Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Milk Properties and Morphological Characteristics of the Donkey Mammary Gland for Development of an Adopted Milking Machine—A Review

Donkey milk (DM) has been known in the world for 5000 years for its benefits for human nutrition and health. Nowadays, DM has become more and more attractive as a commercial product. DM contains several physiologically functional components, including high-quality whey proteins, vitamins, important minerals, unsaturated fatty acid and bioactive components. Therefore, it is not only consumed as food but also as a remedy. The average daily milk yield of a female donkey over the entire lactation season was 1.57 ± 1.12 kg/day and fluctuated between 0.20 and 6.00 kg/day. Average milk concentrations (±SD) of fat, protein, lactose, total solids and ash in DM were 0.63 ± 0.41%, 1.71 ± 0.24%, 6.34 ± 0.37%, 9.11 ± 0.95% and 0.39 ± 0.04%, respectively. Interestingly, DM is similar in composition to mare’s milk, and both are similar to mother’s milk. The anatomical and morphological properties of the mammary gland of the female donkey are special and can be compared with those of mare udders. However, the cistern cavity of the mammary gland of female donkeys is characterized by the presence of multiple pockets that open directly into the teat, instead of a single cistern cavity. Therefore, the mammary gland capacity in donkey mare is low and milking technique and routine are of most importance. So far there is no special milking machine for female donkeys and mares. The milking machines used nowadays were initially designed for smaller sheep and goat udders. The company Siliconform, Germany, has set itself the task of developing an optimized milking machine for donkey mares, which is adapted to the anatomical and morphological properties of the donkey mammary gland. Furthermore, it should achieve a physiologically ideal milking process meeting high animal welfare standards for increased milk production with high quality standards.
Estradiol and Estrogen-like Alternative Therapies in Use: The Importance of the Selective and Non-Classical Actions

Estrogen is one of the most important female sex hormones, and is indispensable for reproduction. However, its role is much wider. Among others, due to its neuroprotective effects, estrogen protects the brain against dementia and complications of traumatic injury. Previously, it was used mainly as a therapeutic option for influencing the menstrual cycle and treating menopausal symptoms. Unfortunately, hormone replacement therapy might be associated with detrimental side effects, such as increased risk of stroke and breast cancer, raising concerns about its safety. Thus, tissue-selective and non-classical estrogen analogues have become the focus of interest. Here, we review the current knowledge about estrogen effects in a broader sense, and the possibility of using selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs), selective estrogen-receptor downregulators (SERDs), phytoestrogens, and activators of non-genomic estrogen-like signaling (ANGELS) molecules as treatment.
Engineering the geometry of novel yarns for flexible, hybrid composites Part II: Maximising the tensile properties

Part I of this study established the concept and built the theoretical basis for a novel composite yarn. Part II deals with practical aspects of producing the yarn structural parameters necessary for flexible textile composite uses. This study investigates how to maximise the number of breaks of the core or foundation component of the yarn by using the design of experiment method. The results have shown that the number of these breaks vary between 1.4 and 6 times in comparison with only one break that would result from a typical conventional ply yarn. The analysis of the results indicates that a low overfeed ratio of 121% of the undulating component can lead to ∼4.7 breaks of the foundation component in comparison with only ∼2.6 breaks that would result using an overfeed ratio of 158%. To increase the number of breaks of the foundation component, it is necessary to use a high number of wraps, a low overfeed ratio, more than one input yarn for the foundation component and an undulating component of high tensile strength, which enhances its synergy with the foundation component by self-locking during breaking. Increasing the number of breaks of the yarn enhances the performance and safety of flexible composites.
Seismic force demand on RC shear walls for direct displacement‐based design

This article aims to investigate seismic force demand on RC shear walls which are designed using direct displacement‐based design (DDBD) method. For this purpose, first 12 shear walls were designed using DDBD approach and then were modeled nonlinearly in OpenSees using fiber section elements. Each wall was subjected to 45 artificial ground motions and the seismic force demand, including the shear force and the bending moment, were determined along the wall height. The nonlinear dynamic analysis results indicated that the seismic force demand was significantly amplified relative to the design forces. This amplification, which was due to the higher mode effects, is mainly a function of structural period and ductility demand. To find new shear and moment envelopes for capacity design, two envelop shapes compatible with internal force pattern along the wall height were selected. Then, the required equations were presented for envelope parameters based on the regression analysis of the results. The comparison of seismic force demand with proposed and previous envelopes indicates the superiority of new proposed envelopes for DDBD approach.
Assessing Intraspecific Variability and Diversity in African Yam Bean Landraces Using Agronomic Traits

