Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Community perceptions about Covid-19 and its socio-economic effects in Rwanda

The covid-19 crisis is global but its socio-economic effects cannot be globally scrutinized. It is deeply local and huge. The research aimed at finding out and assessing community perceptions about Covid-19 and its socio-economic effects in Rwanda. It would inspire policymakers to renovate measures and policies that would help in rehabilitating all sectors in general and more affected groups in particular. From 30 districts of Rwanda, 510 respondents have been sampled through convenience and judgmental techniques. Findings revealed that people misinterpret the pandemic which lowers their level of compliance to Covid-19 preventive measures. Stay home orders were not a fruitful time for families whereby 84% of respondents were victims of domestic and sexual violence. However, with 16%, it was a good time for family cohesion. Isolation and social values frustration, family disorganization and dysfunctional, depression, and anxiety are major social effects of Covid-19. Loss of jobs, decreased salaries, none compliance with preventive measures fines, incapacity to pay bank loans, inability to satisfy family basic needs, government extra investment in medical health care have enormously affected the Rwandan economy. Thus, there is a need of strengthening sensitization of covid-19 spread, preventive measures, short and long-term consequences associated with it. This would shift the population from their wrong perceptions of covid-19 and increase the rate of compliance to established measures so as to free Rwanda from the pandemic and return to a normal life situation.
The Effects of a Probiotic (Bacillus clausii) in Acute Kidney Injury in a Rat Model of LPS-Induced Endotoxemia

Objective: This study aims to examine the role of a probiotic bacterium, Bacillus clausii, on oxidative stress in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) rat model. Materials and Methods: The rats were divided into four groups: Control group, LPS group (1.5 mg/kg, LPS), Probiotic+LPS group in which LPS was given after administration of Bacillus clausii as a probiotic for 21 days, and Probiotic group. The kidneys of the rats were removed 24 hours after LPS injection. Total antioxidant status, total oxidant status, oxidative stress index, malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase (MPO) values were biochemically determined in the kidneys. Furthermore, the kidney tissue samples were immunohistochemically stained for interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α expression, and leukocyte distribution. Results: Endotoxemia caused an increase in oxidative stress (p<0.001), lipid peroxidation (p<0.01), MPO activity (p<0.001), and the expression of IL-6 (p<0.001) and TNF-α (p<0.001). The administration of probiotic ameliorated oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and myeloperoxidase activity, and resulted in decreased IL-6 and TNF-α reactions that were elevated with LPS treatment. Conclusion: The results suggest that Bacillus clausii as a probiotic bacterium may have an antioxidative property in LPSinduced AKI.
Morphology supports the geographic pattern of genetic differentiation of Pinus sylvestris (Pinaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract Pinus syvestris from the Iberian Peninsula was biometrically compared, using needle morphological and anatomical characteristics from 15, and cone morphological characteristics from nine natural populations. Samples of Scots pine represent subspecies nevadensis and varieties pyrenaica, catalaunica, and iberica. Analyses included 25 needle and 17 cone characteristics and numerical methods (principal component analysis, discrimination analysis, agglomeration on Euclidean/Mahalanobis’ distances). A strong differences were detected between P. sylvestris subsp. nevadensis when compared to varieties pyrenaica and iberica, and a closer relationship to var. catalaunica in needle characteristics. In cone characteristics, the differences were at a similar level. Alien individuals were found within every taxon and population. Samples from the southern part of Sistema Central had the highest level of alien individuals. The geographic pattern of differentiation resembles patterns previously revealed using molecular and isoenzymatic markers. We could not detect characteristics specific to either P. sylvestris subsp. nevadensis or varieties of P. sylvestris subsp. sylvestris. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2021. 1922532 .
Adoption of Improved Mungbean Production Technologies in Selected East African Countries

This study analyzes the factors that influence the probability and extent of the adoption of mungbean production technologies in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, using multivariate probit and Poisson regression models. The results show that the probability and extent of the adoption of mungbean production technologies are influenced by gender of the household, household size, farm size, livestock size, household assets, access to extension services and access to credit. The study suggests that policy interventions that aimed at targeting women farmers, increasing household asset and information dissemination, such as field demonstrations and training programs, are crucial in enhancing technology adoption among smallholder farmers.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND BRAND MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM CARROLL’S PYRAMID AND TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE APPROACHES

