bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Fermented Milk with the Addition of Gembili (Dioscorea esculenta) Flour
Authors: Andriani Ria Dewi , Rahayu Premy Puspitawati , Apriliyani Mulia Winirsya , Manab Abdul , Sawitri Manik Eirry , Purwadi . 
Published: March 2021

Aims: Objective of this study was to determine the effect of addition gembili (Dioscorea esculenta) flour on the fermented milk was then evaluate the characteristics of fermented milk by analysis of pH, titratable acidity, viscosity, total phenolic content, crude fiber, sugar total, and total lactic acid bacteria.
Study Design: This study employs a completely randomized design with five treatments adding gembili flour and three replications.
Place and Duration of Study: Animal Product Technology Laboratory, Animal Product Technology Department, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Brawijaya, between April-October 2020.
Methodology: Fermented milk is prepared by pasteurizing of skim milk and gembili flour. The concentration of gembili flour added were (0 (P1); 0.5% (P2); 1% (P3); 1.5% (P4); 2% (P5). Furthermore, the characteristics of fermented milk is carried out including pH, titratable acidity, viscosity, total phenolic content, crude fiber, sugar total, and total lactic acid bacteria of fermented milk using combination of three bacteria namely, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophillus, and Streptococcus thermophilus as a starter culture.
Results: The results in this study revealed that the pH value ranged from 3.5-4.3; titratable acidity 1.98-2.35%; viscosity 849-1856 cps; sugar total 2.8-4.11 g/100g; total lactic acid bacteria 3.05 x 107 - 3.21 x 108 cfu/ml respectively. Total phenolic content and crude fiber in P1 was not detected, but in P2-P5 had total phenolic and crude fiber ranging from 108,58 – 670,75 mg/kg and 0.57-2.16 g/100 g, respectively.
Conclusion: The addition of gembili flour to the fermented milk contributes to the quality of fermented milk product which include pH, titratable acidity, viscosity, total phenolic content, crude fiber, sugar total, and total lactic acid bacteria.
Comparison of Metamodel Performances on an Electronic Circuit Problem
Authors: Balaban Muzaffer 
Published: March 2021

Aims: Investigation of building and validation of metamodels which of linear regression, simple kriging, ordinary kriging and radial basis function for an electronic circuit problem are the main aim of this study.
Study Design: An electronic circuit problem was considered to compare the performances of the metamodels. Latin hypercube design was used for experimental design of five input variables of the considered problem.
Methodology: A training data set consisting of 45 experiments and a validation data set consisting of 500 experiments were obtained using Latin hypercube design. Input variables were used by coded to calculate the spatial distances between observation points more consistently. Then using training data set linear regression, simple kriging, ordinary kriging and radial basis function metamodels were built. And, performance measures were calculated for the validation data set.
Results: It has been shown that simple kriging which are applied to outputs the differences from the mean, and ordinary kriging metamodels, produce superior solutions compared to the linear regression and radial basis function metamodels for the electronic circuit problem considered in this study. Prediction superiority of SK and OK than RBF on five-dimensional problem is another important result of the study.
Conclusion: Kriging metamodels are considered to be strong alternatives to the other metamodels for the problems that are considered in this study and have a similar nature. Since the superiority of metamodel methods to each other may vary from problem to problem, it is another important issue to compare their performance by considering more than one method in problem solving stage.
The Acceptance and Use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in Higher Education: A Contextual Study of Royal University of Bhutan
Authors: Gautam Khem Prasad , Sharma Dhanapati , Wangpo Kinga , Dema Sonam 
Published: March 2021

Aims: The study was conducted to explore the factors that influence the acceptance of Moodle (VLE) among students and to study the behavioral intention of students to use VLE in Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) based on modified technology acceptance model (TAM).
Study Design: This exploratory research incorporated a quantitative approach.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in nine constituent colleges under Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) in the period of one year (2019-2020).
Sample: A total of 384 samples were drawn from population size of 9590 students under RUB colleges proportionately by using Yamane (1967) formula of sample determination.
