Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water for Reduction of Foodborne Pathogens and Natural Microflora on Shell Eggs

Introduction There has been increased concern about the safety of foods, especially products consumed fresh or slightly cooked. Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus were reported to be the common foodborne pathogens that can cause human illness and death. The most frequent source of infection is raw or poorly cooked foods, including eggs, poultry, meat, fruits and vegetables (Hajmeera et al., 2006; Betancor et al., 2010). Several chemical disinfectants such as sodium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, organic acids and ozone have been available in food industries, and chlorinated water of 50 _ 200 mg/L is the most commonly used sanitizer (Beuchat et al., 1998). However, chlorine is inactivated by organic materials and can also lead to the formation of potentially carcinogenic and teratogenic trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, haloketones and chloropicrin (Allendeetal et al., 2009; Gil et al., 2009; Keskinen et al., 2009). Therefore, developing effective methods for reducing or eliminating pathogens is crucial for food safety and human health. Acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) and slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) with low chlorine concentrations have been developed as an alternative and a novel sanitizer in agriculture and food industries. AEW is generated by electrolysis of a dilute sodium chloride solution in an electrolytic cell where the anode and cathode are separated by a membrane and obtained Original paper
Modelagem matemática e determinação das propriedades termodinâmicas do café (Coffea arabica L.) durante o processo de secagem

The aim of the present work was to model the drying process and to obtain the thermodynamic parameters of coffee beans (Coffea arabica L.), cultivar Catuai Amarelo, for three different conditions of temperature and relative humidity (35 oC and 32.1 %; 45 oC and 15.7 %; 55 oC and 10.2 %). Coffee beans were hand picked with an initial moisture content of 1.25 (d.b.) and dried to a mean moisture content of 0.13 (d.b.). Six mathematical models commonly used to represent the drying process of agricultural products were fit to the experimental data. Fick’s second law was used to obtain the diffusion coefficients of coffee beans using the drying kinetics. The activation energy for the drying process of coffee beans, as well as the entropy, enthalpy and Gibbs free energy were determined. The modified Midili model best represented the drying phenomenon of coffee beans. The calculated diffusion coefficients were 2.99 x 10 -11 , 2.39 x 10 11 and 5.98 x 10 -11 m 2 s -1 , to the temperatures of 35, 45 and 55 oC, respectively. Enthalpy decreased with the increase in
EFFICIENCY OF FLUTED PUMPKIN PLANT (TELFAIRIA OCCIDENTALIS) IN THE PHYTOREMEDIATION OF WASTEWATER EFFLUENT FROM SHARADA INDUSTRIAL AREA, KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Heavy metals tend to accumulate in the environment thereby contaminating the food chain, and as such pose risks to health. In this study the use of fluted pumpkin plant in phytoremediation of heavy metals from soil polluted with heavy metals from Sharada Industrial Area of Kano state Nigeria has been examined. The seeds of the plant were planted in four different planting pots, with one set of pots watered with the effluent collected from the Sharada Industrial Area, and the other set (the control) watered with clean unpolluted water. Prior to planting, the physicochemical parameters of the soil to be used were analyzed, with the pH, the electrical conductivity and the concentrations of the heavy metals all determined. After germination both the samples and controls were subjected to ashing (for the plants) and digestion (for the waste water) and were later subjected to AAS. The results show high concentration ( in mg/L) of heavy metals in the plant sample watered with effluent, that is Cd (2.30); Pb (6.20); Cr (0.70); Zn (3.70); Cu (2.90) and Fe (7.13), while the concentrations ( in mg/L) of these heavy metals were also found to be very high in the Sharada industrial effluent (the waste water sample), that is Cd (2.210); Pb (3.300); Cr (0.500); Zn (5.080); Cu (3.900) and Fe (2.520). In all the cases the concentrations in the controls were found to be below or within their permissible limits.
Role of Oil Spreading for the Efficiency of Mixed Oil-Solid Antifoams

The role of oil spreading in the process of foam destruction by oil-based antifoams (oils or mixed oil-solid compounds) has been the subject of a long debate in the literature. To clarify some aspects of this problem, we compare the entry barriers of antifoam globules in the presence and in the absence of a prespread layer of oil on the surface of the surfactant solution. The film trapping technique is employed to measure precisely the critical capillary pressure, at which the entry of the antifoam globules on the solution surface occurs. The experimental results show that the prespread oil layer reduces by several times the entry barrier for mixed oil-silica antifoams, as compared to the barrier in the absence of spread oil. Thus, the oil spreading facilitates the entry of mixed antifoam globules and the subsequent bridging and rupture of the foam films. A simple mechanistic explanation of this effect is given, taking into account the main role of the solid particles in mixed antifoams, namely, to pierce the asymmetric oil-water-air film, formed when an antifoam globule approaches the solution surface. This explanation is expressed in terms of the threephase contact angles solid-water-oil and solid-water-air, when spherical solid particles are considered.
The Effectiveness of Employee Engagement on Organizational Success in Selangor Darul Ehsan

