Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of non-nutritive sweeteners in Florence’s Homestyle Cha-Cha

Non-nutritive sweeteners are alternative sweeteners that provide the taste of sweetness without a caloric contribution. In this Florence’s HomeStyle Cha-Cha study, aspartame, acesulfame K, sodium saccharin, and neotame were evaluated as a substitute for sucrose in the formulation. These sweeteners were used at their recommended equivalency levels to match the sweetness potency level to that of sucrose. Because they are more potent than sucrose, minimum amounts were needed to replace sucrose, and the remaining amounts were filled with maltodextrin. Using maltodextrin as bulk filler is common practice in the industry when replacing sucrose with a non-nutritive sweetener. This study evaluated the quality of the finished product in determining which non-nutritive sweetener had similar taste, aroma, and density qualities as the control, which was Cha-Cha sweetened with sucrose. The results of the evaluations indicated that Cha-Cha sweetened with acesulfame K was more similar to the control than the other non-nutritive sweeteners. Of the three taste characteristics evaluated for their degree of intensity, sweetness, saltiness, and bitterness, the acesulfame K sweetened treatment was closer to the control. In the GC/MS analysis in characterizing the volatile aroma compounds, acesulfame K contained all the aroma compounds with smaller differences in concentration than the other experimental treatments. In the density evaluation, the experimental treatments were similar to the control treatment. In conclusion, Florence’s HomeStyle Cha-Cha sweetened with acesulfame K is similar in quality to the sucrose-sweetened control.
An Investigation in the Key Ingredients in Health and Functional Foods

Functional foods are the foods that can be consumed as the part of a normal diet which offers proven physiological benefits and has ability to reduce the risks of certain chronic diseases. This research was conducted to investigate significant ingredients used within health and functional foods currently on the market, and the potential for the use and expansion of new ingredients into health and functional foods. A survey was conducted on 128 individuals in order to determine their knowledge, perception and use with regards to functional foods. The study focused on functional food ingredients currently used within the Irish market, and new functional food ingredients that have potential use. These new functional food ingredients are used in numerous countries worldwide and display a variety of impactful health benefits. The results of the study indicated that Irish consumers have very limited knowledge of ingredients applied in functional food products. Furthermore, consumers have little knowledge of their exact health benefits; however, they still consumed it, as they perceive it as being “healthy”. The results displayed that consumers would be willing to consume a variety of suggested new ingredients for the incorporation into functional foods. The study concluded that there is potential for the expansion and growth of new ingredients into functional foods within the Irish market.
The Influence of Semantic and Pragmatic Factors in Wason’s Selection Task: State of the Art

One of the cognitive processes, which has generated more research within the framework of the Psychology of thinking, is human reasoning. Throughout the history of the Psychology of reasoning, one of the experimental tasks most frequently used to study how subjects reason, and why they make mistakes, is the Wason’s selection task or the four card problem (Wason, 1966, 1968). This work presents the current state of the experimental research on this task, using as a common thread the empirical studies which have highlighted the plasticity of reasoning towards semantic and pragmatic factors.
Assessing Devolution in the Canadian North: A Case Study of the Yukon Territory

Despite a rich literature on the political and constitutional development of the Canadian territorial North, few scholars have examined the post-devolution environment in Yukon. This lacuna is surprising since devolution is frequently cited as being crucial to the well-being of Northerners, leading both the Government of Nunavut and the Government of the Northwest Territories to lobby the federal government to devolve lands and resources to them. This paper provides an updated historical account of devolution in Yukon and assesses its impact on the territory since 2003. Relying mainly on written sources and 16 interviews with Aboriginal, government, and industry officials in the territory, it highlights some broad effects of devolution and specifically analyzes the processes of obtaining permits for land use and mining. Our findings suggest that devolution has generally had a positive effect on the territory, and in particular has led to more efficient and responsive land use and mining permit processes.
Plasmid Curing of a Novel Hydrocarbon Degrading Bacillus cereus Strain DRDU1 Revealed its Involvement in Petroleum Oil Degradation

Plasmid curing of a novel hydrocarbon degrading Bacillus cereus strain DRDU1 was carried out to confirm the possible involvement of plasmid genes in hydrocarbon degradation. Plasmid curing was done by using 100 μg/mL of ethidium bromide, which is approximately 12 kb in size. Hydrocarbon degradation potential of the plasmid cured strain was compared with that of the control and the percentage hydrocarbon degradation of diesel, kerosene, crude oil and used engine oil after 28 days of incubation was confirmed by gas liquid chromatographic (GLC) analysis. The percentage hydrocarbon degradation for diesel, kerosene, crude oil and used engine oil (2% v/v) in Bushnell and Haas (BH) broth was found to be decreasing up to 30%, 21%, 13%, and 6% respectively for the plasmid cured strain, from its initial values of 99%, 96%, 84%, and 29% by the uncured strain. This study clearly confirms that the respective petroleum hydrocarbon degradation in this case is both plasmid and chromosomal encoded as considerable amount of degradation can be seen by the plasmid cured strain also. Due to this the strain is beneficial for in-situ bioremediation purpose, as the loss of plasmid due to any environmental or biological factor will not stop its potential to degrade hydrocarbon oil.
XIAOCHEN CHEN DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A WIRELESS STRAIN SEN- SOR BASED ON ELECTRO-TEXTILE UHF RFID TAGS