Methodology: The research used the modified TAM model to study the factors that influence the acceptance of virtual learning environment (VLE) and the behavioral intention of students to use VLE. This study mainly used primary data collected through a self-report online questionnaire adopted from context-based literature.
Results: The study observed that while the facilitating condition (FC) has a weak positive effect on perceived usefulness (PU) of VLE, the users’ experience (E) has a very strong positive influence over it. However, self-efficacy (SE) and subjective norms (SN) do not affect PU. Similarly, SE, E and SN have a positive effect on perceived ease of use (PEU), but the effect of SE is observed to be very strong. However, FC does not affect PEU. PEU has a very strong positive effect on PU, and both PEU and PU strongly affect the behavioral intention (BI) to use VLE. BI also has a strong positive affect on actual system use (SU). The study also observed that students in RUB demonstrate a high degree of behavioral intention to use VLE which appears to be a strong indicator of actual system use.
Conclusion: The study concludes that the students’ experience in using VLE is comparatively more important determinant of perceived usefulness than the technical and infrastructural support that enables them to use VLE; the better the experience of using VLE the more useful it appears. Similarly, students’ ability and the perceive social pressure to use VLE do not influence the students’ perception about the usefulness of it. However, if students are confident in their ability to use VLE, it appears easy to them, and if they perceive VLE to be user friendly, they consider it very useful. Students intend to use VLE when they are convinced that the system is useful and easy to use.
Cognition of Women about the Combination of Foods to Make Iron Bioavailable in the Diet: A Confirmatory Factorial Study
Authors: Lanzillotti Haydée Serrão , Barros Maria Elisa 
Published: March 2021

Objective: to validate an instrument designed to assess the knowledge of adult women about combining foods to make dietary iron more bioavailable.
Design Study: cross-sectional, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).
Place and Duration: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 2018 and February 2019.
Methodology: sample: n=222 women 15 to 49 years old, not pregnant. The questionnaire was designed on Likert scale. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Doornik-Hansen tests were applied, as well as the AFC models with Promax rotation. Convergent validity (CV) and discriminant validity (DV) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha) were evaluated.
The Quality of Model Fit was Assessed by: Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI). The dimensional structure of the questionnaire was reevaluated by Structural Equation Modeling (Modification Indices (MI) and Expected Parameter Changes (EPC).
Results: Initial model: total KMO 0.75 (min = 0.63, max = 0.84), Doornik-Hansen (chi2 (30) = 208.91, P = .00), eigenvalue (F1 = 2.87 and F2 = 1.98), CV not reached (F1: AVE = 0.30 and F2: AVE = 0.21) and DV corroborated, Conbrach alphas reached for 0.75 inhibitory items ( 95% CI = 0.69 to 0.81), for stimulators: 0.62 (95% CI = 0.51 to 0.70), RMSEA = 0.10 (90% CI = 0.08 to 0.11 ), CFI (0.70), TLI (0.65), items with MI>10 (i16I, i23E, i25E, i28E). Re-specified Model: eigenvalue (F1 = 2.44 and F2 = 1.42), CV not reached (F1: AVE= 0.29 and F2: AVE=0.20) and corroborated DVl, Conbrach alphas: for 0.75 inhibitory items (95% CI = 0.69 to 0.81); stimulators items: 0.55 (95% CI = 0.44 to 0.64), RMSEA = 0.03 (90% CI = 0.00 to 0.06), CFI (0.95), TLI (0, 94). The items did not show MI>10.
Conclusion: The reliability was achieved in both models. Validities: convergent was not achieved and the discriminant attested two-dimensionality.
Variation in Biofilm-Forming Potential of Staphylococcus aureus from Clinical and Non-Clinical Sources
Authors: Otokunefor K. , Jesutobi J. J. , Agbagwa O. E. 
Published: March 2021

Introduction: Biofilm forming ability has been described as a potential marker of pathogenicity, particularly in Staphylococcus aureus. These biofilms are notable as an important contributor to virulence abilities, further aiding the producing strain in long term survival and resistance to antimicrobial agents. Regional data exploring biofilm forming ability of S. aureus from various sources is limited. This study therefore set out to explore variations in biofilm-forming potential of S. aureus from clinical and non-clinical sources.