Landraces are repositories for potential beneficial traits which could be used to develop varieties with enhanced qualities. Optimal utilization of the available large collection of landraces of African yam bean (AYB) presently conserved at the Genetic Resource Center, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan (GRC-IITA), requires an assessment of the magnitude and nature of genetic diversity within the germplasm. One hundred and ninety-six AYB accessions were evaluated during the 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons in three agro-ecologies of Nigeria, using a 14 × 14 triple lattice design. The accessions were assessed for fourteen agronomic traits. Accession, environment, and accession × environment interaction effects were significant (p < 0.05) for all the traits. Variances due to environment and accession × environment interaction were higher than the genotypic variances. Similarly, estimates of phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits. Broad-sense heritability ranged from 17.1% (days to maturity) to 66.4% (seed length). Seed yield per plant had positive significant genotypic correlation with all the studied traits, except pod length and seed length. The first three principal components accounted for 59.7% of the total variation among the accessions and comprised of the 14 traits. Five major clusters were delineated based on phenotypic characteristics. Genetic variation was present among the AYB accessions, and these results will be useful for setting breeding goals and conservation approaches.
Effective hospital response to covid-19: evidence from social healthcare organizations in Brazil and Portugal

RESUMEN: Este estudio analiza el impacto de la gestión del conocimiento, la inteligencia organizativa y el desempeño organizacional en la eficacia ante la covid-19 en hospitales. Los datos se recogieron mediante un cuestionario de investigación, enviado a personal sanitario que trabajaban en hospitales de Brasil y Portugal. Enviamos el enlace de la encuesta utilizando una red social profesional y se obtuvieron 101 respuestas válidas. Se utilizó la técnica de análisis PLS-SEM para probar las hipótesis. Los resultados mostraron que existe una relación positiva entre los constructos de gestión eficaz del conocimiento y desempeño organizacional con la respuesta eficaz a la covid-19. Este estudio también indicó que la gestión eficaz del conocimiento tiene una asociación positiva con la inteligencia organizativa y el desempeño organizacional, además de la relación positiva entre la inteligencia organizativa y el desempeño organizacional. Como implicaciones prácticas, nuestra investigación refuerza la importancia de la gestión eficaz del conocimiento para la gestión de la pandemia y valida las relaciones entre la gestión eficaz del conocimiento, la inteligencia organizativa, el desempeño organizacional, así como la eficacia de la respuesta hospitalaria. A partir de estos resultados, los hospitales y organizaciones sociosanitarias podrán mejorar su eficacia en la respuesta a los nuevos brotes de enfermedades. Como originalidad, presentamos un modelo para gestionar la respuesta de estas instituciones sociosanitarias y hospitalarias a las pandemias.Alternate :This study analyzes the impact of effective knowledge management, organizational intelligence, and organizational performance on the effective hospital response and social health to covid-19. Data were collected through a research questionnaire sent to physicians and nurses who worked in hospitals in Brazil and Portugal. We sent the survey link using a professional social network and 101 valid responses were obtained. The PLS-SEM analysis technique was used to test hypotheses. The results showed that there is a positive relationship between the constructs of effective knowledge management and organizational performance, and effective response to covid-19. This study also indicates that effective knowledge management has a positive association with organizational intelligence and organizational performance, in addition to a positive relationship between organizational intelligence and organizational performance. As practical implications, our research reinforces the importance of effective knowledge management for pandemic management and validates the relationships between effective knowledge management, organizational intelligence, organizational performance, and hospital response effectiveness. From these results, hospitals and social health organizations will be able to improve their effectiveness in responding to new disease outbreaks. As originality, this work presents a model to manage the response of these health care and hospital institutions to pandemics.
Messaging, Posting, and Browsing: A Mobile Experience Sampling Study Investigating Youth’s Social Media Use, Affective Well-Being, and Loneliness

