Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability of natural colourants (annatto, beet, paprika, turmeric) during extrusion cooking

Commercial annatto (bixin and norbixin) beet, paprika and turmeric colour extracts were blended with rice flour and extruded in a Brabender single screw laboratory extruder at dough temperatures of 125 and 155°C. Resulting colour stability was measured and changes in spectrophotometric and thin layer chromatography. Spectrophotometric and TLC data showed that all colourants underwent some degree of alteration during extrusion with high temperature extrusion resulting in the appearance of more degradation products
Bioinformatic analysis reveals mechanisms underlying parasitoid venom evolution and function

Hymenopteran parasitoid wasps are a diverse collection of species that infect arthropod hosts and use factors found in their venoms to manipulate host immune responses, physiology, and behaviour. Whole parasitoid venoms have been profiled using proteomic approaches, and here we present a bioinformatic characterization of the venom protein content from Ganaspis sp. 1, a parasitoid that infects flies of the genus Drosophila. We find evidence that diverse evolutionary processes including multifunctionalization, co-option, gene duplication, and horizontal gene transfer may be acting in concert to drive venom gene evolution in Ganaspis sp.1. One major role of parasitoid wasp venom is host immune evasion. We previously demonstrated that Ganaspis sp. 1 venom inhibits immune cell activation in infected Drosophila melanogaster hosts, and our current analysis has uncovered additional predicted virulence functions. Overall, this analysis represents an important step towards understanding the composition and activity of parasitoid wasp venoms.
Effects of Manufacturing Processes on Core Losses of Electrical Machines

Manufacturing processes such as cutting, welding and shrink fitting are known to degrade the magnetic properties of the electrical sheet during the manufacturing of electrical machines. These effects are often neglected at the design stage and lead to large errors in the simulated and measured core losses of the electrical machine. This article studies the comparative impact of different manufacturing processes on the stator core losses of a typical industrial motor. Both simulations and measurements indicate a significant impact of manufacturing processes on the stator core losses. A dummy blocked rotor test setup is used to measure the stator core losses. As a result of different manufacturing processes, the stator core losses increased by 23% in the studied machine at the rated condition. The effect on the stator core losses was higher at lower flux levels. Finally, it was shown that the inclusion of the effect of manufacturing processes significantly improved the simulation accuracy of the core losses. A quantification and segregation of the effect of cutting, welding and shrink fitting is also presented for the studied machine.
Outage Performance for NOMA-Aided Small Cell Networks With HARQ

In this letter, we give the first attempt to reap the benefits of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) incorporated in small cell networks (SCNs) with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ). The outage performance of the incorporated scheme NOMA-SCN is investigated thoroughly under Type I HARQ with and without storage. By using stochastic geometry, we derive closed-form outage probabilities of near and far NOMA users. Simulation results are shown to be completely agreeable with the theoretical analyses. Besides, the HARQ with storage achieves a better outage performance than that without storage in the NOMA-SCN.
Permeability and Ferromagnetic Resonance Study for Magnetic Nanowires Substrate With Copper Layer

In this letter, a straightforward accurate method for magnetic nanowires (MNWs) ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) frequency determination and permeability extraction is proposed. FMR frequencies are obtained using a one-port coplanar waveguide (CPW) circuit system. Relative permeability, defined as <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mu } = {\mu }{'}\mathrm {-j} {\mu }{'}{'}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, of MNW samples is extracted by “four steps” method, commonly used for thin films (Bekker <italic>et al.</italic>, 2004; Liu <italic>et al.</italic>, 2005; Wei <italic>et al.</italic>, 2015). MNW samples with and without copper (Cu) layer are compared. Samples with a Cu layer show stronger FMR resonances, negligible influences from board resonances, and low distortion <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mu }{'}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> compared to those without a Cu layer. From <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mu }{'}{'}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, the average linewidth of a cobalt sample with and without Cu layer is 4.96 and 5.6 GHz, respectively. From the peak of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mu }{'}{'}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, the FMR frequency of an iron sample is higher at low dc field when compared to cobalt. This can be beneficial for microwave device design when external dc field is limited, and higher operating frequency is required.
Farm size, food security, and welfare

