United States Chamber of Commerce

ABSTRACTThis study utilized collaborations with Senegalese women farmers to investigate the impact of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation of sorghum, baobab, and milk on nutritional and sensory qualities for plant‐enriched yogurt. Using a simplex lattice mixture design, five samples of varying weight ratios of sorghum/baobab (17.5/32.5–47.5/2.5, w.b.) were prepared by mixing sorghum/baobab blend (50 g, w.b.), milk (500 mL), Lactobacillus bulgaricus species and Streptococcus thermophilus species, and fermenting at 40°C for 9 h. After only fermenting milk, one Control was prepared by adding sorghum/baobab (32.5/17.5). The samples were evaluated for pH, texture, LAB count, and iron solubility after simulated digestion. A total of 125 panelists, including 32 Africans, evaluated the samples flavored with bananas after fermentation, using a nine‐point hedonic scale and check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) method. Data were analyzed using variance analysis, least significant difference test, agglomerative hierarchical clustering, and Fisher's exact test. All samples had a pH below 4.6 and a LAB count of 108, except for sample 17.5/32.5 (104), likely due to baobab's acidity hindering LAB growth. Fermenting sorghum, baobab, and milk together increased iron solubility by 64.1% compared to the Control. From the CATA results, sweet flavor and creamy mouthfeel increased overall liking, while tart flavor and gritty mouthfeel decreased liking. Cluster analysis showed that Africans favored samples with both less and more baobab equally (40/10, 25/25, overall liking of 6.8), while Caucasians preferred less baobab (40/10, overall liking of 4.8). Both clusters disfavored the Control (overall liking 6.0 and 4.1), which had the lowest instrumental texture consistency.

Mothers in the United States are unwell, with high rates of maternal stress and death. Maternal health matters in its own right, and it is more difficult for children to be well if their parents are not. Improving mothers' economic status and social connectedness to improve maternal and child health has received increased attention. New data build on previous findings that economic (e.g., financial strain, lost health insurance) and social [e.g., adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), structural racism] stressors are associated with poorer maternal and child health. Conversely, economic and social supports (e.g., cash transfers, paid family and medical leave, social connectedness) improve aspects of maternal and child health. Evidence on whether pandemic-era cash transfers impact maternal and child health is mixed. Addressing social and economic stressors can improve maternal and child health, but the details matter. Incremental economic interventions are insufficient. Social factors such as isolation and structural racism must also be addressed. Policy implementation is equally important; families cannot benefit if they cannot access resources. Policy changes such as universal paid family and medical leave are needed. The field of pediatrics should update practice guidelines and advocate for policy changes.

This study fabricated “two-step” and “one-step” hybrid gels as lipase catalytic matrices to overcome the limitations of conventional emulsion and immobilization methods. The hybrid gels, composed of interpenetrating hydrogel and organogel networks, exhibited an oil–water amphiphilicity and unique microstructures. Key findings showed that the one-step hybrid gels enhanced lipase activity by up to 14-fold, while the two-step gels achieved a 6-fold increase compared to the control groups (optimal organogel–hydrogel ratio). The gels demonstrated remarkable stability under extreme temperatures and pH conditions, with the two-step gels retaining 53.2% lipase activity after six cycles. Adjusting the organogel–hydrogel ratio optimized catalytic efficiency, and ultrasound-assisted cross-linking improved the uniformity and activity of the one-step hybrid gel (638.51%). These hybrid gels provided a three-dimensional interfacial environment that enhanced substrate-lipase interactions, offering advantages in reusability, efficiency, and environmental adaptability. This work presents a promising strategy for designing advanced biocatalysts for industrial applications.

The war in Ukraine has resulted in a mass exodus of Ukrainians fleeing their country and seeking resettlement in many countries, including Canada. There is a lack of literature, particularly qualitative, that explores past experiences with oral health care in the country of origin for newcomers and the experience of access and utilization of oral health care once in Canada. The increase in Ukrainian newcomers to Canada requires an exploration of barriers and facilitators to oral health care access to inform policy. To explore the barriers and facilitators to oral health care experienced by Ukrainian newcomers during resettlement in Nova Scotia, Canada. This study used a narrative qualitative methodology. Adult Ukrainian newcomers who arrived in Canada after the Russian invasion in 2022 were recruited via social media and through recruitment flyers advertised at the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia. They were interviewed between February 17 and July 1, 2023, in the Ukrainian language. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed via inductive and deductive line-by-line coding per the thematic analysis method. Codes were grouped to form categories and themes. Participants identified facilitators to oral health care that included friends and family, social networks, and information provided through the workplace. Barriers to access included cost, referral process, location and wait times for specialists, language, and lack of understanding the oral health care and dental insurance systems in Canada. Ukrainian newcomers to Nova Scotia face several barriers to oral health care access. Interventions to address these barriers should be considered to ensure equitable access to oral health care services during the resettlement process.Knowledge Transfer Statement:The results of this study may be used to inform policy to facilitate timely access to oral health care for Ukrainian newcomers. The findings may also guide professionals when providing oral health care services to Ukrainian newcomers. Addressing the barriers and maximizing the facilitators to oral health care services for this population could help to improve access to oral health care services and oral health outcomes.

