Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal Kinetics of Colour Degradation of Yellow Sweet Pepper (Capsicum Annum L.) Undergoing Microwave Assisted Convective Drying

Experiments were conducted to study the kinetics of colour change of yellow sweet pepper during microwave-assisted convective drying at power levels of 280, 210, 140, and 70 W; temperatures of 60, 45, and 30°C; and a constant air velocity of 1.5 m/s. Colour change kinetics were determined using Hunter’s primary L, a, b values, chroma, hue, total colour change (ΔE), and browning index (BI) values. The results indicated that the degradation of a, ΔE, and hue followed zero order kinetics and L, b, chroma, and browning index followed first order kinetics. The rate constant was assumed to have Arrhenius-type dependence on temperature. Again, based on activation energy, b and hue parameters proved to be the most sensitive measures of color change, which could be taken into account during thermal processing of capsicum for getting a quality product.
EFFECT OF USING TOMATO MEALS (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUN. L.) AND/OR SPIRULINA ALGAE (SPIRULINA PLATENSIS) AS ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN SOURCE IN GRASS CARP (CTENOPHARYNGODON IDELLA) DIETS

The experiment was conducted to partially replace fish meal (FM) by Spirulina platensis (Sp) and tomato meal (TM) protein for garss carp diets. The control diet, 100% protein FM was used as T1 and three experimental diets were formulated to replace FM with Tomato meal (25%) T2, Sp at levels of (25%) T3 and Mixture TM (25%) + Sp (25%) T4 (50%). Diets were wice fed daily for nine weeks to triplicate groups 10 fish (initial mean weight 1.77 ± 0.11 g) kept in aquaria. All diets were formulated to be iso-nitrogenous (30.33 ± 0.29% CP) and iso-caloric (4467.5± 0.41 Kcal/kg diet). Fish were fed the tested diets at a rate of 6% of their wet body weight / day, in two equal portions, 6 days a week then gradually reduced to 4 % of the total fish biomass daily. Provided feed was adjusted bi- two weekly according to the changes in body weight. The fish fed T4 diet TM (25%) & Sp (25%) and T3 diet (Sp(25%) recorded the highest value of feed and nutrient utilization while the fish fed tomato meal 25% (T2) was the lowest value compared with the fish fed control diet (T1). However, there were not significantly of nutrient utilization with experimental diets compared with the control diet (T1). Results indicated that up to 50% of FM can be replaced by algae meal and tomato meal without significantly affected performance, feed utilization and whole body composition of fish in practical diets of Grass carp. Also, mixture meals (as its protein is generally less expensive than fish meal protein) can reduce feed cost and feed cost/kg gain. Under the experimental conditions it seems that the diet contained mixture meal was the most promising diet.
VITAMIN D3 ALLEVIATES CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS DEFICIENCY IN BROILERS

An experiment was carried out to examine effects of using extra dietary vitamin D3 along with low levels of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) on performance, bone quality and mineral retention of broilers. Three starter diets were used; Control (C), Medium (M) and Low (L) which contain Ca: 1.00, 0.75 and 0.50%; non-phytate P (NPP): 0.50, 0.37 and 0.25%; D3: 3,000, 5,000 and 7,000 IU/kg, respectively. As well, three grower diets were used; (C), (M) and (L) contain Ca: 0.90, 0.65, and 0.40%; NPP: 0.45, 0.32 and 0.20%; D3: 3,000, 6,000 and 9,000 IU/kg, respectively. Six treatment groups were distributed according to diets fed in starter and grower periods consecutively; (C/C), (C/M), (C/L), (M/M), (M/L) and (L/L). Each group contained 40 birds in four replicates 10 chicks each. Body weight gain, feed efficiency, plasma concentration of Ca and P and plasma alkaline phosphatase activity, were not affected by dietary treatments compared to (C/C) except for (C/L) group. Similarly, tibia breaking strength, tibia ash and Ca and P percentage, were not affected by different dietary treatments except for (C/L) group which recorded lower bone density compared to (C/C) group. Birds of (C/L), (M/L) or (L/L) groups retained more Ca and P compared with those of other treatments. Based on results obtained, it could be concluded that extra vitamin D3 supplementations (9,000 IU/Kg) to low Ca and NPP (0.40 and 0.20%, respectively) diets could alleviate performance, bone quality and mineral retention, and decrease environmental pollution especially with P, as well as to minimize feed cost.
Antibody responses to endemic coronaviruses modulate COVID-19 convalescent plasma functionality

