Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Salmonella Enteritidis Control in Mature Laying Hens Through Dry Fed Parietal Yeast Fraction or Bacillus Blend Probiotic

With food safety continuing to be a concern for both consumers and producers, especially when considering Salmonella, alternative control methods must be studied intensively to fully understand their effects in live poultry. To further understand the abilities of parietal yeast fractions and bacillus probiotics to each impact food safety, a study on mature laying hens was undertaken. 48 hens were obtained from a commercial production flock at 75 weeks of age and were transferred to the USDA ARS facility in College Station, TX. The hens were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups, and fed either a mash corn soy control diet (CON), a corn soy mash diet plus parietal yeast fration composed of a minimum of 20% mannan and 20% beta 1,3 1,6 glucans (YF), or a corn soy mash diet plus a three-strain bacillus probiotic (3B). After 3 weeks of receiving dietary treatment, all birds were orally challenged with 6.6 x 109 CFU of Salmonella Enteritidis. One week after being challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis, birds were humanely euthanized, and ovary and cecal contents were removed and direct plated for both prevalence and enumeration. After plating cecal contents, a significant reduction of 1.26 log10 was observed from the CON to YF (p=0.03) and a 1.08 log10 reduction was observed from CON to 3B (p=0.04). Prevalence of ovaries was not significantly different, but numerically CON samples were 50% positive, while YF and 3B were 25% and 13% positive respectively. Prevalence in the ceca was not significantly different, but numerically CON samples were 75% positive, while YF and 3B were 44% and 53% respectively. While neither ovary or ceca prevalence were significantly reduced in this experiment with the inclusion of either treatment, both the YF and 3B treatment significantly reduced colonization of Salmonella Enteritidis in the ceca, indicating that both treatments possess excellent potential as food safety interventions against S. Enteritidis in the egg supply chain.
Assessing the Impact of Wildfires on the Use of Black Carbon as an Indicator of Traffic Exposures in Environmental Epidemiology Studies

Epidemiological studies frequently use black carbon (BC) as a proxy for traffic‐related air pollution (TRAP). However, wildfire smoke (WFS) represents an important source of BC not often considered when using BC as a proxy for TRAP. Here, we examined the potential for WFS to bias TRAP exposure assessments based on BC measurements. Weekly integrated BC samples were collected across the Denver, CO region from May to November 2018. We collected 609 filters during our sampling campaigns, 35% of which were WFS‐impacted. For each filter we calculated an average BC concentration. We assessed three GIS‐based indicators of TRAP for each sampling location: annual average daily traffic within a 300 m buffer, the minimum distance to a highway, and the sum of the lengths of roadways within 300 m. Median BC concentrations were 9% higher for WFS‐impacted filters (median = 1.14 μg/m3, IQR = 0.23 μg/m3) than nonimpacted filters (median = 1.04 μg/m3, IQR = 0.48 μg/m3). During WFS events, BC concentrations were elevated and expected spatial gradients in BC were reduced. We conducted a simulation study to estimate TRAP exposure misclassification as the result of regional WFS. Our results suggest that linear health effect estimates were biased away from the null when WFS was present. Thus, exposure assessments relying on BC as a proxy for TRAP may be biased by wildfire events. Alternative metrics that account for the influence of “brown” carbon associated with biomass burning may better isolate the effects of traffic emissions from those of other black carbon sources.
Improved dispersibility of nano-graphene oxide by amphiphilic polymer coatings for biomedical applications

