Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Population structure of the sand dollar Echinarachnius parma in the subtidal zone of the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern Canada

We examined changes in populations of Echinarachnius parma with depth on subtidal sediment slopes in the Mingan Islands. Size distributions showed the presence of two major groups measuring 1–21 and 37–62 mm in length, respectively. Intermediate-sized sand dollars were rare. Juveniles (< 28 mm in length) were extremely abundant at 16 and 20 m depth (460–660/m2) and decreased in number with decreasing depth, whereas the density of adults was relatively stable at different depths. Juveniles were more frequently buried (95%) than adults (30%). Analysis of growth lines and of shifts in juvenile cohorts indicated that growth rate increased with size up to a maximum between 20 and 40 mm and then decreased sharply. The bimodal size structure is possibly due to the accelerated growth rate at intermediate sizes. We hypothesize that sand dollars move to shallower water with increasing size to take advantage of food resources, possibly benthic diatoms, which are more abundant there. Large individuals are probably be.
A model for internal self‐shading in planktonic organisms and its implications for the usefulness of ultraviolet sunscreens

I present a bio-optical model that estimates the internal self-shading caused by absorbing matter in planktonic organisms as well as the specific benefit afforded by the accumulation of sunscreen compounds. The model is applied to the examination of case studies of sunscreen-bearing microorganisms and to the prediction of the effects of organismal size on both the inherent sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation and the possible amelioration of this condition by means of sunscreen accumulation. The model predicts that sunscreens cannot be used as a photoprotective mechanism of any relevance by picoplankters (cell radii, 100 µm) can use sunscreens with efficiencies comparable to well-studied damage-repair mechanisms. Among nanoplankters (cell radii, 1−< 10 µm), sunscreens can afford considerable benefits but only at the expense of relatively heavy investments and with restricted efficiencies.
Chilling Resistance as Affected by Stressing Environments and Abscisic Acid

Three-day-old cucumber seedlings (Cucumis sativus L) were exposed to chilling temperatures of 2 ± 1 C for 24 h. Necrosis in the cotyledons and reduction of vegetative growth of both root and shoot became evident 6 days later Increased resistance to chilling, as indicated by the extent of overall reduction in chilling damages, was obtained through pretreatments: application of abscisic acid to the seedlings, withholding of water from the seedlings, and salinization of the root medium. We concluded that abscisic acid, either applied to the seedlings or induced to increase by exposure to water shortage, was involved in the development of chilling resistance in cucumber seedlings
Combined Effect of Water Activity, pH and Sub-optimal Temperature on Growth and Enterotoxin Production of Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus growth and enterotoxin production in relation to a, (0.99–0.87), pH (4.0–7.0) and temperature (8–30°C) was determined in Brain-heart-infusion broth with respectively NaCl and sucrose as humectants. Growth of S. aureus was not observed at aw 0.85, at pH 4.3 or at 8°C. At 12°C no growth occurred at a, 0.90 or at a, 0.93 in combination with pH < 5.5. At aw 0.96 no growth occurred at pH ≤ 4.9. Production of staphylococcal enterotoxin type A (SEA) occurred under nearly all conditions allowing growth. Production of SEB appears to be determined by aw; at aw 0.96 SEB was produced at all temperatures allowing growth, while at a, 0.93 SEB was hardly produced. Production of SEC and SEF was affected both by aw and temperaure. Production of these toxins was rarely observed at a, 0.93. No SEC and SEF were produced at 12°C. Extrapolation of these findings to food is discussed.
IBD and Bile Acid Absorption: Focus on Pre-clinical and Clinical Observations

