Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caracterização físico-química e capacidade antioxidante de pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.)

Este estudo foi realizado para obter mais informacoes sobre as propriedades fisico-quimicas, composicao e atividade antioxidante de frutos de pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.), especialmente os do Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil). Foram comparadas pitangas com diferentes coloracoes de polpa (roxa, vermelha e laranja) de selecoes cultivadas na Embrapa Clima Temperado (RS-Brasil). Foram observadas pequenas diferencas nos parâmetros de qualidade e na composicao centesimal e de acidos graxos entre as frutas com diferentes coloracoes de polpa. Os extratos de pitanga roxa apresentaram maiores conteudos totais de fenolicos e de antocianinas, bem como, a maior capacidade antioxidante. A capacidade antioxidante (valores de DPPH e FRAP) dos extratos metanolicos de pitanga apresentou alta correlacao com o conteudo de fenolicos totais, mas nos extratos etanolicos, o conteudo de antocianinas correlacionou-se apenas com a capacidade antioxidante avaliada pelo metodo de FRAP. A pitanga de cor laranja apresentou maiores teores de β-criptoxantina e β-caroteno, enquanto que a de cor vermelha continha alto teor de licopeno. Os resultados indicam que a pitanga de cor roxa, cultivada no Rio Grande do Sul, e uma fonte rica de compostos fenolicos e possui alta capacidade antioxidante. As de cor vermelha e laranja, por outro lado, sao fontes ricas de carotenoides.
Two new fossil muroids (Sigmodontinae: Phyllotini) from the early Pleistocene of Argentina: phylogeny and paleoecology

ABSTRACT Two new species and genera of extinct muroid rodents are described from fossil material dating to the early Pleistocene of Argentina (Sanandresian Substage/Subage). They are both tetralophodont forms belonging to the tribe Phyllotini (Sigmodontinae) and are assigned to Ichthyurodon ameghinoi, gen. et sp. nov., and Olympicomys vossi, gen. et sp. nov. Phylogenetic analyses involving extant phyllotines, the two new species, and two other newly discovered extinct phyllotines result in a refined and expanded concept of the clade consisting of Loxodontomys and the Reithrodon generic group. The generic diversity of this clade is thus doubled from four to eight. Several of the fossil genera appear to represent transitional forms, although Ichthyurodon, gen. nov., possesses dental traits unique among the members of the subfamily Sigmodontinae. The significance of the new species and their faunal context for our understanding of the paleoecology of the southern cone of South America is discussed.
Genome Size Variation in Sisyrinchium L. (Iridaceae) and Its Relationship to Phenotype and Habitat

Genome size was measured in 62 plants belonging to 36 known and three unknown species of Sisyrinchium from a wide geographical range in the American continents, between British Columbia and Tierra del Fuego. Genome size varied up to 7.7-fold among species. In the Northern Hemisphere, genomes were uniformly small and varied between two and 12 in number. In the Southern Hemisphere, two groups were identified; species with x = 9 were predominantly diploid and showed an increase in genome size with latitude. Those with x = 8 had small genomes and varied in genome number, as in Northern Hemisphere species. The increase in genome size among diploid species in the Southern Hemisphere showed a positive correlation with seed weight but was not correlated with epidermal cell volume. Variation in genome size is suggested to be related to onset of growth, length of growing period, and reproductive strategies.
Sensor-Based Continuous Authentication of Smartphones’ Users Using Behavioral Biometrics: A Contemporary Survey