The poor dispersibility and stability of graphene and its derivatives in aqueous media is an influential limitation in the biological applications of graphene based nanomaterials. The aim of this study is to improve the solubility and dispersibility of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in cell culture media and serum using three amphiphilic polymers (polystyrene-co-polyacrylic acid (PS-PAA), polystyrene-co-poly4-vinylpyridine (PS-P4V) and phospholipid-polyethylene glycol (PL-PEG)) as first layer coating materials. A cationic cell penetrating peptide, octaarginine (R8), is incorporated as a second layer on the selected formulation to enhance the cell internalization capability of the stabilized rGO. Chemical, physical and biological properties of the double-layer coated (DLC)-rGO are fully characterized. The cellular uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled DLC-rGO is evaluated using confocal microscopy. None of the polymer-functionalized rGO samples show cell toxicity. While the amount of immobilized PL-PEG on the rGO surface is less than PS-PAA and PS-P4V, much higher dispersibility is observed than with other copolymers. Furthermore, the R8 coated rGO-PL-PEG shows great cell internalization ability after 4 h incubation with MCF-7 cells. It is concluded that DLC-rGO could have great potential to be used as a nanocarrier in the biomolecular delivery of biological materials such as drugs and genes.
IMPACTO DE FATORES INDIVIDUAIS E SOCIAIS NA VITIMIZAÇÃO DE JOVENS DA CIDADE DE GOIÂNIA-GOIÁS

Este artigo teve como objetivo investigar a influencia de fatores individuais e a influencia de fatores sociais nas vivencias de diferentes tipos de vitimizacao. Participaram do estudo 442 estudantes universitarios de duas instituicoes de ensino superior de Goiânia, Goias. A variavel preconceito apresentou relacao com vitimizacao por crimes convencionais no ultimo ano, vitimizacao por pares no ultimo ano e a vitimizacao por maus-tratos ao longo da vida. O baixo apoio social teve poder explicativo para a ocorrencia de vitimizacao por maus-tratos no ultimo ano. Altos indices de autoeficacia expuseram a vitimizacao sexual no ultimo ano, ao longo da vida e quando associado a ser mais jovem e ter sofrido menos preconceito, esse efeito foi potencializado.
Auditing in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Discussion of Challenges and Key Matters

As of the beginning of November 2020, the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has approached 47 million cases. In the United States, there have been over nine million COVID-19 cases, and the death toll is approaching 232,000 deaths. The pandemic has negatively affected the economy, unemployment rates, and the performance of many industry sectors. Despite the adversities of COVID-19, stakeholders need external auditors to continue providing high-quality assurance work. We discuss the challenges and key matters that external auditors face due to the pandemic. We provide thoughts and suggestions for auditors to consider. Additionally, we propose some research ideas for academic researchers to advance in the future. The topics that we emphasize include remote auditing, scope limitations, auditing inventory, disclosures on risks and uncertainties, subsequent events, going concern opinions, internal controls, and fraud risk. This article should be informative to audit practitioners, corporate stakeholders, and academic researchers. External auditing will continue to play a crucial role in the functioning of the capital markets. It is essential to gather and disseminate knowledge about how auditors can remain effective and resilient during even the most strenuous times.
Patterns of Warning Signs Among Adolescents Who Contemplate Suicide: A Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract Adolescent suicide is a critical problem in the United States. Identification and reporting of warning signs is a suicide prevention practice that is particularly important in schools, where adolescents spend the majority of their time. Though it is necessary to consider both risk factors and warning signs when evaluating an individual’s suicide risk, warning signs are more indicative of a potentially impending suicide. However, there is a paucity of research on specific combinations of warning signs linked with increased suicide risk in the United States. Using data from the 2015–2016 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS), a latent profile analysis was conducted to identify patterns of warning signs. Three subgroups of adolescents were detected: (a) average moods and feelings; (b) negative moods and feelings; and (c) negative moods, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. The patterns of warning signs among each profile are described, along with demographic details. The findings from the present investigation have important implications for gatekeeping practices, training, and screening in schools.
DiPOSH: A portable OpenSHMEM implementation for short API‐to‐network path