Innovation is a fundamental driver of economic growth, regional competitiveness, and societal well-being. Nonetheless, its benefits remain unevenly distributed, with many regions, so called “innovation deserts,” struggling to translate potential into productivity due to systemic barriers and limited insight into the drivers of innovation. Motivated by this disparity, this article presents a novel data-driven framework for analyzing and benchmarking innovation productivity across the U.S. counties, identifying key determinants that drive regional innovation performance. The study covers over 3200 U.S. counties and includes 108 attributes spanning innovation outputs, demographics, education levels, STEM participation, internet connectivity, business sizes, and economic indicators. The framework comprises three integrated modules: 1) a hybrid feature selection mechanism combining random forest importance scores with mutual information criteria to identify influential factors; 2) a nonlinear dimensionality reduction module employing kernel-based principal component analysis to mitigate the curse of dimensionality; and 3) a particle swarm optimized XGBoost model (PSO-XGBoost) enabling sensitivity analysis and scenario-based forecasting. The framework demonstrates superior predictive performance (R<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> >0.81) compared to five other state-of-the art boosting algorithms. The analysis uncovers nonlinear relationships between key attributes and innovation outcomes, facilitating benchmarking of innovation productivity and quantifying targeted interventions to foster inclusive innovation ecosystems. The proposed framework offers policymakers interpretable, actionable insights for evidence-based regional innovation development. In particular, this study contributes a novel framework to identify innovation deserts and benchmark regional performance at a national scale.

The article examines contemporary practices of regulating intellectual migration and new instruments for attracting mobile professionals, including visa regimes for digital nomads and diaspora engagement programs. Based on the policy transfer approach, a comparative analysis of five jurisdictions (Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Croatia, UAE) is conducted, identifying their key features and common elements. The Kazakhstani context is analyzed through strategic documents, legislative initiatives, and empirical data from surveys of graduates of foreign universities. The analysis demonstrates that current state policy is primarily focused on attracting and repatriating foreign specialists, while flexible mechanisms for the remote engagement of Kazakhstan’s own citizens abroad remain underdeveloped. The article suggests viewing international experience as an opportunity to adapt more convenient and modern tools for working with digital nomads and the diaspora.

At a 1979 workers' compensation seminar for the Michigan Legislature, University of Michigan law professor Marcus Plant closed by noting that "[m]y intent was to sketch in broad strokes the background of our workers' disability compensation law. It is my firm belief that wise decisions as to where we should go cannot be made unless we know how we got where we are. " I share Professor Plant's belief. I feel strongly that wise public policy decisions about where we should go next in the reform process depend substantially on a good understanding of how we got where we are today. Accordingly, !will describe tonight the people, politics, and legislative process that recently resulted in the passage of the Michigan Worker's Disability Compensation Act.

Abstract This study investigates the impact of gender diversity on firm productivity following foreign direct investment (FDI) spillover. Using Indonesian firm‐level datasets from 2011 to 2015, we employ gender spillovers to assess women's distinct contributions to labor spillovers, often manifested through their impacts on productivity, knowledge sharing, and innovation. A fixed‐effects estimator using Driscoll and Kraay's standard errors was employed to deal with cross‐sectional dependence. We first examined the intra‐industry spillover effects of FDI, followed by spatial spillovers, to evaluate the influence of one province's productivity changes on neighboring provinces. Our findings reveal significant gender‐driven FDI spillovers in the spatial dimension but not within the sector. The consistent results across subsamples (impacts on domestic firms, Java‐non‐Java Island, feminization degree, and industrial technology intensity) align with theoretical studies that emphasize the influence of geographical proximity on FDI spillovers. No significant intra‐industry spillover effects were observed. Further exploration of informal channels, possibly mediating spillover effectiveness, is recommended to provide insights into the observed sectoral dynamics.

Relevance: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the five most common cancers worldwide and is characterized by trends in incidence, disability, and mortality. A significant recurrence rate and early metastasis characterize CRC. Many meta-analyses in the world literature are aimed at finding factors that determine the probable outcome of the disease.&#x0D; The study aimed to evaluate the role of the parenchymal-stromal ratio in the progression of colorectal cancer.&#x0D; Methods: When microcopying at 40x magnification, the parenchyma (Sp) and stroma (Sm) area were measured in the areas of superficial tumor growth and deep invasion. The parenchymal-stromal ratio (PSR) was calculated using the formula PSS=Sp/Sm, and the correlation with tumor metastasis was determined.&#x0D; Results: With an increase in the depth of tumor invasion, the frequency of metastasis to the liver also increased. The metastasis rate for invasion into the muco-submucosal layer (T1) and the muscular layer (T2) was 4%, respectively. The rate increased to 80% with the involvement of the subserous membrane (T3). Metastases in regional lymph nodes worsened the outcome of the disease threefold. With locally widespread and locally regional in the zone of deep invasion, the parenchymal component predominates over the stroma. PSS is 2.5:1.0 and 1.6:1.0. With CRC disseminated growth in the zone of deep tumor invasion, PSS was 1.0:1.4 with a predominance of the stromal component up to 57%.&#x0D; Conclusion: There is a decrease in PSS in superficial growth zones in disseminated forms of colorectal cancer compared with local and local-regional types of cancer. The predominance of the stromal component in the zone of deep invasion is directly proportional to the high adverse outcome.