Mobile devices and technologies have become increasingly popular, offering comparable storage and computational capabilities to desktop computers allowing users to store and interact with sensitive and private information. The security and protection of such personal information are becoming more and more important since mobile devices are vulnerable to unauthorized access or theft. User authentication is a task of paramount importance that grants access to legitimate users at the point of entry and continuously through the usage session. This task is made possible with today’s smartphones’ embedded sensors that enable continuous and implicit user authentication by capturing behavioral biometrics and traits. In this article, we survey more than 140 recent behavioral biometric-based approaches for continuous user authentication, including motion-based methods (28 studies), gait-based methods (19 studies), keystroke dynamics-based methods (20 studies), touch gesture-based methods (29 studies), voice-based methods (16 studies), and multimodal-based methods (34 studies). The survey provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art approaches for continuous user authentication using behavioral biometrics captured by smartphones’ embedded sensors, including insights and open challenges for adoption, usability, and performance.
Credibility to attract, trust to stay: the mediating role of trust in improving brand congruence in sports services

: This research aims to demonstrate the mediating role of brand trust in the relationship between credibility and users’ congruence with a sports services brand. The analysis was carried out using EQS 6.3 to perform the four required steps of the analysis (and the Sobel test was conducted for a public sports service and a private sports service. The results confirm the full mediation effect of brand trust in the case of the private service and a partial mediation for the public service. Therefore, this study confirms that credibility, in the presence of trust, ceases to have an influence on the congruence of users with the brand, which suggests that credibility is important at an initial stage to attract the user, but at more advanced stages, trust must be developed to ensure that users are more congruent with the brand and can, therefore, be identified with it and be more loyal.
Distribution and frequency of mating types in the asexual fungus Septoria passerinii

Four hundred and sixty-nine Septoria passerinii isolates sampled from 15 widely distributed fields in North Dakota and two in western Minnesota were used to analyze the distribution and frequency of mating type idiomorphs using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Two sites, Williston, North Dakota, and Langdon, North Dakota, were sampled in a hierarchical fashion, and the remaining 15 sites were sampled in a random stratified fashion. The χ2 test revealed that, with clone-corrected data, equal frequencies of both mating types occurred within the whole field at both Williston and Langdon as well as at 11 of 15 sites sampled with a random stratified method. Only one of the two mating types was found at each of four sites. In two of those sites, this finding could have resulted from small sample sizes rather than evolutionary forces. Equal frequencies of the two mating types are consistent with a sexually reproducing population. From the results of this study, we conclude that, despite a teleomorph never having been found in the field, sexual recombination is probably occurring in S. passerinii in many areas of North Dakota.
Immunological approach to the characterization of the outer acrosomal membrane of boar spermatozoa

Antiserum to purified boar spermatozoan outer acrosomal membrane (OAM) was raised in rabbits and adsorbed with boar liver and serum glutaraldehyde cross-linked immunoadsorbents. The IgG fraction of the antiserum was purified by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation followed by ion-exchange chromatography. Indirect immunofluorescence showed bright fluorescent staining of the acrosomal cap of boar spermatozoa and to a lesser extent of the acrosomes of bull and goat spermatozoa after incubation with anti-OAM-IgG. Immuno-electron microscopy further confirmed the specificity of the antibody for the OAM. Preincubation of the anti-OAM-IgG with isolated OAM, completely abolished its reactivity. When tested by ELISA, anti-OAM-IgG reacted with boar, bull, goat, and human spermatozoa; however, its binding activity to boar spermatozoa was significantly greater as compared to spermatozoa from the other species tested. In an effort to identify OAM antigens recognized by this antiserum, the isolated boar OAM was labeled either with 3H or with 125I and solubilized by mild detergent treatment. The extracted components were immunoprecipitated with anti-OAM-IgG and protein A-bearing S. aureus and the thus isolated antigens were analysed on SDS-PAGE. The results suggest that anti-OAM-IgG recognized one high molecular 3H-labeled glycoprotein (270 kd), and four 125I-labeled polypeptides of lower molecular weight of the boar OAM.
A Control Flow for Transiently Powered Energy Harvesting Sensor Systems