In this article, we introduce DiPOSH, a multi‐network, distributed implementation of the OpenSHMEM standard. The core idea behind DiPOSH is to have an API‐to‐network software stack as slim as possible, in order to minimize the software overhead. Following the heritage of its non‐distributed parent POSH, DiPOSH's communication engine is organized around the processes' shared heaps, and remote communications are moving data from and to these shared heaps directly. This article presents its architecture and several communication drivers, including one that takes advantage of a helper process, called the Hub, for inter‐process communications. This architecture allows use to explore different options for implementing the communication drivers, from using high‐level, portable, optimized libraries to low‐level, close to the hardware communication routines. We present the perspectives opened by this additional component in terms of communication scheduling between and on the nodes. DiPOSH is available at https://github.com/coti/DiPOSH.
FINTECH AND BANK: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Financial Technology has long been applied to the financial and banking sectors until the emergence of financial technology innovation called FinTech. Referring to the evolution of FinTech until now, FinTech influences the Bank's activities from the past, present, and future. Based on these facts, this research aims to present a descriptive analysis of FinTech and Bank in the past, present, and future, especially in Indonesia as a case study. This study uses a descriptive analysis research method and using qualitative method approaches. This descriptive analysis is carried out by critically reviewing various relevant scientific journals, the facts of the FinTech phenomenon in Indonesia, and documentation papers from banking institutions. The results of this analysis reveal what happened to FinTech and the Bank in the past, present, and future. The contributions from this study can provide insight and understanding related to FinTech and banks in the past, present, and future more in-depth.
VARIOUS FORMULATION VARIABLES EFFECTING FLOATATION BEHAVIOUR OF SINGLE UNIT GASTRORETENTIVE CAPSULES OF OFLOXACIN

Objective: Objective of the present study was to prepare simple single unit gastro-retentive capsules of ofloxacin with the aim to have the gastric retention of the system for longer periods of time (12h) and to study the effect of various polymers on floating behaviour of such single unit gastro-retentive capsules of ofloxacin. Methods: The method used for the preparation of gastro-retentive capsules was a simple physical blending of various low-density hydrophilic polymers alone and in combination with hydrophobic polymers and filling into capsules. These capsules were then subjected to in vitro floatation and matrix integrity study in 0.1N HCl using static volume beaker method and the United States pharmacopoeia (USP) type II dissolution apparatus method at 100rpm. Results: Two grades of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) K4M and K15M used were found suitable for the purpose. Results showed that increase in HPMC level increased colloidal gel barrier strength along with matrix integrity with consequently improved buoyancy. Lactose which was added as release rate modifier decreased matrix integrity and buoyancy. Eudragit a hydrophobic polymer was added so as to have intact, the buoyant formulation for 12 h with desired drug release characteristics. The addition of eudragit enhanced matrix integrity and floatation time to certain levels but higher levels showed negative results. Floatation time of more than 16 h was observed in the formulations containing 2:1 ratio of HPMC K15M and eudragit respectively. 3 2 factorial design was used to study the effect of various formulation variables on buoyancy and matrix integrity. Formulations containing zero level of HPMC were found buoyant for more than 12 h with all levels of eudragit S100 (i.e.,-1, 0,+1 level). It was also observed that matrix integrity consequently buoyancy increased with increase in eudragit with all levels of HPMC. Conclusion: The study concludes that eudragit S100 a hydrophobic polymer increased floatation time of the formulated capsules with all the three levels of HPMC K15M, but at the same time eudragit level should not exceed HPMC, while lactose a release rate enhancer decreased matrix integrity/floatation time of the formulated capsules.
The characteristic of different formula of low tannin sorghum instant porridge

Sorghum has a potential to be developed as staple food, however the main obstacle is high tannin content which causing bitter taste. Low conttent of tannin in sorghum flour could be a solution for widening the customer acceptance. Such product produced using low tannin sorghum is instant porridge. Therefore this study aimed to find optimum formula of instant porridge using low tannin sorghum flour. This study using two factors of instant porridge formula, first ratio of low tannin sorghum flour : tapioca (100 : 0; 90 : 10; 80 : 20; 70 : 30; 60 : 40) and the ratio of water (1 : 7; 1 : 9; 1 : 11). Result shows that optimum instant sorghum formula was found in 80 : 20 sorghum : tapioca flour, with the addition of 1 : 11 water ratio. This porridge has desirability value 0.716, water content 4.93%, ash 0.49%, fat 5.92%, protein 8.37% and carbohydrate 85.2%. Moreover the average score of total acceptance is about 4 (like). The optimum formula also has high-quality digestibility and dietary fiber (77.97% and 9.07 %, respectively). According to this study, instant sorghum porridge could be used as alternatives of nutritious and healthy food.
Visualizing Spatial Economic Supply Chains to Enhance Sustainability and Resilience

