Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Communication Strategies for Enhancing Production and Consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables: The case of Farm Concern International in Kenya.

The study analyses the efficiency of communication strategies used by Farm Concern International (FCI) in enhancing the production and consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables in Lari Sub-County, Kenya. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research designs and used purposive sampling, followed by random sampling to select 100 farmers from the five villages in Lari Sub County. The data was gathered from the primary sources through the use of structured questionnaire for both quantitative and qualitative. The data was then processed and presented by the use of graphs, tables and pie charts and analysed by use of descriptive analysis. The study used two theories, Rational Argumentation Theory propounded by Cragan and Shields (1998) and Trans theoretical Model (TM) by Prochaska, Johnson and Lee (1998). The study established that the rate of AIVs production has increased since the implementation of DoHoMa Project. The rate of consumption has also increased with the majority of farmers eating AIVs on a daily basis due to their higher nutritional value. Only a few who consumed the value chain three to six times a week. The findings also indicated that FCI majorly used two forms of Ora-Media, barazas and demonstrations, to promote production, consumption and commercialisation of AIVs. The study recommends that agriculture-based NGOs need to use more of demonstrations than barazas because most of the farmers have basic education. The Ministry of Agriculture needs to facilitate farmers to dig boreholes for enhancing irrigation during dry spells.
THE INTERRELATIONS OF INTRAFIRM MANAGEMENT CONTROL AND INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS-A study of sponsorship activities within elite sports clubs

This paper adds to the emerging stream of literature on the interrelations between intraand interfirm management control by looking into how various forms of collaborations influence, and are in turn influenced, by internal management control systems (MCS). We draw theoretically on Merchant & Van der Stede’s (2003) result, action, personnel and cultural controls, which are used as a package to analyze mutual influences between the firm and its various collaborations. The chosen empirical method is a multiple case study design in the context of Swedish elite hockey clubs and their various forms of sponsorship collaborations. Theory within sponsorship is found helpful in identifying how commercialization of sports influences the motivations of the club and its sponsorship partners, which allows for a classification of collaborations in terms of low and high strategic integration. It is found that the closer the collaboration, the higher the impact is on a firm’s internal MCS. It is also shown how adding intrafirm competencies by adjusting internal management control systems leads to closer and more intense collaborations.
CFD Modeling of Multi-Sized Particulate Slurry Flow through Pipe Bend

Particle size normally varies over wide ranges in any commercial transportation of solids through the pipeline. In the present study, the three-dimensional numerical modeling of the conventional 90 bend transporting multi-sized particulate slurry using granular Eulerian-Eulerian model is performed. The mixture of water and six different sizes of zinc tailing particles ranging from 37.5 μm to 575 μm are considered. The effect of variation in velocity and concentration on pressure drop and flow field of the multi-sized particulate slurry is investigated. The simulations are performed in the velocity range of 2.25 m/s to 3.5 m/s for the weighted solid concentration range of 9.82 to 44.26%. The comparison of pressure drop data from the available experimental results and the present numerical modeling with multisized particulate slurry shows maximum deviation within ±6%. Further, the suspension behavior of different size particles in the multi-sized slurry flow inside the bend is analyzed with the variation in the flow velocity and solid concentration. The particles of different size in the multi-sized slurry showed different suspension characteristics.
Research Paper: Lever Test: Role of Its Assistance in Diagnosis of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Results: A total of 242 consecutive subjects were eligible during the study period, of which 182 were males while the remaining 60 were females. Compared to gold standard, without anaesthesia the lever test had a sensitivity of 85.57%, specificity of 25.00%, PPV of 82.18%, NPV of 30.00%, and accuracy of 73.55%. Similarly regarding other tests the sensitivity and specificity without anaesthesia were, Lachman test sensitivity of 93.81%, specificity of 20.83%, PPV of 82.73%, NPV of 45.45%, and accuracy of 79.34%, Anterior Drawer test sensitivity of 80.41%, specificity of 33.33%, PPV of 82.98%, NPV of 29.63%, and accuracy of 71.07%, Pivot Shift test sensitivity of 40.21%, specificity of 91.67%, PPV of 80.17%, NPV of 95.12%, and accuracy of 50.41%. The results under anaesthesia compared to arthroscopy findings were Lever Test Lachman Anterior Drawer Pivot Shift Accuracy, % 77.69, 79.34, 71.90, 80.99 Sensitivity, % 91.75, 98.97, 93.81, 98.97, Specificity, % 20.83, 36.33, 20.83, 58.33 PPV, % 82.41, 81.36, 58.33, 87.95 NPV, % 38.46, 66.67, 39, 36.84.
Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms

This paper examines the impact of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (cross-border M&As) on acquirers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a sample of Chinese listed firms between 2009 and 2017. We find that firms with cross-border M&A activities experience an improvement in CSR performance during the post-acquisition period, and this positive effect is more pronounced when the acquisition of targets is from developed or high-quality governance markets than from emerging or low-quality governance markets. Our results appear robust to various measures of CSR and are valid when endogeneity concerns are addressed. The extended analyses reveal that cross-border M&A firms with superior CSR performance exhibit greater accounting-based performance, access to finance, and investment efficiency due to CSR-related takeover synergies, whereas they do not have a lower cost of equity. Overall, our findings add to the literature on the influence of legal and social norm origins on shaping stakeholder-oriented practices by showing how cross-border M&As may serve as a critical channel through which Chinese acquirers bond themselves to the better CSR practices of the host countries and observe capital market benefits.
glomerulonephritis with rituximab: a 12-month pilot study. Personalizing potassium management in patients on haemodialysis

to proteinuria reduction. Which of these patients had stabilization of kidney function versus progression is not clearly delineated. Although DNAJB9 levels were previously found to be elevated in patients with FGN [7] and there was hope it might have a role as a noninvasive disease marker [6], serum levels in this pilot study did not change with treatment or correlate with response. While the potential pathogenic role and ability to serve as a diagnostic biomarker need further evaluation (especially given the inverse correlation with eGFR that was previously mentioned), there unfortunately is no evidence to support a prognostic role based on currently available data. With this study, Erickson et al. [1] have taken on the challenging task of determining a therapeutic strategy for an exceptionally rare glomerular disease with a complex pathophysiology and a poor prognosis. While DNAJB9’s role as a noninvasive serum marker for FGN is likely a fumble (at least at this point in time), the authors show forward progress in defining a role for rituximab in the treatment of this disease. Given single-center studies for rare diseases are limited by sample size and large-scale randomized trials are often cost and time prohibitive, future efforts should focus on multicenter, international collaborations. This will not only help address confounding variables that become problematic in small studies, but will also allow for subgroup analysis to identify subsets of patients most likely to benefit from a particular treatment.
EFFECT OF GLUTEN -FREE COMPOSITE FLOUR ON THE QUALITY PROPERTIES OF CUPCAKE