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) causes chronic inflammation affecting the GI tract. It is classified as consisting of Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Bile Acid absorption is altered in both pre-clinical models of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IB) and in human IBD. The bile acid transporter apical sodium dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) showed decreased expression in rats with TNBS colitis. Decreased ASBT expression has also been described in murine, canine and rabbit models of intestinal inflammation. Human IBD studies have shown that an inflamed ileum can interrupt enterohepatic recirculation of bile acid, which could be due to inflammatory cytokine induced repression of the ASBT promoter. There are different hypotheses as to why ASBT is downregulated during CD. In addition, one study has demonstrated the beneficial effect of a glucocorticoid on ASBT expression, when treating IBD. Our aim in this paper was to systematically review various aspects of bile acid malabsorption in animal models of intestinal inflammation, as well as in IBD.
Risk Awareness, Self-Efficacy, and Social Support Predict Secure Smartphone Usage

It is widely acknowledged that non-compliance with smartphone security behaviors is widespread and may cause severe harm to people and devices. In addition to device-based security issues, there are psychological factors involved in these behaviors such as self-efficacy, risk awareness, and social support. The present study examines associations of these three factors with smartphone security behaviors and explores possible mechanisms among these variables. In a longitudinal survey with 192 Chinese college students (73.4% women, mean age 24.46 years, SD = 5.15), self-efficacy, risk awareness, and social support were assessed with psychometric scales at two points in time, 2 weeks apart. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed with follow-up smartphone security behaviors as the dependent variable, controlling for baseline values and demographic and IT-related covariates. Main effects of self-efficacy, risk awareness, and social support on smartphone security behaviors were identified. Moreover, a triple interaction among the three predictors emerged in a synergistic way, indicating that their combination yielded more favorable levels of secure smartphone use. The total model accounted for 50% of the behavioral variance, with all covariates included, and the triple interaction among self-efficacy, risk awareness, and social support accounted for 2.3% of variance. Results document that psychological factors are involved in smartphone security behaviors beyond demographic and IT-related covariates. Interventions could be designed to improve smartphone security behaviors not only by developing privacy-enhancing technologies but also by considering psychological factors such as self-efficacy, risk awareness, and social support.
Biotransformation of Selenium by Lactic Acid Bacteria: Formation of Seleno-Nanoparticles and Seleno-Amino Acids

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for the majority of living organisms, and it has been identified as selenocysteine in the active site of several selenoproteins such as glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, and deiodinases. Se deficiency in humans is associated with viral infections, thyroid dysfunction, different types of cancer, and aging. In several European countries as well as in Argentina, Se intake is below the recommended dietary Intake (RDI). Some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can accumulate and bio-transform selenite (toxic) into Se-nanoparticles (SeNPs) and Se-amino acids (non-toxic). The microbial growth, Se metabolite distribution, and the glutathione reductase (involved in selenite reduction) activity of Se-enriched LAB were studied in this work. The ninety-six assayed strains, belonging to the genera Lactococcus, Weissella, Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and Fructobacillus could grow in the presence of 5 ppm sodium selenite. From the total, eight strains could remove more than 80% of the added Se from the culture medium. These bacteria accumulated intracellularly between 1.2 and 2.5 ppm of the added Se, from which F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 contained the highest intracellular amount. These strains produced only the seleno-amino acid SeCys as observed by LC-ICP-MS and confirmed by LC-ESI-MS/MS. The intracellular SeCys concentrations were between 0.015 and 0.880 ppm; Lb. brevis CRL 2051 (0.873 ppm), Lb. plantarum CRL 2030 (0.867 ppm), and F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 (0.625 ppm) were the strains that showed the highest concentrations. Glutathione reductase activity values were higher when the strains were grown in the presence of Se except for the F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 strain, which showed an opposite behavior. The cellular morphology of the strains was not affected by the presence of Se in the culture medium; interestingly, all the strains were able to form spherical SeNPs as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Only two Enterococcus strains produced the volatile Se compounds dimethyl-diselenide identified by GC-MS. Our results show that Lb. brevis CRL 2051, Lb. plantarum CRL 2030, and F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 could be used for the development of nutraceuticals or as starter cultures for the bio-enrichment of fermented fruit beverages with SeCys and SeNPs.
Effects of an invasive anuran [the cane toad (Bufo marinus)] on the invertebrate fauna of a tropical Australian floodplain