The employee engagement issue has become a great concern in societies, as well as business and non-business organizations all around the world. An engaged employee is mindful of the business context and works with his colleagues to improve the performance and the well-being of a company. In 2017 employee engagement trends have decreased for the first time in four years. Why is the turnover rate of Malaysian employees high and why do they admit to contributing little in their work? Therefore, the reason why the employees are disengaged needs to be identified. Hence, the research objectives of this study are to determine the link between work performance, leadership, and well-being towards employee engagement and to investigate the most and the least influencing factor towards employee engagement. A total of 100 questionnaires was employed as a tool for the extraction of the effectiveness of Employee Engagement. The data were analysed by employing the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results showed that all the independent variables are significantly related to employees’ engagement.
Gum arabic as a potential corrosion inhibitor for aluminium in alkaline medium and its adsorption characteristics

Purpose – To investigate the inhibitive effect of gum arabic (GA) for the corrosion of aluminium in alkaline (NaOH) medium and determine its adsorption characteristics. The present work is another trial to find a cheap and environmentally safe inhibitor for aluminium corrosion.Design/methodology/approach – The inhibition efficiency (%I) has been evaluated using the hydrogen evolution (via the gasometric assembly) and the thermometric methods at 30 and 40°C. The concentrations of GA (inhibitor) used were 0.1‐0.5 g/l and the concentrations of NaOH (the corrodent) were 0.1‐2.5 M. The mechanism of adsorption inhibition and type of adsorption isotherms were proposed from the trend of inhibition efficiency with temperature, Ea, ΔGads and Qads values.Findings – GA inhibited the corrosion of aluminium in NaOH solutions. The inhibition efficiency increased with increase in GA concentration and with increase in temperature. Phenomenon of chemical adsorption is proposed for the inhibition and the process followed th.
Pilot Scale Bioremediation of Creosote-Contaminated Soil—Efficacy of Enhanced Natural Attenuation and Bioaugmentation Strategies

ABSTRACT In this study, the efficacy of bioremediation strategies (enhanced natural attenuation with nitrate and phosphate addition [ENA] and bioaugmentation) for the remediation of creosote-contaminated soil (7767 ± 1286 mg kg−1 of the 16 EPA priority PAHs) was investigated at pilot scale. Bioaugmentation of creosote-contaminated soil with freshly grown or freeze dried Mycobacterium sp. strain 1B (a PAH degrading microorganism) was applied following bench scale studies that indicated that the indigenous soil microflora had a limited PAH metabolic activity. After 182 days, the total PAH concentration in creosote-contaminated soil was reduced from 7767 ± 1286 mg kg−1 to 5579 ± 321 mg kg−1, 2250 ± 71 mg kg−1, 2050 ± 354 mg kg−1 and 1950 ± 70 mg kg−1 in natural attenuation (no additions) and ENA biopiles and biopiles augmented with freshly grown or freeze dried Mycobacterium sp. strain 1B respectively. In ENA and bioaugmentation biopiles, between 82% and 99% of three-ring compounds (acenaphthene, anthracene, fluorene, phenanthrene) were removed while four-ring PAH removal ranged from 33 to 81%. However, the extent of PAH degradation did not vary significantly between the ENA treatment and biopiles augmented with Mycobacterium sp. strain 1B. Four-ring PAH removal followed the order fluoranthene > pyrene > benz[a]anthracene > chrysene. The high residual concentration of some four-ring PAHs may be attributable to bioavailability issues rather than a lack of microbial catabolic activity. Comparable results between ENA and bioaugmentation at pilot scale were surprising given the limited degradative capacity of the microbial consortia enriched from the creosote-contaminated soil.
Supporting Families with Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on how people go about their day to day life. The sudden change, along with necessary measures such as self-isolation and social distancing has been particularly challenging for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) and their families, given their reliance on many on carefully established routines and relationships as well as professional and informal support. Three hundred and thirty nine parents of children with SENDs (the majority with Autism Spectrum Conditions) completed an online survey during the first two months of the social distancing in the UK (23rd March 2020 - 22nd May 2020). Parents provided detailed accounts of their family’s needs both to support their child during lockdown and to transition back to school. Many of these support needs during lockdown were either unique to families of children with SENDs or represented a more profound challenge than in most neurotypical families. There were considerable differences in satisfaction with support during COVID-19 suggesting wide variation in support provided to families of children with SENDs. The findings also suggest that educators and policy makers should place the implementation of clear routines and targeted mental health support at the centre of any strategy designed to support children with SENDs in making the transition back to school. The study provides preliminary insights into parental perspectives on support during the COVID-19 pandemic for families with children with SENDs.
Real-Time Spatial-Intertemporal Dynamic Pricing for Balancing Supply and Demand in a Ride-Hailing Network

