 members respectively. All of 19 genes encoded discontinuously, their intron numbers differed up on the subfamily. The pairwise comparison of predicted proteins from the same subfamily between the two species (soybean and Arabidopsis ) showed that they were similar. The pI values of soybean b-amylase ranged from 5.16 to 9.18. Most of the proteins of subfamilies I, III and IV were acidic while 6 out of 8 subfamily II proteins were basic. All soybean b-amylases contained the conserved domain of the glycosyl hydrolase family 14, and most of the proteins included amino acids which are important for the enzymatic function. In addition, the subfamily IV proteins contained the amino acid sequence in N-terminal which was similar to the transcription factors of the BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT1 (BZR1) type. The predicted secondary structure of all of the studied proteins was rich in a-helice. Finally, our expression survey results showed that most soybean b -amylases expressed in at least one tissue. However, the transcript abundances of each gene varied in many of the tissues studied. This result suggests that differential expression exists in different tissues and at different developmental stages of the same tissue.
Adsorption Isotherms and Kinetics of Lead and Cadmium Ions: Comparative Studies Using Modified Melon (Citrullus colocynthis) Husk

Growth in population has caused a corresponding increase in agricultural production which consequently led to an increase in agricultural wastes or byproducts. This is sometimes difficult to manage and may pose a menace to the society if not properly disposed. Hence, this research investigated the efficacy of utilizing agricultural byproduct (melon husk) in removing Pb2+ and Cd2+ from wastewaters so as to prevent their deleterious impact on ecosystem and public health. This was achieved by treating tannery effluents with melon husks modified with H3PO4, NaOH and CH4N2O. Results showed that, the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption capacities on the modified melon husks ranged from 0.1403 – 1.551 mg/g and 0.1499 – 0.6013 mg/g, respectively. Also, the R2 values for Pseudo 1st and 2nd order rate constants ranged from 0.0272 – 0.2391 and 0.9112 – 0.9958, respectively. Hence, it was concluded that the modified melon husks followed Freundlich isotherm model as well as Pseudo-2nd order kinetics and could be effectively used to remove Pb2+ and Cd2+ from wastewater.
Polyacrylonitrile Nanofiber Optimization as Precursor of Carbon Nanofibers for Supercapacitors

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers are one of the primary precursors in the production of carbon nanofibers. The nanofiber morphology is significantly affected by the process parameters such as polymer concentration, distance, applied voltage and feed rate during the production of PAN nanofibers obtained by the solution-based electrospinning method, and these parameters should be optimized properly. In this study, firstly PAN nanofiber production parameters were optimized, and then homogeneous and thin PAN nanofibers produced in optimum conditions were used as the precursor in the production of carbon nanofibers. PAN nanofibers with a diameter of 233 nm were obtained at 7.5% PAN concentration in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), 28 kV applied voltage, 17.5 cm nozzle to collector distance, 2 ml/h feed rate and 500 rpm rotation speed of the aluminum drum. The carbon nanofiber diameters produced after the stabilization and carbonization processes were measured as 200 and 140 nm, respectively. The morphological, chemical and thermal properties of the produced nanofibers were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Carbon nanofibers, which are made from optimized electrospun PAN nanofibers, can be used to construct supercapacitors in future studies.
Development and sun protection factor of emusionated formulation containing Brazil nut oil

Brazil nut ( Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K) is oil rich and contains compounds with bioactive properties wich grants potential for usage in new formulations with photo-protective potential, as well as other pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. The aim of this study was the development and in vitro determination of the sun protection factor of emulsionated formulations containing Brazil nut oil, targeting its use as a photo-protective carrier. Brazil nut oil was extracted with hexane using the ultrasound assisted method. After the oil quality against oxidation was evaluated, it was incorporated into the formulations. The emulsions were evaluated for their preliminary stability, accelerated stability, rheological characterization, mean globule diameter, in vitro SPF determination and potential antioxidant activity by the DPPH radical scavenging method. The same emulsified systems containing a chemical sunscreen were also evaluated, looking for synergism possibilities. The emulsions containing 20 and 30% of Brazil nut oil, with and without the chemical sunscreen, were characterized as oil-in-water type, showing elastic/solid rheological characteristics, and presented better stability characteristics in the assessed parameters. However, the presented photo-protective activity was attributed to the chemical sunscreen itself, rather than the base formulation and the antioxidant activity was considered low. The base formulation developed with Brazil nut oil presented adequate characteristics for incorporating sunscreen, opening up possibilities for incorporating several active substances, like the sunscreen and many others.
Egg Mass and Size of Tadpoles at Hatching in the Midwife Toads Alytes obstetricans and Alytes cisternasii: Implications for Female Choice

In Alytes obstetricans, the eggs of males carrying larger egg complements were smaller in mass and produced smaller tadpoles at hatching. In A. cisternasii, the total number of eggs in the male complement was not related to average egg mass or tadpole size. Alytes obstetricans males with large egg complements from several females could obtain their matings over a prolonged period. I tested the hypothesis that the negative correlation between progeny size and total number of eggs in the male complement could be a result of greater asynchrony in the development of the egg complement of male A. obstetricans. A simulation determined that the differences between species were not explained by differences in asynchrony in development between clutches of different females in a single male egg complement. Alytes obstetricans males with larger egg complements released their eggs later in the season and, hence, exposed their progeny to desiccation, whereas this did not occur in A. cisternasii in which the reproductive phenology was much more explosive. Therefore, in A. obstetricans, female preference for males that were already carrying eggs would be nonadaptive at the level of tadpole size at hatching.
Effects of Breeding in Captivity on Conflict among Wild Rats

Ten male wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) trapped as adults were kept singly and exposed daily for 15 minutes to a strange adult male of the same species. Seven adult males of the sixth through ninth generations reared in the laboratory were similarly exposed. In contrast with the trapped rats, the laboratory-bred males attacked and “threatened” the strangers little and their propensity to attack was not increased by the presence of females. Certain other activities were rare among trapped residents but common among residents bred in captivity: these were resident grooming interloper, resident crawling under and huddling with interloper, and resident mounting interloper as though the interloper were a female. Interlopers ran from, and squealed at, trapped residents more than they did in response to laboratory-bred residents.