The ways in which invasive organisms influence native ecosystems remain poorly understood. For example, feral cane toads Bufo marinus have spread extensively through tropical Australia over the last 70 years, but assessments of their ecological impact remain largely anecdotal. We conducted experimental trials to examine the effect of cane toad presence on invertebrate fauna in relatively small (2.4 × 1.2 m) outdoor enclosures on a floodplain near Darwin in the wet–dry tropics. Toads significantly reduced invertebrate abundance and species richness, but only to about the same degree as did an equivalent biomass of native anurans. Thus, if toads simply replaced native anurans, the offtake of invertebrates might not be substantially different from that due to native anurans before toad invasion. However, our field surveys suggest that toads cause a massive (fourfold) increase in total amphibian biomass. The end result is that cane toads act as a massive nutrient sink in the floodplain ecosystem because they consume vast numbers of invertebrates but (unlike native frogs) are largely invulnerable to predation by frog‐eating predators.
The Rationale for Monitoring Invasive Plant Populations as a Crucial Step for Management

Abstract Many land managers are faced with trying to optimize management of invasive plant species based on budget constraints and lack of knowledge of the true potential of the species. Generally, “early detection rapid response” (EDRR) is the assumed best management strategy and tends to drive management regardless of the invasion stage or possible variation in the invasion potential of the population. We created a simulation model to evaluate the optimal management strategy to reduce the rate of invasion of nonindigenous plant species. The strategies were specifically chosen to assess the value of information from monitoring populations. We compared four management strategies and a no-management control over a 20-yr period in the context of a management area: (1) managing a fixed number of populations at random each year (EDRR random), (2) managing an equivalent number of populations along a road each year (EDRR road), (3) managing half of the fixed populations that were determined by monitoring to be sources of new populations (monitoring every year), and (4) managing an equivalent set of source populations only on even years, leaving the odd years for monitoring (monitoring every other year). EDRR random location without regard to population invasion potential, and monitoring every year targeting management on populations determined to be invasive (sources for new populations), were the most successful strategies for reducing the increase in total number of populations. The model simulations suggest that managers could dedicate 50% of their management time to monitoring without risk of accelerating invasions or reducing the impact of their weed management program.
Broadband Entrainment of Striatal Low-Threshold Spike Interneurons

Striatal interneurons and spiny projection (SP) neurons are differentially tuned to spectral components of their input. Previous studies showed that spike responses of somatostatin/NPY-expressing low threshold spike (LTS) interneurons have broad frequency tuning, setting these cells apart from other striatal GABAergic interneurons and SP neurons. We investigated the mechanism of LTS interneuron spiking resonance and its relationship to non-spiking membrane impedance resonance, finding that abolition of impedance resonance did not alter spiking resonance. Because LTS interneurons are pacemakers whose rhythmic firing is perturbed by synaptic input, we tested the hypothesis that their spiking resonance arises from their phase resetting properties. Phase resetting curves (PRCs) were measured in LTS interneurons and SP neurons and used to make phase-oscillator models of both cell types. The models reproduced the broad tuning of LTS interneurons, and the differences from SP neurons. The spectral components of the PRC predicted each cell’s sensitivity to corresponding input frequencies. LTS interneuron PRCs contain larger high-frequency components than SP neuron PRCs, providing enhanced responses to input frequencies above the cells’ average firing rates. Thus, LTS cells can be entrained by input oscillations to which SP neurons are less responsive. These findings suggest that feedforward inhibition by LTS interneurons may regulate SP neurons’ entrainment by oscillatory afferents.
Examining the Neural Basis of Congruent and Incongruent Configural Contexts during Associative Retrieval