Motivated by the growth of ride-hailing services in urban areas, we study a (tactical) real-time spatial-inter-temporal dynamic pricing problem where a firm uses a pool of homogeneous servers (e.g., a fleet of taxis) in a network to serve price-sensitive customers who request a service (i.e., a trip from an origin to a destination) over a finite planning horizon (e.g., a day). We consider a model that captures the stochastic and non-stationary pattern of demand arrivals as well as the friction to match servers with customers caused by the spatial and inter-temporal features of the trips, which take non-negligible travel time from one location to another location in the network. We propose a static pricing heuristic and two dynamic pricing heuristics (a node-based pricing, where the same adjustment is applied to all trips originating at the same location, and an arc-based pricing, where the adjustment is specific to each origin-destination pair) that vary in the level of flexibility in price adjustments. We show that all three heuristics are asymptotically optimal in the setting with a large number of demand and supply, but have different optimality gaps relative to the optimal control. Our analysis shed light on the value of dynamic pricing and the extent to which it depends on how the travel time of a trip compares to the length of the horizon. We also conduct extensive numerical studies using both synthetic and real data set from Manhattan Yellow Taxi. The results confirm our theoretical findings and highlight the benefit of inter-temporal feature of dynamic pricing when dealing with non-stationary demand. Interestingly, we also observe that the revenue improvement under our arc-based pricing heuristic over the static pricing heuristic comes primarily from the increase in the number of customers served instead of from the increase in the average prices. This provides an interesting insight that certain forms of dynamic pricing can be used to not only increase revenue but also the number of customers served (i.e., service level), which is undoubtedly one of the most important goals of an urban transportation system.
Intraoral Pressure Measurement during Mastication of Kelp

Masticatory pressure caused by chewing with molars was measured using a multiple-point sheet sensor. The sensor system is useful to directly indicate masticatory force and contact area with various subjects. Mastication of kelp snack, which is difficult to cut in several chewing strokes and thus seems to be a good food for masticatory training, was analyzed. Peak force, contact area at peak, peak pressure, duration, cycle time and impulse were highly varied among subjects, but were not influenced by the breaking force of the kelp. The experimental results show that humans did not change their masticatory pattern at least during the first several chews of the kelp samples which are difficult to cut with teeth. In the first chew, masticatory pressure is lower and duration and cycle time are longer than the following several chews. This suggests that subjects are afraid of an unknown sample texture. Individual peak force in mastication was independent of the contact area, but highly correlated with the peak pressure. Subjects with a high impulse value, corresponding to a large amount of work in mastication, had a high masticatory force, but did not show long duration.
Effect Of Tax and Provision for Depreciation on Financial Performance of Selected Quoted Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria

Objective: The study analyzed the effect of tax and provision for depreciation on financial performance of selected quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria, captured by reserve (2008-2017). Approach: The secondary data were sourced from the Published Annual Reports of selected quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria, the study utilized panel least square analytical technique. Results: The result of the findings showed that tax (TAX), provision for depreciation (PFD) and profit before tax (PBT) positively influenced the financial performance of FLRM and NEST by 31811588 and 6310438 respectively. Also, it was discovered that tax (TAX), provision for depreciation (PFD) and profit before tax (PBT) in the period under consideration hindered the financial performance of DANG, UNIL and NEST by 18482966, 16389816 and 2461191 respectively in Nigeria. The Adjusted R-squared of 0.90, 0.17 and 0.23 for fixed, random and pooled effect model showed that 90, 17 and 23 percent variation in the financial performance of the quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria can be explained by tax and profit before tax of the quoted consumer goods firms under consideration. Implications: The result implies that an increase in taxes and provision for depreciation of the quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria brings about significant improvement in the financial performance. Therefore, since TAX, PFD and PBT enhanced the financial performance of the quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria, they should adopt policies that will increase their profit level so as to enhance and improve better financial performance through increment in reserve. Value: We present the first test of the effect of tax and provision for depreciation on financial performance of quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria
Towards fair budget-constrained machine learning