Composite flours were formulated from 53.5-54.5% rice flour, 25% corn starch, 10% chickpea flour and 10% defatted soy bean flour with 1% carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC), or 1.5% CMC or 0.25 xanthan + 0.25% CMC or 0.25% guar gum + 0.25 CMC. Batter properties and cupcake quality of wheat flour and composite flours were evaluated. Mixolab profile, Mixolab simulator mode, chemical composition, physical properties, crust color, crumb color, alkaline water retention capacity and sensory properties of cupcakes were evaluated. Composite flours had higher water absorption and dough stability than control flour. Dough development time and dough weakening values of composite flour were so close to wheat flour. The C1 and C2 values were not affected by replacing wheat flour with composite flours. The C3, C4 and C5 values of wheat flour were higher than composite flours. Composite flour cupcakes had higher crude protein and total ash contents and lower carbohydrates content than control cupcake. Weight of all cupcakes did not differ. Specific volumes and height of composite flour cupcakes containing 1 and 1.5% CMC were higher than control cupcake and other composite flour cupcakes. Composite flour cupcakes had lighter crust color than control cupcake. Composite flour cupcake containing 1.5% CMC had the darker crumb color among all cupcakes. The other composite flour cupcakes had lighter crumb color than the control cupcake. Composite flour cupcakes had lower alkaline water retention capacity than control cupcake. Alkaline water retention capacity of cupcakes was decreased by increasing storage period. Overall acceptability of control cupcake had rating score described as like extremely. Composite flour cupcakes containing 1.5% CMC, 0.25 xanthan + 0.25% CMC and 0.25% guar gum + 0.25 CMC had rating score described as like very much. The produced cupcake from gluten free flour was as good as the wheat product.
The Role of Divalent Transition Metal Ions in the Binding of Fur Dimer to DNA: Binding of Mn2+ and Co2+ to EC Fur dimer-DNA Complex

Ferric uptake regulation protein is a repressor protein which binds an AT rich region of DNA (the iron box). Fur binds as a dimer in a helix turn helix mode and it is activated by iron(II) and other divalent transition metal ions at elevated concentrations in a process to regulate the ion uptake. Each transition metal ion induces certain conformational changes to aid the Fur binding, both the N-terminal and C-terminal domains take part in binding to DNA in addition to His 88 and His 86 residues. The process is discussed in view of experimental reports. Fe(II), Mn(II) and Co(II) activate Fur to bind DNA experimentally but Zinc plays a structural role and does not activate Fur to bind DNA.
Determinant Behavior Analysis Of Halal Food Purchases Muslim Consumers In Pekanbaru

Abstrak: Potensi pasar industri halal telah mengalami pertumbuhan yang signifikan seiring dengan meningkatnya antusiasme dan kesadaran religiusitas Muslim saat ini. Mengkonsumsi produk halal tidak hanya dilihat sebagai penerapan ajaran agama, tetapi telah menjadi cara hidup dan gaya hidup bagi sebagian besar umat Islam. Kepastian kehalalan suatu produk merupakan pertimbangan penting bagi konsumen Muslim dalam keputusan pembelian, terutama yang berkaitan dengan makanan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis perilaku konsumen Muslim dalam mengkonsumsi makanan halal dan faktor penentunya. Penelitian ini dilakukan di kota Pekanbaru, provinsi Riau. Sampel penelitian adalah konsumen Muslim yang melakukan pembelian makanan halal dalam kemasan, baik makanan yang bisa dimakan langsung atau makanan yang diproses terlebih dahulu. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa faktor penentu perilaku konsumen Muslim yang mengkonsumsi makanan halal didominasi oleh norma subjektif dan kontrol perilaku persepsi konsumen.
Cassava-Starch-Based Films Supplemented with Propolis Extract: Physical, Chemical, and Microstructure Characterization

Considering the current trends in the development of biodegradable films and materials interacting with food packaging through the incorporation of active substances into the packaging material, the possibility of using propolis as a natural bioactive compound was evaluated in order to propose a bioactive packaging development technology. Cassava-starch-based films were supplemented with propolis extract (PE) at concentrations of 0, 30, and 60 g per 100 g of starch. The chemical profile and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the PE were evaluated. The effect of PE incorporation on the film's mechanical properties and the microstructure, the concentration of phenolic compounds, and the antioxidant activity were also evaluated. Artepelin C (10.957 mg/mL) was the highest compound identified in PE. The S. aureus was more susceptible to PE than E. coli. The PE incorporation into the cassava starch-based films improved their flexibility and extensibility while making them more homogeneous and less harsh. Cassava starch-based films include phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity from PE. In the present work, the developed film revealed its potential as active food packaging materials, reducing the number of synthetic antioxidants used for
Women who Win