Transient computing enables application execution to be performed despite power outages. Although it handles the non-deterministic nature of energy harvesting (EH), sensor systems envisioned by the IoT seek more cost- and volume-effective solutions, which are better tailored to application requirements. Additionally, a major drawback of transient computing, keeping track of time, hinders its widespread adoption in the IoT. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a control flow for sensor systems by combining two state-of-the-art transient computing schemes in an energy-aware manner, underpinned by a strategy for timekeeping. It enables application execution to be reliably performed even under the most severe EH conditions, with an improved cost and volume efficiency, i.e., smaller energy storage. Benefiting from the combination of the two schemes, dynamic adjustment of system performance is achieved, while the time is accurately tracked. To illustrate the applicability of this flow to actual sensor systems, two case studies: a bicycle trip computer and a step counter, are presented. Empirical results reveal that, even with a tiny amount of energy harvested ( $\simeq$ tens of $\mu \text{J}$ ), our proposed approach can meet application requirements with smaller storage, i.e., 40% and 66% reduction in required capacitance for the presented case studies.
The Evolution of Oviposition Tactics in the Bean Weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.)

A sizeable fraction (7%-17%) of the mung beans that are the preferred food of Callosobruchus maculatus are not large enough to support two larvae. Whenever two or more eggs are on a bean, development takes 40 days rather than 33 days, and only 8% of the second eggs develop even in beans with resources enough for two larvae. This larval competition confers an advantage on females that disperse eggs uniformly. Females tend to avoid adding second eggs as long as there are unused beans. Survivorship of single eggs on beans increases with weight (1l = .005 mg + .368) and females oviposit on the largest of the unused beans first. Survivorship of the second egg (12 = .31), due principally to mortality of the first egg, is about half that of the first egg; a second or third egg is added after nearly all the beans carry one or two eggs respectively. With these constraints the beetle may maximize fitness if it knows the weights and egg loads of all available beans. The actual performance falls short of achieving maximum fitness and the oviposition of the beetle fits a computer simulation that makes decisions after com- paring the weight and egg load of the present bean with the last bean encountered. The per- formance of the beetle can be appropriately evaluated against models for unspecialized beetles that oviposit randomly and for beetles with maximum fitness. This shows that the beetle gains about 70% of the fitness that it could evolve.
Diet of amphibians and reptiles from the Engare Ondare river region of central Kenya, during the dry season

Abstract In seasonally arid environments many species undergo some form of dormancy, such as aestivation. The dietary habits of those species during the period of seasonal aridity are poorly known. Little is known of the seasonal variation in the diet of the amphibians and reptiles of Kenya. This project examines the diets of several species of frogs and lizards collected during the dry season in an arid part of central Kenya. Some of the species were thought to be dormant during that season and others were thought to be actively feeding. The incidence of feeding may be used to determine if an animal is dormant. The dormancy may be brief and interrupted or protracted and continuous. Stomach contents were removed by dissection and analyzed in the laboratory. We identified 6,238 prey items to the lowest taxonomic unit possible, usually order, family, or genus. Definite prey items were all Arthropoda except for a single frog in one stomach and skink scales in a few stomachs. Within Arthropoda, Isoptera and Hymenoptera (ants) were the most abundant (5,662 items), followed by Coleoptera and Orthoptera (205 items). Eruciform and scarabaeiform larvae were recorded separately from adults. At least ten other orders of arthropods were recovered. Spiders were present in 12.4% of the stomachs. Specialization was exhibited by some species that utilized termites or ants extensively. A few nematodes were found. Inanimate objects were also found, including miscellaneous plant material, rocks, and charcoal. Termites were more important in reptile diets than in amphibian diets and were used almost exclusively by ground dwelling lizards. Termite specialists contained 87% or more termites and ant specialists contained 72% or more ants. Ptychadena anchitae and P. mascareniensis were the only generalists, based on a Shannon Diversity Index of >0.75. Active and reproductive species had a significantly higher number of food events than active and non‐reproductive species. All of the species examined were secondary, or partially tertiary, consumers and the prey taxa were mostly primary consumers, but included several secondary consumers. Reproductive species and non‐reproductive species in the same genus had different diets and preferences.
Morphometric studies in inbred and hybrid House mice (Mus sp.): Multivariate analysis of size and shape