Place and Duration of Study: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria from August to October 2019.
Methodology: Eighty five S. aureus clinical and non-clinical isolates were studied. Biofilm-forming potential was assessed using the Congo Red agar (CRA) method which describes both the presence and degree biofilm-forming potential.
Results: Majority of isolates (65.9%) did not exhibit any biofilm-forming potential using the CRA method. Biofilm-forming potential however appeared source based with 100% of non-clinical S. aureus isolates lacking biofilm-forming potential, while 58% of clinical isolates showed biofilm-forming potential. A higher proportion (65.5%) of the clinical isolates exhibiting biofilm-forming potential where associated with strong biofilm-forming potential.
Conclusion: This study reports a high association of biofilm-forming potential with S. aureus isolated from clinical rather than non-clinical settings. If this characteristic can indeed be used as a general marker of pathogenicity would however require more extensive studies.
Recent Advances of In‐Source Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Freitas Dallas , Chen Xi , Cheng Heyong , Davis Austin , Fallon Blake , Yan Xin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractHyphenation of electrochemistry (EC) and mass spectrometry has become a powerful tool to study redox processes. Approaches that can achieve this hyphenation include integrating chromatography/electrophoresis between electroinduced redox reactions and detection of products, coupling an EC flow cell to a mass spectrometer, and performing electrochemical reactions inside the ion source of a mass spectrometer. The first two approaches have been well reviewed elsewhere. This Minireview highlights the inherent electrochemical properties of many mass spectrometry ion sources and their roles in the coupling of electrochemistry and mass spectrometric analysis. Development of modified ion sources that allow the compatibility of electrochemistry with ionization processes is also surveyed. Applications of different in‐source electrochemical devices are provided including intermediate capturing, bioanalytical studies, nanoparticle formation, electrosynthesis, and electrode imaging.
Advances in managing pregnancy toxaemia in sheep
Authors: Crilly JP , Phythian Clare , Evans Mike 
Published: March 2021

Background: Ovine pregnancy toxaemia (OPT) is a metabolic disorder of ewes in late pregnancy. Cases are typically seen in ewes carrying multiple fetuses, hence the alternative name of ‘twin lamb disease’. The disease has been well known for many years. Despite this, the toll inflicted by the disease remains considerable, due both to the poor prognosis of clinically affected animals, even with appropriate treatment, and the impact of the provoking factors of under‐nutrition and concomitant disease on ewe morbidity, lamb survival and flock productivity. Cases of OPT are an indication of shortcomings in the management of late‐pregnancy ewes.Aim of the article: This article provides an update on the aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of OPT, drawing on recently published studies.
The soil health assessment protocol and evaluation applied to soil organic carbon
Authors: Nunes Márcio R. , Veum Kristen S. , Parker Paul A. , Holan Scott H. , Karlen Douglas L. , Amsili Joseph P. , van Es Harold M. , Wills Skye A. , Seybold Cathy A. , Moorman Thomas B. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe concept of soil health has evolved over the past several decades, recognizing that dynamic soil property response to management and land use is highly dependent on site‐specific factors that must be considered when interpreting soil health measurements. Initially, the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) and Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health (CASH) were developed and used globally for scoring soil health indicators. However, both SMAF and CASH frameworks were developed using a relatively small dataset and their interpretation curves were not validated at the nationwide scale. Expanding upon these concepts, we propose the Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (SHAPE) tool. The SHAPE was developed using 14,680 soil organic C (SOC) observations from across the United States, and accounts for edaphic and climate factors at the continental scale. Data were compiled from the literature, the Cornell Soil Health Laboratory, and the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory. In this approach, scoring curves are Bayesian model‐based estimates of the conditional cumulative distribution function (CDF) for defined soil peer groups reflecting five soil texture and five soil suborder classes adjusted for mean annual temperature and precipitation. Specifically, SHAPE produces scores between 0 and 1 (0–100%) for measured SOC values that reflect the quantile or position within the conditional CDF along with measures of uncertainty. Herein, we focus on development of the SHAPE scoring curve for SOC with our case studies. SHAPE is a flexible, quantitative tool that provides a regionally relevant interpretation of this key soil health indicator.