Research on women in Latin American politics in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s showed that very few women ran for and won political office and those who did often did not fit the mold of the typical legislator. Yet, significant cultural, social, and political changes have occurred over the past thirty years and few studies have re-examined the types of women who win political office in the region today. In this paper, I examine the social backgrounds, paths to power, and political ambition of women and men elected to national legislatures in Argentina, Colombia, and Costa Rica. I argue that women and men are likely to be more similar than different given the tight constraints imposed on legislative candidates in democratic elections and empirically examine this with data from an original survey of legislators conducted in 2001-2002. I find that, indeed, women are men are quite similar on an array of characteristics. Women who win elected office in Latin America today do so by playing the traditional, male-defined, political game. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the Kellogg Institute for International Studies for the Visiting Fellowship that provided time and space to work on this article. In addition, she thanks the three anonymous reviewers for their excellent comments and suggestions.
Did we Constrain Managers’ Attempts to Manipulate Earnings: Insights from the Relevant Literature

Since the numbers game speech by Levitt (1998), earnings management is becoming one of the most cited accounting research areas. The objective of this paper is to review the main themes highlighted in the relevant literature. Studies provided some contradicting points of views regarding earnings management definition, incentives, and techniques. Earnings management, in general, tends to be undesirable as it distorts the financial reporting process and subsequently leads to lower earnings quality. Therefore, regulators have invested time and effort seeking solutions to this problem (Examples include regulations regarding auditor independence, audit firm tenure, auditing standards, and accounting standards). In addition, accounting and auditing research investigated factors and mechanisms, which lead to mitigate or constrain earnings management. Earnings management is classified into accruals earnings management, real earnings management, and classification shifting earnings management. The focus of this paper is on earnings management mitigation. Different studies provided some evidence on the role of each of investor protection, corporate governance, external auditing, and accounting standards in mitigating earnings management.
СПИСАНИЕ НА МАКЕДОНСКОТО ЛЕКАРСКО ДРУШТВО JOURNAL OF THE MACEDONIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Antipsychotic drugs are widely used in the treatment of schizophrenia and psychotic disorder and there are large inter-individual differences in clinical response and side effects. Pharmacogenetic testing is a valuable tool in tailoring treatment based on personal genetic markers. The aim of this study was to confirm the influence of CYP2D6 phenotype in clinical response of 90 patients with schizophrenia on risperidone treatment hospitalized in the University Clinic for Psychiatry in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. The CYP2D6 genotyping was performed with PGX-CYP2D6 StripAssay ® according to the guidelines of the manufacturer. In line with all the published data, the most frequent adverse events are the following: agitation, anxiety, somnolence, dizziness, vertigo, suboptimal treatment response, rigor, increased body weight and non-adherence. Six poor metabolizers (PM) identified in the study population experienced statistically significant more prompt adverse reactions in comparison with patients with extensive/intermediate metabolizer (EM/IM) or extensive metabolizer (EM) phenotype. The final maintenance dose was increased with a confirmed statistically significant difference between the poor vs. extensive metabolisers (median 5vs. 4 mg, p=0.026). No statistically significant differences were confirmed in the starting doses of risperidone between the groups of patients with confirmed adverse events andpatients without adverse events. Our study has confirmed that antipsychotic treatment selection and dose adjustment should be empowered with CYP2D6 pharmacogenetic testing in order to obtain rational approach in treatment selection, control of the positive and negative symptoms, appropriate dosing, reduced adverse events, better patient compliance, improved quality of life and cost reduction. ________________________ Correspondence to: Ana Filipce, University Clinic for Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Mother Theresa 47, 1000 Skopje, R. N. Macedonia; E-mail: anafilipce@gmail.com
Exploring the Roles of Core and Peripheral Service Qualities in IT Services with Implications for Future Smart Work *