Employing a mobile experience sampling design, we investigated in the present study how different types of mobile social media use relate to young individuals’ momentary affective well-being and momentary loneliness. We differentiated between three types of social media use: Messaging, posting, and browsing. Moreover, we studied fear of missing out (FoMO) as a moderating variable. We collected data from 79 middle and late adolescents (M age = 17.55 years, SD = 1.29; 59% girls) yielding 956 momentary assessments. The results showed that messaging and posting were positively related to affective well-being, while browsing was associated with higher levels of loneliness. Furthermore, some of the relations between social media use, affective well-being, and loneliness were also moderated by FoMO. Our results highlight the need to differentiate between different types of social media use, to include individual predispositions, and to apply methods that account for daily fluctuations in psychological well-being when studying the complex relationship between youth’s mobile social media use and well-being.
The Impact of Non-performing Loans on Nigerian Economic Growth, 2011-2020

This paper examined the impact of rising non-performing loans (NPL) on Nigeria's economic growth using time series data from 2011 – to 2020. In analyzing this relationship, the co-integrated autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model was employed, and the study revealed a long-run negative relationship between NPL and economic growth. This suggests that a higher NPL may have reduced the banks' loan disbursement capacity or made the banks reluctant to give out more loans to the productive sector, adversely affecting the economy. This research also supports the long-standing results of a positive relationship between money supply and economic growth. It further revealed a positive relationship between government expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommended that Nigeria's financial management team activities include a dedicated watch on the rising NPL in the banking industry. Furthermore, monitoring NPL should no longer be viewed as the sole responsibility of the CBN but that of all managers of the Nigerian economy.
Plasma or Urine Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL): Which Is Better at Detecting Chronic Kidney Damage in Type 2 Diabetes?

Background and study aims—Albuminuria, defined as an enhanced urine albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) on a spot sample, is a validated biomarker of glomerular damage. However, it cannot always detect early renal failures in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), thus prompting the search for more sensitive and specific parameters. Herein, we investigated the differential role of plasma and urine neutrophil-gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGALp,—NGALu) for the detection of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Methods—Traditional glomerular (serum creatinine, cystatin C, ACR) damage biomarkers were evaluated in 84 patients with T2D and in 21 metabolically healthy controls. Diabetic patients were stratified into four groups based on T2D duration (less or more than 5 years) and presence and severity of DKD (early- or advanced-stage), as defined by the ACR and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). NGALp and NGALu were determined by ELISA methodology and compared among groups. Results—There was no difference in NGALp and NGALu levels between the metabolically healthy individuals and the age-matched, newly diagnosed diabetic patients in the absence of DKD. However, in contrast to NGALu, NGALp was found to be substantially increased in patients with long-standing diabetes without biochemical evidence of DKD, closely mirroring the modest, but still accelerated, decline in the eGFR typical of this chronic dysmetabolic condition, and remained overexpressed throughout the stages of DKD progression. Increased NGALu levels were, instead, rather specific in patients with biochemical evidence of DKD (i.e., marked by increased albuminuria), regardless of T2D duration. Spearman’s correlation and regression analyses showed that patient age and T2D duration could exert a strong positive impact exclusively on NGALp concentrations (ρ = 0.419, p < 0.001 for age; ρ = 0.581, p < 0.001 for T2D), and none on NGALu. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed the best performance of NGALp compared to NGALu for the detection of DKD (AUC = 0.817 for NGALp, AUC = 0.711 for NGALu). Conclusions—Our data suggest a different pathophysiological and predictive role for urine and plasma NGAL in the context of T2D and DKD.
Filling the Void: Rock-art Continuity Over the Pleistocene–Holocene Boundary in Eastern Iberia