Introduction Understanding the consequences of decreasing land availability per capita because of population growth is of considerable interest to policymakers. Already in the 19th century, there were worries voiced about the effects of population growth on food security. Malthus (1826) famously predicted that the planet would run out of food because of increasing land constraints and that population growth was therefore to be controlled. However, technological changes in agriculture have since contributed to substantial increases in agricultural production per unit of land, and no global food shortages have occurred. Available evidence in different settings, including Africa, shows that population growth has induced agricultural change and led to a reduction in fallow periods, to adoption of agricultural innovations, and to an increase in input use—labor and other agricultural inputs—per unit of land, all leading to higher yields (Boserup 2005; Fresco 1986; Binswanger and Pingali 1988; Tsakok 2011; Jayne, Chamberlin, and Headey 2014; Headey and Jayne 2014; Ricker-Gilbert, Jumbe, and Chamberlin 2014; Muyanga and Jayne 2014; Headey, Dereje, and Taffesse 2014; Josephson, Ricker-Gilbert, and Florax 2014; Lipton 1980, 2006). Still, there must be limits to increases in agricultural output per unit of land. If true, then an important question arises on how shrinking farms can provide a decent livelihood for households residing on these farms. Given rural population growth and the importance of agriculture in providing livelihoods, especially in most African countries, there is a considerable interest in understanding the linkages between declining farm sizes and welfare and food security outcomes. Making progress on this topic, however, is difficult due to data constraints. Differences in welfare and food security outcomes across the land quintiles could be driven by differences in landownership or by other household characteristics that systematically differ between households that own different amounts of land. Establishing a causal relationship between land size and Chapter 6
Compositional evaluation of perennial wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) breeding populations

A shift to perennial grain cultivation offers environmental benefits such as reduced soil erosion and nitrogen leaching. Recently, tremendous agronomic accomplishments have been made in domesticating perennial intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium, IWG). Thirteen IWG breeding populations were evaluated for characteristics relevant to food use, including chemical composition, activity of enzymes responsible for rancidity, content of antioxidants (carotenoids and hydroxycinnamic acids) and in vitro antioxidant activity based on the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and Folin-Ciocalteu assays. IWG populations had higher insoluble dietary fibre, protein, fat and ash, but less starch than wheat. IWG populations were deficient in high-molecular weight glutenins yet contained appreciable amounts of gliadins. Some populations exhibited significantly lower lipase activity than wheat, and all had lower lipoxygenase activities. Most IWG populations contained higher levels of antioxidants than wheat. This work provided key phenotypic information for developing IWG lines that combine high fibre, protein and antioxidant contents with minimal rancidity development.
Dipeptidyl dipeptidase-4 inhibitor, MK-0626, promotes bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cell bioactivities for vascular regeneration in diet-induced obese mice

Metabolic syndrome (MS), overlapping type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and/or hypertension, based on high-fat diet, poses risk for cardiovascular disease. A critical feature associated with such risk is the functional impairment of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Dipeptidyl dipeptidase-4 inhibitors are known not only to inhibit degradation of incretins to control blood glucose levels, but also to improve EPC bioactivity and induce anti-inflammatory effects in tissues. In the present study, we investigated the effects of such an inhibitor, MK-06266, in ischemia model of MS using diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. EPC bioactivity was examined in MK-0626-administered DIO mice and non-treated control group, using an EPC colony-forming assay and bone marrow cKit+ Sca-1+ lineage-cells, and peripheral blood-mononuclear cells. Our results showed that, in vitro, the effect of MK-0626 treatment on EPC bioactivities and differentiation was superior in comparison with non-treatment. Further, in vivo hindlimb ischemia model experiment indicated that microvascular density and pericyte-recruited arteriole number were increased in MK-0626-administered group, but not control group. Lineage profiling of isolated cells from ischemic tissues disclosed that MK-0626 administration has an inhibitory effect on unproductive inflammation. This occurred via a decrease in the influx of total blood cells and pro-inflammatory cells such as neutrophils, total macrophages, M1, total T-cells, cytotoxic T-cells, and B-cells, with a concomitant increase in number of regeneration-associated cells, such as M2/M ratio and Treg/T-helper. Laser Doppler analysis revealed that at day 14 after ischemic injury, blood perfusion in hindlimb was grater in DIO mice treated with MK-0626, but not in control. In conclusion, the dipeptidyl dipeptidase-4 inhibitor has a positive effect on EPC differentiation in MS model of DIO mice. Following ischemic injury, DPP-4 i sharply reduces recruitment of pro-inflammatory cells into ischemic tissue, and triggers regeneration and reparation process. Thus, DPP-4 i is a promising therapeutic agent for MS treatment.
In house validation of an HPLC-DAD method for the simultaneous determination of specific bioactive compounds in southern Brazilian propolis