This article presents a spatial supply network model for estimating and visualizing spatial commodity flows that used data on firm location and employment, an input–output table of inter-industry transactions, and material balance-type equations. Building on earlier work, we proposed a general method for visualizing detailed supply chains across geographic space, applying the preferential attachment rule to gravity equations in the network context; we then provided illustrations for U.S. extractive, manufacturing, and service industries, also highlighting differences in rural–urban interdependencies across these sectors. The resulting visualizations may be helpful for better understanding supply chain geographies, as well as business interconnections and interdependencies, and to anticipate and potentially address vulnerabilities to different types of shocks.
Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy Investigations of Amyloid-β Aggregation

Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease affecting over five million people in the United States alone, with almost half a million new cases every year. As the population ages, these figures will only increase unless an effective treatment can be found. Amyloid-β is the protein implicated in, and believed to be causal to Alzheimer’s Disease. Amyloid-β has been known to misfold into β-sheets and aggregate into neurotoxic oligomers or relatively inert amyloid fibrils. A variety of aggravating factors have been implicated including an excess of metal ions, various genetic anomalies, and the intracellular depositions of neurofibrillatory tangles (NFT). This PhD thesis advances the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease by demonstrating how the presence of copper ions influences the unbinding force of two amyloid-β peptides affecting the initial aggregation pathway by increasing the force between two amyloid-β peptides. The results provide evidence to the hypothesis that the addition of metals increases the amyloid oligomer content in the brain beyond that which the brain can naturally clear. Current Alzheimer’s pharmacological research is focused on developing amyloid aggregation inhibitors that would slow down the accumulation of amyloid oligomers and thereby slow the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms. A high throughput method of testing potential aggregation inhibitors that is far more efficient than current testing methods is demonstrated. An aggregation inhibitor was tested that functions by inhibiting the initial self-dimerization of amyloid-β preventing further aggregation. The results show that this inhibitor, named SG1, greatly reduces the experimental yield (a parameter calculated during force spectroscopy experiments) of the force experiments demonstrating a drastically lower amyloid-amyloid
Severity of household food insecurity and coping strategies in Analemmo Woreda, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Hunger and undernourishment are the main challenges of today’s world. The objective of this study is to assess severity of household food insecurity and local coping strategies in the study area. Three-stage sampling technique was used to select sampled household in Analemmo woreda Hadiya Zone. A total of 200 households were selected by using systematic random sampling with proportional to population size. Both primary and secondary data were collected. Both descriptive and econometric models were used to analyze the collected data. Household calorie acquisition was employed to categorize into severely food secure and severely food in secure. For econometric analysis ordered probit model were used to identify determinates of severity of household food insecurity in the study area. The survey results show that severity food insecurity 36%, 18%, 13% and 33% food secure, mild, moderately and severely food insecure respectively. Thus, based on the results of ordered probit model agro-ecology of land, age and education level of household head, number of oxen, drought-tolerant seeds, soil and water conservation, credit amount, productive safety net program participation, access to climatic information, access to extension service and off-farm activities and non- farm activity determine severity of household food insecurity in study area. Different common coping strategies was used to cope food . It was recommended that government should provide productive saftent program participation, capacity building on age and educational level household head, providing climatic information for farmers, providing drought-tolerant seed, provision of veterinary service for oxen health, providing training on soil and water conservation. Key words: Analemmo, coping strategies, food insecurity, ordered probit model.
Computer-augmented modeling studies of Pb(II) and Cd(II) complexes with maleic acid in ethylene glycol–water mixture