XIAOCHEN CHEN: DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A WIRELESS STRAIN SENSOR BASED ON ELECTRO-TEXTILE UHF RFID TAGS Tampere University of technology Master of Science Thesis, 54 pages May 2016 Master’s Degree Programme in Electrical Engineering Major: Wireless Communications Circuits and Systems Examiner: Postdoctoral Researcher Toni Björninen and Professor Leena Ukkonen
Spectral Retrieval of Latent Heating Profiles from TRMM PR Data. Part IV: Comparisons of Lookup Tables from Two- and Three-Dimensional Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations

Abstract The spectral latent heating (SLH) algorithm was developed to estimate latent heating profiles for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar (TRMM PR). The method uses TRMM PR information (precipitation-top height, precipitation rates at the surface and melting level, and rain type) to select heating profiles from lookup tables (LUTs). LUTs for the three rain types—convective, shallow stratiform, and anvil rain (deep stratiform with a melting level)—were derived from numerical simulations of tropical cloud systems from the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) using a cloud-resolving model (CRM). The two-dimensional (2D) CRM was used in previous studies. The availability of exponentially increasing computer capabilities has resulted in three-dimensional (3D) CRM simulations for multiday periods becoming increasingly prevalent. In this study, LUTs from the 2D and 3D simulations are compared. Using the LUTs from 3D simulation.
Challenging lifelong learning policy discourse: Where is structure in agency in narrative-based research?

Abstract Can adult educational research on learning and identity counter the individualising of neoliberal government policy that seeks to constrain educational ‘choices’ to those that contribute to government economic agendas? This article notes the recent move within post-compulsory education research towards an engagement with Bourdieu because of perceived limitations in the research and analysis of learner identities. In particular, Bourdieu is drawn upon as a conceptual resource in order adequately to account for the influence of social structure as well as agency. We contextualise our exploration of this conceptual move by outlining the way hegemonic policy discourses work to economise the field of UK education and training, specifically the cultivation of particular dispositions towards learning—the ‘responsible learner’. We focus on a strand of work that has engaged with Bourdieu's conceptual framework in order to provide a social-structural account of learner experiences. We do this through a brief exploration of the development of the concepts of ‘learning career’ and ‘learning culture’. We ask to what extent the concepts of learning ‘career’ and ‘culture’ have worked, and argue that analysis of social structure deployed through these concepts, particularly the immanence of structure in the practices of adult learners, is less well developed. The article concludes with an outline of some new research questions to understand how adults engage with formal learning, specifically whether or not they are responsible learners and reflexive agents and what are the forms and meanings of these notions of responsibility and reflexivity. In setting out this research agenda we hope to contribute to furthering counter-hegemonic research on adults' learning in a context of social and economic structural change, and to avoid being ‘captured by the discourse’.
NORMALITY VS. ABNORMALITY IN A CHILD’S BEHAVIOR (A SEMIOTIC PERSPECTIVE)

Taking a child’s behavior as an example (out of my own experience), I shall try to consider a theoretical framework on which a semiotic model can be established. This can, in my opinion, be performed owing to the fact that semiotics initially establishes a relation between two (or more than two) phenomena, which can then be subordinated to a process of signification. My aim in this paper shall be to establish a theoretical limit to such oppositional relations in terms of a child’s behavior (such as: normality vs. abnormality, intentionality vs. unintentionality, etc.), which may emerge from various states of a mental disorders such as Autism presents. Such states can gain their transformability through procedures such as: transformation in semiotics, and new behavior acquisition in psychology, so as to become moveable from one state to another. The questions I am trying to answer are: are such phenomena treatable in terms of their becoming passionate? If an abnormal behavior comes into existence, how is it expressed through the incapacity of the “symbolic representation,” as Piaget claims? And finally, which is the way to understand such a child’s’ requests and complaints?
Effect of sow age on the apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients in the diet

