Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Fortification with Mushroom Polysaccharide β-Glucan on the Quality of Ovine Soft Spreadable Cheese

In the present work, a fresh spreadable cheese from ovine milk with or without (control) fortification with β-glucan was manufactured. β-Glucan was extracted from the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus and its concentration in the cheese was 0.4% (w/w). The composition, biochemical, and sensory properties of the cheeses during 21 days of storage were determined. At the end of storage, cheese fortified with beta-glucan had 75.26% moisture content, 10.30% fat, 1.71% salt, and 8.50% protein. Generally, the addition of β-glucan at this concentration did not significantly affect the composition, color, and viscosity measurements or the level of proteolysis and lipolysis and the antioxidant activity of the cheeses. However, cheese fortified with β-glucan showed a higher moisture content than control cheese on the 1st and 21st day of storage while the levels of proteolysis and the sensory properties of the cheeses were unaffected. During the sensory evaluation, panelists evaluated cheese with β-glucan with higher scores regarding the flavor characteristic compared to control cheese. The major free fatty acid was acetic acid in both cheeses and its concentration was higher in cheese with β-glucan. The results of the present study could be used by the dairy industry for manufacturing new products with improved health benefits.
The torture victim and the dentist: The social and material dynamics of trauma re-experiencing triggered by dental visits

Introduction: The flow of refugees towards Europe over the past decade has placed increased demands on the health care services. A significant proportion of refugees have been subjected to torture involving their mouth or teeth, still the importance of oral health challenges is often overlooked or underestimated in the rehabilitation of torture victims. In this qualitative study, we set out to explore the processes that complicate torture victims’ ability to engage in and tolerate dental procedures. Methods: Ten resettled refugees with experience of torture were recruited among patients affiliated with specialized clinics for oral health rehabilitation in Norway. Data were collected through semi-structured exploratory interviews, and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis approach. Results and discussion: We present an exploration of what we have called the social and material anatomy of the triggering event; the process through which trauma-related reactions are produced in torture victims in the course of undergoing dental treatment. All professionals who work with torture survivors should be aware that these individuals often suffer from oral health problems that may affect both their physical and their psychological quality of life. However, although dental treatment is essential, it may still represent a major challenge. Our data suggest, we propose, that dental treatment often involves an experience being suspended, albeit temporarily, in an objectified position, acted on by subjects capable of producing deeply undesirable mental, emotional or bodily states. Three main categories emerged as the most prominent factors with such an agentic capacity: 1) pain, 2) traumatic memories and 3) the dentist. Submitting to dental treatment hence requires the patient’s willingness to give in to the actions of these factors, and avoiding treatment may therefore, in this situation, represent a means of retaining control.
Simulation of an Emergency Situation for the Purpose of Evaluating a Crowd-Based Rescue System

In the context of the RESCUER Project, the need for a simulation of an emergency arose that is suitable to evaluate the RESCUER App, a crowd-based rescue system. Therefore, a simulation was created that takes the use context of a crowd-based rescue system into consideration and that induces stress. Stressors were selected based on their suitability for the simulation. Cognitive, acoustic, and emotional stressors were selected as well as a feeling of uncontrollability and unpredictability were created. Additionally, assistants and confederates were included to evoke stress. The simulation was tested with the RESCUER App. The stress manipulation was evaluated by analysing saliva cortisol and subjective ratings. The results revealed that the simulation was successful for the experimental group, even though the cortisol measures did not show a stress reaction. The control group indicated through subjective ratings more stress than expected. However, those ratings were in conflict with other results, hence the ratings were probably due to a testing effect. Therefore, the simulation for the control group has to be improved. Future research should address whether the simulation is also suitable to evaluate a crowd-based rescue system from the perspective of first responders.
Monthly air-conditioning energy demand calculations for building energy performance rating

A new calculation method for monthly cooling energy demand is presented which extends the utilisation factor method of standard EN ISO 13790:2008 to take account of a number of important features of air-conditioning systems that are currently ignored. In all other respects it is compatible with this method, which is the most widely used means of producing building Energy Performance Certificates in Europe. In particular it enables the impact of free cooling, and of the tempering of supply air to be quantified; calculates tailored seasonal efficiency figures for chillers, and provides initial estimates of the potential savings of inter-room heat recovery and of the energy penalties associated with terminal reheat and dual duct systems. Practical application: This paper proposes an extension to the most widely used calculation method for Energy Performance Certificates in Europe, improving its ability to reflect important features of central air-conditioning systems. This is of particular importance for climates and buildings where cooling is required when the outdoor air temperature is relatively low. In particular it enables the impact of free cooling, and of the tempering of supply air to be quantified, calculates tailored seasonal efficiency figures for chillers, and provides initial estimates of the potential savings of inter-room heat recovery and of the energy penalties associated with some other systems.
Bringing back the endangered bridled nail-tailed wallaby at Taunton National Park (Scientific) through effective predator control