Machine learning systems are increasingly deployed in high-stake situations such as criminal justice, credit risk assessment, and medical diagnoses. With predictive decisions significantly impacting crucial aspects of individuals’ life, society raised concerns about unfair treatment and discrimination by such algorithmic tools. Consequently, a growing body of research has established around fairness in machine learning. While the literature focused mainly on a setting, in which all features are ready at hand, this work focuses on a setting known as prediction-time active feature-value acquisition (AFA). Here, a decision maker can sequentially query information (features) at some cost and further makes a final prediction upon it. The aim of this cumulative thesis is to investigate algorithmic fairness in prediction-time AFA settings. The contributions of this work are twofold. First, a framework for choosing a set of confidence-based stopping criteria is proposed to redistribute information (feature) budgets among individuals. Often, individuals from underrepresented groups in the data will face a higher likelihood of erroneous decisions. Naturally, this framework encourages collecting more information for these individuals to ensure equally confident decisions. Using a calibrated probabilistic classifier, our experiments demonstrated single error parity (equal opportunity) in addition to calibration by groups. Second, staying in the AFA domain, we translate the problem into a Markov decision process and train a reinforcement learning agent to sequentially choose subsets of features that are predictive for the outcome but do not increase the demographic disparity. This is done by incorporating an adversary in the reward function, that penalizes the agent if it selects unfair features. By tuning a hyperparameter representing the magnitude of fairness, the framework is able to trade off predictive performance and fairness (demographic parity), which we confirmed experimentally.
LENGTH-WEIGHT RELATIONSHIP, CONDITION FACTOR AND GROWTH OF Alestes baremose (JOANISS, 1835) IN ZOBE DAM, KATSINA

Studies on Alestes baremose caught in Zobe dam were carried out from April to November, 2018, with the aim to describe its aspect of length-weight relationship, condition factor and age. Morphometric parameters of 193 specimens obtained during the study showed a total length range from 8.00cm to 23.00 cm, body weight ranged from 5.00g to 132.3g. The length-weight relationship was W= aL2.919 for sex combined. This indicates negative allometric growth pattern for Alestes in Zobe dam. There was a strong correlation between length and weight (r= 0.8901). The condition factor (k) for females is 1.00 0.10 and that of males was 0.96 0.10. Age determination using annuli count of the scale showed the presence of only 3 age groups during the study period i.e. 0+, 1+ and 2+. Where age 0+ were 39.38 %, 1+ dominated the catch with 56.99 % and age 2+ were only 3.63%. The fact that majority of the Alestes in the catches were of small sizes indicates overexploitation of fish in dam.
Fitting to magnetoresistance under weak localization in three dimensions

We discuss a number of suggested explanations for observed discrepancies between theories of the quantum corrections to conduction, and recent magnetoresistance experiments on bulk metallic glasses. We emphasize the importance of competing effects, particularly the influence of magnetic impurities. Data showing these effects are presented and analysed using a theory of Beal-Monod and Weiner to account for the direct magnetoresistance from the spin scattering and magnetic field dependence of the spin-flip dephasing rate. Throughout, we provide useful numerical procedures for the efficient evaluation of the theoretical expressions used in analyzing such data, and point out that some theoretical expressions must be altered when considering strongly enhanced paramagnetic systems Ce travail etudie en detail les differentes explications presentement proposees qui tentent d'expliquer les ecarts observes entre les theories reliees aux corrections quantiques presentent dans les phenomenes de conduction des materiaux desordonnes et les recents resultats experimentaux touchant la magnetoresistance des verres metalliques amorphes. Nous soulignons l'importance de divers effets competitifs et en particulier de la forte influence des impuretes magnetiques. Pour demontrer celle-ci, nous presentons de nouveaux resultats relatifs a la presence de telles impuretes et les analysons en utilisant la theorie de Beal-Monod et Weiner qui permet de tenir compte de la magnetoresistance directement reliee a la diffusion des spins et a la dependance en champ du taux de dephasage du renversement de ceux-ci. Tout au long de l'article nous presentons certaines techniques numeriques qui permettent l'evaluation rapide et efficace des expressions theoriques necessaire a l'analyse de tels resultats. Finalement, nous montrons que certaines expressions theoriques doivent etre modifiees lorsque des systemes fortement paramagnetiques sont etudies
Azo-functionalised achiral bent-core liquid crystalline materials: effect of presence of –N=N– linkage at different locations in the molecular architecture

Here, we report four new homologous series of azo-functionalised achiral bent-core compounds. The paper deals with the design, synthesis and liquid crystalline properties of four new homologous series of photochromic materials. In this study, we have investigated the effect of the presence of –N=N– linkage at different locations of the molecular architecture, on the mesomorphic properties. The molecular structures of all the newly synthesised compounds are established using the organic spectroscopic methods. The liquid crystalline properties are investigated using polarising optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction and electro-optical studies. They exhibit B1 (colr) and B2 (SmCAPA) mesophases. We find that the presence of the –N=N– linkage at different locations in the molecular architecture does not seem to have much effect on the mesogenic behaviour of such compounds. However, we clearly see a profound effect of the location of the –N=N– linkage on the photo-induced electro-optical properties of these compounds.