Multiple group principal component analysis is used to investigate the relationship between morphometric characters in inbred and hybrid House mice. Weight is shown to be largely independent of linear size, and character relationships within inbreds are shown to be the same as those within hybrids. Multiple group principal component analysis is largely successful in defining general size and shape components in the Osteometric characters. General size accounts for most of the within-group variation–in spite of the isogenicity, uniform rearing, and uniform age of the mice. Both size and shape are less variable in hybrids than in inbreds. Heterosis is apparent for general size and one component of shape, whilst dominance is widespread amongst the shape components. Canonical analysis is used to investigate inconsistency in the direction of dominance between individual components and the overall direction of dominance.
The Pace of Fluvial Meanders on Mars and Implications for the Western Delta Deposits of Jezero Crater

Although there is little doubt that rivers once flowed on Mars' surface, how sustained and frequent their flows were remains enigmatic. Understanding the hydrology of early Mars, nonetheless, is a prerequisite to resolving the planet's climate history and the astrobiological potential of various ancient putative ecosystems. In 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover will attempt to land near ancient fluviodeltaic deposits in Jezero crater. Deltas offer enhanced organic‐matter burial and preservation on Earth but translating this notion to early Martian environments remains speculative in the absence of information on flow intermittency and sedimentation rates. Here we develop a new model to infer the lateral migration rate of Martian river meanders, which, combined with orbiter‐based observations of the fluviodeltaic deposits at Jezero crater, allows us to determine a minimum timescale for the formation of its delta. We then independently constrain the total duration of delta formation, including dry spells. Our best estimates suggest that delta formation spanned ~19–37 years over a total duration of ~380,000 years, i.e., that rivers flowed for a minimum ~1 sol/15–30 Martian years and conceivably more frequently, but uncertainties on total duration are large. Despite a possibly arid climate, predicted sedimentation rates are high, suggesting a rapid burial of putative organics in distal deposits. Altogether, our results support Jezero crater's potential as a prime target to look for ancient Martian life and acquire samples to return to Earth. Any discrepancies between our predictions of the deposits' grain‐to‐bedform‐scale architecture and future rover observations will shed critical light onto Mars' early surface environments.
Spatial Variations in Crustal and Mantle Anisotropy Across the North American‐Caribbean Boundary on Haiti

Haiti, on the island of Hispaniola, is situated across the North American‐Caribbean plate boundary at the transition point between oblique subduction in the east and a transform plate boundary in the west. Here we use shear wave splitting measurements from S waves of local (0–50 km) and intermediate depth (50–150 km) earthquakes as well as SK(K)S phases from teleseismic earthquakes to ascertain good spatial and vertical resolution of the azimuthal anisotropic structure. This allows us to place new constraints on the pattern of deformation in the crust and mantle beneath this transitional region. SK(K)S results are dominated by plate boundary parallel (E‐W) fast directions with ~1.9 s delay times, indicating subslab trench parallel mantle flow is continuing westward along the plate boundary. Intermediate depth earthquakes originating within the subducting North American plate show a mean fast polarization direction of 065° and delay time of 0.46 s, subparallel to the relative plate motion between the Caribbean and North American plates (070°). We suggest a basal shear zone within the lower ductile crust and upper lithospheric mantle as being a potential major source of anisotropy above the subducting slab. Upper crustal anisotropy is isolated using shear wave splitting measurements on local seismicity, which show consistent delay times on the order of 0.2 s. The fast polarization directions indicate that the crustal anisotropy is controlled by the fault networks in close proximity to the major strike‐slip faults, which bisect the north and south of Haiti, and by the regional stress field where faulting is less pervasive.
Extended Categorical Triple Collocation for Evaluating Sea Ice/Open Water Data Sets