Abstract Context. Feral cats (Felis catus), wild dogs/dingoes (Canis familiaris) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are predators of the endangered bridled nail-tailed wallaby (BNTW; Onychogalea frenata). Predator-proof fencing is advocated as a solution to ensure their conservation in the wild. Aims. The aims of this study were to determine whether predator control translated into a reduction in their activity, find evidence of cats preying on BNTWs and understand factors that influence changes in the BNTW population size living in an unfenced reserve, particularly focusing on the influence of cat and dog control and rainfall. Methods. An activity index, calculated using spoor on sand pads and images on remote cameras, was undertaken to monitor predator activity. The stomach contents of cats caught were examined to determine how commonly BNTWs feature as a prey item. The size of the BNTW population and annual survival of individuals was assessed through annual capture–mark–recapture (CMR) surveys and vehicle spotlight counts. Rainfall was measured at the study site and using data from the Bureau of Meteorology. Key results. The core BNTW population estimated by CMR data increased by 214% over 4 years (2013–2017), to 400 individuals in 2017, whereas spotlight data indicated that the population had increased by 262% over 8 years (2012–2020), to 1265 individuals in 2020. The percentage of small (≤3.5 kg) BNTWs caught increased substantially over the study period. There was no detectable difference in cat or dog activity following control and no correlation was found among predator activity, rainfall and BNTW survival. The remains of BNTWs were found in 20% of cats removed from the core BNTW area. Conclusions. The study confirmed that cats frequently ate BNTWs, and a combination of control methods is required to manage the threat, but there was no statistical support for a relationship between predator activity and BNTW survival. Implications. The study found that native species conservation in fox-free environments is possible without the need for predator-proof fences and the ongoing maintenance costs.
Predator-Pest Dynamics of Arthropods Residing in Louisiana Soybean Agroecosystems

Simple Summary Soybean agroecosystems in the Midsouth support an assorted insect community. Louisiana soybean is heavily managed by growers, and the subsequent effect on residing arthropod populations is not well understood. For sustainable management of soybean, evaluations need not only focus on problematic pests, but also the resident natural enemies. This study addresses the compositional and temporal abundance of prominent insects in Louisiana soybean, both pest and beneficial. Pest and natural enemy populations were monitored to delineate potential associations. We found that the pest community was dominated by those that fed on soybean through piercing-sucking mouthparts. Predator populations were comprised mainly of spiders and big-eyed bugs. Pest and predator populations were similarly more abundant later in the soybean reproductive period. A moderate positive linear relationship was observed between pest and predator communities indicating a temporal correlation. Here we present essential information about the pest and natural enemy communities residing in Louisiana. Abstract Over the past two decades, management practices within Louisiana soybean production have shifted. Successful application of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy requires an understanding of how these changes have affected predator-pest dynamics. Surveys monitoring foliage-foraging arthropod populations in soybean took place across six locations within Louisiana over six years (2012–2014 and 2015–2018). Temporal associations of pest groups, defoliating and piercing-sucking, and predator groups relating to soybean phenology were observed. Additionally, soybean maturity groups (III, IV, and V) were also evaluated to delineate potential differences. Results indicated higher abundances of piercing-sucking pests compared to defoliating pests across both datasets (2012–2014 and 2015–2018). Pest groups were more abundant in later soybean reproductive periods, mainly attributed to Chrysodeixis includens and Piezodorus guildinii. Predator populations were mainly comprised of Araneae and Geocoridae throughout the survey periods. From 2015 to 2018, soybean growth had a significant effect on total predator abundance with more predators present at the pod-fill and soybean maturity stage. Correlations between total pest abundance and total predators exhibited a moderate positive linear relationship. Soybean maturity groups only influenced piercing-sucking pest abundance, with later maturing groups (IV and V) having higher numbers. Thus, control tools and tactics aimed at controlling late season pests should be modified to avoid reducing predator populations.
Impact of leadership style on employee commitment in Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of leadership styles on employee commitment at Bahir Dar University. Methodology: In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a cross-sectional survey design was conducted on a sample of 372 employees from eight different campuses of Bahir Dar University. A stratified sampling technique was applied so as to obtain a representative sample of respondents from campuses. Both academic and administrative staff members were participated in the study. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: The results of the research showed that transformational and transactional leadership style have a positive and significant impact on employee commitment in Bahir Dar University. For laissez-faire leadership style, the results of regression analysis indicated that there is a negative and significant impact on employee commitment in Bahir Dar University. Finally, the study recommended that both transformational and transactional leadership behaviors can play a major role in developing and improving employee commitment in Bahir Dar University. Originality: This manuscript is written from the raw data collected by author of this manuscript. So, it is original work.
Biodegradable Thermoplastic Starch/Polycaprolactone Blends with Co-Continuous Morphology Suitable for Local Release of Antibiotics