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of sow age on apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients and the concentration of metabolizable energy in the diet. The experiment was carried out on 20 gestating sows, divided into two groups: Group I - 10 sows in first pregnancy (131 ± 4.5 kg) and Group II - 10 sows in fourth pregnancy (225 ± 8.2 kg). Sows in the two groups were fed identical diets for sows during early pregnancy. The total collection of faeces began on day 30 of pregnancy and lasted eight days. Sows in the fourth pregnancy had greater digestibility coefficients of dry matter (4.1 percentage units), organic matter (3.4 percentage units), crude protein (5.5 percentage units) and crude fibre (6.2 percentage units) than sows in the first pregnancy. The total tract digestibility of ether extract, starch and sugars was not affected by pig age. The metabolizable energy, determined according to the content of digestible nutrients, in the sow diet in fourth pregnancy was 0.7 MJ/kg higher than in the diet of sows in their first pregnancy. Results of this research indicate that sow age should be considered when formulating diets during early pregnancy. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Keywords : Digestibility, gestation, metabolizable energy, nutrients, age of sow
The 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate analog, DPB161 blocks store-operated Ca2+ entry in acutely dissociated rat submandibular cells

Cellular Ca2+ signals play a critical role in cell physiology and pathology. In most non-excitable cells, store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) is an important mechanism by which intracellular Ca2+ signaling is regulated. However, few drugs can selectively modulate SOCE. 2-Aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2APB) and its analogs (DPB162 and DPB163) have been reported to inhibit SOCE. Here, we examined the effects of another 2-APB analog, DPB161 on SOCE in acutely-isolated rat submandibular cells. Both patch-clamp recordings and Ca2+ imaging showed that upon removal of extracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]o=0), rat submandibular cells were unable to maintain ACh-induced Ca2+ oscillations, but restoration of [Ca2+]o to refill Ca2+ stores enable recovery of these Ca2+ oscillations. However, addition of 50 μM DPB161 with [Ca2+]o to extracellular solution prevented the refilling of Ca2+ store. Fura-2 Ca2+ imaging showed that DPB161 inhibited SOCE in a concentration-dependent manner. After depleting Ca2+ stores by thapsigargin treatment, bath perfusion of 1 mM Ca2+ induced [Ca2+]i elevation in a manner that was prevented by DPB161. Collectively, these results show that the 2-APB analog DPB161 blocks SOCE in rat submandibular cells, suggesting that this compound can be developed as a pharmacological tool for the study of SOCE function and as a new therapeutic agent for treating SOCE-associated disorders.
Cross-Vendor and Cross-State Analysis of GPS Probe Data Latency

Crowd sourced GPS probe data have become a major source of real-time traffic information applications. In addition to traditional traveler advisory systems such as dynamic message signs (DMS) and 511 systems, probe data are being used for automatic incident detection, integrated corridor management (ICM), end of queue warning systems, and mobility-related smartphone applications. Several private sector vendors offer minute by minute network-wide travel time and speed probe data. The quality of such data in terms of deviation of the reported travel time and speeds from ground-truth has been extensively studied in recent years, and as a result concerns over the accuracy of probe data have mostly faded away. However, the latency of probe data—defined as the lag between the time at which disturbance in traffic speed is reported in the outsourced data feed, and the time at which the traffic is perturbed—has become a subject of interest. The extent of latency of probe data for real-time applications is critical, so it is important to have a good understanding of the amount of latency and its influencing factors. This paper uses high-quality independent Bluetooth/Wi-Fi re-identification data collected on multiple freeway segments in three different states, to measure the latency of the vehicle probe data provided by three major vendors. The statistical distribution of the latency and its sensitivity to speed slowdown and recovery periods are discussed.
Implications of Global Warming on Changing Trends in Crop Productivity - A Review

Evidence of changes in weather parameters like ambient temperature, precipitation, wind flow, etc., are prominently visible across the world. These changes have been reported to effect global crop yield. This review compiles both direct and indirect effects of climate change on global crop productivity with highlights on existing local and global scenarios. As a conclusion, it may be stated that thorough understanding of agricultural techniques and analysis of global change factors is highly essential for achieving sustainable agricultural yield over the upcoming years
The recent study of the sensitivity of tropical-cyclone intensification to the surface drag coefficient in a three-dimensional model by Montgomery