COVID-19 convalescent plasma, particularly plasma with high-titer SARS-CoV-2 (CoV2) antibodies, has been successfully used for treatment of COVID-19. The functionality of convalescent plasma varies greatly, but the association of antibody epitope specificities with plasma functionality remains uncharacterized. We assessed antibody functionality and reactivities to peptides across the CoV2 and the four endemic human coronavirus (HCoV) genomes in 126 COVID-19 convalescent plasma donations. We found strong correlation between plasma functionality and polyclonal antibody targeting of CoV2 spike protein peptides. Antibody reactivity to many HCoV spike peptides also displayed strong correlation with plasma functionality, including pan-coronavirus cross-reactive epitopes located in a conserved region of the fusion peptide. After accounting for antibody cross-reactivity, we identified an association between greater alphacoronavirus NL63 antibody responses and development of highly neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. We also found that plasma preferentially reactive to the CoV2 receptor binding domain (RBD), versus the betacoronavirus HKU1 RBD, had higher neutralizing titer. Finally, we developed a two-peptide serosignature that identifies plasma donations with high anti-S titer but that suffer from low neutralizing activity. These results suggest that analysis of coronavirus antibody fine specificities may be useful for selecting therapeutic plasma with desired functionalities.
Identitas Budaya Orang Tionghoa Indonesia

Indonesia merupakan negara multi etnik dengan keragaman dan kekayaan budaya yang unik. Etnik Tionghoa merupakan etnik minoritas di Indonesia namun mendapat perhatian dari pemerintah Indonesia dan memberikan sumbangsih dalam perekonomian Indonesia. Etnik Tionghoa Indonesia terlihat memiliki kesatuan seperti yang tercermin dalam filosofi budaya Tionghoa. Namun dibalik kesatuan tersebut tersimpan perbedaan yang seringkali membuat anggotanya menunjukkan perbedaan tersebut lewat representasi identitas budaya. Perbedaan identitas budaya tersebut diantaranya dipengaruhi oleh dialek, wilayah domisili, dan marga. Identitas budaya etnik Tionghoa Indonesia juga tidak tetap melainkan berubah. Perubahan identitas budaya etnik Tionghoa Indonesia ini dipengaruhi oleh politik atau kekuasaan dan kebudayaan lain seperti kebudayaan Barat dan kebudayaan Asia lainnya.
What Shapes Consumer Choice and Financial Products? A Review

Central to the field of consumer finance is that consumers make financial decisions that do not always coincide with the financial decisions ideally depicted in optimal economic models. In this review, we discuss developments in the field of household finance, focusing on how consumers make suboptimal financial decisions across different types of settings and factors that affect their decisions. Rather than conducting a comprehensive survey, we focus specifically on consumer choice in the context of research on credit card borrowing, housing and mortgage debts, investment and savings decisions, and spending and consumption. We also discuss financial product design and marketing, as well as the regulatory landscape of lenders of consumer financial products. We present five future research directions and considerations for researchers and policymakers.
Predicting Soil Organic Carbon at Field Scale Using a National Soil Spectral Library