Di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate exposure induces female reproductive toxicity and alters the intestinal microbiota community structure and fecal metabolite profile in mice
Authors: Fu Xufeng , Han Hang , Li Yuanyuan , Xu Bo , Dai Wenjie , Zhang Yaoxu , Zhou Feng , Ma Huiming , Pei Xiuying 
Published: March 2021

AbstractDi‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is one of the most commonly used plasticizers, and it is widely applied in various plastic products. DEHP is an endocrine‐disrupting chemical (EDC) that has been shown to disrupt the function of reproductive system in females. Although many studies have shown that DEHP potentially causes female reproductive toxicity, including depletion of the primordial follicle and decreased sex hormone production, the specific mechanisms by which DEHP affects female reproduction remain unknown. In recent years, research focused on the intestinal flora has provided an idea to eliminate our confusion, and gut bacterial dysbiosis may contribute to female reproductive toxicity. In the present study, the feces of DEHP‐exposed mice were collected and analyzed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and untargeted global metabolite profiling of metabolomics. DEHP obviously causes reproductive toxicity, including the ovarian organ coefficient, estradiol level, histological features of the ovary and estrus. Furthermore, DEHP exposure alters the structure of the intestinal microbiota community and fecal metabolite profile in mice, suggesting that the reproductive toxicity may be caused by gut bacterial dysbiosis and altered metabolites, such as changes in the levels of short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA). Additionally, it is well known that changes in gut microbiota and fecal metabolites cause inflammation and tissue oxidative stress, expectedly, we found oxidative stress in the ovary and systemic inflammation in DEHP exposed mice. Thus, based on our findings, DEHP exposure may cause gut bacterial dysbiosis and altered metabolite profiles, particularly SCFA profiles, leading to oxidative stress in the ovary and systemic inflammation to ultimately induce female reproductive toxicity.
Screening of tomato landraces for drought tolerance based on growth and chlorophyll fluorescence analyses
Authors: Sousaraei Naeimeh , Mashayekhi Kambiz , Mousavizadeh Seyyed Javad , Akbarpour Vahid , Medina Joaquín , Aliniaeifard Sasan 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTo investigate the effects of water withholding on 17 tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) landraces collected from different climatic zones of Iran and two commercial hybrids, the polyphasic OJIP fluorescence transient, relative water content (RWC), electrolyte leakage (EL) and vegetative growth parameters were analyzed. Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) for all the studied parameters and drought factor index (DFI) based on performance index on the absorption basis (PIabs) were used for screening the plants based on their tolerance to drought condition. Result showed that compared to the control plants, vegetative growth parameters, RWC, PIabs, relative maximal variable fluorescence (FM/F0), maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (FV/FM), quantum yield of electron transport (ΦE0) and electron transport flux per reaction center (RC) (ET0/RC) were decreased, whereas, EL, quantum yield of energy dissipation (ΦD0), specific energy fluxes per RC for energy absorption (ABS/RC) and dissipated energy flux (DI0/RC), which are closely related to the incidence of photoinhibition were increased in plants exposed to water withholding. DMRT and DFI screening results clearly categorized the landraces into three groups (tolerant, moderately sensitive and sensitive). Tolerant landraces showed less change for most of the measured parameters compared to sensitive and moderately sensitive landraces. We found that adapted landraces to dry climates had a higher tolerance to drought stress. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that FM/F0, FV/FM, ΦE0, ΦD0, PIabs, ABS/RC, ET0/RC and DI0/RC parameters are the most sensitive parameters for detection of impact of drought stress on tomato plants. In conclusion, the eight parameters have the potential to identify the drought injury in tomato seedlings.