Abstract Disrupting the configural context, or relative organization and orientation of paired stimuli, between encoding and retrieval negatively impacts memory. Using univariate and multivariate fMRI analyses, we examined the effect of retaining and manipulating the configural context on neural mechanisms supporting associative retrieval. Behavioral results showed participants had significantly higher hit rates for recollecting pairs in a contextually congruent, versus incongruent, configuration. In addition, contextual congruency between memory phases was a critical determinant to characterizing both the magnitude and patterns of neural activation within visual and parietal cortices. Regions within visual cortices also exhibited higher correlations between patterns of activity at encoding and retrieval when configural context was congruent across memory phases than incongruent. Collectively, these findings shed light on how manipulating configural context between encoding and retrieval affects associative recognition, with changes in the configural context leading to reductions in information transfer and increases in task difficulty.
Effects on Personal Factors Through Flipped Learning and Gamification as Combined Methodologies in Secondary Education

Purpose This study aims to analyze the effects of a flipped and gamified program on the autonomy, competence, relation with others, satisfaction/enjoyment, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and boredom of students of Physical Education. Method The study used a control group and an experimental group to compare pretest and posttest data in both of them. Instruments used were the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale, Sport Motivation Scale, and Sport Satisfaction Instrument, all of them validated in academic literature. Results On one hand, data indicated that autonomy has been increased with the application of these teaching methodologies. On the other hand, students’ satisfaction, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation have improved based on the interaction with gamification and flipped learning. Finally, with all dimensions, it seems that academic performance has been improved, although not in a significative way. Discussion/Conclusion Results of the study provide to educational researchers valuable information for a better understanding of how flipped learning and gamification influence personal performance of Physical Education students.
Nucleus preservation in early Ediacaran Weng'an embryo-like fossils, experimental taphonomy of nuclei and implications for reading the eukaryote fossil record

The challenge of identifying fossilized organelles has long hampered attempts to interpret the fossil record of early eukaryote evolution. We explore this challenge through experimental taphonomy of nuclei in a living eukaryote and microscale physical and chemical characterization of putative nuclei in embryo-like fossils from the early Ediacaran Weng'an Biota. The fossil nuclei exhibit diverse preservational modes that differ in shape, presence or absence of an inner body and the chemistry of the associated mineralization. The nuclei are not directly fossilized; rather, they manifest as external moulds. Experimental taphonomy of epidermal cells from the common onion (Allium cepa) demonstrates that nuclei are more decay resistant than their host cells, generally maintaining their physical dimensions for weeks to months post-mortem, though under some experimental conditions they exhibit shrinkage and/or become shrouded in microbial biofilms. The fossil and experimental evidence may be rationalized in a single taphonomic pathway of selective mineralization of the cell cytoplasm, preserving an external mould of the nucleus that is itself resistant to both decay and mineral replication. Combined, our results provide both a secure identification of the Weng'an nuclei as well as the potential of a fossil record of organelles that might help arbitrate in long-standing debates over the relative and absolute timing of the evolutionary assembly of eukaryote-grade cells.
Impact of Mean Annual Temperature on Nutrient Availability in a Tropical Montane Wet Forest