We report a reproducible preparation and characterization of highly homogeneous thermoplastic starch/pol(ε-caprolactone) blends (TPS/PCL) with a minimal thermomechanical degradation and co-continuous morphology. These materials would be suitable for biomedical applications, specifically for the local release of antibiotics (ATB) from the TPS phase. The TPS/PCL blends were prepared in the whole concentration range. In agreement with theoretical predictions based on component viscosities, the co-continuous morphology was found for TPS/PCL blends with a composition of 70/30 wt. %. The minimal thermomechanical degradation of the blends was achieved by an optimization of the processing conditions and by keeping processing temperatures as low as possible, because higher temperatures might damage ATB in the final application. The blends’ homogeneity was verified by scanning electron microscopy. The co-continuous morphology was confirmed by submicron-computed tomography. The mechanical performance of the blends was characterized in both microscale (by an instrumented microindentation hardness testing; MHI) and macroscale (by dynamic thermomechanical analysis; DMTA). The elastic moduli of TPS increased ca four times in the TPS/PCL (70/30) blend. The correlations between elastic moduli measured by MHI and DMTA were very strong, which implied that, in the future studies, it would be possible to use just micromechanical testing that does not require large specimens.
Surfing the New Wave of Open Innovation Research

"e concept of open innovation has become increasingly popular in the management literature on technology and innovation. Open innovation is a decade old and alive and kicking. Chesbrough and Brunswicker (2013) recently conducted the ! rst large sample survey of the adoption of open innovation by large ! rms (sales in excess of USD 250 million). None of the respondents report abandoning their practice of open innovation and 82% report that open innovation is practiced more intensively today than three years earlier. "ese survey results suggest that open innovation is a practice that will continue for years, and is widely viewed as important for improving performance. Despite the popularity of open innovation, many ! rms still struggle to properly manage open innovation. While open innovation poses many new challenges to ! rms when adopted, it is the internal organizational challenges that are perceived as most di$cult to manage. Managing the journey from closed to open innovation implies several organizational changes at various levels of the ! rm. Making these changes happen is di$cult according to the respondents. Similarly, respondents to the survey were not satis! ed with their metrics for measuring open innovation. "e growing penetration of open innovation in companies is re%ected in the astonishing growth of the number of open innovation related publications (see Chapter 1 for a detailed overview). However, despite the large volume of publications about open innovation, there are still many important research topics that have not been fully addressed. Open innovation has been mainly studied at the ! rm level, while other levels of analysis that could enrich our understanding have not been touched upon. Despite the mushrooming volume of empirical work, many hypotheses still have to be tested properly through empirical studies based on ! ne-grained data and more advanced empirical work. Prescriptions being proposed are o&en fairly general and not speci! c to particular contexts and contingencies. OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – REVISES, Mon Aug 04 2014, NEWGEN
Research on Assistant Decision-making Method with Urban Fire Case Base

A framework for expressing the characteristics of the urban fire cases is proposed based on the comprehensive investigation, statistics and classification of the urban fire accidents. The characteristics are structured and layered, and the attribute values of the characteristics are defined scientifically and legitimately, which is useful for reflecting the features of the urban fire cases. The fire rescue knowledge in the cases is abstracted by using hybrid similarity measure method and rough-fuzzy set method. Thus, an assistant decision-making process model for fire fighting and rescue is proposed, which can supports the decision-making of fire fighting by searching similar cases and abstracting related knowledge. This model is successfully demonstrated, and can be used as a reference for the intelligence decision support system of urban fire case.
Low-Complexity ZF/MMSE MIMO-OTFS Receivers for High-Speed Vehicular Communication