The objective of this research is to evacuate the relationship between CSR initiatives and organizational performance. Additionally, the undertaken research examines the impact of brand image and brand awareness as mediators and corporate image as the moderator between CSR initiatives and organizational performance. We employed a modified conceptual framework derived from the Triple bottom line and Carroll’s pyramid models. The data was analyzed through the structural equation model by using confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses and conditional process approach for examining the direct, mediating, and moderating hypothesized relationships. The undertaken study’s outcomes demonstrated that the ethical, philanthropic, and sustainable dimensions positively and significantly influence organizational performance. Similarly, the mediation analysis suggested that the brand image and brand awareness are the potent mediators in an association between ethical, philanthropic, and sustainable dimensions and organizational performance. Findings further demonstrated that corporate image as a moderator has strong impact between exogenous factors and organizational performance. The undertaken study has important theatrical and managerial implications that provide value additions for both researchers and industry practitioners.
Plant-Wide Economic Comparison of Lactic Acid Recovery Processes by Reactive Distillation with Different Alcohols

Process designs for the continuous recovery of lactic acid from fermentation broth by reactive distillation (esterification and hydrolysis with C1 to C4 alcohols) are developed and optimized to minimize cost. The best designs are qualitatively different for different alcohols because of the differing volatility ranking of reactants and products and the formation of a two-liquid phase zone in some cases. The results suggest that the methanol and butanol processes are the most attractive. The costs of these two processes are similar, and the ranking depends on the payback period. The ethanol and isopropyl alcohol processes are more expensive because an entrainer is required to break the alcohol/water azeotrope.
Thermal Feature Detection of Vehicle Categories in the Urban Area

The main goal of this paper is to present new possibilities for the detection and recognition of different categories of electric and conventional (equipped with combustion engines) vehicles using a thermal video camera. The paper presents a draft of a possible detection and classification system of vehicle propulsion systems working with thermal analyses. The differences in thermal features of different vehicle categories were found out and statistically proved. The thermal images were obtained using an infrared thermography camera. They were utilized to design a database of vehicle class images of passenger vehicles (PVs), vans, and buses. The results confirmed the hypothesis that infrared thermography might be used for categorizing the vehicle type according to the thermal features of vehicle exteriors and machine learning methods for vehicle type recognition.
Model-based yield gap analysis and constraints of rainfed sorghum production in Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract For ensuring food demand of the fast growing population in developing countries, quantification of crop yield gaps and exploring production constraints are very crucial. Sorghum is one of the most important climate change resilient crops in the rainfed farming systems of semi-arid tropics. However, there is little information about yield gaps and production constraints. This study aimed at analysing existing yield gaps and exploring major constraints of sorghum production in Southwest Ethiopia. A crop simulation model approach using AquaCrop and DSSAT was used to estimate potential yield and analyse the yield gaps. Model calibration and evaluation was performed using data from field experiments conducted in 2018 and 2019. Sorghum production constraints were assessed using a survey. The actual and water-limited yield of sorghum ranged from 0.58 to 2.51 and 3.6 to 6.47 t/ha, respectively for the period 2003–17. The regional yield gaps of sorghum for the targeted period were 3.02–3.95 t/ha with a mean value of 3.51 t/ha. Majority of respondent farmers considered seasonal rainfall risk (98%), poor soil fertility (86%), lack of improved varieties (78%) and inadequate weed management (56%) as major factors responsible for the existing yield gaps. The mean exploitable yield gap (2.5 t/ha) between water-limited and actual yield showed the level of existing opportunity for improvement in the actual productivity of sorghum. The gaps also call for introduction of proper interventions such as adoption of improved varieties, planting date adjustment, conservation tillage, fertilizer application and on time weed management.
Ship‐iceberg discrimination from Sentinel‐1 synthetic aperture radar data using parallel convolutional neural network

Ships and icebergs are similar in size and intensity in SAR images, so it is difficult to distinguish them in remote sensing images. Deep learning is a technique based on neural networks, which has played an important role in image information processing. In order to address the challenge of ship and iceberg classification, we present a convolutional neural network (CNN) based classification method for iceberg and ship discrimination from Sentinel‐1 SAR images with different polarizations and incidence angles. The method is based on the fixed constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detector and the CNN model has three input channels, then the model was trained using parallel algorithm. The CNN is trained using 1443 images and tested using 161 images. The CNN model is also compared with support vector machine (SVM) and k nearest neighbors (kNN) using the same dataset. Comparison shows the CNN‐based method performs the best, and it achieved a validation accuracy of 96%.
Going beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards

Among the agricultural practices promoted by the Common Agricultural Policy to increase soil functions, the use of cover crops is a recommended tool to improve the sustainability of Mediter-ranean woody crops such as olive orchards. However, there is a broad range of cover crop ty-pologies in relation to its implementation, control and species composition. In that sense, the in-fluence of different plant species on soil quality indicators in olive orchards remains unknown yet. This study describes the effects of four treatments based on the implementation of different ground covers (CC-NAT, CC-GRA and CC-MIX) and conventional tillage (TILL) on soil erosion, soil physicochemical and biological properties, and soil microbial communities after 8 years of cover crop establishment. Our results have demonstrated that the presence of a temporary cover crop (CC), compared to a soil under tillage (TILL), can reduce soil losses and maintain good soil physicochemical properties and modify greatly the structure and diversity of soil bacterial com-munities and its functioning. The presence of a homogeneous CC of gramineous (Lolium rigidum or Lolilum multiflorum) (CC-GR) for 8 years significantly increased the functional properties of the soil as compared to TILL; although the most significant change was a modification on the bacte-rial community composition that was clearly different from the rest of treatments. On the other hand, the use of a mixture of plant species (CC-MIX) as a CC for only two years although did not modify greatly the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities compared to the TILL soil, induced significant changes on the functional properties of the soil, and reverted those properties to a level similar to that of an undisturbed soil that had maintained a natural cover of spontaneous vegetation for decades (CC-NAT).
The Neighborhood Effects of a Place-Based Policy—Causal Evidence from Atlanta’s Economic Development Priority Areas

Place-based policies refer to government efforts to enhance the economic performance of an area within its jurisdiction. Applying various difference in differences strategies, this study evaluates the neighborhood effects of a place-based policy—the Economic Development Priority Areas (EDPA) of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Since the census block groups are locally defined and the boundaries may change over time, we defined the neighborhoods by creating a set of 0.25-mile- diameter circles evenly distributed across Atlanta, and used the created buffers as the comparison unit. The empirical estimates showed that EDPA designation significantly reduced poverty rate and increased housing price of EDPA neighborhoods but had no beneficial effects on population size and employment rate. The heterogeneous analysis with respect to different initial economic status of the neighborhoods showed a relative larger and significant effect of EDPA designation on low-income neighborhoods. The increasing labor demand induced by EDPA designation in low-income neighborhoods attracted more population to migrate in and put upward pressure on housing prices. The estimation results are robust when replacing the 0.25-mile-diameter circle neighborhoods with 0.5-mile-diameter circle neighborhoods. Although we found some positive effects of the EDPA program in Atlanta, it would be misguided to assume similar effects occur in other areas implementing place-based policies.
ENZYMATIC REGULATION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE OXYGEN TRANSPORT: NOVEL ROLES FOR NEURONAL NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE

Nitric oxide (NO) is synthesized via distinct NO synthase (NOS) enzymes and constitutes an essential cardiovascular signaling molecule. Whereas important vasomotor contributions of endothelial NOS (eNOS) have been well-described, the specific vasomotor contributions of nNOS-derived NO in healthy subjects during exercise are unknown. The purpose of this dissertation is to test the global hypothesis that nNOS-derived NO is a critical regulator of exercising skeletal muscle vascular control. Specifically, we utilized the selective nNOS inhibitor S-methyl-L-thiocitrulline (SMTC) to investigate the effects of nNOS-derived NO on skeletal muscle vascular function within established rodent models of exercise performance. The first investigation (Chapter 2) identifies that nNOS inhibition with SMTC increases mean arterial pressure (MAP) and reduces rat hindlimb skeletal muscle blood flow at rest whereas there are no effects during low-speed (20 m/min) treadmill running. In Chapter 3 it is reported that nNOS inhibition with SMTC reduces blood flow during high-speed treadmill running (>50 m/min) with the greatest relative effects found in highly glycolytic fast-twitch muscles and muscle parts. Chapter 4 demonstrates that nNOS-derived NO modulates contracting skeletal muscle blood flow (increases), O2 consumption ( 2 O V  , increases), and force production (decreases) in the rat spinotrapezius muscle and thus impacts the microvascular O2 delivery2 O V  ratio (which sets the microvascular partial pressure of O2, PO2mv, and represents the pressure head that drives capillary-myocyte O2 diffusion). In Chapter 5 we report that systemic administration of the selective nNOS inhibitor SMTC does not impact lumbar sympathetic nerve discharge. This reveals that the SMTC-induced peripheral vascular effects described herein reflect peripheral nNOS-derived NO signaling as opposed to centrally-derived regulation. In conclusion, nNOSderived NO exerts exercise-intensity and muscle fiber-type selective peripheral vascular effects during whole-body locomotor exercise. In addition, nNOS-derived NO modulates skeletal muscle contractile and metabolic function and, therefore, impacts the skeletal muscle PO2mv. These data identify novel integrated roles for nNOS-derived NO within healthy skeletal muscle and have important implications for populations associated with reduced NO bioavailability and/or impaired nNOS structure and/or function specifically (e.g., muscular dystrophy, chronic heart failure, advanced age, etc.). ENZYMATIC REGULATION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE OXYGEN TRANSPORT: NOVEL ROLES FOR NEURONAL NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE
Media and Responsibility for Their Effects: Instrumental vs. Environmental Views