Visible and near infrared diffuse reflectance (vis-NIR) spectroscopy is a low-cost, efficient and accurate soil analysis technique and is thus becoming increasingly popular. Soil spectral libraries are commonly constructed as the basis for estimating soil texture and properties. In this study, partial least squares regression was used to develop models to predict the soil organic carbon (SOC) content of 35 soil samples from one field using (i) the Danish soil spectral library (2688 samples), (ii) a spiked spectral library (a combination of 30 samples selected from the local area and the spectral library, 2718 samples) and (iii) three sub-sets selected from the spectral library. In an attempt to improve prediction accuracy, sub-sets of the soil spectral library were made using three different sample selection methods: those geographically closest (84 samples), those with the same landscape and parent material (96 samples) and those with the most alike spectra to spectra from the field investigation (100 samples). These sub-sets were used to develop three calibration models and in predictions of SOC content. The results showed that the geographically closest model, which used the fewest number of samples, gave the lowest root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.19% and the highest ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) of 3.7, followed by the spiked library, same parent material, the spectral library and the most alike spectra. The spiked library model also gave a low RMSEP value of 0.19% and high RPD value of 3.7% and performed markedly better than the model without spiking, despite using 30 samples for library spiking. The accuracy of the model developed using a sub-set from a spectral library was highly dependent on geographical location, soil parent material and landscape.
Comparative aspects of blood coagulation measurements in various wild and captive bird species

Summary Objective: Information about the influence of species variety or diseases on coagulation values in avian blood is rare. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of species on measurements of coagulation parameters in avian plasma samples using commercially available reagents and to investigate potential influences of selected diseases on clotting times. Material and methods: Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and thrombin time (TT) were measured in citrated plasma of healthy individuals collected from eight different wild and captive avian species applying currently commercially available reagents prepared for use in humans, which were preselected in preliminary studies. The same parameters were tested in plasma samples from birds affected by aspergillosis, atherosclerosis, neoplasia and traumata. Results: PT and aPTT showed a high interspecies variety. Irrespective of species, aPTTs were extremely long and partially exceeded the measurement range limit. Minor variations between species were seen in TT measurements. Clotting times obtained from birds affected by aspergillosis, atherosclerosis and neoplasia were not significantly different when compared to healthy birds. Plasma obtained from traumatised individuals showed significantly shorter PT and aPTT than that in healthy birds. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Differences between species must be considered in diagnostic coagulation measurements in avian blood. Regardless of the avian species, aPTT measurements on avian samples appear to be of limited value. Lower PT and aPTT values reflect coagulation activation in traumatised birds.
Cash Flow Growth and Stock Returns

This paper develops a model which, in three forms, expresses expected stock return equating expected value generated by the firm. The hypothesis resulting from these models, that cash flow created by the firm is significant to stock return, is empirically tested using free cash flow scaled by assets to proxy for firm’s value creation. Cross-sectional and time-series results indicate that free cash flow is significant in explaining monthly stock returns. These results are robust to prior variables which are shown to explain monthly stock return or proxy for firm value creation, subsample splitting and across industries. Following these results, investing in a cash flow focused strategy leads to a significantly higher portfolio return.
Neutron radiography study of water absorption in porous building materials: anomalous diffusion analysis

Dynamic neutron radiography was applied to obtain the experimental data concerning the kinetics of the wetting process in two different types (fired-clay and siliceous brick) of porous construction materials. The technique provides accurate experimental data concerning the first instants as well as the advanced stages of the imbibing process. A significant difference in water absorption parameters, contrasting the materials studied, is found. Both the advance of the wetting front and the time evolution of water content distribution within the sample are analysed. It is shown that for both materials the time dependence of the wetting front position d deviates from the classical square root of time t behaviour. The deviation is analysed in terms of the intercept b in the approximation and the exponent n in the power law d ~ tn/2. Both materials differ in the sign of the intercept parameter: b > 0 for siliceous brick and b 1 for fired-clay brick. At the initial stages (t < 1000 s) the exponents are substantially less than 1 and smaller than those describing the advanced process. The initial stage exponents are lower for the siliceous brick samples. It is shown that the experimental water content profiles collapse to a single curve when plotted against the variable xt−n/2. The evolution of the distribution of liquid in the porous medium was analysed in terms of the anomalous diffusion equation of Kuntz and Lavallee (2001 Experimental evidence and theoretical analysis of anomalous diffusion during water infiltration in porous building materials J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 34 2547–54) based on the non-linear generalization of the Fick's law. This approach makes a detailed analysis of the generalized hydraulic diffusivity in the low water content region possible. Successful fitting of experimental data with the diffusivity vanishing at null water content proved the importance of the hypodiffusive component of the process.
Differential hemispheric and visual stream involvement in ensemble coding of emotion in facial crowds