Despite growing understanding of how rising temperatures affect carbon cycling, the impact of long-term and whole forest warming on the suite of essential and potentially limiting nutrients remains understudied, particularly for elements other than N and P. Whole ecosystem warming experiments are limited, environmental gradients are often confounded by variation in factors other than temperature, and few studies have been conducted in the tropics. We examined litterfall, live foliar nutrient content, foliar nutrient resorption efficiency (NRE), nutrient return, and foliar nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of total litterfall and live foliage of two dominant trees to test hypotheses about how increasing mean annual temperature (MAT) impacts the availability and ecological stoichiometry of C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu in tropical montane wet forests located along a 5.2°C gradient in Hawaii. Live foliage responded to increasing MAT with increased N and K concentrations, decreased C and Mn concentrations, and no detectable change in P concentration or in foliar NRE. Increases in MAT increased nutrient return via litterfall for N, K, Mg, and Zn and foliar NUE for Mn and Cu, while decreasing nutrient return for Cu and foliar NUE for K. The N:P of litterfall and live foliage increased with MAT, while there was no detectable effect of MAT on C:P. The ratio of live foliar N or P to base cations and micronutrients was variable across elements and species. Increased MAT resulted in declining N:K and P:K for one species, while only P:K declined for the other. N:Ca and N:Mn increased with MAT for both species, while N:Mg increased for one and P:Mn increased for the other species. Overall, results from this study suggest that rising MAT in tropical montane wet forest: (i) increases plant productivity and the cycling and availability of N, K, Mg, and Zn; (ii) decreases the cycling and availability of Mn and Cu; (iii) has little direct effect on P, Ca or Fe; and (iv) affects ecological stoichiometry in ways that may exacerbate P–as well as other base cation and micronutrient – limitations to tropical montane forest productivity.
On the use of models in understanding the rise of complex life

Recently, several seemingly irreconcilably different models have been proposed for relationships between Earth system processes and the rise of complex life. These models provide very different scenarios of Proterozoic atmospheric oxygen and ocean nutrient levels, whether they constrained complex life, and of how the rise of complex life affected biogeochemical conditions. For non-modellers, it can be hard to evaluate which—if any—of the models and their results have more credence—hence this article. I briefly review relevant hypotheses, how models are being used to incarnate and sometimes test those hypotheses, and key principles of biogeochemical cycling models should embody. Then I critically review the use of biogeochemical models in: inferring key variables from proxies; reconstructing ancient biogeochemical cycling; and examining how complex life affected biogeochemical cycling. Problems are found in published model results purporting to demonstrate long-term stable states of very low Proterozoic atmospheric pO2 and ocean P levels. I explain what they stem from and highlight key empirical uncertainties that need to be resolved. Then I suggest how models and data can be better combined to advance our scientific understanding of the relationship between Earth system processes and the rise of complex life.
Reconciling proxy records and models of Earth's oxygenation during the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic

A hypothesized rise in oxygen levels in the Neoproterozoic, dubbed the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event, has been repeatedly linked to the origin and rise of animal life. However, a new body of work has emerged over the past decade that questions this narrative. We explore available proxy records of atmospheric and marine oxygenation and, considering the unique systematics of each geochemical system, attempt to reconcile the data. We also present new results from a comprehensive COPSE biogeochemical model that combines several recent additions, to create a continuous model record from 850 to 250 Ma. We conclude that oxygen levels were intermediate across the Ediacaran and early Palaeozoic, and highly dynamic. Stable, modern-like conditions were not reached until the Late Palaeozoic. We therefore propose that the terms Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Window and Palaeozoic Oxygenation Event are more appropriate descriptors of the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere and oceans.
Influence of Feeding Duration On Moulting and Sex Determination of Meloidogyne Incognita

Second stage Meloidogyne incognita larvae of different sizes were dissected from plant roots and placed in water agar to observe their development. The same population was tested in 1968 and again in 1970. Larvae that had fed for less than 9 days at 22° C were unable to moult, but depending on how long they had fed, older larvae moulted to the third, fourth or fifth stage. Larvae moulted to the third stage at approximately the same age irrespective of feeding duration. Most larvae dissected from roots 10, 11 or 12 days after inoculation in 1968 became male, whereas older larvae became female. There was a strong correlation between mean width of larvae at the time of dissection and their subsequent development. The same population retested in 1970, gave different results. Fully fed second stage larvae were smaller than in 1968 and sex was no longer labile. Larvae that had fed for more than 10 days were female, if they became sexually differentiated at all. As the population had been kept in isolation and was morphologically unchanged, the change in behaviour of the population was probably caused by selection between tests of a line able to become female in poor environmental conditions.