The levels of selective bioactive compounds in propolis produced in the state of Paraná, Brazil, were compared with green (São Paulo and Minas Gerais), brown (Santa Catarina), and red (Bahia) propolis. The suitability of the HPLC-DAD method was checked: R2 > 99% and no evidence of lack-of-fit (p > 0.01); recoveries within 84.30–119.52% (only 3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid recovery was higher, namely 138.77%); precision up to 11.76% (repeatability) and 14.56% (intermediate); LODs and LOQs of 0.74–3.02 µg/ml and 2.48–10.07 µg/ml, were achieved. p-coumaric and 4-hydroxy-3,5-diprenylcinnamic acids and kaempferide were widely spread in Brazilian propolis. Also, high levels of 3,5-di-caffeoylquinic and 3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acids were found in most propolis from Paraná and in green propolis; 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid was abundant in most propolis from Paraná but not in propolis from Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, and Bahia. En validación de un método de HPLC-DAD para la determinación simultánea de compuestos bioactivos en el propóleos Brasileño sur Las concentraciones de compuestos orgánicos específicos y bioactivos presentes en el propóleos producido en el estado de Paraná fueron determinadas y comparadas con las del propóleos verde (São Paulo y Minas Gerais), marrón (Santa Catarina) y rojo (Bahia). La idoneidad del método HPLC-DAD fue verificada y fueron obtenidos los siguientes resultados: R2>99%, sin indicios de falta de ajuste (p > 0.01); recuperaciones entre 84,30-119,52% (solamente el ácido 3,4-di-O-cafeoilquinic tuvo recuperación de 138,77%); precisión de 11,76% (repetividad) y 14,56% (precisión intermedia); LD y LC de 0,74-3,02 µg/ml y 2,48-10,07 µg/ml. Los ácidos p-cumárico y 4-hidroxi-3,5-diprenilcinamico y flavonoides están en niveles altos en muchas muestras de propóleos colectadas en Paraná; principalmente la canferida está ampliamente distribuida en el propóleos encontrado en Brasil. Niveles altos de los ácidos 3,5-di-cafeoilquinico y 3,4-di-O-caffeoilquinico fueron encontrados en la mayoría de las muestras de propóleos del estado de Paraná y en el propóleos verde; el ácido 4-O-cafeoilquinico fue encontrado en altas concentraciones en el propóleos de Paraná pero no en el propóleos de los estados de Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina y Bahia.
Review and development of statistical models for calculating the economic base of wine production

In the article the economic basis of wine production in the regions is examined and evaluated; known methods of identifying alternatives to the development of the wine-vineyard market of regions that simultaneously produce grapes and wines for sale in the country and for export are analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the production of wines from imported wine materials.
Evolving animal-sourced foods and livestock markets

Chapter 8, â€œEvolving Animal Sourced Foods and Livestock Markets,â€ covers the changing situation in livestock marketing systems. The authors find that in many developing countries in which staple foods dominate the composition of diets, higher consumption of animal-sourced foods (ASF) is associated with significant nutritional benefits. Given the importance of prices for consumption decisions in these settings, they analyze ASF price patterns, relying on a large-scale price dataset collected in 116 urban retail markets in Ethiopia. The authors document important seasonal and spatial patterns, and they find, worryingly, that real prices of ASF have been increasing over the past decade by between 32 percent and 36 percent for three major ASFsâ€”milk, eggs, and meat. Similar price increases are noted in rural and urban areas as well as for tradable and nontradable ASFs. This price trend is in contrast with staple cereals for which real prices stayed at similar levels over the past decade. As they estimate that a price increase of this magnitude would reduce consumption of ASF by approximately 25 percent, holding other things constant, it seems that more investments and attention to the production of ASF and the livestock sector are needed to reduce ASF prices and increase their consumption in Ethiopia.
NIR hyperspectral imaging for animal feed ingredient applications