The visual system takes advantage of redundancies in the scene by extracting summary statistics from groups of similar items. Similary, in social situations, we routinely make snap judgments of crowds of people. Reading “crowd emotion” is critical for guiding us away from danger (e.g., mass panic or violent mobs) and towards help from friendly groups. Scrutinizing each individual’s expression would be too slow and inefficient. How the brain accomplishes this feat, however, remains unaddressed. Here we report a set of behavioral and fMRI studies in which participants made avoidance or approach decisions by choosing between two facial crowds presented in the left and right visual fields (LVF/RVF). Behaviorally, participants were most accurate for crowds containing task-relevant cues-avoiding angry crowds/approaching happy crowds. This effect was amplified by sex-linked facial cues (angry male/happy female crowds), and highly lateralized with greater recognition of task-congruent stimuli presented in LVF. In a related fMRI study, the processing of facial crowds evoked right-lateralized activations in the dorsal visual stream, whereas similar processing of single faces preferentially activated the ventral stream bilaterally. Our results shed new light on our understand of ensemble face coding, revealing qualitatively different mechanisms involved in reading crowd vs. individual emotion.
Stock Price Informativeness and Executive Compensation

How do changes to stock price informativeness affect the mix of long-term and short-term pay? We answer this question using two exogenous shocks to price informativeness: the reduction in analyst coverage due to closure of brokerage houses and mutual-fund flow driven price pressure. Using the pay duration measure to quantify the extent of long-term pay, we find that firms increase the duration of top executive pay following a decrease in price informativeness. While we document a 10% increase in pay duration following brokerage house closures, the increase in duration following mutual-fund flow driven price pressure is more modest at 2.5%. The increase in pay duration occurs both from a decrease in the cash component of pay and through an increase in the vesting period of stock and option awards. Our evidence is consistent with board of directors reacting to changes in price informativeness in designing executive pay.
Who's the Boss? The Effect of Strong Leadership on Employee Turnover

Despite the importance placed on supervision in the workplace, little is known about the effects of a boss’ leadership quality on labor market outcomes such as employee job retention. Using plausibly exogenous assignment of junior officers to bosses in the U.S. Army, we find positive retention effects for those assigned to immediate and senior bosses who are good leaders. These effects are strongest for officers with high SAT scores. Junior officers who share the same home geographic region, high SAT, and undergraduate institution as their bosses who also have strong leadership qualities retain at the highest rates.
A systematic review of the association between fibromyalgia and functional gastrointestinal disorders

Background: Fibromyalgia and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are common conditions presenting in clinical settings and are more prevalent in women. While the relationship between IBS and fibromyalgia has been demonstrated, a review of the prevalence of the broader group of FGID in adults with fibromyalgia has not been undertaken. The aim of this review was to systematically review the published literature, identifying the comorbidity of FGID in people with fibromyalgia, and to discuss the clinical implications, limitations of current research and areas of interest for future research Methods: Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched during June 2019. Results were screened for original research articles meeting established criteria for identification of FGID in adults diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Results: A total of 14 studies involving 1340 adults with fibromyalgia, 363 healthy controls and 441 adults with other pathologies were included in this review. Only 1 of the 14 studies included surveyed the full range of FGID . Functional gut disorders were matched to Rome II criteria for reporting and comparison. In addition to increased abdominal pain and functional bloating or gas, IBS of mixed-pattern and constipation-types appear to be more prevalent than diarrhoea-predominant IBS in adults with fibromyalgia. Conclusion: This review confirms previous reports that IBS is common in people living with fibromyalgia and suggests that IBS-mixed and constipation types predominate. An association with a range of FGID other than IBS is suggested, but data are limited. Research exploring the association between fibromyalgia and functional gastrointestinal dysfunction beyond IBS are warranted.
Bonding by atomic rearrangement of InP/InGaAsP 1.5 μm wavelength lasers on GaAs substrates