Orthogonal time-frequency space (OTFS) scheme, which transforms a time and frequency selective channel into an almost non-selective channel in the delay-Doppler domain, establishes reliable wireless communication for high-speed moving devices. This work designs and analyzes low-complexity zero-forcing (LZ) and minimum mean square error (LM) receivers for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)-OTFS systems with perfect and imperfect receive channel state information (CSI). The proposed receivers provide exactly the same solution as that of their conventional counterparts, and reduce the complexity by exploiting the doubly-circulant nature of the MIMO-OTFS channel matrix, the block-wise inverse, and Schur complement. We also derive, by exploiting the Taylor expansion and results from random matrix theory, a tight approximation of the post-processing signal-to-noise-plus-interference-ratio (SINR) expressions in closed-form for both LZ and LM receivers. We show that the derived SINR expressions, when averaged over multiple channel realizations, accurately characterize their respective bit error rate (BER) with both perfect and imperfect receive CSI. We numerically show the lower BER and lower complexity of the proposed designs over state-of-the-art exiting solutions.
Effects of Leaders’ Power Construal on Leader-Member Exchange: The Moderating Role of Competitive Climate at Work

How leaders construe their power may greatly affect the quality of relationships they have with their followers. Indeed, we propose that when leader power is (perceived to be) construed as responsibility, this will positively affect the extent to which followers perceive high quality leader-follower relationships (LMX), whereas the opposite will be true when leader power is (perceived to be) construed as opportunity. Moreover, we argue that these relationships are contingent on contextual influences, such that the effects will be particularly strong in environments characterized by competition, because such environments exacerbate the impact of leaders’ behavior. The results of a scenario experiment (Study 1), and a two-week time-lagged study among organizational employees (Study 2), showed that a manipulation of leaders’ tendency to view power as responsibility (Study 1), and followers’ perception of the extent to which their leader sees power as responsibility (Study 2) is positively related to follower LMX perceptions. Moreover, both Studies 1 and 2 and a dyadic field study in which we asked leaders to report on their tendency to view power as responsibility (Study 3) showed that this effect is stronger when the organizational climate is highly competitive. The results pertaining to power as opportunity were less consistent, but suggest a negative relationship with perceived LMX (Study 2), particularly when the organizational climate is highly competitive (Study 3). We conclude that the potential effects of leaders’ construal of power as responsibility or opportunity deserve more research attention than previously awarded and provide managerial ramifications of our findings.
Exploring Individual and Organizational Predictors of School Counselor Wellness

In the present study, we examined the predictive relationships between individual and organizational factors and multidimensional wellness, as described by the Indivisible Self wellness model. Participants were 297 practicing school counselors from across the United States. Using hierarchical regression analyses, we found predictive relationships between years of experience, race and ethnicity, gender, and amount of time engaged in monthly consultation with several dimensions of wellness.
Cytotoxic T-Cell-Based Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: A Hybrid Immunoinformatic Approach

This paper presents an alternative vaccination platform that provides long-term cellular immune protection mediated by cytotoxic T-cells. The immune response via cellular immunity creates superior resistance to viral mutations, which are currently the greatest threat to the global vaccination campaign. Furthermore, we also propose a safer, more facile, and physiologically appropriate immunization method using either intranasal or oral administration. The underlying technology is an adaptation of synthetic long peptides (SLPs) previously used in cancer immunotherapy. The overall quality of the SLP constructs was validated using in silico methods. SLPs comprising HLA class I and class II epitopes were designed to stimulate antigen cross-presentation and canonical class II presentation by dendritic cells. The desired effect is a cytotoxic T cell-mediated prompt and specific immune response against the virus-infected epithelia and a rapid and robust virus clearance. Epitopes isolated from COVID-19 convalescent patients were screened for HLA class I and class II binding (NetMHCpan and NetMHCIIpan) and highest HLA population coverage (IEDB Population Coverage). 15 class I and 4 class II epitopes were identified and used for this SLP design. The constructs were characterized based on their toxicity (ToxinPred), allergenicity (AllerCatPro), immunogenicity (VaxiJen 2.0), and physico-chemical parameters (ProtParam). Based on in silico predictions, out of 60 possible SLPs, 36 candidate structures presented a high probability to be immunogenic, non-allergenic, non-toxic, and stable. 3D peptide folding followed by 3D structure validation (PROCHECK) and molecular docking studies (HADDOCK 2.4) with Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 provided positive results, suggestive for favorable antigen presentation and immune stimulation.