Considering its wide application in the food industry, near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR HSI) was explored for animal feed applications. Its ability to provide chemical composition of the sample at the pixel level provides an advantage over the typical NIR spectroscopy. In this dissertation, a literature review was presented that highlights the applications of NIR HSI on grains, oilseeds, and animal feed ingredients. In our first study, a Corning NIR HSI instrument was used to predict protein and oil content in soybean meal and visualize predicted protein distribution over the entire soybean meal sample. Preprocessing by standard normal variate and Savitzky-Golay derivative was effective in improving calibration model performance. The NIR HSI instrument was also compared with two commercially available single-point NIR spectrometers which are typically used in the grain and feed industry. Absorbance spectra from the NIR HSI instrument were relatively close to those from the two NIR instruments in most of the wavelengths. Regression coefficients from soybean meal protein model calibration highlighted the similarities in the contributing variables of the three instruments. In our second study, lysine concentration was determined in soybean meal and dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) using NIR HSI in combination with partial least squares regression or spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification. Score plots from principal component analysis separated pure lysine spectra from soybean meal and DDGS. Increasing the SAM maximum angle also increased the model calibration performance. Overall, both PLS regression and SAM classification obtained promising results thereby indicating the potential of this technology to be used in evaluating amino acid concentration in animal feeds.
Endogenous BioID elucidates TCF7L1 interactome modulation upon GSK-3 inhibition in mouse ESCs

Modulation of Wnt target gene expression via the TCF/LEFs remains poorly understood. We employ proximity-based biotin labeling (BioID) to examine GSK-3 inhibitor effects on the TCF7L1 interactome in mouse ESCs. We generated ESC lines with biotin ligase BirA* fused to TCF7L1 by knocking it into the endogenous TCF7L1 locus or by inserting a doxinducible BirA*-TCF7L1 transgene into the Rosa26 locus. Induction yielded BirA*-TCF7L1 levels 3-fold higher than in the endogenous system, but substantial overlap in biotinylated proteins with high peptide counts were detected by each method. Known TCF7L1 interactors TLE3/4 and β-catenin, and numerous proteins not previously associated with TCF7L1, were identified in both systems. Despite reduced BirA*-TCF7L1 levels, the number of hits identified with both BioID approaches increased after GSK-3 inhibition. We elucidate the network of TCF7L1 proximal proteins regulated by GSK-3 inhibition, validate the utility of endogenous BioID, and provide mechanistic insights into TCF7L1 target gene regulation. Highlights BirA*-TCF7L1 at single-copy physiological levels generates robust BioID data CHIR99021 reduces TCF7L1 levels but increases detectable TCF7L1-proximal proteins The TCF7L1 interactome of largely epigenetic/transcription factors fluctuates with GSK-3 inhibition JMJD1C, SALL4 and BRG1/SMARCA4 are validated as TCF7L-interacting proteins
Ekspresi IL-6 dan TNF-α Pada Obesitas