From the perspective of media ecology, this paper explores the question of responsibility for the effects that media have on society. To explain these media effects, two approaches are singled out. (1) The instrumental approach assumes that a medium works as a tool used by a user for a purpose. (2) The environmental approach focuses on the capacity of a medium to become an environmental force that reshapes both the habitat and the inhabitants. The instrumental approach to media, when taken too broadly and without an understanding of its limits, leads to conspiracy theories and inadequate social and political assessments. The more advanced and sophisticated environmental approach allows for an adequate understanding of media evolution and its effects but does not comply with the traditional legal notions of guilt and responsibility for actions, as there is no jurisdictional human or institutional agency when environmental forces are in play. After charting the distinction between the instrumental and environmental views of media, the paper focused on how the instrumental effects of media turn into environmental effects. The purpose of the paper is to develop and offer a media ecological apparatus for possible further juridical discussions regarding the regulation of the networking society.
Nonchalant neighbors: Space use and overlap of the critically endangered Elongated Tortoise

To prevent population extirpations, we need to understand a species’ requirements, especially for critically endangered species inhabiting biodiversity hotspots. Studying animal movement provides necessary insights and gauges protected area effectiveness. Southeast Asian protected areas are becoming isolated, stressing the need for maintaining population viability. We used radio‐telemetry with the critically endangered Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) to assess: movements, space use, and conspecific overlap in a small protected area—Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve, Thailand. Movements were weakly seasonal, higher in hot and wet seasons than the dry season, and annual space use varied (4.24–55.57 ha), with conspecifics frequently overlapping. Conspecific comparisons revealed males (n = 5) moved similarly to females (n = 12) but used larger areas. Despite more instances of conspecific attraction over avoidance (20:8), avoidance/attraction behavior appeared disconnected from individual size; therefore, interaction patterns may result from resources locations (mates or food) rather than competition (i.e., no evidence of smaller individuals avoiding larger individuals). Female–female attraction suggests no resource exclusion tactics at our temporal resolution. Male–female attraction may indicate seasonal reproductive movements, but we could not detect significant interactive effects linking conspecific attraction or step length to breeding activity. Our observations of annual space use and overlap present critical components when designing robust population assessments underlining any successful I. elongata conservation effort. In the context of previous work connecting space overlap with population viability, our results suggest the biosphere population of I. elongata to be reproductive, with enough resources to be viable, emphasizing the importance of relatively small protected natural areas.
Perceived Impact of EMI on Students’ Language Proficiency in Vietnamese Tertiary EFL Contexts

English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) has been widely adopted at the tertiary level in non-English speaking countries and Vietnam is no exception. Vietnamese universities and the Vietnamese government have anticipated significant linguistic benefits for student outcomes through the implementation of EMI. Using a mixed-methods design of surveys, interviews, and focus groups with students and lecturers at six Vietnamese universities, this study investigates lecturer and student perceptions of the impacts of EMI on students’ language proficiency in Vietnam. The study indicates that both students and lecturers were optimistic about students’ language improvement. This study recommends some implications for students, lecturers, and further research regarding EMI in the Vietnamese EFL context. Among the recommendations to emerge from this study, assessment on students’ language ability before they commence EMI courses and lecturers’ adequate language competence for EMI programs should be considered.
SmileGNN: Drug–Drug Interaction Prediction Based on the SMILES and Graph Neural Network

Concurrent use of multiple drugs can lead to unexpected adverse drug reactions. The interaction between drugs can be confirmed by routine in vitro and clinical trials. However, it is difficult to test the drug–drug interactions widely and effectively before the drugs enter the market. Therefore, the prediction of drug–drug interactions has become one of the research priorities in the biomedical field. In recent years, researchers have been using deep learning to predict drug–drug interactions by exploiting drug structural features and graph theory, and have achieved a series of achievements. A drug–drug interaction prediction model SmileGNN is proposed in this paper, which can be characterized by aggregating the structural features of drugs constructed by SMILES data and the topological features of drugs in knowledge graphs obtained by graph neural networks. The experimental results show that the model proposed in this paper combines a variety of data sources and has a better prediction performance compared with existing prediction models of drug–drug interactions. Five out of the top ten predicted new drug–drug interactions are verified from the latest database, which proves the credibility of SmileGNN.