In this paper we study several panels with incised engravings, which have been discovered in recent years, from two shelters in the area of the River Martín (Teruel), Cañada de Marco and Los Borriquitos. They are of great scientific interest for several reasons. Firstly, because they represent an expansion of the Late Upper Palaeolithic engraving facies of Mediterranean Iberia, limited until now to ten sites. In these two new sites, these incised engravings are underlying Levantine and Schematic pictographs, and occasionally are interstratified with Levantine paintings, an exceptional fact which is published in its entirety for the first time. These stratigraphic relationships reflect continuity/change dynamics during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and throughout the Holocene artistic cycle, topics which are crucial on a European scale. Finally, we have identified iconographic continuities between Epimagdalenian engravings and Levantine art, suggesting a possible link between these two graphic expressions. These findings may constitute solid support for the hypothesis about the pre-Neolithic origin of the exceptional Levantine art of the Iberian peninsula. In memoriam Ramiro Alloza
Demonstrating the Potential of Using Bio-Based Sustainable Polyester Blends for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Healthcare applications are known to have a considerable environmental impact and the use of bio-based polymers has emerged as a powerful approach to reduce the carbon footprint in the sector. This research aims to explore the suitability of using a new sustainable polyester blend (Floreon™) as a scaffold directed to aid in musculoskeletal applications. Musculoskeletal problems arise from a wide range of diseases and injuries related to bones and joints. Specifically, bone injuries may result from trauma, cancer, or long-term infections and they are currently considered a major global problem in both developed and developing countries. In this work we have manufactured a series of 3D-printed constructs from a novel biopolymer blend using fused deposition modelling (FDM), and we have modified these materials using a bioceramic (wollastonite, 15% w/w). We have evaluated their performance in vitro using human dermal fibroblasts and rat mesenchymal stromal cells. The new sustainable blend is biocompatible, showing no differences in cell metabolic activity when compared to PLA controls for periods 1–18 days. FloreonTM blend has proven to be a promising material to be used in bone tissue regeneration as it shows an impact strength in the same range of that shown by native bone (just under 10 kJ/m2) and supports an improvement in osteogenic activity when modified with wollastonite.
Field-effect limits and design parameters for hybrid HVDC/HVAC transmission line corridors.

New generation centres and servitude constraints in Southern Africa have promoted interest in the possibility of dc and ac lines in close proximity to each other, and even sharing structures. Certain interactions of HVDC and HVAC transmission circuits have been analysed by other authors, but this has mainly focused on conversion of existing double-circuit transmission lines to hybrid lines, and has mostly been in European contexts. The dissertation reviews this prior work, and extends it to a Southern African context. First a framework is developed to describe engineering considerations for ac and dc lines in terms of power transfer capability, air insulation, corona-related phenomena, electric and magnetic fields, and behaviour under fault conditions. A study system amenable to analysis is developed, consisting of two hybrid dc/ac transmission corridors, each with a 1000 MW ac line and a 3000 MW dc bipole. The ac current flowing in the pole conductors due to coupling is estimated, and found to be an issue requiring mitigation. Line transposition is adequate mitigation during normal operation, but 50 Hz blocking filters or special converter controls are needed under fault conditions. A parametric study of conductor surface gradients for the study system was carried out; some calculated dc values seemed misaligned with service experience, possibly due to ionic current flow and space charge. Using the corona saturation method, ion density, ion current and electric field at ground level are estimated. Corona-related phenomena are investigated using empirical equations from the literature and the calculated conductor surface gradients. Behaviour under hybrid dc/ac energisation is not fundamentally different to corona behaviour under pure ac or dc energisation. For ac, sound pressure levels were calculated for each phase, but for dc only the positive pole was considered, because the contribution from the negative pole is negligible. Radio interference for both ac and dc is calculated using empirical expressions. Optimal voltage and conductor sizes are investigated using generalised cost models developed by Cigré. It is found that the study system could be optimised better. Feasible improvements to the system, limits on some field-effect related parameters appropriate to Southern African conditions are suggested. These consist of different conductor bundles, and a reduction in the power transfer to 800 MW for the ac circuits and 2000 MW for the dc circuits. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that there is scope for hybrid dc/ac corridors in the region, and the theoretical basis for doing this is exemplified.
Socio-economic inequalities in ability to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the nature of work, with physical distancing regulations aimed at preventing infections necessitating work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. Studies indicate that many individuals prefer working from home due to fear of contracting the virus at work. However, not all work can be performed from home. Moreover, jobs that are amenable to be performed from home generally pay more, while the ability to WFH will likely increase income inequality. Therefore, we ascertained socio-economic inequalities in ability to WFH among South African employees during the pandemic. We used data from the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of South Africans conducted during the pandemic. We found that the ability to WFH was pro-rich (i.e. concentrated on workers in higher socio-economic classes) in all study periods. The results were robust to the use of different ranking variables and varying the age cut-off. There was no gender difference in these inequalities. Casual employment, urban residence, being married/cohabiting, age and household size dampened the degree to which ability to WFH favoured those in higher socio-economic classes. Conversely, being non-African, living in a house/flat and having more education increased the pro-richness of the ability to WFH. This study highlights the significant inequalities associated with ability to WFH, a likely important positive determinant of welfare in the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. Interventions targeted at inequality-enhancing factors such as race, housing and education may be important in lowering these inequalities. JEL Codes: D63, J22