A method to extend categorical triple collocation (CTC) to five data sets, three of which must have conditionally independent errors, is presented. The method is shown to enable comparison of three passive microwave sea ice concentration data sets, and can easily be extended to for use with more data sets. The method is evaluated in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, on the east coast of Canada, during the freeze-up period. It is found that the ice concentration data set from the European space agency sea ice climate change initiative (ESA-SICCI) and the NASA Team 2 (NT2) algorithms have higher balanced accuracy than that from the Artist sea ice (ASI) algorithm.
Triple and quadruple mutation of RGD motif using CRISPR-Cas9 in him-4 locus of Caenorhabditis elegans

Figure 1: A. CRISPR-Cas9 was used to generate two novel alleles of the him-4 gene. The three RGD sites in the gene that were mutated in the triple mutation are indicated in red (2618, 3352, and 4527). The fourth site that was added to create the quadruple mutation is indicated in blue (3519). Two additional motifs, 717 and 3428, are not shown here. This figure was generated using NCBI Blast. B. Comparison of him-4 amino acid no. 3519 locus (wild type) and the mutant sequence. Repair template sequence and synonymous mutation schemes are also presented here. All sequences are in the 5’ to 3’ direction. *WT: wild-type. **AA: amino acid.
Smart T-Shirt Based on Wireless Communication Spiral Fiber Sensor Array for Real-Time Breath Monitoring: Validation of the Technology

In this paper, we present the design and the validation of a new smart textile developed for real time monitoring of human breath. The smart textile is a wearable stretching T-shirt featuring an array of six contactless and non-invasive sensors placed on human’s thoraco-abdominal walls. The wireless sensors communicate quasi-simultaneously the data to a detection base station through Bluetooth protocol. The sensor is composed of a spiral shaped multi-material fiber antenna with a central frequency at 2.4 GHz connected to a compact Bluetooth transmitter. The sensors are integrated on the stretchable T-shirt without compromising the user’s comfort. The sensing mechanism of the system is based on the shift of the central frequency of the spiral fiber antenna induced by the deformation of the thorax and the abdomen during the breath. As a consequence, the breathing pattern is obtained through the received signal strength indicator recorded by a portable detection base station. With the sensor array integrated into a T-shirt, we demonstrate the feasibility assessment for monitoring breathing of seven volunteers in seating and standing positions. Using an array of sensors strategically placed on the T-shirt provides a more reliable approach to detect interpretable breathing patterns by sensing the movement of the abdomen and the thorax at the same time. Using a commercial spirometer as a standard reference, we assessed the validity of breathing parameters (ie; expiration and inspiration times, breathing period, and breathing rate) measured with the T-shirt. Based on Bland-Altman statistical analysis, a good agreement between textile-based sensors and the standard reference was obtained. We were able to show that the smart T-shirt could detect breathing patterns and pauses in breathing, which could be very useful to monitor sleep apnea and clinical monitoring of patients.
P2X7 Receptor‐induced generation of reactive oxygen species in rat mesangial cells

Apoptosis of mesangial cells is an important mode of cell death that maintains normal morphology and function within the glomerulus during development and in normal cell turnover; it is also important in pathological processes. Stimulation of rat mesangial cells via P2X7 receptors can induce apoptotic cell death. However, the signaling pathways are not well understood. Recently, Suh et al. reported P2X7 receptor‐mediated generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Generations of ROS have been linked to induction of apoptosis. In this study, we characterized the P2X7 receptor‐induced ROS generation in rat mesangial cells. P2X7 agonist, 2′ and 3′‐O‐(4‐benzoyl) benzoyl‐ATP (BzATP) evoked ROS generation in a concentration‐dependent manner. The profile of ROS generation in response to BzATP was characteristic of the activation of NADPH oxidase. We could also detect BzATP‐induced production of peroxynitrite. These results suggested that the superoxide anion was generated primarily, and then it rapidly reacted with endogenous nitric oxide, yielding peroxynitrite. The generation of ROS in rat mesangial cells may contribute to P2X7 receptor‐induced apoptotic cell death. Drug Dev. Res. 59: 112–117, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.