Pendahuluan: Obesitas memiliki karakteristik adanya peningkatan ukuran (hipertrofi) dan jumlah (hiperplasia) jaringan adiposa. Jaringan adiposa bersifat parakrin yang menghasilkan sitokin dan mediator bioaktif dalam jumlah besar seperti leptin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 (IL-6) dan tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Obesitas merupakan suatu keadaan inflamasi kronis derajat rendah. Pendapat ini didasari oleh adanya beberapa penanda inflamasi seperti IL-6, IL-8, leptin, C Reactive Protein (CRP) dan haptoglobin yang meningkat pada individu dengan obesitas. Dalam jaringan adiposa IL-6 diekspresikan oleh sel lemak dan matriks jaringan lemak. Ekspresi dan sekresinya di jaringan lemak visceral 2-3 kali lebih banyak dibanding jaringan lemak subkutan. Ekspresi IL-6 di jaringan adiposa dan kadar IL-6 di sirkulasi berkorelasi positif dengan obesitas, gangguan toleransi glukosa dan resistensi insulin. IL-6 juga menekan insulin signaling di perifer dengan cara menurunkan ekspresi insulin receptor signaling components, dan memicu supresi cytokine signaling 3. TNF-α adalah sitokin yang pada awalnya digambarkan sebagai endotoxin-induced factor yang menyebabkan necrosis dari tumor, yang pada penelitian selanjutnya ternyata identik dengan cahexin, yang disekresi oleh macrophage in vitro. TNF-α diekspresikan di sel lemak dan sel stromavaskuler. Ekspresi TNF-α di lemak subkutan lebih besar dibanding jaringan lemak visceral. Ekspresi TNF-α di jaringan lemak meningkat pada obesitas dan berkorelasi positip dengan adipositas dan resistensi insulin. TNF-α merusak sinyalisasi insulin secara tidak langsung dan menyebabkan resitensi insulin dibeberapa jaringan. Simpulan: Terjadi peningkatan ekspresi Il-6 dan TNF-α pada keadaan obesitas. Kata kunci: Ekspresi IL-6, Ekspresi TNF-α, Obesitas.
Intelligent Charging Path Planning for IoT Network Over Blockchain-Based Edge Architecture

A wireless rechargeable sensor network was proposed to extend the lifetime of the wireless sensor network. In this article, a charger is combined together with a self-propelled vehicle to provide a more flexible result of charger deployment. The dynamic chargers path selection problem is defined and mapped into the traveling salesman problem. Four metaheuristic algorithms for Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications are designed, and the higher fitness value between the charging path and the number of dead IoT devices is achieved. However, metaheuristic approaches may spend more time on searching solutions so that many IoT devices overuse limited power and fail to be charged for a long time, leading to power exhaustion. In this article, the edge computing technique is applied to accelerate the obtainment of charging paths with the well-defined edge/centralized unit switching. Moreover, to assure the calculated path trustworthy and will not be tampered with, the blockchain technology is adopted. The proposed architecture maintains high-level information credibility while transmitting the information of charging paths within the cloud and edge. The simulation results showed that the proposed method is capable of achieving better charging efficiency and less deployment cost.
Effects of Auditing Standards on Auditors Performance

The objective of the research work is to examine whether application of auditing standards do enhance the quality of external auditor’s performance. The research population for this work comprises of all external auditors in Ondo and Ekiti States. The primary source of data collection was employed and the stratified random sampling method was used to select the required sample size. The research instrument used for data collection was questionnaire and hundred (100) copies of questionnaire were administered and Eighty Six (86) were returned, representing 86%. The 4-point Likert scale was logically employed to assign number to the measure of the degree of intensity of the relationships among the variables and the ordinary least squares (OLS) was used. The study revealed that there was a positive relationship between the auditing standards and auditor’s performance and that auditor’s performance often depends on their competency and ability to comply with required auditing standards. It is therefore recommended that the audit report should be expanded beyond complying with all standards by including a statement about the auditors’ evaluation of the internal control mechanism and there should be need for more interpretations, clarifications and improvements in both International Auditing Standards (IASs) and the Nigerian Auditing Standards so as to enable auditors to improve more on their service deliveries Keywords : Accounting Standard, Auditing Standard, External Auditors and Auditor’s performance DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-21-05 Publication date: July 31 st 2020
Dielectric and Structural Studies of Trifluoromethane Monolayers on Boron Nitride and Graphite

Dielectric and X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed in the search for two-dimensional electrically ordered phases in CF3H monolayers adsorbed on boron nitride (BN) and graphite. Two distinct crystalline phases have been found: an orientationally disordered triangular incommensurate high-temperature phase and a uniaxially compressed low-temperature phase, in which the molecules show staggered orientations of the dipole moments leading to states of antiferroelectric (T < 75 K) or ferroelectric (T < 50 K) nature. A phase diagram of CF3H monolayers is proposed.