Recently, firms begin to adopt smart work practices including telecommuting and flexible time. This trend is triggered by recent rapid advent of smart devices with common connectivity through the Internet. As smart work infiltrates our society, IT service is now becoming more of a norm rather than exception for business firms, aiding business users to work smarter. In IT services in which knowledge professionals are involved, the quality of services determine the perceived value of the service while this value perception contributes to the service users’ satisfaction and intention to continue to use the service. Using notions of core and peripheral services commonly used in traditional service research, a hypothesized research model is built for this study, relating core and peripheral service quality, perceived service value, service satisfaction, and intention to continue use of IT services to each other. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze 295 data points collected through a survey of global electronics company employees who are extensively using IT services. Findings indicate that the quality of the core services had a positive impact on both the IT satisfaction and IT service value, while peripheral services had a positive impact on the IT satisfaction only. Furthermore, no relationship was found between IT service value and IT satisfaction. However, the value of and satisfaction with IT services were found to have a positive influence on the intention to use the IT services.
Determinants of Acute Malnutrition among Under Five Children in Aravalli District of Gujarat, India: A Community-Based Case-Control Study

Introduction: Children with acute malnutrition or wasting have a higher risk of mortality and morbidity compared to healthy children. Wasting is widespread in India, and Gujarat state is one of the highly prevalent states. Understanding local risk factors is crucial for early identification and timely management of acute malnutrition. This study aims to identify the potential risk factors of wasting among under five (U5) children in one of the high burden districts of Gujarat. Methods: This community-based case-control study was conducted from January to October 2017 in Aravalli district. Cases were defined as children with weight-for-height z score (WHZ)≤2SD, while controls were WHZ >2SD based on WHO standards. Sociodemographic characteristics, maternal characteristics, child characteristics, feeding practices, sanitation and hygiene practices, and household food security were exposure variables. Crude odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: A total of 132 children, 66 cases and 66 controls were enrolled. Risk factors associated with wasting were: difficulty in breathing (COR 8.89, 95% CI: 1.08-73.86), cold (COR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.12-4.97), fever (COR 3.25, 95% CI: 1.39-7.56), unavailability of hand washing place (COR 2.7, 95% CI: 1.30-5.60), unavailability of toilet (COR 2.93, 95% CI: 1.39-6.17), open disposal of child stools (COR 3.52, 95% CI: 1.61-7.69) and household food insecurity (COR 2.37, 95% CI: 0.96-5.86). Conclusion: Present study identified childhood illness, inadequate WASH practices, and household food insecurity as significant contributory factors of wasting in U5 children in Aravalli district.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TURNOVER AND MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE

Corporate governance is considered a mechanism that aims to align the actions of managers with the interests of shareholders. Research conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s identified that the relationship between executive turnover and entity performance can be considered a metric for evaluating the efficiency of a corporate governance system. This metric has been studied in developed economies such as the United States, Denmark, and Japan, but has been poorly addressed in emerging economies. Therefore, this study aimed to verify whether the performance of listed Brazilian companies influences the probability of turnover of senior management positions, in the period from 2012 to 2017. The sample consisted of 87 companies and the model used was the logistic regression. The results showed negative and significant coefficients for the variables Return on Equity, Return on Assets and Family Property. Therefore, it can be concluded that the performance of companies is inversely related to executive turnover, and that family businesses have lower turnover of their managers.
THE IMPACTS OF INVESTOR SENTIMENT AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS ON IPO UNDERPRICING

This study examines the impacts of (1) Google abnormal search volume index (ASVI) and (2) geographic locations on firms' initial public offering (IPO) underpricing. The results show that pre-IPO ASVI positively affects IPO first-day returns, implying that IPO underpricing is associated with investor sentiment. Urban and city firms have greater underpricing than rural firms, revealing that the former are more information asymmetric. More importantly, the cross term of high ASVI and urban generates serious IPO underpricing, which makes the respective effects of ASVI and location become insignificant. This finding implies that information asymmetry intensifies investor sentiment to increase IPO underpricing.