Abstract Chemical speciation of binary complexes of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions with maleic acid have been studied pH metrically in the concentration range of 0–50% v/v ethylene glycol (EG)–water mixtures maintaining an ionic strength of 0.16 molL−1 at 303 K. Alkalimetric titrations were carried out in different relative concentrations of metal and maleic acid. Stability constants of various models of binary complexes were refined with MINIQUAD75. The best-fit chemical models were selected based on statistical parameters and residual analysis. The species detected are ML2, ML3, and ML2H for Pb(II) and Cd(II). The chemical speciation, metal bioavailability, and transportation are explained based on the distribution diagrams.
Effect of ultrasound and storage time on quality attributes of strawberry juice

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in quality attributes of non-clarified strawberry juice during storage at 5 °C after ultrasonication at 40 kHz for 10 and 30 min in comparison with thermally treated juice at 90 °C for 60 s. Ultrasound treatments maintained color parameters with no significant differences (p < .05) from untreated sample, while thermally treated juice showed lower L* values and higher hue angles than the control. No significant differences in °Brix and total acidity were found between treated and untreated samples, and both parameters remained unchanged throughout storage. Compared to the control, ultrasound treatments showed no significant reductions on day 0 in mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, and yeast and molds counts. However, the treatments showed significant decrease in the microbial growth rate through storage time, and significant increase in both polyphenol content and antioxidant activity, compared to control. Practical applications With today's tendency towards the consumption of nutritious and fresh-like foods, non-thermal treatments are gaining popularity. Among them, ultrasound has become a feasible alternative against traditional thermal treatments. Strawberry products are considered of great nutritional value, because of their high content in antioxidant compounds and vitamin C. In this study, ultrasound was evaluated in strawberry juice through storage time, where significant reductions on microbial growth rate were achieved; meaning that shelf-life of the product was increased compared to control. Furthermore, physicochemical parameters were maintained through storage, and antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content showed a significant increment, which implies that nutritional value of the product was increased by ultrasound treatments. Therefore, sonication is a potential technology that can easily be applied at the fruit juice industry, replacing the traditional thermal treatment which compromises the organoleptical and nutritional quality of the final product.
Global longitudinal strain by feature-tracking cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging predicts mortality in patients with end-stage kidney disease

Abstract Background Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are at increased risk of premature death, with cardiovascular disease being the predominant cause of death. We hypothesized that left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) measured by feature-tracking cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) would be associated with all-cause mortality in patients with ESKD. Methods A pooled analysis of CMRI studies in patients with ESKD acquired within a single centre between 2002 and 2016 was carried out. CMR parameters including LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV mass index, left atrial emptying fraction (LAEF) and LV-GLS were measured. We tested independent associations of CMR parameters with survival using a multivariable Cox model. Results Among 215 patients (mean age 54 years, 62% male), mortality was 53% over a median follow-up of 5 years. The median LVEF was 64.7% [interquartile range (IQR) 58.5–70.0] and the median LV-GLS was −15.3% (IQR −17.24 to −13.6). While 90% of patients had preserved LVEF (>50%), 58% of this group had abnormal LV-GLS (>−16%). On multivariable Cox regression, age {hazard ratio [HR] 1.04 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.05]}, future renal transplant [HR 0.29 (95% CI 0.17–0.47)], LAEF [HR 0.98 (95% CI 0.96–1.00)] and LV-GLS [HR 1.08 (95% CI 1.01–1.16)] were independently associated with mortality. Conclusions In this cohort of patients with ESKD, LV-GLS on feature-tracking CMRI and LAEF was associated with all-cause mortality, independent of baseline clinical variables and future renal transplantation. This effect was present even when >90% of the cohort had normal LVEF. Using LV-GLS instead of LVEF to diagnose cardiac dysfunction in patients with ESKD could result in a major advance in our understanding of cardiovascular disease in ESKD.