A technique, namely bonding by atomic rearrangement has been invented to realize high quality heteroepitaxy for lasers and optoelectronics. High performance lasers of 1.5 μm wavelength have been fabricated on GaAs substrates using this method. The laser has the same threshold current and quantum efficiency as lasers on InP substrates. No performance degradation has been observed. The transmission electron microscopic results show that the heteroepitaxy is excellent, without a single threading dislocation or stacking fault.
Impacto de la COVID-19 en la prestación de los servicios de salud esenciales en Paraguay

RESUMEN Objetivo. Determinar la magnitud del impacto de la actual pandemia de enfermedad por el nuevo coronavirus (COVID-19) en la prestación de servicios de salud esenciales en todos los niveles de atención de Paraguay. Métodos. Investigación observacional descriptiva y transversal. Se utilizaron indicadores de servicios del Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social que se monitorean en el país. Para comparar el comportamiento de dichos indicadores en el tiempo, se utilizaron datos del primer cuatrimestre (enero-abril) de los años 2017-2020. Para el cálculo del impacto en cada indicador se comparó el mismo cuatrimestre de 2019 y de 2020, y se calcularon los porcentajes de incremento o decremento entre estos años. Resultados. Desde el año 2017, se ha incrementado el número de consultas en todos los indicadores; sin embargo, en 2020 casi todos han disminuido en grado variable. Los más afectados (más de 30% de reducción) son la atención por alteraciones digestivas, hemolinfopoyéticas y oculares. Para los indicadores control de diabetes mellitus y control de salud en menores de 5años se observó un incremento del número de consultas de 10,5% y 3,9%, respectivamente. Conclusiones. La atención sanitaria en servicios esenciales se ha visto afectada por la pandemia debido a la reducción del número de consultas por causas ajenas a la COVID-19, lo que debe servir de alerta el sistema de salud a fin no perder el terreno ganado en este frente.
Educational intervention to improve pharmacist knowledge to provide care for transgender patients

Background: Most pharmacists have not received formal training or education in the provision of care for transgender patients. Nonetheless, pharmacists have the potential to be valuable partners in the care of transgender patients, and a continuing education course might be valuable in addressing this knowledge gap. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a three-hour continuing education course in improving the knowledge of pharmacists to provide pharmaceutical care for transgender patients. Methods: A quasi-experimental, one-group pre-test/post-test study design was used to measure the impact of a three-hour continuing pharmacy education course on the knowledge of pharmacists on transgender care. The course was divided into three units: (1) Transgender Patient Care Introduction, (2) General Health Issues of Transgender Patients, and (3) Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy. A total of 68 pharmacists participated in the study, of which 54 completed both the pre- and post-test. An ANOVA was used to compare differences in knowledge in the group before and after the educational intervention. Results: The majority of the participating pharmacists were cisgender, heterosexual women who had not received any formal training related to transgender care. Participants demonstrated the largest increase in execution score in the third unit, with a percent improvement of 25.22% (pre-test 45.06%, post-test 70.28%; p<0.001). The average total execution score was 52.15% in the pre-test and 72.89% (p< 0.001) in the post-test. Conclusions: Pharmacists benefited from a three-hour continuing education course with an increase in knowledge regarding transgender patient care and hormone therapy for gender affirmation. As this study only evaluated the effect in short term memory, further studies are needed to assess long term impact of the continuing education course on transgender care knowledge.