Response to COVID-19: was Italy (un)prepared?
Authors: Bosa Iris , Castelli Adriana , Castelli Michele , Ciani Oriana , Compagni Amelia , Galizzi Matteo M. , Garofano Matteo , Ghislandi Simone , Giannoni Margherita , Marini Giorgia , Vainieri Milena 
Published: March 2021

AbstractOn 31st January 2020, the Italian cabinet declared a 6-month national emergency after the detection of the first two COVID-19 positive cases in Rome, two Chinese tourists travelling from Wuhan. Between then and the total lockdown introduced on 22nd March 2020 Italy was hit by an unprecedented crisis. In addition to being the first European country to be heavily swept by the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy was the first to introduce stringent lockdown measures. The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and related COVID-19 pandemic have been the worst public health challenge endured in recent history by Italy. Two months since the beginning of the first wave, the estimated excess deaths in Lombardy, the hardest hit region in the country, reached a peak of more than 23,000 deaths. The extraordinary pressures exerted on the Italian Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) inevitably leads to questions about its preparedness and the appropriateness and effectiveness of responses implemented at both national and regional levels. The aim of the paper is to critically review the Italian response to the COVID-19 crisis spanning from the first early acute phases of the emergency (March–May 2020) to the relative stability of the epidemiological situation just before the second outbreak in October 2020.
Unique scales preserve self-similar integrate-and-fire functionality of neuronal clusters
Authors: Amgalan Anar , Taylor Patrick , Mujica-Parodi Lilianne R. , Siegelmann Hava T. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBrains demonstrate varying spatial scales of nested hierarchical clustering. Identifying the brain’s neuronal cluster size to be presented as nodes in a network computation is critical to both neuroscience and artificial intelligence, as these define the cognitive blocks capable of building intelligent computation. Experiments support various forms and sizes of neural clustering, from handfuls of dendrites to thousands of neurons, and hint at their behavior. Here, we use computational simulations with a brain-derived fMRI network to show that not only do brain networks remain structurally self-similar across scales but also neuron-like signal integration functionality (“integrate and fire”) is preserved at particular clustering scales. As such, we propose a coarse-graining of neuronal networks to ensemble-nodes, with multiple spikes making up its ensemble-spike and time re-scaling factor defining its ensemble-time step. This fractal-like spatiotemporal property, observed in both structure and function, permits strategic choice in bridging across experimental scales for computational modeling while also suggesting regulatory constraints on developmental and evolutionary “growth spurts” in brain size, as per punctuated equilibrium theories in evolutionary biology.
Tilting and rotational motions of silver halide crystal with diffracted X-ray blinking
Authors: Kuramochi Masahiro , Omata Hiroki , Ishihara Masaki , Hanslin Sander Ø. , Mizumaki Masaichiro , Kawamura Naomi , Osawa Hitoshi , Suzuki Motohiro , Mio Kazuhiro , Sekiguchi Hiroshi , Sasaki Yuji C. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe dynamic properties of crystalline materials are important for understanding their local environment or individual single-grain motions. A new time-resolved observation method is required for use in many fields of investigation. Here, we developed in situ diffracted X-ray blinking to monitor high-resolution diffraction patterns from single-crystal grains with a 50 ms time resolution. The diffraction spots of single grains of silver halides and silver moved in the θ and χ directions during the photolysis chemical reaction. The movements of the spots represent tilting and rotational motions. The time trajectory of the diffraction intensity reflecting those motions was analysed by using single-pixel autocorrelation function (sp-ACF). Single-pixel ACF analysis revealed significant differences in the distributions of the ACF decay constants between silver halides, suggesting that the motions of single grains are different between them. The rotational diffusion coefficients for silver halides were estimated to be accurate at the level of approximately 0.1 to 0.3 pm2/s. Furthermore, newly formed silver grains on silver halides correlated with their ACF decay constants. Our high-resolution atomic scale measurement—sp-ACF analysis of diffraction patterns of individual grains—is useful for evaluating physical properties that are broadly applicable in physics, chemistry, and materials science.