The recent study of the sensitivity of tropical-cyclone intensification to the surface drag coefficient in a three-dimensional model by Montgomery et al. is extended to include a wind-speed-dependent drag coefficient and one of four boundary-layer parametrization schemes: the bulk, Blackadar, MRF and Gayno–Seaman schemes. The schemes are slightly modified to have the same drag coefficient formulation and the same constant exchange coefficients for sensible heat and moisture. Interest is focussed on the change in intensity of the azimuthally-averaged tangential wind speed and change in the low-level vortex structure when the standard value of the drag coefficient is halved or doubled. Changing the drag coefficient provides insight into unbalanced effects in the boundary layer and their impact on the vortex evolution and structure. The changes in vortex behaviour with changing drag coefficient are qualitatively similar for all schemes, the maximum intensification occurring for a value somewhere near the standard value of the drag coefficient. The interpretation given to explain this behaviour underlines the intrinsically unbalanced nature of the boundary-layer dynamics, although, for reasons discussed, a complete theory for the behaviour does not exist. The behaviour found is at odds with the predictions of Emanuel’s (balance) theory for the maximum intensity of a tropical-cyclone, which predicts a monotonic decrease in intensity with the drag coefficient if the enthalpy exchange coefficient is held fixed. It is at odds also with a recent numerical study of the maximum intensity by Bryan and Rotunno. The study underscores the importance of boundary-layer dynamics in models for forecasting tropical-cyclone intensity and the need for care in choosing a boundarylayer scheme. However, it is not yet known which boundary-layer formulation is the most appropriate for this purpose, highlighting the need for a concerted research effort in this direction.
Detection of Phenolics and Appraisal of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of

In this study, we report the antioxidative potential of the methanolic extract of endemic palm Arenga wightii Griff. By various antioxidant assays including DPPH (2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2, 2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation and reducing power activity. Fruits exhibited high reduction capability and powerful free radical scavenging ability compared to leaf extract in all the antioxidant assays except ABTS assay. Total phenolics and flavonoid content of plant extract was also determined by a colorimetric method and have significant amount of phenolics and flavonoids which are responsible for strong antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The antibiotic activity of both fruit and leaf extract was more pronounced against Staphylococcus aureus. RP-HPLC analysis revealed the presence of major phenolic compounds like gallic acid, ascorbic acid, chlorogenic acid and caffeine in the leaf extract. GC-MS analysis was done for identification of chemical compounds after silylation. Based on the results, we suggest that A. wightii possess high phenolics and other phytocompounds which exhibit effective antioxidant and antibacterial properties.
Orientifolds and Orbifolds in Exceptional Field Theory

We describe conventional orientifold and orbifold quotients of string and M-theory in a unified approach based on exceptional field theory (ExFT). Using an extended spacetime, ExFT combines all the maximal ten and eleven dimensional supergravities into a single theory manifesting a global symmetry corresponding to the exceptional series of Lie groups. Here we will see how this extends to half-maximal theories by showing how a single Z2 generalised orbifold (or O-fold), of ExFT gives rise to M-theory on an interval, type II with orientifold planes and the heterotic theories in an elegant fashion. We study in more detail such orbifold and orientifold actions preserving half-maximal supersymmetry, and show how the half-maximal structure of ExFT permits the inclusion of localised non-Abelian vector multiplets located at the orbifold fixed points. This allows us to reproduce for the Z2 example the expected modifications to the gauge transformations, Bianchi identities and actions of the theories obtained from the single ExFT starting point. We comment on the prospects of studying anomaly cancellation and more complicated, non-perturbative O-folds in the ExFT framework. 1 cblair@vub.ac. be e.malek@lmu.de 3 d.c.thompson@swansea.ac. uk
Dendritic Cell mediated immune responses are shaped by Interleukin-15 and Interleukin -21

The immune system contains a distinct group of antigen presenting cells, called dendritic cells (DCs), that are specialized to capture antigens and initiate T cell immunity. The complex processes involved are critically balanced by soluble factors, such as cytokines, produced by DCs itself or released by neighboring cells. The goal of this study was to examine how differentiation, maturation and function of DCs are modulated by two particular cytokines, namely IL-15 and IL-21, which possess regulatory activities on immune responses. Here it is shown that IL-15 has stimulatory effects on DC activation and on T cell priming. Thus IL-15 evoke highly mature DCs whereas in contrast IL-21 mediates inhibitory effects resulting in phenotypic and functional immature DCs with decreased T cell stimulatory capacities in vitro and in vivo.To understand by which means DC activation is modulated by IL-15 and consequently which T cell subsets are influenced by this cytokine, several in vivo models were investigated. On the one hand we used genetic deficient mice for IL-15 (IL-15-/-) and its high affinity receptor (IL-15Ra-/-) and on the other hand we treated wild type mice with an IL-15 antagonist, a soluble IL-15Ra, to block the activity of the cytokine without affecting DC differentiation. The studies revealed that IL-15 and IL-21, modulate DC function. DC-derived IL-15 is essential for the initiation of Th1 type immune responses. Despite sharing a common receptor subunit, IL-15 and IL-21 exhibit completely opposite effects on DC biology. The dichotomous effects of IL-15 and IL-21 on DC mediated T cell activation shed new light on the understanding of immune modulatory mechanisms. Thus, the application of agonists or antagonists of these cytokines can be conceived as therapeutical tools to control immune responses